-Chapter 204-

-Chapter 204-

-POV Daenerys Targaryen-

DRAGON ROAR

Upon hearing the familiar roar of Aegon’s dragon, I let out a small sigh of relief because I feared the situation on Viserys' side was more complicated than what he had let on in his letters.

I watched Rhaegal begin his descent, while Viserion, who flew alongside him, didn’t stop and continued heading northwest.

‘Viserys must be returning to Riverrun to spend a few days with his family before being called back to the war,’ I thought as I watched my brother’s dragon fly further away and gradually disappear from view.

‘Let’s hope he turns out to be a better father than brother,’ I thought, still harboring the resentment I had toward him deep within me.

“We should welcome His Majesty properly,” Nymeria said behind me, pulling me out of the deep thoughts in which I had been lost.

‘She’s right. Cersei surely won’t miss the opportunity to point out my absence.’

“Let’s go,” I said, agreeing with my new lady-in-waiting’s suggestion.

As I quickly approached the entrance hall of the massive castle, still under renovation, I couldn’t help but feel somewhat concerned, as the news from Essos was not good.

‘The mercenary armies continue to gather, with Pentos as their target, just like the armies of the Essosi Free Cities.’

When I reached the entrance hall, I cast a quick glance at Cersei, who was already there, holding Maegor in her arms.

As always, she was accompanied by a significant number of her brother’s guards.

‘As usual, she can’t help but flaunt her status by showing off her son at every possible occasion,’ I thought, irritated.

“You will have a son from His Majesty very soon,” Nymeria said, trying to reassure me as best she could, but I wasn’t worried.

‘Because I know I’m carrying a son already. I’m certain of it.’

I didn’t have time to reply, as the doors opened and Aegon entered, his face expressionless.

I stepped forward and smiled, saying, “I hope you had a pleasant journey, dear husband.”

Aegon nodded politely, though he didn’t seem very enthusiastic, and said:

“I’ve brought the princes of the Summer Isles into line.”

“The archipelago is under our control?”

Aegon shook his head and said, “I wouldn’t say that, but we’ll certainly have their support as long as we maintain our dominance.”

“You left the Third Fleet there?” I asked, concerned about whether we could rely on the presence of the soldiers we had deployed there.

Aegon shook his head again and said, “I only left the soldiers from the Vale and Joffrey Lannister’s men.”

I frowned, not understanding why he trusted the Lannisters so much.

‘They betrayed our house.’

“We can’t trust these people,” I said, carefully avoiding mentioning the Lannister name so as not to antagonize him.

“Of course, we can’t trust them, but for now, it’s the best solution I can think of. Once all our forces return through…”

He was about to continue but stopped, glancing over my shoulder. He frowned slightly and then said, “We’ll discuss the rest later.”

‘He still doesn’t trust them,’ I realized, knowing he had stopped talking because of Nymeria’s presence.

‘He will have to eventually if I want to make her his mistress,’ I thought.

As long as I continued to control her and keep Cersei at bay, I would have an easier time controlling the succession when the time came.

'May that day come as late as possible,' I thought silently.

I nodded in understanding, and Aegon turned to Ser Barristan, saying:

“Gather your brothers and send servants to organize a war council as soon as possible.”

“Tell the maesters to be ready to send ravens to all the lords of the realm, so they can gather their bannermen,” he added.

‘Hadn’t he decided not to call on the nobility? Has he changed his mind?’

Ser Barristan nodded, and I frowned, still unable to fully grasp what Aegon was planning.

I could no longer read him.

He seemed particularly indecisive and erratic, his mood and choices shifting like the wind.

“Aegon,” said Cersei, with Maegor nestled in her arms.

“Cersei,” Aegon replied in the same tone.

Cersei said, “I’ve sent my cousin Lancel to gather all our troops. In less than two weeks, or maybe even a few days, 40,000 soldiers will be ready to march toward Pentos.”

Aegon raised his eyebrows, surprised by the news, and a satisfied smile spread across his face, which deeply annoyed me, but I didn’t let it show, as I didn’t want to fall into Cersei’s trap.

‘I won’t play the villain. Time is on my side. As long as I give Aegon an heir, that witch will fade into the background without me lifting a finger.’

“Thank you for your dedication and loyalty, Cersei,” Aegon said, thinking for a moment before adding,

“But don’t give the order for your soldiers to march on Pentos. I have a better idea.”

---

-POV MC-

When Cersei told me she had already given the order to gather her troops, I immediately realized something… I no longer needed to send reinforcements so urgently, as over 40,000 soldiers would be sent north.

