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

Chapter 169: Chapter 168 – Long Live the King (III)

When the king and queen returned to the Great Hall, they returned accompanied by Gael, who was in armor but without the helmet, showing her beautiful face. Many people were surprised by Gael’s warrior appearance. They could never have imagined that the woman walking with confidence and power was the same young woman from months ago.

Maekar looked at Gael with a smile as she walked with her head held high and with firm and determined steps. She didn’t seem to care about anything else, just walking down the red carpet as if the place already belonged to her.

It was truly good for Gael to become so confident. Having a great queen meant that the king could move with much more freedom. After all, the king had to stay in the capital, fearing that she could be captured by the enemy.

However, with Gael, Maekar could now leave the capital without fearing that the city would fall due to internal conflicts or something like that.

Jaehaerys snorted coldly, seeing Maekar smile like a child who had just been given something delicious. He understood Maekar’s thoughts; after all, he had Alysanne to control the whole situation in case he needed to leave for some conflict. That was exactly what he did during the conflicts of the Fourth Dornish War and even in the conflict that followed after Aemon’s death.

The king returned to the Iron Throne and sat down, looking at the crowd of nobles wearing different colored clothes, black and purple, respectively. The vote was still ongoing and would take a few hours to be finalized. There were thousands of nobles, not to mention they still needed to be counted after the voting ended.

If he were at Harrenhal, Jaehaerys could simply arrive when the voting ended. Unfortunately, because of the war, he had to return to King’s Landing, and the Great Council continued in the capital.

While thinking, seated on the Iron Throne, Alysanne returned to Maekar’s group of supporters, but Gael herself walked up to Maekar, where she stood side by side with him, with a calm expression and a smile on her lips.

Seeing Viserys alone, Gael smiled even more. Aemma didn’t like her husband; she didn’t like Aemma either. She thought that woman was a falcon disguised as a dragon.

If Viserys became king and she was made queen, she would perhaps be the weakest since the founding of House Targaryen. She wasn’t even close to Visenya or Rhaenys. Alyssa was a terrible queen, but she fought in her own way during the Civil War. Alysanne not only formulated extremely important laws but was also one of the most respectable women in the world.

As for Aemma… well, besides giving birth to children, she wouldn’t help her husband’s reign in any way. That was just a traditional wife, a waste of talent for one of the few elevated positions women could hold.

In short, after everything she had been through, Gael considered Aemma a woman without spark and not suited to being queen of an entire continent.

“What happened?” Maekar asked in a calm tone, still keeping his smile.

“Daemon left the Dragonpit wearing armor and riding Caraxes. Since Dreamfyre and Bahamut were present, I assumed it would be a perfect opportunity to kill Caraxes and Daemon.” Gael said in an equally calm tone, but her smile was much bigger.

“With blood magic healing Dreamfyre while she fought Caraxes, I almost managed to kill Caraxes, but my father and mother arrived and stopped me from finishing the job.” At that moment, Gael showed an expression full of regret. If she had just one more minute, perhaps Caraxes’s carcass would be lying in the middle of the city, completely lifeless.

Hearing Gael’s words, Maekar was genuinely shocked. He had only felt Bahamut’s turbulent emotions and sent a calming thought to the dragon, but he didn’t expect Gael to dare start a dragon battle over King’s Landing.

Looking at his wife, Maekar wanted to laugh out loud, but he held back the feeling, though his smile became more genuine and very proud. How could he not be proud? Gael had almost killed Daemon and Caraxes!

That was no small thing! Caraxes was the dragon that killed Vhagar, the greatest dragon alive today!

Gael having almost killed Caraxes was simply such a great feat that Maekar wanted to tell everyone in this hall how amazing his wife was.

“Maekar, I think I figured out why the Dragonlords used blood and fire magic while riding dragons. It’s simply cheating to use that in battle. Even if it can’t be used for a long time, it’s enough to create an overwhelming advantage against a dragon rider without blood magic.” Gael said in an animated tone.

At that moment, she found Maekar’s dealings with the Red Faith something extremely beneficial for House Targaryen and her future.

In her eyes, even if other Targaryens had dragons, without blood magic to support them in battle, victory would overwhelmingly go to House Targaryen, who had fire and blood magic.

Maekar was also surprised by Gael’s words. He himself hadn’t expected that blood magic could be used on a huge dragon. The prince realized that his reason and common sense had made him never consider that possibility.

After all, the price for blood magic was blood and life, and the mere thought of healing a dragon came with an extremely high price. However, according to Gael, the cost was nowhere near as great as expected.

However, Maekar looked at Gael with a reproachful look. He remembered that this little experiment of Gael’s could have had huge consequences. What if Gael had passed out from blood loss while fighting Caraxes and Daemon?

