บท 171: -Chapter 162-

-Chapter 162-

-POV Cersei Lannister-

"So, how did the meeting go today?" I asked as I saw my uncle coming to give me his daily report.

"Everything went very well. The emperor is in very good spirits given that the imperial treasury is now almost as swollen as you were a few months ago," my uncle replied with a smirk.

"Very funny, my uncle, you're getting more and more hilarious," I said, gritting my teeth to avoid sending back a jab he well deserved.

Since the death and exile of Tyrion, I have been forced to rely on him since he is the only Lannister Aegon has allowed to access the Imperial Council. So for now, I had to yield to his little whims and his lack of respect towards me.

Something I learned once I took over the reins of House Lannister was that now that Father was dead, everyone in my family was waiting for me to slip up so they could depose me and take Tommen's place as Lord of House Lannister and Duke of the Duchy of Lannister.

'We shall see who laughs last. As long as Aegon eats from my hand, you won't be able to do anything against me unless you want to be devoured by my husband's dragon,' I thought arrogantly as I looked at my uncle.

I smiled slightly before saying, "Did you talk to him about Joffrey?"

"No, but I've known the king long enough to know that he won't change his mind," he said seriously.

'He doesn't seem to be lying,' I thought, watching him stare at Joffrey fighting in the courtyard without expression.

I clenched my fists, about to say something, but my uncle spoke first:

"Besides, I don't think it's such a bad thing. You know very well what kind of thing you have spawned, Cersei. The animals and young women of Casterly Rock suffered until Tywin curbed your bastard's impulses. Sending him to war is the best way to channel his murderous urges."

'He is my little lion.'

"He is my eldest son," I said, looking at my uncle.

"Focus on that son you are holding in your arms," he said before adding:

"He is the only one holding our family members together. I hope you are aware of that. The branch of Damon could have attacked us or at least deposed us, but it is largely thanks to this child that you remain Duchess after Tyrion's death and exile."

I rolled my eyes and said, "I'm not stupid, and besides, there's always you and your sons."

Kevan laughed disdainfully and then said, "The emperor would never have granted me the honor of succeeding my brother."

"Why?" I asked, confused.

Kevan gritted his teeth and said, furious but not at me: "Because my children are all too young, and the only one of age is Lancel. The emperor seeks stability, and my good-for-nothing son will be unable to ensure it if something happens to me, unlike the branch of Damon."

I laughed, genuinely amused that he called Lancel a good-for-nothing because it was nothing less than the pure truth.

Uncle Kevan sniffed and walked away, subtly signaling that someone was approaching from behind me.

I didn't turn around and continued watching Joffrey in the training yard fighting the new Master-at-Arms of the Red Keep, Ser Bronn Stokeworth.

'The only one who can make him leave is...'

"Cersei, what a coincidence," said Aegon, arriving behind me.

I didn't turn around and tightened my grip on Maegor.

'How could he have given him the name Maegor the Cruel?' I thought, taking a small breath to calm myself.

"You can't be so resentful as to ignore me, the father of our magnificent Maegor."

'If he repeats Maegor, I swear I...'

"It's so CRUEL."

---

-POV MC-

"Stop it," said Cersei, at her wits' end.

"With what?" I said, pretending not to understand.

I smiled, and before she could say anything, I took my son from her arms and said:

"Give me my son; I haven't seen him in a long time."

"Don't call him Maegor," said Cersei, gritting her teeth in annoyance.

I said nonchalantly, "But that's his name, a Targaryen name, and a powerful Targaryen at that."

"You know very well what that name implies."

"That my son was born from the entrails of a CRUEL lioness."

"Are you having fun?" she said, avoiding responding to my provocation.

"For now, quite a bit, yes," I said while continuing to rock little Maegor, who, at two months old, looked like a four- to five-month-old child.

Waaaaaaaah

"See, you've made him cry. Give him back to me."

I smiled, seeing little Maegor cry his lungs out, and then I handed him docilely back to his mother, who calmed him down in a few seconds.

I pouted, seeing that he preferred his mother, and then said:

"Although I love teasing you and making you react, and it's undoubtedly one of my greatest pleasures in daily life, I'm serious. I greatly love and admire Maegor's deeds, not his inhumane acts, but his approach regarding magic, religion, and absolute strength. He is one of the few people who governed truly respecting the law of the strongest, not resorting to tricks and betrayals, although he eventually died after making various mistakes."

"Your ancestors would turn in their graves if they could hear you."

"I don't care. I'm speaking honestly, and I also like that my son was born from the entrails of a strong lioness who will know how to be cruel to protect him from all those who are not us," I said, sliding an arm around her waist.

"If you esteemed me as much as you say, you would have given Maegor a dragon egg, you would have given Joffrey the title of Duke, and you wouldn't have sent him to the other side of the world to spill his blood," she said.

I rolled my eyes and then said, "Cersei, we have already talked at length about each of these points."

"And as long as it remains that way, you can go back to your Dornishwoman," she said, leaving.

"Fierce," said Viserys, arriving behind me once Cersei had walked far enough away from us.

