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

Chapter 180: Chapter 179 – Everyone’s Blood Is Red (I)

The Traitor’s Walk is a passage leading to a low, semicircular tower.

The entrance to the dungeon consists of a hammered iron door and another door of splintered gray wood. King Maegor I Targaryen ordered that the dungeons beneath the low tower have four levels.

The uppermost level has cells with tall, narrow windows, where common criminals are kept together.

The second level has smaller, private cells, without windows, for prisoners of high birth. Torches in the corridors cast light through the bars.

The third level’s cells, the black cells, are smaller still and have wooden doors so that no light enters, but they have not been used in recent years.

The lowest level is used for torture. Supposedly, it is safer to cross the fourth level of the dungeons in darkness, because there are things no one would want to see.

At this moment, Jaehaerys, Alysanne, Maekar, and Gael walked by torchlight. Beside them walked men wearing black armor and blood red helmets. The place was slightly damp and strangely dark. Even if the torture didn’t kill, the sickness certainly would. This was not a fit place for humans to live in for long.

Perhaps that was why the posts of the King’s Justice, the Chief Jailer, and the Lord Confessor changed hands within a relatively short term.

Looking at the black knights beside him, Maekar showed a satisfied expression.

Curiously, House Targaryen had a private and quite dark force under the command of the King’s Justice, the Inquisitor Knights. They were responsible for investigating and punishing threats. Unlike the City Watch or even other orders, these were quieter and darker.

Though few in number, they were elite soldiers.

Maekar thought it a complete waste of talent to let these men live in the dungeons, hidden in the shadows and used only to investigate and punish. Inquisitor Knights should be true inquisitors. Instilling fear in enemies and admiration in the faithful, or, in his case, admiration for House Targaryen.

Reaching the fourth floor of the dungeon, Maekar felt the air turn cold, and the shadows around him seemed somewhat alive. It was almost possible to see humanoid black shapes. Fortunately, it was only his brain playing tricks on him.

The flickering flames of the torches lit the place, revealing uneven walls, and some of these irregularities had the shape of a human body. They were the reason this place was so frightening, even in stories.

Though it was a place for torture, Maekar still thought the creator had been quite creative in his works of art. Which, when thinking about the creativity of torturers, that kind of frightening and macabre creativity was not uncommon.

As he thought this, Maekar felt Gael squeeze his hand and smiled, finding it amusing that the woman felt fear while having the most terrifying creature in the world as her companion in arms.

“If you feel scared, I can carry you in my arms,” Maekar whispered to Gael, making the woman look at him with a touch of irritation, but, without answering, she only gripped his hand more tightly.

“Save me!!!”

“I’m innocent!!!”

“I didn’t rape that little girl!!!”

The deeper they went into the fourth floor, the more Maekar and everyone heard the wailing of those being tortured. These men cried out pleas and claimed to be innocent.

“Wouldn’t it be better to send them to the Wall?” Gael asked, furrowing her brow. She felt no pity for these men, but she felt it was a waste of manpower for the Night’s Watch, which asked for men every month.

Something she learned when she was regent.

“Even among the Night’s Watch, there is still a bit of humanity among its members. But these men…” Jaehaerys answered his daughter in a calm tone, but there was clear sarcasm in his voice.

“These are not men; they are animals who committed heinous crimes. That trash who says he didn’t rape her did far more than that. He raped a five year old girl, dismembered the child’s body, and then ate some parts. He is trash among trash. For that kind of person, being tortured until his last day is something necessary.”

“The Night’s Watch accepts trash, but not that kind of trash.” Jaehaerys concluded in a cold, indifferent tone. To be tortured on the fourth floor, one had to commit truly heinous crimes. No one in this place was innocent, only monsters disguised in human skin.

Suddenly, everyone stopped. Including the Inquisitor Knights, these men took their positions and looked at the metal doors with cold, indifferent stares.

One of the inquisitor knights opened the metal door and went in, using his torch to light the place.

A pale, fat figure could be seen hoisted up by chains. He was naked and his face was pallid. He shivered in the cold of the place. The sound of chains rattled as he tried to speak, but his mouth was gagged.

“He ate a lot,” Alysanne remarked in a cold tone, looking at the murderer of her grandson slash great-grandson.

“He’ll live longer because of that body.” Jaehaerys remarked in a calm tone. He had already decided to fight against the Faith of the Seven, so he did not hesitate to imprison the High Septon. Now, there was no turning back; it was fight or die.

“Take off his gag,” Maekar ordered in a cold tone. The inquisitor knight did as Maekar ordered and undid the gag around the High Septon’s mouth.

“Jaehaerys, if you let me go, I can give money or even a crown to Maekar.” As soon as the gag came off his mouth, the High Septon spoke in a hoarse, trembling tone. He no longer had the arrogance from before. He was no longer untouchable, and Jaehaerys, who had always sought peace, now no longer cared about anything.

“Do you think I’m eight years old to believe that?” Jaehaerys asked in a tone full of irony. “Not to mention, if you truly crowned Maekar, would you yourself believe you wouldn’t start a rebellion to avenge this humiliation?”

“You know yourself better than I do, Your Holiness.”

The High Septon’s face went pale, and a flash of anger shone in his eyes. It was exactly as Jaehaerys thought; he would never leave House Targaryen unpunished for its actions. As soon as he returned to Oldtown, he would summon the banners of the loyal noble houses and start a rebellion.

However, to survive, he showed his most humble side possible.

“Don’t worry, if you’re afraid of dying, know that you won’t die. After all, we need you to be our dog and write orders to the other septons across all Seven Kingdoms. Gael will be a saint, and you will declare that the gods chose to give Maekar the right to rule over all the faithful of the continent.” Jaehaerys, seeing the hope of survival in his eyes, spoke calmly.

The High Septon’s eyes widened hearing those words. He was not stupid, only full of greed. He understood perfectly what those words meant.

Maekar would not only have the right to control the Faith of the Seven; even the High Septon would be lower in status than him.

At that moment, he felt that dying was not so frightening. He truly would not die, but he would suffer pains and humiliations that no High Septon had ever had in their glorious lives.

“Maekar, Gael, remember not to leave scars on his face.” Feeling that they had already spent enough time in this filthy hole, Jaehaerys spoke in a calm tone. He took Alysanne’s hand and left the place with quick steps.

Maekar did not answer and looked at Gael. Since arriving, the woman had kept looking at the High Septon with a gaze that could freeze the very flames of hell.

Gael extended her hand, and under the shocked eyes of the Inquisitor Knights, the flames from the torches gathered around her hand and fixed themselves onto the tips of the five fingers of her right hand.

“You stole my son from me; now I will burn everything that is precious to you.” Gael said and touched the High Septon’s flabby, white skin with her nails. However, her nails were covered in hot flames.

“AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!” The High Septon screamed in a sharp, piercing tone. It reverberated through the walls as the sound of rattling chains grew louder and louder.

“WITCH!!!”

“I’LL KILL YOU!!!!”

Gael smiled with satisfaction, hearing his curses, and continued to burn the High Septon even more fiercely. Either way, she could heal him, so he would not die. However, Gael felt that, for some reason, her fire magic was stronger than ever.

It was as if the flames were pleased to be used to destroy, torture, and burn people.

——-

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