If I order Paxter Redwyne to take the second imperial fleet stationed at the Iron Islands and bring all the Westerlands soldiers as reinforcements to the North, the forces at the Wall could reach 100,000 men.

‘20,000 soldiers from the North, 20,000 legionnaires, 20,000 free folk, and 40,000 men from the Westerlands. That’s enough to keep the army of the dead in check, even without the Wall.’

With those numbers, I no longer need to rush.

I can fully eliminate the threat to the East before turning my attention to the one looming over us all.

“Cersei, I want you to send a letter to your cousin and ask him to have all the ships in the Lannister fleet sail north, while the rest march to Seagard, so that the second fleet, commanded by Count Paxter Redwyne, can bring them to Bear Island,” I said, relieved to have found a solution to a problem that had been troubling me.

Cersei seemed a little surprised but didn’t argue and simply nodded.

---

-POV Connor-

Since the last council meeting, Aegon and I had not spoken, so I was surprised to learn that I was summoned to the war council.

I would have imagined that he would keep me away from his court and council for a longer time, but that wasn’t the case.

‘And I’m glad,’ I thought to myself, as this was not the time for any cracks to appear in our relationship.

‘The Empire is on the brink of chaos; we must all remain united to overcome this crisis.’ 

I waited in silence, like all those summoned by the Emperor, until he decided to show up.

He entered, accompanied by Sandor Clegane, then took his place between his Empress and his mistress and said:

“The situation in the Summer Isles archipelago has been resolved. We now have reasonable control over the region, and its nobility has sworn allegiance to the Empire.”

‘One problem solved. Now we must focus on defending the Wall and Pentos.’

“Congratulations on adding a new colony to the Empire, Your Majesty,” said Willas Tyrell, trying to curry favor with the Emperor.

‘What a kiss-ass,’ I thought, watching the heir of Highgarden, who maintained a small smile despite Aegon’s cold response.

‘Well… more like the lack of one,’ I thought, observing Aegon completely ignore his new Hand. 

Aegon said: “Only the troops from the Vale will remain in the archipelago. The rest of the forces sent to conquer the Summer Isles will return in a few moons, once the situation has fully stabilized.”

“That leaves us with the Wall and Pentos,” I said to Aegon.

He nodded, then said, “I’ve made an important decision: all the legions stationed in Westeros, except those guarding the Wall, will be deployed to Pentos.”

‘Why?’ I wondered, as the consequences of such an action were clear.

‘Especially for Aegon.’ 

“All the legions?” I asked, shocked.

Aegon nodded without saying a word.

“That would leave us highly exposed,” I said, frowning, as bandits, mercenaries, or simply those seeking to sow chaos would surely take advantage of our vulnerabilities.

Aegon nodded, then firmly stated:

“Yes, we would be exposed if I sent all my legions, but I’ve already considered that. I won’t send them all. I’ll leave the reservists to handle the security of the territories during the main army’s absence.”

I nodded thoughtfully, agreeing with this plan. Since the reservist legionnaires make up about a third of the Empire’s forces, it could work.

‘As long as we don’t face an internal rebellion, that should be enough to maintain the Empire’s security.’ 

Seeing that he had convinced me, Aegon continued:

“Our primary objective—and I’d say it’s our only objective in this war against the Free Cities of Essos—is to nip any harmful ambitions they may have toward us, and more broadly, toward the Empire.”

“So we’re not going to wage a full-scale war against the Free Cities?” asked Willas Tyrell.

“No, we need to strike quickly and forcefully to push them into negotiating peace with us,” Aegon said before adding, “A peace dictated on our terms, of course.”

“What about the Wall?” asked Tyrion Lannister, to my surprise, as he seemed to be taking the threat from the North more seriously than most of the skeptical lords.

‘At least more seriously than those still doubting the reports of the undead beyond the Wall, who could attack at any moment and were drawing dangerously close.’ 

Aegon smiled and said, “The Regent Duchess Cersei Lannister, your sister, has offered her support to the Imperial Crown.”

Tyrion raised his eyebrows in surprise and then said, “I’m greatly surprised by my sister. Altruism is not exactly her most… pronounced quality.”

“In this case, she has been an impeccable ally to the Crown, although it’s not surprising, given that her son is an Imperial Prince,” Aegon replied.

“What kind of help has my niece promised you, Your Majesty?” asked Kevan Lannister, looking slightly concerned, likely wondering what Cersei Lannister was willing to sacrifice behind his back to win the Emperor’s favor.

Already knowing what she had done, I held back a small smile.

