-Chapter 156-
-POV Ormund Hightower-
"What are we supposed to do now?" the Queen asked, addressing me.
She may have been trying to hide her hands in the long sleeves of her beautiful green gown, but I could clearly see her scratching the skin near her nails.
'A habit my cousin has never let go of, despite the years, it seems,' I thought as I observed her slightly.
"What more do you want me to do?" I asked calmly, taking a sip of the sweet Gold Arbor wine.
The Queen looked scandalized by my tone and pointed out the obvious:
"He has decided to have him executed—and on a holy day!"
"Hmm… he has more backbone than I expected," I said, genuinely surprised by the punishment. Because not only was he executing him, but he was turning it into a spectacle.
'Not to mention the provocation to the Faith, which has been fighting for moons to sway public opinion in my uncle's favor,' I thought.
'He is definitely ready to settle things once and for all, to destroy the influence we hold over the masses,' I dreaded, wondering how far the dragon's fire would burn.
'I just hope it only burns peasants,' I told myself, for even though there was no proof of our collusion, that would not stop him.
'Half, if not all, of the evidence in this public farce was falsified,' I thought.
"If he executes him, then the whole realm will turn against us," Queen Alicent said, struggling more and more to hide her panic.
"No, the whole realm will turn against House Targaryen," corrected my cousin Bryndon.
That was too much for my cousin, who said in a firm tone, furrowing her brows:
"I would remind you that I am also part of this House, given that I am married to its Lord and that my children are—"
"Your children are nothing more than the bastards of the King's Hightower whore," I said coldly, shocking my cousin, who did not appreciate the tone I had just taken with her.
"Am I wrong? Haven't you given His Majesty three sons?" I asked, and before she could answer, I continued:
"Then why is his daughter still the heir to the throne?"
"You had over a decade to be a Queen, and your failure condemned your father," I added.
"I did everything in my power to help my uncle, but I cannot work miracles. Even Prince Aemon is now waging war against all the true believers of the realm, turning your father into a martyr by his own hand."
"It is no longer a question of whether your father will survive, but whether our House will survive what is coming," I said, for I had no illusions. Unlike my uncle, I knew perfectly well that we could never defeat Aemon in a war.
"What do you mean?" Bryndon asked, clearly not understanding anything, which made me roll my eyes before saying:
"Once the execution takes place, riots will break out across the realm. The faithful will be furious, and the septons as well. Some secret orders of pious knights might even take up arms and incite a rebellion. If that kind of spark catches in the field, it could very quickly spiral out of control."
"Then we simply order the septons to—"
"Do you really think I can just control all the septons in the realm with a snap of my fingers?" I asked, finding that these two had no real understanding of how the world actually worked.
"The influence our House holds over the Faith is extremely volatile, just as it is at its highest level within the Citadel," I said before quickly adding:
"I can steer this boat in the direction I want, but I cannot turn it back. Once the path is taken, all we can do… is pray."
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-POV Aemon Targaryen-
"Lord Hand," said Harlon Greyjoy as he entered my solar.
I smiled, then gestured to the seat across from me and said as I finished pouring wine into two cups:
"So, did you enjoy the show?"
"I would have appreciated more respect."
"I understand perfectly, just as I would have preferred not to force you into remaining completely loyal to the Crown."
The lord smirked, then said in a clearly mocking tone:
"To the Crown, or to you?"
"To the dragon you fear the most," I replied, not bothering with pretense while still withholding the answer he was expecting.
That response silenced him, so I decided to change the subject:
"As promised, your life was spared. But from now on, I will not tolerate any more violations of the realm's territories… unless they are ordered by me. Is that clear?"
"Unless ordered by you, hmm…" Harlon Greyjoy repeated, still using that slightly mocking tone before finally nodding.
"I dislike the culture of the Ironborn, and to be completely honest with you, it disgusts me to the highest degree. But I believe we may need a mobile Iron Fleet that can serve as the Crown's spearhead," I said, being as candid as possible.
