Visenya rubbed her temples, feeling lightheaded, and returned early to the Queen's chambers to rest.
Seeing her in such a state, Aegon couldn't help but feel concerned, but Visenya softly reassured him that she was simply a bit tired. Aegon had no choice but to let her rest in peace.
At the time, Rhaenys was also newly pregnant, so after some thought, Aegon went to rest at Lady Argella's estate.
...
A few days later, Crispian and Lord Loren exchanged letters.
Lord Loren inquired why the king had summoned him. Under Aegon's instructions, Crispian informed him that Aegon planned to establish a national treasury and needed support from the Westerlands.
Lord Loren responded that the Westerlands would gladly support the king's treasury project, but they also wished to take part in the war to conquer the Iron Islands.
Aegon hesitated briefly but ultimately agreed to Loren's request.
Lannisport in the Westerlands was the closest port to the Iron Islands, aside from those in the Riverlands.
Originally, Aegon had intended to use the Iron Islands campaign as a competition between the Riverlands and the Reach for the title of Lord Paramount. The combined naval forces of those two regions were already more than sufficient to conquer the Iron Islands—even without the added advantage of the royal fleet and dragons.
But if the Westerlands wanted a share of the conquest, so be it.
In the end, it just meant the Reach and Riverlands would each claim one fewer island.
The royal family had already marked out which islands they intended to keep, and those would not be handed over.
Aegon had set his sights on Pyke and Orkmont—Pyke for its superior location and prosperity, and Orkmont for its immense historical value. Orkmont was home to the first Sea Salt King of the Iron Islands, and many ruins from the Age of Heroes still remained there, making it highly valuable for exploration.
In this campaign, Aegon had no intention of later appointing any lord or governor over the Iron Islands. The local culture made it clear that the people there were nothing more than ruthless pirates. The only way to bring the Ironborn to heel was with overwhelming force—to terrify them into submission and ensure they remained loyal to House Targaryen forever.
Aegon was determined to impose a harsher rule over the Iron Islands than anywhere else in Westeros. Any Ironborn who refused to submit would be enslaved and sent to labor on construction projects in King's Landing or to help build the Kingsroad, which would stretch across the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros.
Rapid development would not come without bloodshed or unmarked graves.
The kind-hearted would be granted Aegon's mercy. The wicked would not escape the king's judgment.
Crispian reported that Lord Loren of the Westerlands had already set out for Harrenhal.
Aegon waved a hand, indicating he understood, and dismissed him.
Today was Aegon's scheduled inspection of the new Citadel, where he routinely reviewed ongoing research projects.
The Maesters and Archmaesters would present their work to the king. If a project pleased him or he found it valuable, Aegon would grant funding to accelerate its progress.
This inspection system had been in place for over half a year, yet the research results had left Aegon deeply disappointed.
Academic knowledge in this world was still mired in an overly empirical stage, and foundational theories were riddled with mysticism.
Take the Black Medicine School, for instance. Its methodology centered around the idea of the "four humors" as the foundation of healing.
They believed the human body was composed of four fluids: blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile. If these humors were in balance, a person remained healthy; if out of balance, sickness followed. Therefore, treatment meant removing one of the humors to restore equilibrium.
Nearly 90% of the physicians in Westeros followed this theory.
And they didn't just bleed patients casually—they had to consult the stars first.
Aegon had already slashed the Black Medicine School's funding by half. He gathered a group of young people to reexamine old knowledge and founded a new medical school. Using existing knowledge in trauma care as a foundation, they began rebuilding the entire medical system.
The situation across most schools in the new Citadel was much the same as with the Black Medicine School, so Aegon could only steer their research focus by adjusting their salaries.
Those working on worthless projects received paltry pay, while those pursuing promising lines of research were handsomely rewarded.
This naturally drew more Maesters toward the kinds of projects Aegon endorsed, pushing forward technological advancement.
Aegon hoped that future progress wouldn't depend solely on his own efforts. Instead, he aimed to create a sustainable, logical ecosystem of innovation—one closely tied to the upcoming Dragonlord Treasury.
Among the dozens of projects underway by the new Maesters, one stood out to Aegon. It was being conducted by an alchemist named Flamelin in the Tower of the Lion.
Flamelin had been working on creating a legendary substance known as the "Philosopher's Stone." According to the songs of bards, this stone could turn ordinary rocks into crystal.
At the time, Flamelin excitedly informed Aegon that he was on the verge of success. The crystal he had produced with the Philosopher's Stone was still fragile and not as hard as natural crystal, but in terms of clarity and transparency, it was nearly indistinguishable.
Aegon was astonished that such a gifted individual had been hiding under his command.
But after closely observing Flamelin's demonstration, Aegon realized that this young man had not made any kind of crystal at all—it looked far more like a food he had often eaten in his previous life.