Faced with Maekar’s look, Gael just stuck her tongue out at him playfully and smiled. Of course she knew the reason for Maekar’s anger. After all, she had been quite bold in trying to heal a giant dragon with the few liters of blood in her body.

Fortunately, the outcome was good, and the magic in her blood was more than she herself expected.

“How many people are there?” Gael asked, changing the subject, looking at the immense number of nobles in the hall. There were more than a thousand, of that she was certain.

“One thousand one hundred and four nobles,” Maekar answered in a calm tone. He himself was surprised by the number of noble houses.

Of course, he knew not all of them were from noble houses but included hedge knights and second sons who controlled small villages. Another large portion were brothers, uncles, and cousins of the lords, who also had voting power.

“It seems my father wanted to balance things out for Viserys.” Gael murmured, looking at the man seated on the Iron Throne. He seemed cold and indifferent, as if the scene before him had nothing to do with him.

At the same time, Gael thought that Maekar would need 553 votes to win the Great Council. 552 is half of 1104, and Maekar needed just one more vote to win with more than half of the total votes, that is, 553.

“It doesn’t matter; he even helped us.” Maekar said with a laugh. Jaehaerys accepting the votes of those people had helped him rather than actually hurting him. Those people, originally distant from the core of power of the Seven Kingdoms, had supported him instead of Viserys.

After all, supporting Viserys meant supporting the old order, in which fiefs are established and untouchable. Supporting Maekar gave them hope that they might receive fiefs and titles. The chances of that happening were low, but those people were still willing to try.

“I don’t think it’s that simple; I think my father must be dissatisfied with the power of the nobles.” Gael whispered, looking at the arrogant lords with a calm gaze.

Those people who generally fawned over House Targaryen were now quite arrogant, because the target of the flattery had changed.

Maekar thought for a moment and nodded. Gael’s words were reasonable, though he seriously doubted that Jaehaerys would dare to create an emerging noble class to deal with the old nobility.

If it had been the Jaehaerys who had just become king, or even in his middle age, perhaps Maekar would have believed the king would dare do that, but now? Close to death? He preferred to believe it was just for balance; after all, no king wants such a big headache so close to death.

—–

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

“Does my lord wish me to write?” An apprentice arrived before Corlys; he held out the tray and showed the pile of parchment, quill, and ink.

Corlys didn’t hesitate to pick up the swan-feather quill, dipped the tip in the ink, and then wrote:

“Maekar of House Targaryen of Harrenhal.”

The young man looked at the parchment, rolled it up with a ribbon, and then put it away with other already finished parchments. He then continued. Varon, Theo, Ellard, Boremund, Robert, Roderick, Darnold, and Queen Alysanne herself.

Their votes were clear:

“Maekar of House Targaryen of Harrenhal.”

Theo didn’t want to vote for Maekar, but, faced with the cold and even murderous eyes of some, he swallowed hard and still voted for Maekar. Deep in his heart, there was only bitterness and sadness. He was never trained to be lord; his brother was. Unfortunately, not even his nephew had received the education of a future lord either.

After all, his nephew was eight months old and was a baby. In the end, he was chosen as Regent and, temporarily, Lord of Highgarden and Lord Paramount of the Mander. However, he already wanted his nephew to grow up as fast as possible so he could give up that dangerous position.

Court intrigues were a million times more dangerous than the tournaments he was used to participating in. The life of a knight was much calmer than the life of a lord paramount.

“You made the right choice, Lord Theo; Prince Maekar is the best candidate for the throne,” Robert said in a gentle and warm tone. Although Theo was young, he could be a good regent for the next sixteen years.

Theo only showed a forced smile; he didn’t believe a single word that came out of the mouth of the Lord of House Redwyne. Was that crazy murderer the best candidate for king? There was nothing chivalrous about him, let alone the aura of a king.

“Robert, you think too much. I don’t care if he’ll be a good king; I just want to make the king angry and then get the Gift back.” Unlike Robert, he cared little whether Maekar would be a good king; he only wanted what the pretender to the throne had promised and nothing more.

Robert just rolled his eyes at words considered extremely problematic for any lord, except for the lord of Winterfell. Who would dare say those words in the presence of the king, besides the rude and coarse barbarians of the north?

“How rude, Lord Stark, the king could ask for your head because of that offense.” Varon didn’t miss the chance to speak in a sarcastic and scornful tone about the reckless words of the Lord of Winterfell.

“Let him come cut it then; my neck is already quite soft, and it’ll be a quick cut.” Touching his own flabby neck, Ellard bared his teeth and spoke with a smile full of courage and recklessness.

“My husband wouldn’t hurt you, Lord Ellard; he might rather want to argue with you for days. You know, no one dares to argue with him, let alone speak ill of him to his face.” Alysane remarked with a smile while watching the Lord of Winterfell with an amused look.