Aegon said: “Your niece has decided to send an army of 40,000 soldiers in her son’s name. Your son will personally lead the Westerlands forces to assist House Stark and Walton Steelshanks in defending the Wall.”

Kevan Lannister didn’t seem pleased with this prospect, but he wisely remained silent so as not to offend Aegon.

‘However, if the look he’s giving Cersei is any indication, he wasn’t aware of his niece’s decision,’ I thought, pleased that the Wall would finally be able to defend itself properly against the invaders. 

“That brings our total forces to around 100,000 soldiers,” I pointed out.

Aegon nodded, then said:

“With Viserys’ return, we’ll be able to defend Pentos with three dragons and, if necessary, attack the enemy positions of the Essosi coalition with three dragons.”

I nodded, understanding what he meant, but I had to raise a point he seemed to be overlooking: “We will defeat the Essosi alliances without much difficulty, but what about the Wall? Without a dragon, in the event of an attack by the White Walkers, we…”

“The soldiers stationed at the Wall will have to hold out as best they can until I can personally go there,” Aegon said firmly, in a monotone voice.

“You’re not seriously considering abandoning them, are you?” Kevan Lannister asked, clearly worried about his son.

“We can’t chase two rabbits at once,” Aegon replied, with a definitive tone.

“You’re going to sacrifice 100,000 men for…”

“I’m not sacrificing anyone,” Aegon said authoritatively, instantly ending the debate before adding, “I’m not going to disperse our dragons. Our strength comes from our unity. If I sent Viserys alone, whether to the Wall or Pentos, it wouldn’t solve the situation, and he might lose his life. Whereas together, we have a chance to resolve these issues quickly.”

I didn’t agree with what he was saying, but he wasn’t entirely wrong. If we lost a dragon, we would lose our advantage, and we’d be overwhelmed by Essos or the White Walkers.

Seeing that he had already made his decision and was merely informing us, I didn’t push the issue further.

‘Even though I’m tempted to do so.’ 

“And what about the nobles?” asked Willas.

“What about the nobles?” Aegon replied, already irritated by the mention of the subject.

“Are you going to ask for their help?” Willas asked, more directly.

‘Swallow your pride,’ I thought, silently pleading for him to set aside his pride and seek the nobles’ aid.

‘They’ve perfectly timed their demands. We’ll have plenty of time to make them pay once we’ve won.’ 

Aegon looked at his new Hand for a long moment before smiling, then asked:

“Lord Tarly, the Empire is at war. What will you do?”

“I will fight to the death,” said the aging Lord of Horn Hill.

‘Despite his age, his spine is still as straight as ever,’ I thought.

“Will your men and vassals do the same?” Aegon asked.

“Without hesitation,” the head of House Tarly replied.

“The nobles will follow their Emperor into battle. Those who do not will face the consequences they deserve once the threats are vanquished,” Aegon declared, quickly settling the matter.

I closed my eyes, sighing inwardly, because I knew that with this order, the nobles of the Empire would never truly help.

‘They’ll send poorly equipped peasants and won’t involve themselves in a war that could annihilate us all.’ 

Willas Tyrell nodded without saying a word, and then Aegon said: “You may go. The meeting is adjourned.”

“Except for you, Maester Edwyn,” Aegon added, addressing the man who had been attending the meetings in place of Aegon’s great-uncle, who held the title of Grand Maester more for ceremonial purposes than anything else.

---

-POV MC-

“Maester Edwyn, in addition to the ravens you’ll send to my legion commanders, I want you to send these,” I said, handing him several letters I had written just before the war council.

‘I don’t have much time left, and I feel like something is urging me to hurry,’ I thought, feeling the presence of a cold breath on my neck for the past few days.

‘It’s such a strange feeling that I wouldn’t even know how to explain it properly.’ 

“It will be done as you wish, Your Majesty,” Maester Edwyn said, bowing.

Maester Edwyn was about to leave, but I stopped him and said, holding one last letter in my right hand: “Wait.”

I hesitated for a few seconds before handing him the letter and said:

“I want you to give this to my great-uncle Aemon if I were to disappear one day.”

“Your Majesty…” Maester Edwyn said, almost horrified at the thought of my demise.

“Maester Edwyn, I trust you to do what is right when the time comes,” I said, looking at the maester my great-uncle had chosen to assist him in almost all his duties.

‘Let’s trust the eyes of this old blind man,’ I thought, joking lightly to defuse the situation.

‘This is the first time I’ve seriously considered the possibility of dying in this world since my previous life.’