Queen Rhaella stood firm, her expression shifting slightly as she cautioned, "Keep these Dragon Eggs safe. Don't give them to your father or your elder brother."
Oh? Has the sun risen in the west?
Daeron took a couple of serious looks, wondering if this was really his biased mother.
Queen Rhaella rolled her eyes and said coldly, "Why give them anything? Both father and son are selfish ghouls without a shred of responsibility."
Daeron didn't dare respond, fearing his words might be too harsh and provoke her.
"Your father is finished in this life. Don't expect him to set you right; he only has himself in his mind. He'll help you if you're useful, but if you're not, he won't even spare you a glance."
Queen Rhaella's resentment ran deep, yet she remained clear-headed. She said icily, "If you're too useful, he'll be jealous of you. Your elder brother was like that, and now you are too."
"Is my brother really useful?"
Daeron spoke up suddenly.
Queen Rhaella brushed off his hand and sat back on the bench. "Your brother's heart was clouded by that Stark woman. In terms of governance and dividing the nobility alone, he does better than you."
"Don't be indignant either. Just look at the mess you're making now."
Queen Rhaella opened up, as if pouring out all the thoughts she had kept buried in her heart.
"If I were you, I would hurry and marry Shaena. Stop thinking about the Lannisters and Highgarden roses. You're burdened with debt; how will you pay it back in the future?"
As she spoke, she pointed at Shaena, who was serving nearby.
Shaena froze for a moment, silently lowering her head.
Daeron was speechless, asking in surprise, "You even know about these things?"
"You think you've hidden it well? You think only you are brilliant while everyone else is blind and deaf?"
Queen Rhaella's verbal attack was formidable. She scolded, "What kind of man is Tywin Lannister? After your father and Lady Joanna caused such a massive scandal, he cast aside his pride and turned around to actively propose marrying his daughter to your elder brother."
"Now that you owe him, he will find every way to make you pay it back tenfold."
Daeron felt the scolding wasn't so harsh anymore and listened intently.
Was his mother—giving him advice?
Lady Rhaella was indeed concerned for her Second Son. She mentioned the Old Rose of the court, her voice turning even colder: "Olenna Redwyne, known as the 'Queen of Thorns.' She's the most cunning old hag in the Seven Kingdoms. Have you ever known her to be reasonable?"
"You are currently borrowing the strength of House Tyrell. No matter what terms you promised her, when she comes to collect, she will be ten times more ruthless than Tywin."
Getting more heated as she spoke, she looked around and grabbed a cushion, tossing it at him.
Daeron raised his hand to catch it. It didn't hurt; he was only worried she might strain herself.
My sister is still in your belly.
"But is Mother's advice telling me not to trust Father, to marry quickly to solidify my position, and to cast off the Lannisters and Tyrells to prepare for the future?"
Daeron roughly understood, marveling at his mother's terrifyingly high political intuition.
But one cannot rush things.
Daeron squeezed the cushion, his tone softening. "The Iron Throne is facing a challenge. If I cast off the Lannisters and Tyrells now, I'm afraid there will be big trouble."
"Nonsense! Wasn't this challenge created by the three of you—father and sons?"
Queen Rhaella exposed the unspoken understanding between the three of them, her brows furrowed as she said, "You don't have trouble; your elder brother is the one in real trouble. He's trapped by that Doran Martell of Dorne."
"When he ascends the Iron Throne in the future, the court will have to give half its power to the Dornish. If your brother continues like this, even if he is crowned, he won't sit on the Iron Throne for long."
The world had only heard of the Blackfyre Rebellion and believed Daeron II was weak and incompetent, and that with the sabotage of his father, Aegon IV 'the Unworthy,' a destined enemy like Daemon Blackfyre emerged.
These were actually just superficial reasons.
There was only one true reason.
That was Daeron II marrying a Martell woman. Not only did his eldest son, Baelor 'Breakspear,' have a Dornish appearance, but the court was also filled with a large number of Dornish nobles, which greatly squeezed the living space of nobles from other regions, causing a collective backlash.
Because Daeron II's wife and son were Dornish, and the court was half-filled with Dornish nobles, it seemed possible that House Martell might sit on the Iron Throne tomorrow, with the entire court packed with Dornishmen.
In political structures, this is known as "power risk spillover."
The nobles of the various regions didn't dare gamble on whether Daeron II could control the court or if the silver hair of the Targaryens would all be dyed black in the future.
In contrast, although Daemon Blackfyre was a bastard, he was a noble one.
In fact, both of Daemon Blackfyre's parents were legitimate Targaryens.
On the continent of Westeros, a bastard in this situation, even with the title of bastard, would not be considered baseborn by the nobles but would be treated as a legitimate Targaryen.
Thus, when Daemon Blackfyre raised his banner of righteousness, nobles from all regions flocked to him.
If not for "Bloodraven" Brynden using any means necessary and disregarding martial honor, the first Blackfyre Rebellion would not have ended so abruptly and anticlimactically.
"Heh, now the situation is reversed."
Queen Rhaella sneered, "Your elder brother has become Daeron II, and you have become Daemon Blackfyre."
No, it should be an infinitely enhanced "plus" version of Daemon Blackfyre.
Daemon Blackfyre was a bastard after all, while Daeron was the legitimate Second Son of the King.
Besides, Daeron had three dragons!
Daeron felt guilty being called out and flatly denied it: "Father is still alive; how could that be?"
"I don't have time for your pretenses. Just looking at what you've done, which of it is the proper duty of a Second Son?
"
Queen Rhaella mocked him.
"Are you advising me to usurp the throne?"
Having reached this point, Daeron simply stopped pretending and asked openly.
"You don't need to bait me."
