-Chapter 93-

-Chapter 93-

-POV Rhea Royce-

“What difference does it make?” I asked him, not understanding the meaning of his sudden question.

“The difference is very simple,” he said, his eyebrows furrowed, subtly indicating that he was seriously annoyed. “For almost a decade now, I’ve been trying to establish a strict hierarchy on my lands where at the very bottom are our servants, then our family, and finally, at the top, there’s us. You were… that is, until I married Laena, the only person with a status nearly equal to mine.”

“Now, explain to me how I should treat a servant who has a relationship with my mother. Should I treat him like a servant, like a family member, or like one of us?” he asked, posing a question to which he wasn’t truly expecting an answer.

“Willem will do whatever you tell him to,” I said, trying to defend Willem.

Aemon nodded and replied, “For a while, or maybe he’ll even faithfully obey all my instructions, but you won’t accept everything I ask of him—don’t even try to deny it.”

“That’s not true,” I said.

“I could deliberately ask any of my knights to die for me, and they would, because I’ve prepared them for it. It’s one of the conditions for being part of the Order of the Bronze Shields, and you know that perfectly well,” he added, increasingly irritated.

‘At least that side of him hasn’t changed; he still manages to express what he feels openly with me,’ I thought distractedly, before being forcefully pulled back to reality.

“I didn’t trust him even before he became your sworn shield, because I knew it was Daemon who was his master. I only kept him on your recommendation after dismissing all the other candidates, as he had always been attentive to us. But… what he did afterward was clearly an abuse of trust. That’s one of the main reasons I still don’t trust him. The other is that I know you have no control over him, and it’s actually he who exercises control over you, to the point that you now absorb his opinions like a sponge,” he said in a measured tone, without raising his voice but visibly very angry.

“I won’t let you talk to me like this, Aemon,” I said, also angry.

“I haven’t disrespected you, mother, but I’m losing confidence in your advice and judgment when you’re near that man, and that trust will only keep diminishing over time,” he said.

“Is that a threat?” I asked, disliking the subtle threat in his words.

Aemon gave a slight, sarcastic laugh before shaking his head and saying, “It’s nothing of the sort. I’m simply explaining honestly and sincerely why I no longer trust you. It’s as simple as that. So, if I stop sharing my plans with you in the future, now you’ll know why.”

“What do you want me to do? If you want me to stop seeing him, just say so,” I said, feeling almost defeated.

“There’s nothing to do and nothing more to say on the subject. I know full well that if you absolutely had to make a choice, you’d choose me, but it would still hurt you not to choose him, and that’s not my goal. Nothing will change between us; you just won’t be consulted on my political and economic plans anymore,” Aemon said.

‘Nothing will change, he says. But that’s practically his whole life. Without that, I’ll be cut off from a huge part of him,’ I thought.

“You want to punish me for not telling you that…” I asked him, not understanding why he had decided this without ever talking to me before.

“It’s not a punishment. It’s simply what was supposed to happen anyway in a few months, at my coming of age and the end of your regency, mother,” Aemon said.

‘He doesn’t even want to talk anymore,’ I realized, feeling Aemon’s tone become slightly more distant.

“Let’s set that aside,” I said, trying to bury everything my son had just told me deep in my mind to focus on the more urgent matter.

Aemon calmly nodded, waiting to hear what I had to say.

“I spoke with Uncle Yohn, and I want to warn you: he’s furious with you.”

“And?” Aemon asked, understanding that it was bound to happen anyway.

“Aemon, you worked so hard to be accepted by our entire House, don’t throw it all away just because you want more soldiers.”

Aemon smiled slightly without saying anything. I knew my son well enough to know he smiled like that because I had said something…

‘That he thought was completely stupid,’ I thought to myself, not seeing what I had said wrong.

“Mother, I know exactly why they’re all alive and especially why I went to such great lengths to unite them under my banner…”

‘Primarily for the marriages you could arrange and to have castellans loyal to our House since they’re family members.’

“But I also know why Great-Uncle Yohn submitted to me and why he’ll do it again as many times as necessary; otherwise, he would have spoken directly to me, not to my regent.”

‘Because of Vhagar.’

“Everything changed after that marriage; you told me yourself. They’ll either accept to move forward or…”

“How do you think Gunthor would feel about you inviting his brother’s murderers to our table?” I interrupted him sharply, using my last resort.

‘He loved Daman as much as he loves Gunthor; it’s even thanks to Daman that Gunthor and Aemon grew so close.’

Aemon’s face instantly tensed, a sign I’d managed to touch a sensitive spot in him, but he quickly composed himself and replied in an icy tone:

“Gunthor wouldn’t have questioned me like that because Gunthor is loyal to me, which you clearly are not, or at least you’ve just proven where your true loyalty lies. And know that I’ll remember that.”

He looked at me for a moment, his face frozen like ice, but his eyes, which I’d always found so beautiful, burned with a restrained fury as he turned and walked away.

‘Damn.’