Aemon Targaryen

-Chapter 118-

-4 moons later-

-19th day of the 5th moon of the year 116 AC-

-POV Viserys Targaryen-

Upon entering the council chamber, I saw that everyone was already present: Rhaenyra, Corlys, Otto, Lyonel, Larys, Grand Maester Mellos, and even old Lyman.

"What could be so urgent that I had to be woken up so early in the morning?" I asked, observing all my counselors, seated with grim expressions.

Everyone looked tense, but no one dared speak first. Otto took the lead and said:

"We have received three messages."

"From whom?" I asked, curious, wondering what could have alarmed them all.

"From Prince Aemon Targaryen," Otto said, almost spitting out my nephew's name.

'What could he have written to put him in such a state?' I wondered, before focusing on the rest of the senders.

"And from whom else?" I asked, grabbing the letters Otto handed me.

"No one else, only letters from the Prince," Otto said, trying to temper his mood.

"To whom were these messages addressed?" Rhaenyra asked, narrowing her eyes at my Hand, who was becoming increasingly invasive.

'Perhaps it's time to relieve him of his duties,' I thought.

"To His Grace King Viserys…" began Grand Maester Mellos, not waiting for my Hand to reply, as if to distance himself, despite their obvious complicity.

Otto wasted no time interrupting the Grand Maester and calmly said:

"As the King's Hand, I have the right to open and even respond to correspondence from Crown vassals."

'There's no point in quarreling over such matters,' I thought, deciding to put an end to the sterile discussion that was about to begin.

I sat down, unfolding the letters whose seals were already broken, and asked while beginning to read them:

"What do the messages say?"

"The first is an informal letter informing you of his son Viserys's recovery and the hatching of his egg. He greatly thanks you for your generosity and for the letters you sent, while also updating you on Aegon's progress," Otto said, quickly summarizing Aemon's lengthy letter to move on to the next ones.

'I'll read it later,' I thought, carefully folding the letter before opening the next ones.

'What could they possibly contain that's so terrible?' I wondered as I began reading the second letter, occasionally glancing at Otto, who had fallen silent and was waiting patiently.

'The fact that he chooses to remain silent while I read concerns me,' I thought, surprised by the tonal difference between the letters.

Unlike the first, this one began with "Your Majesty" instead of "My uncle."

---

Your Majesty,

I regret to inform you that my uncle Arnold Arryn has passed away.

He was caught in an ambush by certain minor clans who refused to abandon their pagan and savage traditions to embrace the future.

It is with great sorrow that I burned his body in the fire of my dragon.

It is a privilege and an honor we normally reserve only for our own, but I decided to make an exception for him.

I searched for days to root out all the remaining rebellious minor clans, and I burned each of them to ashes until nothing remained.

Now all the clans know the price of defying the dragon.

Upon my return, my uncle's widow, Jessamyn Redfort, delivered his final wishes to me.

He asked me to take his widow under my protection, to take his younger brother under my care at Runestone, and to return his cousin Jeyne's lands to her.

Before his death, my uncle Arnold named me Regent of House Arryn, Protector of the Vale, and executor of his will.

It is under this authority that I decided to fulfill his final wishes and reinstate Jeyne Arryn as Lady of House Arryn.

Your loyal vassal, The Prince of Runestone.

---

Once I had finished reading the letter aloud, I took a few seconds to reflect and then asked, surprised:

"Does he have the right to do that?"

Although I was bothered that he hadn't informed me of all this before returning Jeyne Arryn's title, it didn't fundamentally upset me, as this might allow Rhaenyra to rely on a trustworthy ally in the Vale.

'As long as they settle their differences together,' I thought, still surprised at how easily Aemon had relinquished his ambitions purely out of love and respect for his uncle.

'He sacrificed everything he had built to make the Vale his territory by putting Jeyne Arryn back on her throne to honor Arnold Arryn's final wishes,' I thought, slightly admiring such a mindset.

'Perhaps he will do the same when it is my turn to leave this world, honoring my final wishes and protecting Rhaenyra with all his strength, despite what he truly thinks of her children,' I told myself, thinking back to the troubles that had accompanied the birth of Rhaenyra's son.

Since Jacaerys's birth, countless rumors had spread throughout the realm, and doubts about Rhaenyra's children's parentage lingered in everyone's minds.

'Even if no one dares to say it aloud in front of me,' I thought, sighing.

"Read the last letter, and you will understand everything," Otto said, his eyes red with anger, barely containing his emotions.

---

To the Hand of the King,

I imagine you have already heard, but I decided to marry my cousin Perra Royce to a better match than the son of a landless and hopeless knight.

We both know what fate awaits your family in a few years, and I refuse to condemn her to a miserable and poor life.

Therefore, I have chosen to marry her to the Lord of the newly established House of Master Hawkeye, Robar Hawkeye.

I expect you to ensure that the Grand Maester records the establishment of this new House.

While we're still on the subject of marriage, please also ensure he registers in the royal records that I have remarried Jeyne Arryn and that she is expecting our first child.

Thank you for your kindness.

Send my regards to the Queen.

I look forward to the pleasure of seeing you again.

Prince of the Mountains and the Moon, Prince of the Eyrie, Prince of Runestone. 

Lord of House Royce, Lord Protector of House Arryn, Warden of the Vale. 

---

Upon finishing the letter, still reading it aloud, its tone dripping with sarcasm, I immediately understood that my nephew had decided to strike back hard against Otto's petty schemes.

But that wasn't what caught my attention.

'That isn't what brought us all here so early this morning.'

For the first time in perhaps years, I felt a veil lift from my eyes and an icy chill bite the back of my neck.

'He killed Arnold,' I thought as the hand holding the letter trembled.

"It's…"

'He killed his uncle,' I realized, understanding that it had all been planned.

I couldn't finish my sentence, still stunned by Aemon's letters, but Otto didn't need me to. Furious, he said:

"This is treason!"

'He's going to kill me,' I thought, finally seeing through my nephew's hypocrisy and realizing that his ambition knew no bounds.

Perhaps the only thing he inherited from Daemon.

'Except that Daemon would never stoop to kinslaying,' I thought.