-Chapter 171-
-POV Aemon Targaryen-
In the distance, I saw my two wives arriving, accompanied by the twins and Aerys, who quickly sat next to Viserys to ask him all sorts of questions about the tournament I had forbidden him from attending.
"So, how was it?" Jeyne asked, sitting to my left, while Laena sat a bit farther away, which slightly surprised me—it never usually happened.
Laena almost always sat to my right or beside me, never farther than Jeyne.
But since they both looked perfectly natural, I didn't say anything.
'Looks like they made some sort of arrangement between them,' I thought, watching how easily Laena acted like nothing was out of the ordinary.
I didn't dwell on it—it was between them. As long as they were both satisfied with their little deal, it wasn't my concern.
"It was quite satisfying to watch from the royal box," I said in response to Jeyne's question, then added,
"Everything's going smoothly, and everyone seems to be enjoying the tournament a lot."
"This will raise your prestige," Jeyne noted with a slight nod.
I nodded too, even though I was honestly holding back a shrug—I couldn't care less.
I didn't need the love of the people, at least not the love of the nobles of the Seven Kingdoms.
'They'll always do whatever is best for them and for their Houses, in the end,' I thought.
'Very few people are truly loyal.'
"Gunthor said Aegon and Cregan both qualified together with ease," Jeyne said, clearly watching my reaction.
'Her suspicion toward them hasn't budged a bit,' I thought, also noticing she seemed eager to bring up any subject for conversation.
I smiled, not pointing out the note of distrust in her tone when she emphasized that Aegon and Cregan had qualified together, and I said,
"They fought well—just as I taught them."
Jeyne raised her eyebrows slightly, saying nothing, and just as she seemed ready to drop the subject and enjoy the rest of the meal in silence, I caught Laena's inquisitive gaze.
I didn't need to speak to understand what she wanted, so I added softly,
"But if you really want to know, I'm not sure things will continue to go so well for Aegon."
"Why?" she asked, signaling to the maid to stop filling Aerys's plate.
I smiled and said, "Look at the fighters—you'll understand."
Jeyne frowned and watched them closely, then widened her eyes and looked at me in surprise.
"They're going to clash that openly?"
I shrugged—I didn't understand why the Greens and Blacks were so openly at odds either—and said,
"I don't think it was Alicent's idea, but all I know is… blood will be spilled."
"You're letting this happen?" Jeyne asked in a surprised tone, aware this could hurt my image.
So was I—but unlike her, I didn't care in the slightest.
I said nothing in response, because I didn't give a damn about what people said behind my back.
All I cared about was power.
Real power—the kind that can raise or destroy empires.
'Everything else is meaningless,' I told myself.
Jeyne added, facing my impassive silence,
"This will hurt your image if nobles die in the arena during a tournament you organized."
"This isn't a game—it's a melee," I finally replied, then continued in a low voice so no eavesdroppers could hear,
"If they're not ready to suffer or risk their lives in combat, they have no business being in this tournament—let alone becoming knights, especially not knights knighted by the king himself."
She nodded and seemed like she wanted to say more, but our conversation was cut short by Viserys, who stood up and said:
"Before I let you all enjoy the feast, I'd like to say a few words to the man we're honoring during this tournament…"
'Here we go again with another useless, hypocritical speech…' I thought, forcing myself not to roll my eyes at the 'kindness' and 'gentleness' of our 'good' King Viserys.
---
-A few hours later-
-POV Laena Targaryen-
"Stop running!" Rhaena yelled at her sister, who was much faster than her.
Baela just laughed, overjoyed to have once again escaped her sister—even though she had found her hiding spot.
I smiled, watching them so happy despite the toxic air they'd been breathing at court lately, which we were trying our best to shield them from.
'It proves we've done a good job of protecting them from all this,' I thought, happily watching Aerys sneaking up on Baela from her blind spot.
"If I'd known you'd struggle this much to assert yourself against that girl, I wouldn't have encouraged Aemon to get close to her," said a voice I didn't even need to identify—I had known it all my life.
"Always a pleasure, mother," I replied, not letting her ruin my moment.
"You should be with your husband at that damn tournament instead of playing nursemaid. You're the Princess of Runestone," she said with a frown.
I stopped myself from rolling my eyes to avoid being rude and answered in a much softer, calmer tone:
"I'm not playing nursemaid—I just prefer watching my daughters grow and play than indulging the pride of the men fighting in the arena to impress the court ladies."
My mother scoffed and replied coldly,
"Don't give me that nonsense, Laena. I know you like I made you—wait, I did make you. So I know exactly how full of crap that speech was."
I smiled, fully aware my lies wouldn't fool her.
But I didn't want to talk about Aemon and Jeyne with my mother—I knew she wouldn't see it objectively.
Maybe it was the impending return of Father and his mistress that had her on edge, but she definitely wasn't in the right mindset to give advice.
So I said, "Then if you know me so well, you must already know why I'm here."
"Submitting to your rival won't earn her respect. You're just giving her more strength to tip the balance—and when she outweighs you in Aemon's heart, she'll crush you," my mother said, clearly projecting her own story onto mine.
Even if I was irritated, I kept my composure and said,
"Aemon and I are bound far more deeply than you could imagine."
'He would never betray me—he always takes my feelings into account,' I added to myself.
Mother smiled silently for a moment, then shook her head.
Then she said,
"Believe me, the love you feel for him is likely much greater than the love he has for you. Trust my experience—you won't want to see the day another woman takes what is rightfully yours."
'And here we are,' I thought.
"Father didn't replace you," I said softly, trying to cheer her up as I watched the proud, cold mask crack—letting all her bitterness spill through.
'It breaks my heart to see her like this,' I thought, pitying her, though I made sure not to show it.
Mother, however, snapped back:
"And why do you think that is?"
I was speechless, but she didn't wait for me to respond before continuing,
"The real reason is simple—he can't. I'm too important to him. Without me, your father and House Velaryon are nothing, and they'd have no dragon."
I frowned, disagreeing with her, but I stayed silent—it was their business, not mine.
'She's speaking out of anger. She's not in her right mind. This year, Father didn't even send her a gift for her name day…'
But Mother didn't stop there and added,
"Unfortunately for you, Laena—even though you were once the rider of the greatest dragon still alive—you lost that status the moment Urrax surpassed the old queen. Aemon doesn't need Vhagar anymore. So if your rival sinks her claws deep enough into him that he forgets who he is and what binds you… he won't hesitate—not even a little. Men are the weaker sex."
I calmed the rising anger in me—she couldn't understand what Aemon and I shared.
So I simply answered in a flat tone, ending the discussion for good:
"I don't agree with you."
Mother shook her head and then said as she got up,
"I just hope you won't have to endure the humiliation your father made me suffer before you finally wake up."