She wasn’t lying. Jaehaerys might very much enjoy arguing with Ellard, though that might end with the Lord of House Stark being thrown as food for Vermithor.

“He’s surrounded by flatterers, all treacherous snakes scheming in the shadows and within the walls of his castle.” Ellard didn’t lower his voice, so everyone nearby heard and turned to face Ellard with hostile looks.

“What are you looking at?” Ellard looked coldly at those people and threatened them with a bloodthirsty smile. “If you keep staring, I’ll shove my axe up your pale ass.”

At once, those same men looked away and didn’t dare look at Ellard again.

“The difference between you northerners and the wildlings is only which side of the Wall you’re on.” Varon said in a sarcastic tone.

Then, noticing the looks on him, the Lord of Pyke showed a cold smile, different from his earlier polite look. “What are you looking at? Look at me again and I’ll impale you alive and salt your flesh under the scorching sun.”

“Cruel madman.” Ellard remarked after hearing his threats.

“Savage disguised as a noble.” Varon showed no weakness.

Corlys and Baramund looked at each other and were left speechless by the childish quarrel between the two men. However, remembering the bloody feud between House Stark and House Greyjoy, they didn’t try to ease the conversation.

If they intervened, they would have to pick a side, something they didn’t want to do.

“My dear lords, this is not the time to fight; we have other enemies and should focus on them.” Alysanne intervened at that moment and spoke in a gentle tone.

Ellard and Varon looked at each other and saw the contempt each felt for the other and fell silent. They spat on the ground and stopped staring at each other.

Ellard’s and Varon’s little quarrel wasn’t unique to them; other quarrels also started around the hall. Most of the Noble Houses were thousands of years old; the youngest were hundreds of years old. All of them had enemies and feuds; it was quite normal for them to start arguing over anything random. They didn’t need a reason; they just wanted an argument.

However, because of the king’s presence, it didn’t turn into a physical fight, only a verbal one. No one wanted to displease the king, especially after seeing his cold and frightening eyes.

–

The voting continued, and two hours had already passed. After standing for so long, many were already exhausted, but they still persisted while watching the place grow quieter as time passed.

They weren’t the only ones who were tired; Jaehaerys himself was exhausted. He was no longer young; he was still recovering from his earlier fainting spell, not to mention he was growing sleepier by the day and his mind wandered for minutes before focusing again.

It was a great effort for Jaehaerys to still be sitting on the Iron Throne with an expressionless face. Fortunately, Alysanne had the advantage on these occasions. Her leaving caused no discussion; the men just found it normal for the old queen to leave to rest.

If Jaehaerys did something similar, he would be considered weak the moment after.

“My king, the voting has ended; I will begin the count.” Grand Maester Allar, who was over ninety years old, approached the iron throne and spoke in a trembling, weak tone, as if he might die the next second.

Jaehaerys truly feared the man might die at any moment…

“Then begin the count.” Despite his thoughts, the king’s expression remained the same.

Allar nodded, and his apprentices quickly set up a chair and a table and formed a line in front of the table.

The Grand Maester sat down with some difficulty and gestured for the first young man to approach the table.

The young man placed the tray on the table and stepped back.

The grand maester picked up the first parchment and opened it. He read the contents and spoke aloud.

“Prince Viserys.”

Originally, this wouldn’t have happened if Laenor were still in the running, but, as with Maekar and Viserys, everyone feared there might be cheating on the part of one of the factions, so they asked the king for the votes to be read aloud so that everyone could count them.

Even if some didn’t even know how to count to ten…

Viserys’s supporters showed happy expressions, and Maekar’s supporters became displeased.

The second parchment was opened, and the Grand Maester spoke:

“Prince Maekar of House Targaryen of Harrenhal.”

This time, with the mention of Maekar’s name, the crowd’s reaction was the opposite, which made the atmosphere change drastically.

The grand maester didn’t care about the crowd and continued calling out name after name. It was completely random, at times three votes in a row for Viserys and, other times, five votes in a row for Maekar.

As time passed, silence kept settling over the air. No one dared breathe even slightly faster, afraid of missing a vote.

However, Viserys’s supporters were becoming more and more solemn, and some were even panicking. It had been ten minutes with only Maekar’s name being spoken by the grand maester.

When the grand maester was about to continue, he felt his throat go dry. He stopped what he was doing and drank a bit of water before continuing calmly, his eyes brighter than ever.

He had already foreseen the outcome after so long, but he continued anyway. Who knows, maybe a miracle could happen for Prince Viserys?

—–

Note: Sorry for the delay; I had to rewrite the chapters countless times. With the amount of words I wrote today, I would have released about ten chapters.

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