I sighed in annoyance and then said, "I'd say rather annoying."

A small laugh escaped his throat, and then I said, "You look much calmer than the last time we saw each other. Is it being married that gives you this calm demeanor?"

He shrugged and then said, "The first time I saw this woman, Ysilla Royce, I thought she was an idiot like all those who parade at court waiting to bear a dragon-blooded bastard, but..."

"Wow, you seem to really, really, really like her," I said.

"I don't want to say 'I told you so,' but..." I said before being interrupted by Viserys who said, "You were right, I need a woman of character capable of steering the ship once I'm away conquering new territories for the empire."

"I'm glad to see you like this, Viserys. You have changed a lot," I said, genuinely happy to see Viserys gradually integrating into the system I had put in place and making his own place.

"What are you talking about?" he said, frowning in confusion.

"You don't realize it, but you have changed a lot," I said.

'I finally managed to mold him. I killed his stupidity, removed his inferiority and superiority complex, and on top of that, I destroyed his dream of one day touching the Iron Throne with his ass,' I thought, pleased with myself for having successfully tamed and shaped Viserys.

'I am getting closer and closer to my dream of making him my Rogue Prince.'

'There is only one last step to take, and I think he is ready.'

---

-POV Viserys Targaryen-

I shook my head and then said:

"It wasn't easy, you know, to understand that no matter what I did, I could never supplant you and be king in your place."

"I know," said Aegon without adding anything.

I shook my head and said in a calm and unemotional tone:

"No, you don't. All my life, I deluded myself. All my life, I repeated to myself that once I was old enough to fight, I would take back everything the Baratheons and their dogs took from us. All my life, I thought I would win that throne you sat on and unite the seven crowns in dragon fire."

I took a small breath before continuing to say: "I thought I was a king, I thought I was a dragon. Today, I finally realize I thought I was someone I was not.

Now that I have Viserion, I realize the stupidity of my past words.

Can you imagine that one day I stood before the leader of those Dothraki savages and ordered him to bring me the crown in exchange for a woman?

It's so pathetic and shameful that the eldest remaining Targaryen behaved like that instead of training and finding solutions to take back my... our House's throne.

The only thing I did as head of House Targaryen was to offer my sister to savages like a common broodmare. The blood of the dragon offered as breeding mare to a Dothraki is something that haunts me and will haunt me until the last day of my life," I said, gritting my teeth in regret and shame.

'Mother would be ashamed of me if she could see what I have done and what I have become,' I thought, remembering how she had charged me to watch over my sister.

"Daenerys came out of it pretty well," said Aegon with restraint.

"I know you hate her," I said, sparing him his false compassion.

'I haven't reached that point yet.'

He rolled his eyes and then said: "Hate is a very strong word. I just know that of the two of us, only one person will emerge victorious from a confrontation. If she wants to continue playing queen, good for her, but if she attacks the interests of House Targaryen, she will have to be put in her place, and properly."

"As long as you don't kill her, that's fine with me," I said, as I couldn't bear to see my sister die after everything I've done.

"We are too few to be sacrificed," said Aegon.

I nodded in agreement and then said, observing Joffrey in the training yard below: "Are you sure you trust me with that one? I won't be gentle with him. Don't forget he is the grandson of that dog Tywin Lannister, and now that the Lannisters are no longer what they used to be, I want to have some fun with them."

Aegon nodded and said: "Do as you wish as long as you bring him back alive and in one piece. He is yours, test his determination and loyalty. That's all that matters to me. Something is off with him. He was a complete coward before, and now he seems ready to jump into a sea of lava if I asked him to."

"I highly doubt it," I said, though the drastic change in this lion cub was remarkable. I didn't think he could actually be so loyal to Aegon when he coveted the crown not so long ago.

'A bit like you, isn't it?'

I ignored my inner voice and then bowed to Aegon before leaving him to watch Cersei's bastard being beaten by Bronn.

'Who knows, maybe we are similar. In any case, little Lannister, you will serve as my punching bag and stress reliever,' I thought, walking away with a slight smirk.

---

-POV MC-

"He has changed," said Ser Barristan, who had stayed faithfully at a certain distance from us but had heard everything.

I smiled and then said, "For sure, the whiny Viserys is now dead and buried."

"He excels in his lessons, which he takes more and more seriously."

"Hmmm, he excels in the art of combat thanks to the hatching ritual that had positive effects on his body. Not to the point of possessing superhuman speed or strength, but the inherent advantages of the ancient Targaryens, like beauty, a certain resistance to poison and diseases, and a more than decent physique, have awakened, transforming him completely."

"But you don't seem that pleased," said Ser Barristan.

"I am his sovereign, not his sister," I said.

"Are you afraid he will betray you?" said Ser Barristan, probably confused because my power was far ahead of Viserys, just like the size of his dragon, which had just surpassed 20 feet, while Rhaegal now has a size exceeding 85 feet.

"No, I'm afraid of wasting my time," I said.

'I have invested too much time and resources in him to lose it all just because of his regrets.'