-Chapter 172-
-POV Artor Rosby-
I observed the participants in the final round of the squires' lee around with so concern.
Since we had left the Red Keep, two groups had ford and isolated themselves, never taking their eyes off each other.
And among these groups, the majority were from the Riverlands and the other from the Reach.
"Do you feel it too, young lord?" Rupert, one of the two squires currently accompanying and serving as my right-hand man, asked.
'Even though he won't be anymore once my father or his joins the Stranger,' I thought.
Although I appreciated the obedience Rupert and Hubert showed to my every command, as well as their skill in combat, I knew perfectly well that they were not people I could rely on in the future to govern and improve my lands.
"Hmm," I muttered, slightly surprised that one of them had actually used his head to observe the situation around us.
'Though they are formidable in combat, they are incapable of thinking more than a second before acting,' I thought, convinced I would keep them both at my service as sworn shields, but without entrusting them with any real responsibilities in the new administrative system of my future lands.
I was possibly considering softening this by appointing them to lead a small group of elite knights forming a light guard, much like Prince Aemon's Bronze Shields, so as not to harm their loyalty to or make them feel devalued.
'Even if we can't really compare the light guards of the Prince's territories to ours,' I thought, slightly ridiculing myself.
Even if I decided to follow a strict military strengthening policy, I could only gather about 300 cavalryn to form a guard.
'And even then, half wouldn't be knights,' I thought, before pushing away the thoughts to focus on watching my cousin.
"FIGHTERS, ENTER THE ARENA. THE HAND OF THE KING, PRINCE OF THE VALE, RIDER OF THE GREATEST LIVING DRAGON URRAX, WILL ADDRESS YOU," the herald shouted with an authoritative tone.
I frowned, disliking the tone taken by that filthy commoner, but I said nothing.
'Prince Aemon would never have reacted to such a provocation,' I thought, deciding to act as the man I aspired to resemble would have.
The Prince rose from his seat and stepped to the edge of the royal box, addressing us with a voice that was powerful yet soft, which was extrely unsettling:
"First, I would like to congratulate all of you who have made it this far. You are all excellent fighters and deserve the title of squire. So, for those who aren't already and still reached this point, I officially bestow that title upon you."
The commoners who had entered the tournant all began smiling as if they had won.
I paid no attention to these displays of joy for a title that most of us earned as soon as we could properly ride a horse on our own.
I had far greater ambitions.
'To be knighted by the King himself and attract Prince Aemon's attention to enter his service.'
Warm applause erupted from all directions, and even though I found it absurd to grant the title of squire to commoners who probably couldn't even ride properly but only fight as savagely as possible, I clapped very hard for Prince Aemon as well.
'I'd bet my hand that half of them aren't better horsen than the youngest of our pages,' I thought, watching the newly made squires with a disdainful look.
"As for the rest, I have nothing more to say, because surely you all desire only one thing…" the Prince said without finishing his sentence, but he didn't need to, because victory was on all our minds.
'At least for most of us,' I thought, glancing again at the camps of squires from the Riverlands and the Reach, still sizing each other up, now joined by several squires from the Stormlands and the Crownlands.
Not far from , I saw my cousin heading toward the Riverlands group, so I called out to him:
"Eldrick, what's going on?"
Eldrick thought for a mont before quickly coming over to and whispered:
"The Greens against the Blacks."
I frowned and then noticed he wore a slightly brownish armband.
'What a fool, he's going to get himself killed,' I thought.
I furiously whispered to my cousin:
"Prince Aemon forbade any kind of rivalry between the Queen's and the Princess's factions. If this gets out, you'll all be executed, no matter your status."
"I know, but no one asked for my opinion. I was ordered to," he said, his eyes shining briefly with fear before hardening.
"Who ordered you?" I asked, surprised to know who could have had such influence over him that he looked ready to see it through no matter the cost.
He slightly frowned, lowered his visor, and turned without saying a word.
I grabbed his arm firmly and was about to press him further because I didn't want to see him die for nothing, but he said coldly:
"I am rely obeying my father's wishes. I can say no more."
He shook free from my grip and quickly ran toward the twenty or so squires who had gathered, all with their eyes set on Prince Aegon.
'Surely they wouldn't dare try to assassinate Prince Aegon in the lee?!' I wondered, not really understanding what they had in mind.
'But if that's truly the case, what should I do?' I asked myself, unsure of what was expected of .
