-Chapter 198-

-Chapter 198-

-POV Benjen Stark-

I smiled softly as I raised my glass while everyone was still shocked by Aegon’s abruptness, and I said to ease the atmosphere:

“I can’t wait to go home.”

Everyone smiled, most out of politeness, as they likely saw this measure as an exile or something similar, but I knew perfectly well how much the court suffocated me and drained my energy every day.

‘So much more energy than when I was a ranger for the Night’s Watch,’ I noted mentally.

“More seriously, I’m truly relieved that this pin is leaving my clothes,” I said, unclasping the Hand of the Emperor pin from my chest and tossing it gently to my future nephew.

The Hand of the Emperor pin was identical to the previous one in every way, except for the material: it was not made of gold like the old one but of Valyrian steel.

‘Another thing done to distinguish the Seven Kingdoms from the Empire,’ I thought, noting that even though few visible things had really changed, countless minor reforms had been made since the rise of the Empire.

This time, addressing him directly, I said to Aegon:

“I’d like you to know that I will always be there for you, and I will be happy to serve you, whether as a subject or as an uncle.”

Aegon nodded and said:

“Thank you for everything you’ve done for me and for the Empire, but I’m not done relying on you and your services, uncle, so prepare yourself because this is where the real test begins.”

I nodded, understanding what he was implying, as did most of the people at the table, but we were the only two who could fully grasp the weight and burden he had just placed on me.

‘The weight of the responsibility of the entire kingdom, the key to the survival of over 40 million souls,’ I thought, mentally preparing to take on this mission.

---

-POV MC-

“Was that really necessary?” my uncle asked me as he arrived behind me.

I smiled and then said: “Daenerys needs to understand where her power’s limits lie.”

Ned smiled slightly and then said, this time in a more... icy tone:

“Very well, since you don’t want to start this conversation, let me rephrase my question for you.”

I raised my eyebrows, waiting for him to speak, even though I knew perfectly well what he was talking about.

“Why are you removing Benjen from his position as Hand and sending him...”

“To his death?” I asked, finishing the sentence for him.

“That’s not what I said.”

“But you thought it so loudly that I didn’t need to hear it from your mouth.”

He said nothing and waited for me to explain, so I did. I let out a small sigh of relief, dropping the facade I had worn ever since I had placed this crown on my head:

“You think I’m doing this to punish you for having Sansa betrothed to a Great House, something I prohibited without my approval, for reasons we both know better than anyone.”

“And isn’t that the case?”

“No, I’m doing it because you opened the door for me. Benjen’s position has always been temporary. I didn’t intend to send him back to the Wall, but it was never meant for him to serve as Hand for years. He did it to help me, and only for that reason.”

“Why are you sending him back to the Wall?”

“Because I have no choice, I have very few people I trust who don’t have responsibilities and are qualified to fill the position of Commander of the Wall.”

For a few seconds, a heavy silence hung between us before he said:

“I’m sorry for losing my temper, I thought you were punishing me through him.”

“You don’t need to apologize. It wouldn’t have been the first time I acted petty through my position and role as Sovereign to get revenge,” I said, staring straight ahead, afraid to meet his gaze.

I felt a hand rest on my neck before I heard my father say:

“I acted poorly, I know. Cat too, and believe me when I tell you she knows it.”

I looked at my father-uncle skeptically before asking in a clearly incredulous tone:

“You really believe what you just said?”

“In her own way, she’s realized it. She believes her gods put you in her path to punish her for her wrongdoings,” he said.

“I’ve won, that’s all that matters. The rest are just chains that bind us to the past and prevent us from moving forward while enjoying life’s pleasures,” I said, clearly not wanting to return to the subject.

“I wish I could see things the way you do, but I’ve lived too long and done too much not to feel regret when looking back,” he said.

I nodded, understanding what he was trying to say, and then added: “As far as I’m concerned, everything that happened before I became Emperor is behind me.”

My uncle nodded, but I continued: “However, what isn’t behind me is the fact that you went behind my back to make deals with Olenna Tyrell.”

“You prohibited marriages, not betrothals,” he said, trying to defend himself.

“Don’t play with words,” I said, wanting an honest discussion without pretenses.

“I’m not playing with words, but if you want to be a just suzerain and sovereign, you should follow the laws you established properly.”

“If you oppose this marriage, Sansa will comply with your order and marry someone else, even though, once again, the law isn’t clear in this particular case.”

“In what case?” I asked, curious.

He replied unhurriedly:

“In the case where the suzerainty system is abolished. By removing the control we had over the different regions, you put us on the same level as all the other Houses, so...”

