-Chapter 187-
-3rd POV-
While the princely children played in the gardens under the watchful eyes of the adults who were all seated together beneath the protection of numerous screens, pretending to get along and trying to bridge the gap that power and distance had placed between them, a man approached the large family gathering with a grim expression.
The man stopped a few meters away and looked at his master, silently indicating through his mere presence that he possessed urgent information.
Aemon frowned and said to his uncle in an apologetic tone, "Please excuse me."
King Viserys, who wasn't particularly eager to speak with his nephew — the latter having been on edge since the death of his wife's brother — was relieved and excused him with a smile, taking refuge in the comforting smile of his wife, unaware that she was the one he should be most wary of.
"An urgent matter?" asked the Prince, frowning, as he had assigned Robar Hawkeye to monitor the tunnels for the safety of his family.
Robar nodded and was about to speak when suddenly, people began to draw closer to them as if nothing was amiss, continuing their conversations or trimming hedges and bushes, forcing him to fall silent.
Prince Aemon furrowed his brows even deeper, realizing the weight of the information, before turning and saying coldly to all the little spies trying to overhear the conversation between the two men:
"Clear off now or I'll personally make sure your ears are cut off."
Faced with the Prince's furious gaze — who was now not only a Prince but also the Hand of the King and the most powerful man in the realm — everyone, nobles and servants alike, quickly backed away, giving the two men space to speak in private.
---
-POV Alicent Hightower-
"We could send Aemond to Lord Tully."
"Why?" I asked, despite knowing perfectly well that he was once again trying to draw closer to Lord Tully since his sons had shown interest in her during that tournament.
'By trying to take my eldest's life,' I thought, struggling not to scratch at my skin with my nails.
"House Tully, though with a short history as a ruling house, is still an honorable one with a great lineage, they…"
I stopped listening to Viserys' usual blather because I knew I was still Aemond's mother and, in the end, I would be the one to decide where my son would go.
Viserys was far too weak to oppose me publicly.
He might defend Rhaenyra tooth and nail, but that little ingrate didn't realize how lucky she was, and I was the only solid support Viserys still leaned on, desperate not to appear weak.
'Perhaps he's the only one who doesn't know that everyone has known what he truly is for ages,' I thought, focusing on Aemon, who looked agitated, coldly turning away all the spies and curious little minds trying to catch a word from his conversation with his spymaster-chief-of-the-mountain-savages.
I was surprised by a furtive glance from that man, and for a second, I narrowed my eyes.
I reached out to Viserys as I stood, tacitly asking him to continue the discussion while walking, and from the corner of my eye, I looked over my husband's shoulder to read the lips of the savage, who was no longer looking at me.
Lip-reading was a skill I had acquired the moment I became Queen.
No one spoke to me anymore, but everyone spoke about me.
So, to always be aware of what the little and old gossips said about me, I spied on their conversations, trying to understand their words by reading their lips.
'I… have to monitor with… rats the… of the Queen and her…'
My heart beat faster and faster as I caught pieces of their conversation from his lips.
Viserys stepped in front of me and asked, "Are you listening to me?"
I smiled, then said, "Yes, I will think about it. It's simply a complicated decision for me to make. I've already sacrificed Aegon."
"Oh but my dear, this is not a question of sacrifice, but of…"
I turned my attention away from Viserys to continue spying on Aemon and his barbarian spy.
This time, reading the barbarian's lips, my heart didn't just beat faster — it stopped completely.
"Alicent!" shouted Viserys, catching me before I collapsed. I could hear him, but I remained dazed, frozen by the spy's words.
'It's the Queen's brother.'
---
-POV Aemon Targaryen-
"It's the Queen's brother."
I stood there in shock, never imagining Laenor would be killed at the hands of such a second-rate man.
I repeated, stunned, barely believing it: "Bryndon Highto…"
"Alicent!!?"
I was interrupted by my uncle's cry, drawing my attention for a second.
Alicent had collapsed, and the servants were waving fans frantically in all directions.
I quickly lost interest in her, then asked Robar, still surprised by what he had just told me, "Bryndon had Laenor killed?"
"Hmm," Robar said, nodding silently.
"Why?" I asked, unaware of any grudge between the two that could lead to one's death.
"Did he do it to avenge Aegon's attack?" I asked without letting him answer the previous question.
"He claims so, but I get the feeling it was done specifically to hurt you."
"Me?"
"I believe his real objective was to hurt you by harming your wife."
I frowned, then clenched my fists, glancing toward Bryndon Hightower from the corner of my eye as he escorted his sister inside.
"Are you sure?" I asked in a low, cold tone.
"It was very clear," Robar replied.
I took a deep breath, then made my way to Laena and Jeyne, who were talking with noblewomen from the Westerlands.
"Excuse me, but I have a few words to say to my ladies in private," I said, abruptly interrupting the ladies' conversation.
Surprised for a moment, no one reacted, but eventually, they all left, quickly bowing.
"What's going on?" Jeyne asked, frowning, clearly annoyed.
"I've found out who killed Laenor," I said outright, unable to find a better way to announce it, so I went with the simplest, most direct approach.
"Who?" Laena asked, standing up from her chair, her expression unreadable as too many emotions flickered across her face.
I couldn't tell what she was feeling in that moment, and it made me even more afraid to tell her.
'I'm going to have to eliminate all the Hightowers at this rate,' I thought, irritated, because they still had a place in my plan to strengthen my grip on the realm.
'But well, I can't overlook this — he signed his death warrant, and if the Hightowers don't understand, they'll join Otto and his sons.'
"Bryndon Hightower, the Queen's brother."