House of The Dragon:The Rise of the Emperor of the Seven Kingdoms

Chapter 130: Chapter 129 – Repercussions (IV)

After hearing Maekar’s words, Jaehaerys understood why the boy had hesitated to speak with Ryam present. These words could very well lead to civil war with the Faith of the Seven…

Jaehaerys closed his eyes and clenched his fists tightly. After a while, a cold, murderous laugh escaped his lips. The king opened his eyes and looked at Maekar and Gael with a calm, deep look.

“It seems House Targaryen has gone too long without doing anything, and the High Septon still thinks he’s the most powerful man on the continent.” Jaehaerys remarked in an icy tone. The idea that the Faith of the Seven had dared to kill a member of House Targaryen as a warning only showed that the Faith still refused to bend the knee.

Honestly, Jaehaerys had always prioritized stability above everything else. Because of this, Jaehaerys had never attacked the Faith of the Seven the way Maegor had. Not even when Alysanne suffered an assassination attempt at Maidenpool.

But, apparently, his kindness had been treated as weakness, and even now, the Faith of the Seven had dared to murder a member of House Targaryen. A child not even yet born, no less. To say Jaehaerys was furious would be to understate what the king was feeling.

“Seeing that you did nothing shows you still have a brain.” Letting out a sigh, Jaehaerys looked at Maekar and Gael with a deep look. “If it had been Daemon, he might have gone to Oldtown and burned that despicable city.”

“Don’t overestimate me too much, Your Grace,” Maekar said in a cold tone. “Gael and I have been holding ourselves back from doing exactly that for quite some time now.”

Jaehaerys didn’t doubt Maekar’s words in the slightest. After all, when Aemon’s son was killed, he had burned every pirate for months on end. The fact that Maekar and Gael had managed to hold themselves back from destroying Oldtown showed that both had great self-control.

“Unfortunately, the Faith of the Seven’s influence is too strong.” Jaehaerys said in a tone of helplessness. He had tried to diminish the church’s influence, but he had never managed to do so. Not without another very powerful religion.

As for the Red Faith, Jaehaerys had simply refused to choose that option; it was like inviting a wolf into your own home.

“When I become king, I will begin the plan to weaken the Faith of the Seven; I will use the Red Faith as a weapon and destroy the foundations of that cursed religious organization.” Maekar spoke in a calm tone, making Jaehaerys raise an eyebrow.

The boy spoke as if he were certain he would be king; this made Jaehaerys show a trace of helplessness. However, given how things were going, the boy really was capable of becoming king.

“Careful, boy, faith is a sword that can wound others just as easily as it can wound yourself.” Jaehaerys said in an advising tone, which was rare, given that he didn’t like Maekar.

Maekar was also surprised by Jaehaerys’s advice but remained indifferent. He knew better than anyone how dangerous faith could be. How many atrocities had happened in the name of the gods? Still, he was confident he could control the Red Faith to weaken the Faith of the Seven and, consequently, destroy that six-thousand-year-old religion.

Seeing the boy remain indifferent, Jaehaerys rolled his eyes and knew the boy was just like him. Confident about being able to control everything. But he had learned that the more you try to control something, the more that something slips out of control.

Letting out a sigh, Jaehaerys looked at Gael and, seeing her wiping away tears, probably remembering their son, the king’s mood sank to rock bottom. As someone who had lost so many sons and daughters, he understood the pain his daughter was feeling.

“Gael, try to focus on something productive.” Jaehaerys spoke in a gentle tone, entirely different from how he spoke to Maekar. “Don’t be like me, using my work to keep myself busy and free of distractions.”

Gael wiped away the tears running down her face and nodded at her father’s words.

“I’ll handle the consequences.” Seeing his daughter in that state, Jaehaerys said in a soft, even gentle tone.

Maekar looked at Gael and narrowed his eyes. He knew his wife; although the sorrow was genuine, the tears weren’t entirely genuine.

Looking at Jaehaerys, a trace of amusement appeared on the prince’s expression, but he quickly hid it. Perhaps even Jaehaerys never imagined that Gael could manipulate him without him realizing it at all.

