In the queen's chambers in Maegor's Holdfast, Ser Otto didn't even spare a glance for the heads of his two nephews who had died fighting for them.
His attention was entirely focused on two slightly bloodstained pieces of parchment.
Meanwhile, Queen Alicent, Aegon, Aemond, Criston, and other core members of the Green Party sat or stood quietly, waiting for him to finish reading the letters.
"Both letters contain the same content.
Simply put, they are both threats from Jacaerys Velaryon.
The thousands of eyes in that box are a small compensation for Joffrey Velaryon.
He warns us that if we harm his three younger brothers again, he will ride his dragon and burn every castle belonging to the lords who support us in the Seven Kingdoms to the ground."
Bang!
Aegon, who was sitting at the table, stood up immediately after hearing this, slamming the table.
He said sharply, "Thousands of eyes are compensation for Joffrey?
They killed Maelor, and I want them to pay with thousands of lives!
Dare to threaten us?
I'll go kill that youngest 'Strong' right now.
And send his body as a gift."
"Aegon, that's enough, don't be ridiculous!"
Alicent frowned and stopped Aegon, who was about to leave, then turned to her father and asked,
"Besides the threat, is there anything else?
For example, did he propose any terms for peace talks?"
"No, he has no intention of negotiating peace with us at all."
Ser Otto shook his head and replied, then turned to the indignant Aegon and continued,
"The plan was to first eliminate Jacaerys's fleet, and then summon the lords of the Seven Kingdoms to swear allegiance to Aegon and crown him.
Now it seems this war will not end anytime soon.
We must have Aegon sit on the Iron Throne immediately, and then, in the name of the King, summon the vassals of the Seven Kingdoms to Encirclement and suppression the traitors."
"Sunfyre fell into the sea and died; Aegon has no dragon now.
And I have the most powerful dragon in the world, Vhagar!"
Aemond, who had been standing quietly in the corner with Criston, suddenly interrupted at this point.
Although he didn't say the rest of his thoughts aloud, everyone present wasn't foolish and could hear the intention to contend for the Iron Throne in his words.
Aegon's mouth twitched, and he finally couldn't control his emotions, shouting loudly, "Aemond, I've tolerated you for a long time.
Where were you when Jacaerys and Lucerys were besieging me and Sunfyre with two dragons?
Were you thinking of killing me and Sunfyre back then, and then seizing the Iron Throne?"
"I was carrying out my grandfather's orders at the time, burning Jacaerys's fleet's supply ships.
What, are you going to blame your incompetent defeat on me?"
Seeing that the two brothers were about to clash, Queen Alicent immediately looked anxious.
But blood is thicker than water, she turned to look at her father, tilting her head to signal him to intervene.
"Alright, stop arguing!
Aemond, according to the succession law of the Iron Throne, the eldest son is the first in line.
Law is law, and we must strictly enforce it.
Only in this way can we ensure the stability and order of King's Landing and the Seven Kingdoms!"
Although Ser Otto believed Aemond was a more capable child, he was very clear on how to play the game of power in the Seven Kingdoms.
If Aemond were to truly bypass Aegon and sit on the Iron Throne, he would inevitably be criticized just like Rhaenyra.
Even many lords who should have supported them would turn to the Blacks because of this.
"But the order in the Seven Kingdoms is already unstable, and a great war is about to break out.
And in times of war, everyone will want a more powerful ruler.
Just like 'Aegon the Conqueror'!
He unified the Seven Kingdoms and forged the Iron Throne.
He relied not on the law of succession, but on Balerion the Black Dread!"
Criston, who had been silent from beginning to end, suddenly spoke up to refute Ser Otto.
If it were in the past, it wouldn't matter to him which of Queen Alicent's sons ascended the Iron Throne.
But after the assassination in the Red Keep and the Battle of Shipbreaker Bay, he understood that dragons were the most important.
The news of Jacaerys relying on his dragon to burn seas and destroy cities in the Three Daughters Kingdom has now spread throughout the Seven Kingdoms.
