"All underground is solid rock. We can't dig through it!" Bronn complained during the dinner.
"Didn't I already burn it with fire once?" Dany asked in confusion.
She wasn't some clueless tyrant who asked why the people didn't just eat cake—of course she knew how painful it was to dig a 250-meter-deep pit in a mountain of stone on Dragonstone.
That's why, when channeling the power of magma earlier, she had deliberately used magical flames to burn from the bottom up along the stone cracks for ten whole minutes.
Then, she had poured in a large amount of cold seawater. With the expansion and contraction from the heat and cold, even if the rocks didn't crumble like tofu, they shouldn't still be this hard to dig through, right?
"Only the stones near that crack you burned are brittle. The rest is still solid. Besides, you want to dig 40 square meters!" Bronn said.
"You don't have to dig the full 40 square meters. Just build the basement in the top 50 meters. It'll probably go much faster after that," Marwyn added.
"Then I'll return to Slaver's Bay for now. You all can take your time digging. No rush," said Dany.
The Old Crab's expression shifted subtly. He leaned in and asked in a low voice, "Your Grace, what's the story with Prince Aegon?"
"Didn't I already write to tell you?" Dany shot him a glance and said coolly.
"Is he real?"
The Old Crab lowered his voice further, but in the silent hall, it still sounded clearly.
Everyone else had gone quiet too—no chewing, no talking. All eyes were fixed expectantly on the Dragon Queen seated at the head of the table.
"What do you think?" Dany replied with a question of her own.
"I think it doesn't matter what I think. It depends on what you think. If you say he's real, then even if he's fake, he becomes real. If you don't acknowledge him, then he's definitely fake," the Old Crab said, his tone deep and deliberate.
"Has Varys ever sent word to Dragonstone?" Dany asked.
"No. He disappeared the night Tywin died, and there hasn't been a single message from him since. Either he died in some dark corner, or he's hiding in one, plotting away," said the Old Crab.
"That guy must be hiding something. Otherwise, he'd have come to Dragonstone to see you by now," Bronn added.
Dany nodded. "Keep an eye out for news about Varys. There are some things I need to ask him face to face. As for Aegon, he doesn't affect our plans. If the Long Night isn't overcome, then everything else is meaningless."
The Old Crab offered a pointed reminder: "If Prince Aegon shows up directly in Westeros, I can guarantee that ninety percent of the people will think he's a fraud.
This whole thing was orchestrated by the Spider. No one believes he's truly loyal to Prince Rhaegar.
Anyone older, like me, remembers how Varys sowed discord between your father and Prince Rhaegar back in the day.
But now that the boy has gone to Slaver's Bay and received your welcome, the lords of Westeros will assume you've tacitly approved his identity.
To be fair, Varys has always been cunning. This time, he's done the smartest thing—he made you the guarantor of the prince's identity.
The nobles don't trust Varys, or a prince who appeared out of nowhere, but they trust you completely. You are, without a doubt, the true dragon.
Your Grace, if you have any plans for the future, now is the time to prepare—before Prince Aegon returns to Westeros."
Dany locked eyes with the Old Crab for a full ten seconds.
"What should I prepare for?" she asked.
"What do you want in Westeros?" the Old Crab countered.
"There are seven kingdoms in Westeros. At the very least, one of them should be mine—belonging to my descendants and vassals," Dany answered.
The Old Crab pondered this, then sighed. "Your expectations are quite modest. The schemers in King's Landing will be pleased to hear it."
"Hmph. That's assuming I don't end the Long Night," Dany scanned the long table and its attentive listeners, then added coldly, "I made a vow, and I'll keep it to the end.
After the Long Night, if the person sitting on the Iron Throne isn't the one who ended it, then they'd better be ready for a crusade from every noble in the realm."
Then she added pointedly, "Even Aegon will be no exception. Whether he's real or not, my stance on this will never change."
"As for all of you..."
Dany understood that Aegon's sudden appearance—and her apparent lack of action—had left her followers feeling unsettled.
"From beginning to end, you have always been my vassals. I am the king of Westeros, and you are Westerosi lords. I am also king of Essos, and you are lords of Essos."
While Bronn was still trying to figure out what she meant, the Old Crab's eyes lit up. Excitedly, he asked, "Do you mean... we can hold dual titles?"
"What do you mean, dual titles?" Bronn asked, puzzled.
"Holding titles in both Westeros and Slaver's Bay," the Old Crab said, looking at the queen with anticipation.
"Something like that," Dany replied. "But not just Slaver's Bay. Sooner or later, I'll take Qarth, New Ghis, Volantis, Lys—every one of those allied city-states. My domain will be vast beyond compare.
As my vassals, your horizons should be just as wide. Stop staring only at Westeros.
Isn't Ser Illyrio already holding titles in both Slaver's Bay and Westeros?"
The Old Crab nodded gleefully. "Then let Illyrio follow Your Grace. With me and Rhaegar here on Dragonstone, that's more than enough."
If the queen was planning to distribute titles this way, then having even one of the Seven Kingdoms as a fiefdom would be more than sufficient.
After all, Essos was so vast and wealthy, while the Iron Throne's rule extended only to the narrow Crownlands.
The Old Crab was deeply satisfied with the queen's promise.
Bronn asked urgently, "What about me?"
He had also understood the Dragon Queen's plan. Two titles for one house—of course that was a good thing.
But he didn't even have a son of his own.
"I'm only seventeen. There's still plenty of time ahead. Your son will have a chance to serve under me."
