Melancholy Maiden Rhaenyra

About a quarter of an hour later.

In a corner of the banquet, two silver-haired boys, one big and one small, sat facing each other.

Aemon wore a mischievous grin as he picked up a blueberry, stuffed half of it into Little Aegon's mouth, then rubbed the saliva-covered other half against his face.

After finishing a small plate of blueberries, Little Aegon's belly was round and his face and mouth were stained blue.

"Prince, the Queen will be angry if she sees this."

The plump Maid standing nearby was practically on the verge of tears.

"It's fine. If Alicent comes to settle the score, I'll take the blame," Aemon said without the slightest panic.

This was nothing yet.

"Waaah~~"

Little Aegon shook his head and stammered out a refusal. "Brother, no... more!"

"You can talk now?"

Aemon had never expected it—and he had spoken in High Valyrian.

Had the Little One been forced to mature because Aemon spoke it so often?

"Mhm, mhm." Little Aegon nodded furiously, no longer daring to be cocky.

Aemon set down the few remaining blueberries and smiled in satisfaction.

It had to be him!

At an age when the Little One could barely speak, he had directly learned his mother tongue.

It reminded Aemon of the time when his great-grandfather was still alive, teaching him Valyrian alongside Alicent.

Valyrian transliterations were concise, sharing a certain similarity with Chinese.

Having taught himself to use it as his primary language, he was more fluent in it than in the Common Tongue.

"No, I have to put my hands on my hips." Aemon grinned.

What goes around comes around. Alicent should be thanking him.

He had the future little King of the Green Party wrapped around his finger!

"Aemon, what are you doing here?"

Alicent's voice suddenly rang out, followed by a cry of alarm. "Aegon, what happened to him?!"

Aemon froze, no longer grinning.

Alicent hurried over and bent down to pick up her son. Seeing his blueberry-colored face, she was so angry she laughed. "Aemon, why are you teasing him?"

She took out a handkerchief and wiped at him, but the blueberry stains only smeared further.

Little Aegon scrambled into her arms, looking as aggrieved as a chubby two-year-old. "Mama~~"

"You can talk now?" Alicent was utterly astonished.

Little Aegon: ...

"What an unexpected surprise. It seems Aegon really should spend more time playing with children."

Alicent seemed thoughtful as she teased, "Thank you, Aemon."

Aemon withdrew his tiny hands from his hips and smiled awkwardly. "You're welcome."

He looked like Tom Cat caught red-handed after doing something bad, honest-faced yet carrying a hint of ingratiation.

Alicent sighed helplessly, wiped the tears from Little Aegon's eyes, and carried him away to wash his face.

Before leaving, she cast a complicated glance back, then lowered her head and quickened her pace.

Aemon waved as he watched Alicent and her son disappear into the distance.

It was hard to miss the light footsteps behind him.

When he turned around, he found Rhaenyra, whom he had not seen earlier, already standing behind him with a melancholy expression.

Before he could greet her, Rhaenyra forced a smile. "Was teasing Aegon fun?"

Alicent had brought her back from the Red Keep's Godswood.

"You're unhappy?" Aemon tilted his head up, his large eyes full of sincerity.

Rhaenyra froze at his question and immediately denied it. "No!"

"Hm~"

Aemon cocked his head, wearing an expression that said she could not fool him.

The words I'm unhappy might as well have been written across her face.

Rhaenyra felt uncomfortable under his gaze and turned away, finding an excuse. "Yes. There wasn't any cake I liked at the banquet."

"I see." Aemon nodded without exposing her.

That clearly was not the reason. She was stubbornly putting on a brave face.

Today was Aegon's Name Day celebration. Half the kingdom's lords and nobles were busy currying favor, neglecting Rhaenyra, the heir to the Iron Throne.

Who would not feel upset in her place?

"Do you remember what you promised me yesterday?"

Considerately changing the subject, Aemon smiled. "Since the banquet doesn't have any cake you like, let's go play at the Dragonpit together."

Never mind whatever conflict Alicent and Rhaenyra had.

He never forgot to earn Magic Essence.

Rhaenyra looked around, confirming that no one was coming to make conversation with her, then shrugged helplessly. "No problem. I'll treat it as a chance to clear my head."

"Yay, let's go!"

Aemon cheered and immediately set off.

No one at the banquet paid attention to them, and they made their way smoothly to the outer courtyard.

The gates slowly opened, revealing the streets beyond the Red Keep.

Rhaenyra rubbed her temples. "I didn't call Cole. How are we getting there?"

With how lively things were today, they could not even find a coachman.

"Don't worry. I came prepared."

Aemon patted his little chest with confidence.

As soon as he finished speaking, Ser Steve arrived driving a White Carriage Palace and expertly brought it to a stop at the entrance.

"See?" Aemon smiled.

Rhaenyra was slightly surprised. She had not expected the Little One to be so good at ordering people around, and she could not help but laugh.

Ser Steve was an honest man. He picked up the Little Prince, who had opened his arms, and steadily placed him inside the carriage.

Of course, he was not the only escort accompanying them.

He called over the three guards who had been mingling at the banquet, eating and drinking, and had them follow behind on horseback.

Halfway there, the carriage swayed gently.

Aemon and Rhaenyra sat on opposite sides, both lowering their heads in silence.

William, who was close to Rhaenyra's age, was also in the carriage, watching over the treasured basket that Aemon always brought along when he went out.

Click!

Aemon rummaged out the incubation vessel, opened its lid, and checked the dragon egg as usual.

A puff of white smoke rose, and the Black Dragon Egg was completely unharmed.

"Magic-infused item detected. Magic Essence acquired +3."

Aemon was slightly disappointed. After harvesting his once-every-three-days "leeks," he replaced the lid.

The dragon egg truly had not hatched yet.

Even if it did hatch, once the Dance of the Dragons arrived, an underage hatchling would be useless.

It seems I can only take the other path.

Aemon remained silent, and Rhaenyra, already in low spirits, was even less inclined to speak.

As time passed bit by bit, the atmosphere grew increasingly stifling.

"Ahem."

William coughed twice and stole a glance at the noble, beautiful Princess across from him. In a tiny voice, he said, "Prince, I'm going to learn some carriage-driving techniques."

Before anyone could react, he nimbly slipped out the door.

Aemon's face darkened.

What a waste. A boar really cannot appreciate fine food.

Rhaenyra came back to herself at the sound and offered an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I drifted off again."

"It's fine. I was organizing my things too."

Aemon gathered his strength and put away the heavy incubation vessel.

Collecting essence was not easy. Discovering magical items was difficult, and finding items that produced essence steadily was harder still.

So far, only two things were stable enough.

Valyrian Steel and dragon eggs.

The former included the Family Sword Blackfyre in the Red Keep. Whether it could yield essence every few days still required testing.

Runestone also had a Family Sword called Lament, which Aemon could use even after leaving King's Landing.

Its defining trait was its high yield.

By comparison, dragon eggs produced less, but fortunately, there were more of them.

Barring any surprises, this trip to the Dragonpit would be highly profitable.

Aemon's thoughts turned as he sighed inwardly. If only I had a spell that could locate magical items.

Then he would not have to grope around blindly, wasting so much time that could be spent on useful things.

"Right, I haven't checked my cards today."

Aemon had a sudden idea and summoned the dazzling panel.

Creak!

The White Carriage Palace came to a stop, and Ser Steve's voice sounded from outside. "Prince, Princess, we've arrived at the Dragonpit."

"Alright."

Rhaenyra smoothed the silver hair at her temples and tried her best to lift her spirits.

Little Aegon: "Big brother and big sister, please vote for me~"