“That’s enough, stop. I see she’s sunk her viper fangs deep. You’re repeating these words so fluidly it sounds like you’ve rehearsed them together dozens of times before, just like Sansa at the table,” I said, annoyed.

My uncle smiled, then I said: “I don’t really have a reason to oppose this union. In fact, I had planned to propose it to you in a year. What I don’t appreciate is that you had to team up against me. Despite our complex and tense relationship, you are... my family.”

My uncle said nothing, so I added: “Even though I don’t hold the Tyrells in high regard, I had planned to make Willas my Hand for many years, which means I should try to maintain good relations with his family.”

“You’re the Emperor, you don’t need to please him,” my uncle said.

“I don’t want to please him. What I want is to be able to trust him, to trust my advisors, and to trust my family. That’s all I want,” I said.

---

-POV Samwell Tarly-

For two whole weeks now, I’ve taken control of Pentos. Given the restrictions the city was facing, it couldn’t react quickly enough to prevent me from swiftly taking control of it.

In accordance with Aegon’s orders, I had the previous Prince of Pentos and all his supporters executed. I wasn’t particularly thrilled to obey this order, and to be completely honest with myself, such an order repulsed me to my core.

‘Unfortunately, I can’t refuse this order, especially when I know it was necessary and represented a lesser evil,’ I thought, still shocked by the massacre that had followed our arrival in the city.

The capture of Pentos was the easiest part because, unaware of our attack and the threat we posed, they hadn’t taken precautions against such an assault. The Blood Moon had no difficulty infiltrating the city and opening its gates as well as all the strongholds within the city.

The efficiency of the Blood Moon was truly impressive, especially considering it was an organization primarily driven by three individuals: Garth Flowers, Bryan, and Connor.

‘Without their supernatural abilities, we would have had a much harder time obtaining so much information,’ I thought.

“Commander?”

“Hmm?” I said, looking at my chief lieutenant, Florian Flowers, a bastard of House Fossoway who became a knight at the age of 17, the man who led the charges in my place during battles.

Florian had been born into nobility but had not received a noble’s education. Now 32, despite his excellent martial skills, he was still unknown for two reasons.

‘He doesn’t use a sword in combat, and he isn’t integrated into the noble class. He’s just a bastard,’ I thought.

For him, it wasn’t about glory, fame, fortune, or even honor, but simply survival, as his best years were quickly slipping away, and without a good reputation, a knight like him, who hasn’t won a tournament or gained some renown, will be left to his fate.

‘The fate of most hedge knights who end up filling taverns, drinking until they meet their end.’

Although Aegon had made me the Commander of the 10th Legion, we quickly realized that I wasn’t suited to the command style he favored.

‘Always leading his men into battle.’

In the heart of battle, I lose my nerve because I’m constantly afraid of dying, which makes me focus more on my own safety and prevents me from concentrating on the overall situation.

For a long time, I wondered if I would be assigned to anything other than surveillance and guarding Dragonstone. Although I was respected by most of Aegon’s courtiers, what I really wanted was my father’s respect—his respect, but also his regret.

‘I wanted him to say to my face that he regretted the way he treated me, the way everything happened between us, the fact that he preferred my brother over me, and that he would willingly give me Heartsbane... my inheritance.’

“The city’s nobles are starting to grumble, and with them, the people. We have only one legion; I doubt we can contain so many angry people.”

“There’s no need to contain them. We need to make them love our Emperor.”

“And how are we going to do that?”

“Don’t worry, everything is already planned. Tell me instead what our scouts have reported.”

“The Imperial agents of the Blood Moon have sent messages to our scouts, and these messages are quite concerning because it seems that Braavos and Volantis are gathering their forces to confront us directly.”

‘How can they react so quickly?’ I wondered internally, puzzled by this extraordinary speed of response.

‘I can understand Braavos obtaining information quickly, given the many spies they have scattered throughout the known world, but not Volantis.’

“Commander?” Florian asked again.

“The response time is too fast. Something doesn’t add up, and I can’t figure out what,” I said.

“Maybe they have people with the same abilities as the leaders of the Blood Moon,” he said, which made me flinch and pulled me out of my thoughts.

“Of course, that’s it,” I said, grabbing a small sheet of paper and scribbling a few words on it.

“I want you to have this message sent to the Emperor by the fastest bird we have. This is of utmost importance.”

‘If what I suspect is true, then the Emperor will need all the help he can get because we are moving from a position of strength to one of unprecedented weakness. This could lead to an unprecedented war where all the nations of the Known World will have to face off against each other.’