When Aegon examined the ingredients Flamelin had used to make the so-called Philosopher's Stone, he found the man had been mixing quicklime with a type of sugar beet. As Aegon replayed the demonstration in his mind, he suddenly understood—it was the rock sugar crystallization method.
The sparkling stones Flamelin had shown him were, in fact, just white sugar.
And in this world, white sugar was a treasure.
Although the world of ice and fire had sugar-making techniques, they were extremely primitive and crude, with impurities difficult to remove. The sugar Aegon had seen before was either yellow or black and far less sweet than white sugar.
If the Targaryen dynasty could truly master the method of producing white sugar, its value could exceed that of several Golden Tooth castles.
Aegon bypassed the rest of the Lion Tower research projects and headed straight for Flamelin's white sugar laboratory.
At this point, Flamelin's private lab was under heavy guard to ensure the secrecy of the white sugar formula.
Aegon pushed open the door and stepped inside. A faint stench of animals hung in the air, making him sneeze.
Flamelin was in the middle of live animal testing. If the white sugar could be consumed by animals without adverse effects, Aegon could begin mass production.
This was white gold—reliably and continuously produced.
Noticing Aegon's arrival, Flamelin immediately turned and bowed respectfully.
"Your Grace, you've come in person—please forgive me for not welcoming you properly."
Aegon waved his hand, signaling that it was nothing, then asked, "How's it going? Any adverse reactions from the animals?"
He picked up the experiment logs from beside the table and flipped through them carefully. Seeing that all the animals had responded well, his mood lifted. He hadn't expected the new Citadel—operating for only half a year—to already deliver such a surprising breakthrough.
"They're all in good health. Some of the smaller animals even developed a craving for sugar. They love it as much as they love honey," Flamelin said, visibly excited.
Aegon gave a slight nod, returned the records to their place, then turned to Flamelin with a steady gaze.
"From now on, your Philosopher's Stone will be named white sugar. Begin human trials."
Flamelin was overjoyed.
"Your Grace, thank you for recognizing the importance of—no, of white sugar. In fact, I already tested it on myself last month. White sugar is completely harmless to humans."
Aegon raised an eyebrow slightly and smiled.
"You have the dedication of a true Maester, and I admire that. Keep the formula strictly guarded. I'll see that you receive the honor and rewards you deserve. Over the next few days, give some thought to a house name—and a town in the Crownlands that you'd like."
"Your Grace, you… you mean to knight me? Make me a Ser? But I'm a Maester—can I even...?" Flamelin was so shocked his lips were trembling, his words stumbling.
Aegon answered calmly, "The new Citadel at Harrenhal is not like the one in Oldtown. You don't need to serve as an advisor in some noble's court. You're not bound by the old Maester rules."
"But we've been taught since childhood that we can't marry, must give up our surnames… Is it really allowed...?" Flamelin still couldn't believe it.
"If I say it is, then it is," Aegon said with a smile, then turned and walked out.
...
A few days later, Lord Loren of the Westerlands arrived at Harrenhal.
Gazing up at the grandest castle in Westeros, Loren couldn't help but marvel. The once-collapsed top of the Kingspyre Tower had already been fully restored—the efficiency of the new kingdom was truly impressive.
And the dozen or so bustling market towns that had sprung up around Harrenhal gave him a real sense of the kingdom's thriving vitality.
Led by a royal steward, Loren entered the castle and was received by Aegon in the Hall of a Hundred Hearths.
Loren was quietly surprised—why would Aegon meet him in such a vast, empty hall, hundreds of meters wide?
He had assumed Aegon would receive him privately in a study or council room. After all, the Targaryen dynasty's financial strain wasn't exactly something to flaunt. Perhaps Aegon chose this hall to project royal authority.
There were only a few people in the hall: King Aegon, Master of Coin Crispian, a young Maester in gray robes, and several attendants.
Loren approached and bowed respectfully to the king on the throne.
"Your Grace, the fifty pounds of tribute you requested have arrived."
"I've agreed to the Westerlands' request to take part in the conquest of the Iron Islands," Aegon said, nodding for him to rise. He then motioned for Loren to come up the steps to the throne.
Still full of questions, Loren obeyed and climbed the steps.
Aegon gestured for him to come closer. The gray-robed Maester beside him brought forward a tray and placed it before Loren, revealing a pile of snow-white crystals.
"Your Grace, these crystals are so small—surely they're not rare treasures?" Loren picked one up, studied it closely for a moment, and spoke with curiosity.
Aegon smiled. "They're not crystals. They're edible—called white sugar. Have you ever tasted brown sugar? They're of the same kind."
"White sugar?" Loren murmured, puzzled.
The Maester picked up a thumb-sized piece from the tray, popped it into his mouth, swallowed, and introduced himself. "Lord Loren, I am Flamelin—the one who invented white sugar."
