บท 161: Chapter 160: Heavenly Appraisal
Viserys toyed with the diary in his hands for a moment before tossing it aside.
However, just then, he suddenly noticed a glint of light beneath the hole where the safe had just been dug out.
"Hmm?"
Currently in the bedchamber of Maester Gillyan Lannister, Viserys raised an eyebrow in curiosity.
"Is there something else down there?"
Following his orders, the guards who had just executed several servants returned, and the soldiers continued digging with their tools.
Without digging too deep, the tools once again struck something, and the soldiers unearthed it from the soil.
This time it was a chest made of bronze, which appeared larger and heavier than the previous chest.
"Put your backs into it!"
The soldiers strained to lift the chest out of the hole.
Thud—
The heavy chest landed on the ground, kicking up dust. Viserys shielded his mouth and nose before crouching down to examine the bronze chest closely.
It looked somewhat weathered, reminiscent of the Valyrian civilization's style.
Viserys hadn't expected Gillyan Lannister to possess such a treasure, having unearthed an antique.
However, Viserys was no archaeologist, and he had little understanding of the decorative styles of Valyrian artifacts.
But as a Targaryen prince who had once lived in the Red Keep, he remembered seeing many treasures from the Valyrian Freehold era.
He even recalled accidentally breaking an expensive antique vase when he was young, which seemed to be from ancient Valyria. At the time, his mother, Queen Rhaella, had scolded him.
So Viserys immediately recognized the origin of this bronze chest.
More importantly, though, was what lay inside the chest.
The chest was buried deep but was not locked, its heavy lid fitting almost seamlessly.
Unsure of what the chest contained, Viserys cautiously drew his sword from his waist.
Clang...
A cold light shone in Gillyan's candlelit chamber as Viserys inserted the sword into the gap in the chest. He then narrowed his eyes and used his wrist strength to pry open the heavy bronze lid.
Thud—
The bronze lid struck the ground, making a loud noise.
Yet Viserys remained expressionless, unfazed by the possibility that the antique chest, valuable to ordinary people, might be damaged.
The guards around him, unfamiliar with the chest's value, curiously peered inside as well.
They had no idea what it contained.
Compared to them, Viserys was much calmer.
Snap—
After sheathing his sword, he looked inside the ancient bronze chest, intending to see what it held.
"Hmm?"
However, upon seeing the contents, Viserys' brow furrowed involuntarily, his expression mirroring that of the surrounding guards.
But what they saw was different.
"Your Grace, inside this chest..."
.
The guards peered into the chest and scratched their heads, disappointment written all over their faces.
They had initially thought that the maester had gone through great lengths to hide such a deep chest, it must be filled with gold, silver, and jewels. But...
"Is this it?"
"Why is it just a bunch of junk?"
Inside this ancient bronze chest were items that appeared worn and earthy.
It was as if they had just been dug up from some pit, which, in fact, they had just been excavated.
An old, chipped pot, a bronze candlestick spotted with patina, and a tarnished copper mirror that no longer reflected anything clearly.
At the bottom was a stone sculpture of a woman with an indiscernible face, seemingly with a single horn sprouting from her head, and a perfectly shaped body.
This sculpture appeared naturally crafted, lifelike, and exquisite, marred only by cracks and crevices filled with dirt due to age and neglect.
Nevertheless, the sculptor's skill was evident in the intricate details, truly admirable.
However, it was peculiar that the sculptor, with such divine craftsmanship, hadn't carved the woman's face, leaving a sense of regret.
The guards were puzzled by the contents of the chest.
They wondered why Maester Gunther had gone to such lengths, hiding the chest even deeper than his diary, just to store such junk.
Why fill it with junk?
But in Viserys' eyes, there was a slight difference in what he saw within the chest compared to the soldiers.
"This is..."
Viserys' eyes narrowed, and his fingers clenched involuntarily. If one looked closely, they could see a faint magical rune deep within his pale purple eyes, and a clear sense of shock.
This shock was even more profound than when he had recently read the letter from Varys, accusing Maester Gunther of being an informant for the Iron Throne.
Because before this, he had already had suspicions about the maester.
"How... How is this possible?"
Viserys stared intently at the items in the chest, his voice filled with disbelief.
In his eyes, a thin layer of black mist seemed to envelop the surface of these shabby items.
Although not very dense, it was indeed the same black mist Viserys was most familiar with, the kind he could obtain after killing someone.
Seeing this mysterious black mist was one of Viserys' greatest secrets, second only to his otherworldly soul that had a premonition of significant events and important people.
Viserys had tried to find information on this black mist but found no records of it in the vast historical documents.
If this black mist, which could enhance one's power after killing someone, truly existed within others, their names would undoubtedly have been recorded in history.
Yet Viserys found no trace.
Years passed, and Viserys continued to search for clues to the origin of the black mist.
But he never expected...
That today, after executing a traitor, he would find a small clue about the black mist.
He exhaled softly, pursing his lips and suppressing the shock within his heart.
Then, he slowly reached out.
With a whoosh, the black mist that clung to these tattered items behaved as if it had found its mother, transforming into a wisp of black smoke that entered Viserys' body.
Becoming a part of the black mist within him.
...
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