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

Chapter 171: Chapter 170 – Long Live the King (V)

Maester Allar’s voice continued to be slow and calm. However, the more he spoke, the more everyone’s expression shifted from shock to numbness.

“Prince Maekar of House Targaryen of Harrenhal.”

“Prince Maekar of House Targaryen of Harrenhal.”

“Prince Maekar of House Targaryen of Harrenhal.”

“Damn, we’re screwed.” Lord Triston of House Massey whispered to his companions. His expression was bitter and full of sorrow. He had no doubt the outcome was already determined. Viserys simply didn’t have the same prestige as Maekar. Even with the king’s help, he was still bound to lose.

However, none of that mattered now. If there was one truth in the world, it was that losers always have to pay the winners.

The worst part was that Maekar would be a strong monarch, unlike Jaehaerys, more similar to Maegor in some ways and to Aegon himself in others. A king newly ascended to the throne needed examples to calm dangerous elements within the realm.

Who were the examples? Of course, the losers!

It wasn’t just Triston; sorrow hung in the air among Viserys’s supporters. Many even showed fear, and some had trembling legs.

The image Maekar left behind from the Tears of Blood of the Faith incident was simply hard to erase from their minds, especially being so recent. They were afraid Maekar might do the same thing he did to the Septons.

After all, being nobles, they knew better than anyone how cruel they themselves could be. Especially toward common people. Most bastards were the result of rapes. Even among commoners, no woman wants her son or daughter to be a bastard, a fruit of sin in everyone’s eyes.

So, often, those bastards were conceived non-consensually.

If Maekar investigated deeply into every fief, every city or village, there would probably be hundreds of similar cases throughout all the Seven Kingdoms. So, they were right to feel fear at that moment.

While Viserys’s faction was desperate, Maekar’s faction was euphoric. Many laughed and looked at their enemies with looks full of triumph and superiority. They had chosen the right side and profited from it.

After all, the primordial law of the world was that for one to profit, another had to lose. It was simply the natural law of the world.

Suddenly, while Allar continued counting the votes, one of the nobles wearing purple, from Viserys’s faction, stepped forward and knelt, looked at Maekar below the Iron Throne, and shouted loudly.

“Long live Maekar, First of His Name, Rider of the Pale Death, Slayer of Titans, Lord of the Pale Flames, Destroyer of Kingdoms, the Conqueror of Dorne, and Prince of Dragonstone!”

At the lord’s voice, the atmosphere paused for a moment; even Allar stopped counting the votes and looked at the noble with a touch of admiration. The man was clever to declare his switch of sides so quickly.

“Damn, that brat is quick to switch sides.” Ellard remarked with a loud laugh full of amusement. The voting wasn’t even over yet, and despair had already taken hold of the enemies. He had to admit that winning without shedding a drop of blood was quite pleasant.

“People who know how to bow their heads at the right time live longer.” Looking at the lord of Stonedance, Boremund said in a calm tone. There was no contempt in his eyes. If he had been in Triston’s place, he would have done the same before a king as strong as Maekar.

Corlys just remained silent, watching the scene with a calm look. However, deep in his eyes, there was a profound envy. He wished his son’s name were on that lord’s lips, not Maekar’s.

“Look at Prince Viserys’s face.” Varon spoke at that moment, his voice full of amusement and provocation.

Everyone’s eyes focused on Viserys and saw the prince’s face turn pale as if he were seeing a ghost. His fists were clenched, and a look of anger showed on his face.

Viserys remembered that man. At the banquets he held, that man was the first to approach him and flatter him with glamorous words full of reverence. However, he was also the first to betray him, and not only that, he didn’t even wait for the voting to end to do it.

If Triston had waited for the Great Council to conclude, Viserys might have felt only sorrow, but now he felt anger and humiliation. To say Viserys felt humiliated was to underestimate the anger bubbling in his chest. If the prince had a dragon, perhaps even the dragon would have felt his emotions.