Then Daenerys announced to the gathered knights and lords, "The same goes for all of you. If your second or third sons swear loyalty to me, they will earn titles and land according to their merit. Remember—Essos is vast."
"Long live Her Majesty! Glory to the Queen!"
The Old Crab was particularly thrilled. He stood up first, raising his cup to toast Daenerys.
Bronn immediately followed, and the knights around the long table rose as well. Even the two maesters stood to offer a toast.
The banquet grew joyous once more. Everyone was full of anticipation for the future promised by the Queen.
As the wine flowed and cheeks flushed, the young Maester Pyllos suddenly asked, "Your Majesty, may I ask you a question?"
"Speak, maester."
"You've dissolved the Citadel. Will there still be maesters in the future?" Pyllos asked solemnly.
Daenerys wasn't surprised. Of course the maesters were concerned about their own future.
She smiled and nodded. "Of course there will be. I won't stop the spread of knowledge. In fact, the number and quality of future maesters will only increase. However, the way they are trained and promoted will change."
The stern-faced young maester visibly relaxed and said with resignation, "The Citadel is in chaos right now. Just a week ago, some hired knights infiltrated the Citadel and secretly kidnapped—arrested several archmaesters, who are now being taken to the Great Sept of Baelor."
Daenerys's eyes sparkled with amusement.
Wasn't this exactly her intention?
She didn't have the time to deal with those archmaesters herself, so she paid mercenaries and the High Sparrow to deal with them for her.
Pyllos continued, "After the Black Dragon publicly accused the Citadel of seven crimes and dissolved it, more than sixty percent of the nobles in the Seven Kingdoms followed suit within half a month. They declared that unless the Citadel gave a convincing explanation, they would stop funding it and refuse to accept maesters trained there.
Some nobles even declared they would train their own truly loyal maesters.
Now, although the Citadel still receives enough operational funds from Highgarden and the Iron Throne, its traditional structure is collapsing. That's why I asked about your arrangements for the maesters.
It's not just me who wants to know. Over a hundred maesters from all over the realm have sent raven messages asking me about this matter."
Daenerys nodded. "What is the Citadel doing? Have they sent out any ravens to explain to the nobility?"
"They've gone into hiding," Marwyn said with a cold sneer. "Regarding the seven charges announced by the Black Dragon, they neither admit nor deny them. Instead, they've been loudly proclaiming two things: that the Faceless Men stole books on dragon-hatching, and that Braavos violated guest right."
"Uh, what kind of strategy is that?" Daenerys asked in confusion.
"They're diverting attention. Using a more sensational story to overshadow the scandal that hurts them."
"The Citadel knows how to do that? How effective is it?" Daenerys was genuinely surprised.
"The Citadel has used this trick many times. The news about the Faceless Men is indeed shocking. What's even more startling to the nobles of the Seven Kingdoms is that the Faceless Men specifically targeted books on dragon-hatching.
Clearly, the Braavosi want to hatch dragons.
And then there's the matter of Braavos violating guest right.
That's the leader of the Nine Free Cities we're talking about. The news is explosive. It really has diluted the scandal surrounding the Citadel."
"The Citadel... I'm impressed," Daenerys said with a strange expression.
Marwyn sighed helplessly. "Right now, the maesters and archmaesters of the Citadel are focused on two things: by day, they're sending ravens far and wide, warning every noble of the threat of the Faceless Men and the shamelessness of the Braavosi, even encouraging them to stop paying interest to the Iron Bank;
By night, they become warriors—donning armor and bearing swords, guarding the Citadel closely to prevent hired riders from hunting down the scholars named on the Black Dragon's wanted list."
The Dragon Queen's mouth twitched—she didn't even know what to say.
The Citadel had actually dared to lash out at both the House of Black and White and the Iron Bank. That kind of boldness… to suppress "fake news," they were really going all in.
In fact, Daenerys had misunderstood one thing. The Citadel had already clashed with the Faceless Men even before the Black Dragon announced the seven crimes.
Maesters disguising themselves to steal knowledge of metallurgy and glassmaking from the Free Cities—that was just business as usual.
—For maesters, stealing knowledge didn't count as stealing.
But when others broke into their library and stole secret tomes from the Citadel, the maesters felt deeply violated.
They wanted revenge.
But how?
They couldn't win in a fight.
So they turned to their greatest weapon: public opinion.
They even studied and adopted tactics used by Daenerys against slave masters—and by slave masters against Daenerys. They began writing plays and stories centered on the Faceless Men.
Oldtown was already a world-class port of maritime trade, filled with traveling merchants and singers.
The maesters' dark, dramatic tales spread easily.
—Everyone feared the Faceless Men, but they were also curious about their stories.
Then the Black Dragon joined forces with the High Sparrow and became the High Protector of Light, formally announcing the seven crimes of the Citadel.
The maesters responded by intensifying their smear campaigns against the Faceless Men and the Braavosi.
—Just like Walder Frey's thinking: put a bigger target like Braavos in front as a shield to draw attention.
As for why the maesters weren't afraid of retaliation from the Faceless Men...
Heh. We maesters—what fear have we of death?
We Citadel maesters dared to provoke the "Dance of the Dragons," dared to scheme against the Dragon Queen. Do you think we'd be scared of mere Faceless Men?
The maesters lacked certainty, but they had a peculiar kind of "spine."
Unafraid of dragons, unafraid of White Walkers—bold enough to challenge the heavens, the earth, and the gods themselves!
(End of Chapter)
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