To deal with Rhaenyra, this incredibly cruel eldest son, a king who has lost his dragon will not suffice.
"Hmm?
Where do you have a place to speak here?
Perform your duty, go guard the gate, White Knight!"
Ser Otto raised an eyebrow upon hearing this and unceremoniously rebuked Criston.
Although he was one of the core members of the Green Party, in terms of status, he was just an ordinary White Knight from a commoner background.
"Cole is my teacher and has served my mother loyally all these years.
Not long ago, he personally eliminated the damned Lyman Beesbury for us, intimidating the ministers of the entire Small Council.
Why is he not qualified to speak?
Lord Hand, besides orchestrating this failed encirclement, what else have you done?"
Seeing Criston, who spoke for him, being insulted, Aemond immediately retorted to his grandfather without reservation.
Ever since Aegon, along with Jacaerys and Lucerys, mocked him with 'Pink Dread' when he was a child.
There had been a rift between him and Aegon; their previous cooperation was to deal with the even more detestable 'Strong'.
Now that their core interests clashed and Ser Otto had clearly taken Aegon's side, what was there to be polite about?
"You don't need to know what I've done.
You just need to be grateful that you can stand here and question me now."
Ser Otto, who was being questioned, did not get angry, but instead said to Aemond with a half-smile,
"Oh, by the way, Aemond, you haven't forgotten what you did, have you?"
Upon hearing this, Aemond knew what Ser Otto was referring to.
Just as they had discussed before, the lords of the Seven Kingdoms would not accept Jacaerys, who had burned the lands of the Boggs Family.
Similarly, if Ser Otto revealed the truth of this matter, he, the true culprit behind the scenes, could also forget about sitting on the Iron Throne.
"Ser Criston, please step outside for a moment!"
Suddenly, Queen Alicent, with a frosty face, spoke in an unquestionable tone.
"Mother…"
Aemond wanted to say something more, but Criston grabbed his wrist and stopped him.
After giving him a look, Criston turned and walked out of the queen's chambers.
When only the four of them remained in the room, Queen Alicent said, "Aegon, Aemond, we are close relatives with the same blood.
We should unite and together deal with the enemy who killed your father.
Aemond, your father told me before he died that he wanted Aegon to inherit the Iron Throne.
So please respect his dying wish, okay?"
"…"
Aemond did not speak further upon hearing this, his eyes flickering, unsure of what he was thinking.
Seeing him acquiesce, Queen Alicent immediately began discussing the arrangements for Aegon's coronation tomorrow with her father.
She hoped everyone in King's Landing would witness this grand event, and have Aegon wear the Conqueror's crown and hold the Conqueror's Valyrian steel longsword, Blackfyre.
Ser Otto had no objections to her proposals, only suggesting the Dragonpit as the location for the coronation.
The reason was that the walls of the Dragonpit were very sturdy, enough to withstand a sudden attack from Jacaerys's side.
Moreover, it was close by, making it convenient for Aemond to ride Vhagar to counterattack if anything happened.
The matter of the coronation was thus settled, and the three of them also got up and left the queen's chambers.
Perhaps because he had been humiliated earlier, Criston was not standing guard at the door.
Ser Otto, who had many matters to attend to, didn't pay attention and walked directly towards the Tower of the Hand on the left.
Meanwhile, Aegon and Aemond walked together towards the royal living quarters on the right.
As they were about to reach their rooms, Aegon, with a face full of excitement, suddenly said with a laugh, "Heh heh, my dear brother, what does it matter if you have the most powerful dragon in the world?
Remember to keep your eyes wide open and watch my coronation tomorrow, and see clearly the King you will serve from now on!"
Aemond's steps suddenly stopped, but Aegon paid him no mind, laughing heartily as he pushed open the door and returned to his room.
After standing still for a while, Aemond continued walking, but he did not return to his own room.
Instead, he left Maegor's Holdfast and quietly came to the Traitors' Corridor in the Red Keep's dungeon.
The Master of Laws, the Master of Coin, and the Chief Gaoler resided here.