It was even interesting to think about. The old Gael could never have used such tactics. The loss of her son and her baptism in the flames of war had transformed the shy, sweet, gentle girl into a strong woman capable of using manipulation to subtly control the Old King.

“Thank you, Father.” Gael thanked him in a genuinely sincere tone. Although they had reasons to destroy House Bracken and House Frey, others couldn’t be expected to think the same. With Jaehaerys stepping in and controlling the situation, things could calm down and not cause so much damage to Maekar’s reputation.

“Your Grace, may I ask when the Great Council will officially be held?” Maekar asked at this moment. Honestly, he was already unhappy with the timeframe Jaehaerys had set for the following year. It was as if Jaehaerys wanted to delay the outcome to give Viserys time to accomplish something.

Looking at the boy who had destroyed a foreign kingdom made up of three free cities and conquered Dorne, a trace of annoyance appeared on Jaehaerys’s face, but he still answered in a calm tone. “On the first day of the first moon of the year 101.”

A trace of satisfaction shone on Maekar’s face. It was close; it wouldn’t be long now before the voting officially began. To leave no flaw in his plans, he decided to end the war before the vote. Not even a miracle could make Viserys be chosen as king at the Great Council of 101.

“You may go,” Jaehaerys said with a sigh, feeling exhaustion running through his body. In the old days, he could work for fourteen hours without even needing rest, but age was weighing more and more on his body.

Not to mention he had to work even harder with a war at his doorstep and also the enormous internal problems within the Seven Kingdoms.

Maekar and Gael bowed and left the Great Hall, leaving Jaehaerys alone on the Iron Throne.

“It seems I have to avenge my grandson.” Jaehaerys murmured, watching Maekar and Gael’s backs disappear as the gates closed.

Instead of copying his uncle’s methods (Maegor), Jaehaerys was a cold, shrewd politician. He didn’t want to cause chaos at this moment, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t avenge his grandson’s death. There were many ways to cause harm beyond simply killing someone.

“A plague? No, the Maesters at the Citadel would notice something quickly.” Jaehaerys murmured, then a cold smile appeared on his lips.

“Fire.”

Unlike Maekar’s spy organization, which was still small, Jaehaerys’s organization had been created nearly sixty years ago. He had spies everywhere, including in Oldtown.

–

“My father is furious,” Gael remarked after leaving the Great Hall of the Throne. “He’s probably going to avenge Baelor in his own way.”

“That’s good; let him buy us some time.” Maekar answered in a calm tone. If Jaehaerys dealt a hard blow to the Faith of the Seven, he wouldn’t mind delivering the final blow ahead of schedule. After all, he still wanted to avenge his son.

“Let’s prepare for the rumors. I have to spread word of the evil deeds of House Bracken and House Frey. That way, when the rumor spreads to the common people, they’ll find it natural for a father and mother to avenge their son.” Gael held Maekar’s scarred hand and spoke in a gentle tone.

Maekar looked at Gael and nodded. He really did have to prepare for the massive wave of backlash from their actions. Their enemies would use this against him, especially Jaehaerys, to help Viserys.

Suddenly, Gael stopped in front of a window and pointed at the sky. “Maekar, look.”

Maekar followed the direction Gael was pointing and saw a red streak cross the sky extremely fast. It was a dragon with scarlet scales.

“Meleys, the Red Queen,” Maekar murmured with a smile. Even though Rhaenys’s husband had agreed to support him, it would be very good to have another dragon rider by his side.

—–

Note: With the Harry Potter series coming up, I remembered that I wrote a Harry Potter fanfic, but never published it. I mixed elements from the worlds of Black Cover and Solo Leveling with the Harry Potter universe.

All wizards received a grimoire at age thirteen. The protagonist was an illegitimate son of House Greengrass who possessed the Grimoire of Time. The most powerful wizards in each country were called Wizard Kings and Queens, wizards as powerful as nuclear weapons.

Dungeons equipped with resources to accelerate a wizard’s training. I even created a power system based on the number of pages in the grimoire.

Read my other books:

House of The Dragon:The Rise of the Emperor of the Seven Kingdoms

Game Of Thrones: The God-Emperor of Planetos

Percy Jackson: Godwyn the Golden.

Game Of Thrones: The King’s Court Wizard