He raised an eyebrow, intrigued, and asked, "What exactly are you thinking?"
"I intend to send part of the Iron Fleet to seize the Basilisk Isles, to establish an outpost and, perhaps eventually, a port belonging exclusively to the Seven Kingdoms."
"A bold ambition… but perhaps too great for you. Volantis will not allow it, nor will Dorne, the Triarchy, or the remnants of the Ghiscari," he said before adding:
"It's obvious you don't intend to use the power of your dragons to accomplish this conquest. So I'd like to know how the Iron Fleet is supposed to face all these enemies."
"You have already faced my new fleet in the Stepstones," I said before adding:
"Very soon, I will announce the construction of a royal fleet, as well as its recruitment, with the goal of reclaiming the Stepstones from the Pirate King of the Narrow Sea, Saabhos Saan."
"For what purpose?" he asked, knowing that Saabhos Saan was currently the admiral of my new fleet.
'At least, he commands it as a privateer for now, since I have no one in my ranks who truly understands naval warfare,' I thought.
"A very ambitious goal," I said, thinking back to my strategy to gradually control the world's trade routes.
'Which will allow us to expand House Targaryen's influence,' I thought, though I wasn't being entirely honest.
Because under the guise of House Targaryen, in reality, the one truly controlling all of this was none other than me.
'And the one who will profit the most as well,' I added internally.
"Which is…?" asked the Lord of House Greyjoy, pressing his question.
'A little impatient,' I noted as I observed him.
"To drive Saabhos Saan and his entire fleet toward the Basilisk Isles," I finally explained.
"A haven for all pirates," he said, instantly grasping my intention.
'He is a rather sharp Ironborn,' I thought, surprised by his quick understanding.
I had a rather… unflattering image of the Ironborn.
'Honestly, I thought they were all either stupid, cowardly, or just plain stupid. But they are the complete opposite—or at least this lord in front of me is,' I thought, as so far, he had proven to be clever, brave, and proud.
'Perhaps even arrogant,' I silently added.
"Exactly," I said with a nod.
"So we won't be the main attackers," he said, realizing that I wasn't asking him to launch a direct assault but rather to destabilize the pirate alliances from within.
"No. The Ironborn will land under different banners but in a disunited fashion, and you will ensure that word of the attack does not spread," I said, as it was crucial to prevent this from escalating into a war between the Free Cities and the kingdom should the attack fail.
'And now is certainly not the time for that,' I thought.
'That's why I enlisted two pirates. If they fail, I will simply deny any royal involvement and punish them as an example,' I added, observing the Lord of the Iron Islands, who was now furrowing his brows, likely understanding why I had chosen him for this mission.
"You want us to be your internal strike force to break any potential pirate alliances," Harlon Greyjoy said.
"Exactly," I said, nodding once again.
His frown deepened, and then he said:
"But not everyone will be fooled."
"I'm well aware. But no one will attack a fleet of several hundred ships based on mere suspicions," I said before continuing:
"They will likely wait to see what happens. And by the time they realize what we've accomplished, it will be too late."
"I assume this is only the first step," he said, understanding that I hadn't revealed the entirety of my plan. The Basilisk Isles had immense value for the pirates, but for us, not so much.
'At least, not yet,' I thought.
"You assume correctly," I said with a smirk before adding:
"But for now, let's stick to this. We'll see if you prove to be as skilled a strategist at sea as you are on land."
"You don't need to be a strategist to choose your side," the Lord of the Iron Islands said in turn.
I raised an eyebrow, confused by what seemed so obvious to him, then he added:
"You just have to look up."
I had expected a more elaborate response, but his simplicity surprised me.
Still, it made me smile, so I nodded while gesturing toward the exit. He bowed deeply before leaving without another word.
'One down,' I thought, knowing that from now on, I would have to meet with each of the Lords of the Great Houses of the realm, one by one.