Knock knock knock!
Aemond knocked on the door of one of the rooms, and Larys Strong, leaning on his cane, opened the door with a smile on his face, with the missing Criston standing beside him.
…
Shipbreaker Bay, Conqueror Fleet Captain's Cabin.
By the time Jacaerys returned from King's Landing, night had already fallen.
After a simple dinner that Lucerys had saved for him, he summoned his generals for a post-battle military meeting.
After encouraging Lucerys, who was a bit nervous about attending this kind of meeting for the first time, Jacaerys said, "Alright, let's each report the battle damage first!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Korman immediately stood up with a smile and reported, "Your Majesty, our Conqueror Fleet lost a total of twenty-six medium and small warships today,
One thousand eight hundred soldiers from the vanguard, and seventy-two Unsullied.
However, we annihilated about four to five thousand enemy troops and captured nine large warships and sixteen medium and small warships."
The vanguard was the official name for the cannon fodder corps, and those eighteen hundred fallen soldiers were the first line of warships in the wedge formation used to lure the House Lannister fleet.
The Unsullied were lost in the boarding action on the oldtown glory.
Judging solely from this casualty ratio, it can be considered a great victory.
After all, the soldiers of the cannon fodder corps were disposable consumables and could be replenished at any time.
After Korman's report, it was Rien's turn, but he couldn't smile.
"Your Majesty, our Valyrian Fleet lost ten large warships, five medium and small warships, and thirteen hundred soldiers.
Fortunately, I took most of the soldiers to engage in the boarding action, otherwise the casualties would have been even greater."
On the Valyrian Fleet's side, except for the flagship, sea snake, all the other large warships were burned by Vhagar.
Now, only more than twenty medium and small warships remain, and this battle can be said to have directly crippled them.
"You've worked hard; I originally intended to place you in a relatively safe rear.
I didn't expect the enemy to abandon one of their dragons and turn directly to attack you.
Rien, I will allocate the nine captured large warships to you, familiarize yourselves with the ships and reorganize the fleet as soon as possible."
Jacaerys, upon hearing this, immediately said with a look of guilt.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, you cannot be blamed for this.
After all, no one could have expected the enemy to make such a choice."
Hearing that he could obtain nine newly captured large warships, Rien's expression improved slightly.
Stone on the side suddenly said, "Your Majesty, we are now facing a serious problem.
After the supply ships were burned by the dragon, the remaining supplies on the fleet are only enough to sustain the remaining eight thousand men for two or three days at most.
And within two or three days, we can't even get out of Shipbreaker Bay."
"Hmm, Stone raised a very good point."
Jacaerys first nodded and praised Stone, then said,
"I have decided to set sail for Storm's End tomorrow morning.
As long as we capture this castle, we can solve our food supply problem and use it as a base to attack King's Landing from both land and sea."
"Brother, I heard that Storm's End is one of the strongest castles in the Seven Kingdoms.
If we attack it by force, I'm afraid many people will die, won't they?"
Hearing Jacaerys's decision, the kind-hearted Prince Lucerys still couldn't help but remind him.
"Prince Lucerys is right.
I once went to Storm's End with Lord Earl, and it is indeed a strong fortress that is difficult to attack by force."
Rien agreed with Prince Lucerys's words and immediately shared the information he knew,
"Storm's End is divided into inner and outer castles.
The thickest part of the outer castle wall is about 100 feet (about 33.3 meters) high and 40 feet (about 13.3 meters) thick.
The wall facing the sea is even 150 feet (about 50 meters) above sea level.
The inner castle is a large tower with sturdy battlements, large enough to accommodate granaries, barracks, armories, halls, and the lord's chambers.
For thousands of years, this strong Storm's End has never been breached!"
Jacaerys smiled mysteriously upon hearing this: "Heh heh, I never thought of attacking Storm's End by force.
Even if we attacked it with two dragons, it would probably be burned to ruins.
Doesn't Bollos Duke like to arrange marriages the most?
I agree!"