Loren hesitated briefly, then placed the piece in his mouth. The moment he tasted it, his eyes flickered. A burst of pure, intense sweetness bloomed on his tongue.
In this world, there were no confections or sugarcane. Sweetness was rare and came only from honey, brown sugar, or sugar beets. Due to limitations in processing, brown sugar was far less sweet, and compared to white sugar, the difference was stark.
Loren immediately recognized the extraordinary value of what he had just tasted.
"How is it?" Aegon asked.
"It's delicious—remarkably sweet!" Loren nodded. Though born into Westeros's ruling class, he had never tasted anything so purely sweet. "Does Your Grace intend to trade this white sugar… for the Westerlands' gold?"
Aegon shook his head. "The Dragonlord Treasury I'm establishing is no petty venture. The gold you're offering might barely cover our immediate financial shortfall—but it's far from enough for founding the treasury."
"Then… what are you suggesting, Your Grace?" Loren asked with interest. "You want more gold from the Westerlands? That's not impossible… as long as Your Grace is willing to provide the recipe for this sugar..."
Aegon tapped the armrest of the throne, cutting him off. "The white sugar recipe will not be sold. But since you recognize its worth, we can move forward."
"I plan to use white sugar to establish a trade guild. You've heard of the shareholder guilds in the Valyrian Freehold, I assume?"
"The White Sugar Guild will auction off 49% of its shares. If you're interested, you may buy them with gold."
"The Dragonlord Treasury will also be a joint-stock entity, though its shares will be even more limited. The crown will sell only 25%."
Loren lowered his gaze, considering. Though joint-stock ventures were uncommon in Westeros, they were widespread across the Free Cities and ancient Valyria. He understood it well—just a form of partnership, with profits distributed yearly based on shares. For a house descended from Valyria, adopting such a system made perfect sense.
"What does it cost to make this white sugar?" Loren asked.
Aegon turned to Flamelin and gestured for him to answer.
Flamelin replied, "Your Grace, white sugar isn't hard to make. The cost is about the same as brown sugar—just a few sugar beets are needed."
"Hmm!" Loren drew a sharp breath. He hadn't expected something so crystalline and refined to be so inexpensive.
Flamelin added, "White sugar will be all the rage among the nobility. Its value, Lord Loren, should be clear to you."
"How much is each share of the white sugar guild?" Loren asked Aegon. "Whatever the price, House Lannister will buy it all."
Aegon clapped lightly. Flamelin set down the tray of white sugar and brought forward another tray, this one bearing three coins—one gold, one silver, and one copper.
Loren picked up the gold coin and turned it over in his fingers.
On one side was the three-headed dragon. On the other, a profile of King Aegon himself.
At Aegon's signal, Crispian, the Master of Coin, explained, "These are the kingdom's newly minted official coins: the golden dragon, silver moon, and copper star. Their values are measured on a base-100 scale."
"Forty-nine percent of the white sugar guild—4,900 shares—will be sold at a rate of one golden dragon per share. The share price will be permanently tied to the golden dragon."
"And white sugar guild shares can only be purchased using golden dragons."
"In fact, even among the public, white sugar will only be sold for official currency from the Kingdom of Targaryen."
Loren ran his fingers along the golden dragon and praised, "An ingenious policy. White sugar is bound to be popular, and if it can only be bought with official currency, that will push golden dragons, silver moons, and copper stars into the market, replacing the old currencies of the Seven Kingdoms."
"This clever system—was it devised by Your Grace as well?"
Crispian grinned. "Naturally. Only the wise Aegon could conceive of such brilliance."
"I'm truly impressed," Loren said. "At first, I thought the Dragonlord Treasury would be difficult to operate. The Targaryen Kingdom didn't even have its own currency. But now, with the golden dragon in circulation, national credit will gradually solidify. Lending will surely flourish."
"So how much is one share of the Dragonlord Treasury?"
"In addition to buying all the white sugar shares, House Lannister also intends to purchase the full 25% of the Dragonlord Treasury."
But Aegon shook his head.
"Shares in the Dragonlord Treasury are priced at one hundred golden dragons each. The 25% on offer will come to roughly 2,500 shares. You're free to buy as many white sugar shares as you like—but no duchy may hold more than 5% of the Treasury."
"One hundred golden dragons per share?! And only 5% allowed?!" Loren was stunned.
He had once calculated that a single golden dragon could purchase a warhorse—a real one, not a common nag. In fact, a typical county's yearly income ranged from just ten to a hundred golden dragons.
"Isn't that price a bit steep, Your Grace?" he asked in a low voice.
Aegon replied coolly, "I don't think it's overpriced. The value will only increase. For now, this is merely a starting offer—an internal discount for you duchies. The Dragonlord Treasury is far more than just a lending institution."
...
[Upto 20 chapters ahead for now]
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