-Chapter 133-
-POV Johanna Swann-
"You took your ti. I almost fell asleep," said Aemon as he saw enter the private salon where I received my distinguished guests.
I smiled and replied as I continued to approach him:
"Was the wait worth it?"
"Always, for such a beautiful lady," he said, standing up and taking the hand I offered to him to kiss lightly. Then he turned to the boy accompanying him and gently pulled him forward by the shoulders.
Seeing his raven-black hair and violet eyes, I instantly knew who he was.
"Do you recognize him?" he asked .
I wasn't listening anymore, as I had knelt down to my son's height.
I cupped his cheeks in my hands, trying hard not to let my tears fall under the overwhelming emotion of the mont.
"My son," I murmured, brushing away a few strands of hair covering his face.
He turned, confused, first to his older brother and then back to , asking, visibly uneasy with my sudden closeness:
"You're my mother?"
'To him, I'm just a stranger,' I thought, fully understanding his discomfort.
I nodded, and he almost imdiately responded, his tone barely able to mask the resentnt he felt toward :
"Why did you abandon ?"
'He must have been mocked as a bastard all his life,' I thought, empathizing with his resentnt toward .
"I am truly sorry, my son. I had no choice. I would have given anything to raise you, but I was a prisoner…"
"I'll leave you two. Could you ask one of your servants to show around?" Aemon interrupted, giving so privacy.
"Evelyn, give the Prince a tour and ensure all his questions are answered," I said, nodding in gratitude that he allowed this ti with my son instead of pressing about urgent matters we needed to discuss.
"This way, my Prince," Evelyn said.
"See you later," Aemon said as he turned to follow Evelyn.
"Co, sit down. We have much to talk about, Baelon," I said, offering him a seat beside on my chair.
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-POV Aemon Targaryen-
'It's truly magnificent,' I thought as I observed the House of the Black Swan.
"You're originally from Westeros, aren't you?" I asked Johanna's lady-in-waiting.
"That's correct, my Prince," the young woman replied.
'Ravishing beauty, like all the young won working here,' I thought, observing the gardeners, servants, and companions.
'Not to ntion the courtesans,' I thought, noticing a few won watching from a balcony as though I were a delectable piece of at.
'They have a keen nose,' I mused, sensing all eyes were on .
'They don't know who I am, but they all sense that I'm more important than anyone else who has entered this place,' I thought, finding the House of the Black Swan far different from what I had imagined.
"It's a pleasure house on an entirely different level."
"We are not a pleasure house," Evelyn imdiately retorted.
Despite the abruptness of her response, she maintained perfect composure to avoid sounding inappropriate.
"My apologies if I offended you," I said, unaffected by her remark, as I continued to idly observe my surroundings.
'I could create sothing like this in Westeros,' I thought.
"You didn't offend ," Evelyn replied, then added, "The House of the Black Swan does not employ prostitutes. You won't see any man behaving inappropriately in public."
"And in private?" I asked, cutting her off mid-sentence.
Evelyn stopped abruptly, turned to face , and said, staring directly into my eyes:
"Every swan has the right to a private life. No swan is paid for sleeping with soone. We do not provide that kind of service."
"Very well. Then how does Johanna manage to maintain this lifestyle while supporting all the swans in this establishnt?" I asked.
"The swans use every charm at their disposal to captivate n, but…"
"They don't sleep with them," I finished for her, then added, "But you don't stop your swans from enjoying themselves with whover they wish, gaining information, favors, or leveraging their relationships."
Evelyn said nothing more, confirming that I had hit the mark.
'It's rather ingenious,' I thought, admiring how Johanna navigated Lys's treacherous waters, rife with influential families and Magisters, without making enemies.
"Not bad at all," I finally said.
"We've arrived. Behind this door is the man you sent as a ssenger," Evelyn inford .
As I reached for the door handle, I asked casually:
"Did he approach any of your swans?"
Caught off guard by the question, she looked at wide-eyed before finally shaking her head.
I nodded and said, "Thank you for guiding ."
"It was a pleasure, my Prince," she said, bowing deeply.
I entered the room to find Ser Willem standing straight as a rod, his hands clasped behind his back.
As soon as he saw , he gave a slight bow and said:
"My Prince."
I closed the door behind and observed him for a mont.
He seed tense but resolute.
'It's true I trained him like all the Bronze Shields. Initially, I intended for him to hold a high rank in my order of knights,' I thought.
"You have completed your mission, Willem," I declared, pausing briefly before adding in a solemn tone:
"I will fulfill the promise I made to you before your departure."
His eyes widened in surprise.
"You're serious?!" he asked, disbelief written all over his face.
I rolled my eyes. I wasn't doing this out of generosity, but because it was the best course of action to solve several of my problems.
'By acting as my ssenger, he untangled a delicate situation I had gotten myself into.'
'Thanks to him, I secure the Stepstones, establish myself in Lys, gain Baelon, and perhaps even another dragon. Most importantly… my mother.'
I took a deep breath, feeling a sense of satisfaction.
"I gave my word. From now on, you are officially part of the Bronze Shields," I said, pulling an object from an embroidered pocket in my doublet.
Willem looked at the object, intrigued, as I tossed it to him.
Once he realized what it was, he looked back at , even more bewildered.
"You're sure?" he asked hesitantly.
I narrowed my eyes slightly and replied coldly:
"If you betray , I'll have you beheaded. Make no mistake… Commander."
His eyes widened further at the title, fully grasping the weight of what I had just done.
I sat down in a chair, closed my eyes, and crossed my arms, leaving Willem to process the fact that I had just appointed him as the Commander of the Bronze Lances.
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