'Only a mber of the royal family could order the death of a Prince during the Hand's Tournant. Prince Aemon might want to discreetly eliminate male heirs to take power smoothly, but he couldn't rally the heir of House Tully or the cousin of House Fort's heir.'
'Thus, there is only one person who could both benefit from the Prince's death and have the influence to move the heirs of Tully and Simon Fort: the Princess heir.'
"LET THE BATTLE FOR FINAL VICTORY BEGIN, MAY THE WARRIOR GUIDE EACH OF YOUR STEPS," the herald shouted as the horns signaling the start of the battle sounded.
'If I help the Prince, I'll imdiately be identified as an enemy by the Princess's faction. I'll have to fight my cousin, and my House will be plunged into turmoil,' I thought, rembering the latest political shifts in the Crownlands.
After the Queen's father's imprisonnt, the Princess had done her best to destroy the positions he had established in the hearts of the Crownlands' lords, and many of them had turned against the Greens to join the Blacks.
'And it beca even more evident after Otto Hightower's death. If I intervene, I'll isolate my house from the others,' I thought, reluctant to act.
'But if I let the Prince die, does that make their accomplice?'
"What should we do?" Rupert asked urgently, not knowing who to attack.
I frowned deeply, took a deep breath, and decided to charge into the battle:
"Follow ."
'Let's hope I made the right decision,' I thought, imploring the Seven to protect and guide .
---
-POV Aemon Targaryen-
Watching the boldness with which the bloc of Rhaenyra's supporters charged straight at Aegon and Cregan without even bothering to fight the enemies in their way, my brow furrowed because I didn't like having my authority questioned, and that's exactly what was happening.
'They're not even pretending,' I thought, observing the situation from the royal box.
I didn't turn to look at Rhaenyra, but I knew perfectly well she had orchestrated everything to set a trap for her half-brother, already aware of his participation in the event.
'But I can't complain, it's who decided to slowly take control of the kingdom, so I must not imagine she'll just sit back and do nothing to block my path,' I thought, since I was counting on Aegon to stand against Rhaenyra and weaken Viserys's lineage as much as possible, while slowly uniting Daemon's bloodline around .
"She's not seriously going to try to make the court believe she knew nothing about all this, is she?" Jeyne asked, leaning in to whisper softly in my ear so no one could hear.
I smiled and motioned for her to co closer, then I whispered in her ear:
"Knowledge of what?"
Jeyne turned to , confused, and I motioned for her to co closer once more.
When she did, I whispered to my second wife:
"They're all wearing colors similar to those of the queen and the princess, but that's not proof, because the shades and colors are slightly different. So commoners are wearing similar colors too, and they certainly had no knowledge of any of this."
'Which surely is also part of Rhaenyra's plan,' I thought, recalling the incident with Ulf.
Looking back, there was no doubt that's why the Greens had tried to bait Ulf with a favor in the queen's colors.
The Greens must have realized she was about to attempt sothing during the tournant and tried to involve so I would deal with Rhaenyra for them.
I turned my gaze to Alicent, who was staring wide-eyed at the Blacks charging toward her son, just like Viserys, who looked both scandalized and stunned.
"But the one who delivers the fatal blow will surely be executed. To save their own lives, they'll have no choice but to na the one who ordered it," Jeyne whispered again, our behavior slowly drawing attention.
I shook my head and said, "The heirs of the great lords of the Riverlands and the Reach will all be involved, and none of them will ever agree to be condemned for this, especially after Aegon's death. In the chaos, who can say how Aegon died?"
Jeyne frowned, unconvinced, and I continued to wrap up my argunt:
"The reason the Blacks are charging at Aegon is simply because they want to create as much chaos as possible so the guilty party can't be found. Since we couldn't kill everyone involved in the fight, because we couldn't prove it was an assassination attempt and not an accident, we would only be able to conclude that Prince Aegon died from an unfortunate wound during the lee. When fifty people fight in the sa place, accidents inevitably happen."
"She's completely insane," Jeyne whispered, casting a quick glance at her cousin before straightening up again to watch the two camps as the hostilities just began.
'She's not insane,' I thought, finding Rhaenyra perfectly lucid, and even thinking her underhanded tactics were improving with ti.
'Maybe she's learning from being around and finally using her brain,' I thought, mocking my cousin who had relied far too long on her status but was now sensing danger.
'Unfortunately, it's much too late for you, dear cousin, because no matter who sits on the Iron Throne, I will rule the kingdom once Viserys is gone.'
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