Queen Rhaella flicked her sleeve and said coldly, "Your father and your brother have made a mess of the kingdom. Whether you have that ambition or not, you know it in your heart."
"And what if I do?"
Daeron insisted on getting a clear answer.
"Shaena—she is the person in this entire family most worth protecting."
Queen Rhaella grabbed her daughter's hand, a rare moment of tenderness appearing as she said, "Marry this silly girl now. You have three dragons; give her one. Both of you go to Storms End, and no one in the Seven Kingdoms can do anything to you."
Daeron was well-versed in history and understood instantly.
His mother was pointing him toward replicating the path of The Old King Jaehaerys.
The Old King ascended the throne as a youth, taking over a kingdom left in ruins by his father and uncle.
His mother remarried the Lord of Storms End, Lord Rogar Baratheon, who was ambitious. Not only did he marry the former queen, but he also sought to control the King.
He arranged separate marriages for The Old King and "Good Queen" Alysanne, not for the stability of the kingdom, but solely to strengthen his own house.
The Old King didn't indulge him. Taking his sister Alysanne, one riding Vermithor and the other Silverwing, they both flew to Dragonstone and were wed there.
Lord Rogar was fly-blown with rage and even wanted to send troops to attack Dragonstone to forcibly separate the newlyweds.
History books say the former queen persuaded him, leading him to resign as Regent and Hand and return to Storms End to return royal power.
In reality, The Old King and Alysanne, with two people and two dragons, were both legitimate Targaryens. Holding the strategic chokepoint of Dragonstone against King's Landing, they won over staunch vassals like the Velaryons.
If Lord Rogar hadn't fled, he would have lost his head.
Daeron pondered for a moment, weighing his "steady" strategy against his mother's proposal, comparing their pros and cons.
The core of his plan was to get something for nothing.
Use Cersei to keep Tywin steady, letting him fight the wars to wear down the strength of both the Royalists and the rebels.
Use promises to keep Lady Olenna steady, borrowing The Reach's army to ultimately deliver the final blow.
The trouble was it could easily trigger a backlash from both houses, with the lingering danger of driving both regions into rebellion.
In contrast, his mother's proposal was clearly more straightforward and decisive, fitting her extreme personality.
If Daeron truly married Shaena and held Storms End with two people and two dragons, they would be even more threatening than The Old King and Queen Alysanne of old.
The downside was that Tywin and Lady Olenna would turn against him immediately, their armies withdrawing and no longer responding.
He would then have to personally lead the Royalists and half the Riverlands nobles to fight the rebels.
The future risk was also that those two regions might rebel.
"What have you decided?"
Queen Rhaella patted her daughter's hand. While seemingly questioning her Second Son, it was clearly for her daughter's sake.
Aerys's selfish genes were too strong, and the eldest son Rhaegar, in whom great hopes were placed, was disappointing.
She heard the Second Son had also found a mistress and was entangled with a Lannister girl. If this continued, it would be just as precarious—better to cut the Gordian knot and eliminate the Second Son's messy romances once and for all.
Daeron remained silent for a long while, then nodded, then shook his head.
"What does that mean?"
Queen Rhaella's expression grew even colder.
Daeron spoke: "Everything you say makes sense, but I have my own considerations."
His mother was right, but that would be too extreme.
He had just raided Pentos, which would likely invite retaliation from the Essos.
At such a critical juncture, he couldn't afford to offend Tywin and House Tyrell to the point of isolation, leaving the House Targaryen alone.
Otherwise, when the armies of the Essos attacked, the Iron Throne would be weak and isolated.
Daeron hadn't completely ignored her advice. He said seriously, "Comparing the two, I've decided to end the rebellion as quickly as possible. There's no need to drag it out any longer."
The plan to expand the Crownlands was already halfway through.
If "Blackfish" Brynden could persuade Hoster Tully to surrender, the process of the Crownlands swallowing the Riverlands would be no slower than wearing down the Riverlands' potential through forced implementation.
Combining the three regions of the Crownlands, Riverlands, and Stormlands, even Tywin and House Tyrell would have to avoid their sharp edge and wouldn't dare move troops lightly.
"If you end the rebellion, what about your father and your brother?"
Queen Rhaella's expression was grim.
Daeron took the Dragon Eggs and said, "Once the rebellion is suppressed, the nobles of the Seven Kingdoms will have eyes to see."
He turned to leave, intending to take the Dragon Eggs back to the farm.
As he opened the door, Queen Rhaella's emotions surged. She said coldly, "Your father won't name you heir; he also follows primogeniture."
Daeron paused, not looking back, his resolve even firmer: "I have my own ways."
Previously, he had wanted to replicate the original world's trajectory, letting Robert crush Rhaegar at the Ruby Ford.
But thinking about it simply, that was also difficult to achieve.
In the original work, Rhaegar was foolish enough to send three Kingsguard to the Tower of Joy to protect Lyanna. The two Kingsguard by his side died in the chaotic battle, and he fought Robert one-on-one.
Now that Lyanna had already given birth, she didn't need anyone to protect her.
Setting aside the Kingsguard issue, it was uncertain whether the rebels would remain as united as in the original work to fight the Royalist Army to the death.
Relying on Robert to kill Rhaegar with his warhammer was less reliable than simply fleeing to the Essos at the start, waiting for the Targaryen dynasty to fall, and then popping up sixteen years later when Daenerys hatched three young dragons to claim kinship and maybe snag a dragon.
"Suppress the rebellion first, and I will naturally be qualified to be King. Letting the rebellion continue just to become King legitimately is putting the cart before the horse."
Daeron was a Dragonrider, possessing a vision and breadth of mind that transcended the era.
An Iron Throne won fairly through ability was stronger than any schemes or intrigues.
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