“Thank you for your words, but the Great Council isn’t over yet, and my brother could still be chosen in the end. ” Just as Alysanne had spoken, Maekar showed no coldness or cruelty; he showed that he could forgive in front of everyone.

After all, Maekar couldn’t simply kill everyone who didn’t come back to him; that would cause a rebellion to happen, and that was something he didn’t want. At the same time, he had to admit he quite enjoyed hearing that long list of titles.

He kind of understood why Daenerys liked announcing her long list of titles. That feeling was really good.

Triston was surprised by Prince Maekar’s kind words. He had expected many things because of Maekar’s cruel and decisive temperament, but he never expected to be received with cordiality and courtesy.

“May your magnanimity shine upon the realm, my prince.” Triston spoke loudly and stepped back into the crowd of nobles dressed in purple.

With Maekar’s words, the way the nobles looked at him changed at that moment. The prince could be cruel, but he was also magnanimous and could forgive.

Jaehaerys watched the whole scene with a calm gaze. He looked at Alysanne and then at Maekar. He didn’t believe that Alysanne hadn’t advised Maekar. He knew the boy well and knew he preferred to settle the problem once and for all rather than forgive traitors.

“You may continue, Grand Maester,” Jaehaerys spoke at that moment, cutting off any discussion or any group of nobles trying to show loyalty to Maekar at that moment.

The grand maester nodded and read another vote aloud.

“Prince Maekar of House Targaryen of Harrenhal.”

By this point, everyone was already used to hearing Maekar’s name. They just counted silently how many votes there were so far while looking at Maekar wearing Aegon the Conqueror’s Crown. Together with Blackfyre in the prince’s hands, it seemed as though Aegon had been reborn.

“Prince Viserys Targaryen.”

Of ten votes read, seven were for Maekar and three were for Viserys. The advantage was more than obvious to anyone.

The count continued.

341… 482… 534… 550… 551… 552… 553… 554… 600… 666… 670…

When the number reached 553, Maekar let out a relieved sigh and smiled. He wanted to shout with euphoria, look Jaehaerys in the face, show him his middle finger, and curse the man with a few things he had wanted to say for a long time.

However, to preserve his image, Maekar remained silent, but his smile was no longer fake like the previous one; it was a genuine smile full of joy. Even a laugh escaped his lips.

Suddenly, Maekar felt a delicate hand hold his and looked to the side, where he saw Gael smiling as happily as he was. No, she was even happier than he was.

“Congratulations, my lord husband.” Gael whispered to Maekar with a smile, a happy look full of radiance. It seemed as though she herself had become the very embodiment of the light of dawn. “You will be a great king.”

“We will be great kings and queens.” Maekar added with a smile.

“But we still have a big problem.” Hiding her overflowing joy, Gael spoke, using her chin to point at Jaehaerys on the Iron Throne.

At that moment, the king was expressionless and calm; no one knew what he was thinking. Or rather, no one could unravel what was going on inside the king’s mind at that moment.

At this moment, Grand Maester Allar stopped speaking, placing the last parchment into a large chest of wood and silver.

He rose from his chair and walked toward the throne, passed by Viserys and Maekar, and stood before Jaehaerys, who was three meters above the ground, seated in the monstrosity of the Iron Throne.

“Your Grace, the vote count has ended.” Allar said in a hoarse, trembling tone. Making such an old man work was truly cruel…

Jaehaerys looked at Viserys and then at Maekar, then looked at Ellar and spoke calmly. “Speak.”

“Of the one thousand one hundred and four votes counted, Prince Viserys Targaryen received exactly 434 votes.” Ellar said in a still hoarse tone. He looked at the king and hesitated for a moment but, after a while, spoke:

“Prince Maekar of House Targaryen of Harrenhal received six hundred and seventy votes, surpassing Prince Viserys by 236 votes.”

A silence followed for a few seconds before being broken by an avalanche of applause and even shouts of excitement.

Jaehaerys stood up, and everyone fell silent again, but the smiles on everyone’s faces couldn’t be hidden, at least among Maekar’s supporters. By comparison, Viserys was pale and seemed particularly alone at that moment.

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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