Syrio's Victory

"Nicely done, you little swordsman!"

"Good riddance, you Dornish scum..."

Syrio won the duel, and a wave of cheers and applause immediately swept over him.

The judge asked whether he wished to continue competing.

With his iron sword on his back, Syrio bowed to the king and the others in the stands, grinning. "Of course. I intend to win this tournament."

Viserys rather liked this foreign swordsman who had killed the Dornish youth, and watched with the air of a man enjoying a show.

Syrio was an exceptional swordsman. He fought his way through the contest, defeating one opponent after another.

The tournament continued until noon, with the sun high overhead.

Having drunk his fill of wine, Viserys greatly enjoyed Syrio's effortless, elegant swordplay.

When he felt the sunlight growing fiercer, he called a halt to the tournament.

Viserys rose from his chair and stretched his aching back, pleased. "What a thrilling tournament!"

At his movement, the eyes of everyone in the stands turned toward him.

"Bring that foreign swordsman here. The king would like a word with him."

Viserys instructed the servant standing behind him.

The servant nodded and swiftly made his way down from the stands to whisper to the judge.

Before long, Syrio reached the edge of the dueling ground and knelt on one knee, looking up at the dais.

Viserys gazed down at him from above, puzzled. "Swordsman, why don't you come up here?"

Syrio laid his sword across his knee and called out, "I fight for honor. Once I've won the tournament, I will offer you my allegiance, Your Grace."

"Honor?"

Viserys made no comment, but asked with interest, "The tournament has five days left. If you win, I can grant you one wish."

"Thank you for your generosity, Your Grace."

Syrio thanked him humbly.

Viserys waved for him to rise, then took Rhaegar's hand and turned to leave the grounds.

Once the king had left, the other guests naturally followed.

After returning to his study in the Red Keep, Viserys kept his two children behind and posed a question.

"Aren't you curious why I made that promise to the swordsman?"

Rhaegar looked puzzled.

Rhaenyra shrugged, unimpressed. "You once said that the best way to understand a person or a situation is to observe it over time."

"Good. I see you remember what I said."

Viserys smiled faintly. "A capable ruler nips risks in the bud."

"That gives us ample time to investigate the source of the risk."

Rhaegar frowned in confusion. "What if we don't act in time? Couldn't it come back to bite us?"

"Exactly. That's why I want to teach you to stay alert to potential dangers. Never let your guard down."

Viserys used the war in the Stepstones as an example. "The Stepstones lie between the two coasts. They are a vital strategic position."

"When the Three Daughters invaded, do you know why I didn't send our forces to fight them myself?"

Rhaenyra paused. She stared at her father for a long moment before answering, "Because you didn't want to start a war and face criticism from the whole realm."

"Wrong. Strictly speaking, the war in the Stepstones was about defending our lands. History would remember the king as wise and noble for defeating the wicked pirates of the Three Daughters."

Viserys disagreed with her answer.

He turned to Rhaegar. "What do you think?"

Rhaegar knit his little brows, uncertain. "Because someone else would fight the Three Daughters..."

"Exactly. You've hit the nail on the head. You have a gift for this, Rhaegar."

Viserys laughed and applauded, praising him without reservation. "The Three Daughters' occupation of the Stepstones affected the Sea Snake Corlys's family first and most severely. He would never stand idly by."

Rhaenyra was deeply confused. "So what? You let pirates prey on your subjects, let the Sea Snake sound the call to war, and have him win victory and glory in the king's place?"

In her view, it was the king's duty to take the fight to the Three Daughters himself.

He shouldn't let his vassals go to war and undermine royal authority.

Viserys didn't take offense at his daughter's challenge. He patiently explained:

"When the Three Daughters invaded, your mother had just died in childbirth, and Rhaegar had been unconscious since birth. He couldn't serve as my heir."

"By tradition, my brother Daemon naturally won the support of the lords, and he was hungry for the Iron Throne."

"But I insisted on choosing my own daughter—you—as my heir."

"Then Daemon and I had a fierce argument, and in my anger, I drove him out of King's Landing."

As he spoke, Viserys watched Rhaenyra without expression. "Do you think the royal family could have borne the risk of going to war so recklessly at the time?"

"But we have dragons, and lords throughout the realm who have sworn fealty!"

Rhaenyra tried hard to argue back.

"Dragons? There are dragons in the Dragonpit and on Dragonstone, but how many could have taken the field at the time?"

"Even if we sent an army, who would command it on the storm-tossed sea?"

Viserys countered.

Rhaenyra faltered, realizing where the problem lay.

Viserys's expression hardened. "At that time, the royal family had no dragon fit for battle, and the only suitable choice to command the fleet was the Sea Snake, Corlys."

"Daemon had Caraxes, and I could have joined the army myself..."

Rhaenyra tried to argue further, but Viserys cut her off.

"I drove Daemon away with my own hands. He'd just lost his chance to become heir. Would he have put aside his grudge and fought for me, or for you as my heir?"

"Absolutely not! And I wouldn't lower myself to ask Daemon for help."

"Syrax was a young dragon who'd never seen battle. I wasn't foolish enough to send my newly chosen heir to war, waiting for the day news arrived that you'd been assassinated!"

His sharp words were like a sword thrust into Rhaenyra's vulnerable heart.

Yet she had no answer. She knew they were true.

Viserys stopped chastising his daughter and continued, "Now consider what happened. The royal family sent only three thousand soldiers, while the Sea Snake, Corlys, and Daemon bore the blame for starting a war without permission. They fought with all their might and defeated the Three Daughters for the realm."

"And what did they gain in return for all their efforts?"

"Years of hard fighting, spending countless lives and vast resources, all to occupy a barren cluster of islands?"

Viserys lifted his wine cup and took a small sip, his eyes unruffled. "They gained nothing!"

"The Sea Snake's family was gravely weakened by the war. They abandoned the Stepstones and slunk home to lick their wounds."

"Your uncle Daemon spent a great many men from the Second Sons Company. He gave up his crown and the Stepstones, returned to King's Landing, and bowed his head to me in reconciliation."

"Meanwhile, my chosen heir grew up safely, and peace and prosperity prevailed throughout the realm."

Viserys walked over to Rhaenyra and said, word by word, "My daughter, do you understand now?"

Rhaenyra was deeply shaken by her father's far-sighted wisdom.

Her innocent mind had never imagined so many twists and turns.

For a moment, the father before her seemed to overlap with the father in her memories, who smiled ingratiatingly at everyone.

He seemed both familiar and strange.

Rhaenyra pressed her lips together and lowered her head.

"Father, the Seven blessed you with incomparable wisdom, yet I doubted you. I'm deeply ashamed."

As a king, Viserys was certainly indecisive, but he wasn't ignorant of politics.

Thanks to God's Favor for the 2,000 coins.

Thanks to Thirteen Grottoes for the 100 coins.