Helaena

Rhaegar brought up the system panel and stared at the talent section.

There was no detailed description, only the Dreamer talent marked with a gold quality.

The highest-quality relic he had encountered was still Balerion's skull, which was red, or Legendary-grade.

The quality rankings probably went like this:

Legendary (red), Epic (purple), Excellent (blue), Good (green)...

Whether there were lower grades beneath Good remained to be discovered.

It was all but certain that anything above Legendary was gold.

That showed just how valuable the Dreamer talent was.

He had indeed had countless dreams.

Dreams of future dragons, flames, and wars...

Dreams of all sorts of strange and wonderful things from unknown worlds...

And, even more remarkably, intensely specific prophetic dreams.

He had once dreamed of the White Hart.

It had truly appeared in the Kingswood, become his friend, and helped him regain his health.

After hearing his father's account, he had gained a new perspective on his nightmares.

He had begun to take the Dreamer talent seriously.

Rumble~~

Suddenly, the sound of something rolling behind him pulled Rhaegar from his thoughts.

He turned around warily and looked around.

His father had called Illyric away to talk, so Illyric had the night off and wasn't at his side.

Hearing the sound without warning made him feel a little uneasy.

There was no one in the corridor behind him, only a fine leather ball rolling along the floor.

Night had fallen, and the shadowy corridor stood empty, with only the oddly rolling ball in sight.

Rhaegar's face went deathly pale, and his scalp prickled.

"Whose ball is this? Who's playing around in the middle of the night?"

Though afraid, Rhaegar steeled himself and shouted down the corridor.

Whether there was something supernatural out there or not, he might as well shout first.

Even if nothing else, his voice might draw one of the night watchmen.

Rhaegar's voice echoed through the silent corridor, but no one answered.

He glanced back. His door was right there.

Rhaegar swallowed and edged backward.

Tap, tap, tap...

Just then, a light set of footsteps sounded, as if leather-soled shoes were treading across a wooden plank.

Rhaegar happened to turn around and saw a white figure flash past.

"Brother, do you want to play ball?"

A little girl, as pretty as a porcelain doll, appeared in the corridor. She hugged the ball and looked at him expectantly.

A white dress, silver hair, skin as fair as snow...

When he recognized her, Rhaegar's face darkened. He held back his anger. "Helaena, why aren't you asleep? Why did you sneak out to play ball in the middle of the night?"

The little girl was Helaena, Rhaegar's half-sister and a young princess.

Helaena hugged the ball and leaned against the corridor wall, mumbling, "Aegon plays with it during the day, so I play at night..."

Looking at her slight figure, Rhaegar strode over. "Why play at night? Children should go to bed early and get up early."

At the sight of her seldom-seen brother approaching, Helaena jumped and lowered her head.

"Aegon won't let me play with the ball. I can only sneak out and play when he's asleep."

Rhaegar paused at her words. "He won't play with you? Doesn't your mother do anything?"

Helaena shook her head gently. "When Mother's around, Aegon plays with me. When she's gone, he won't let me."

"That Aegon... What kind of brother is he?"

Rhaegar was furious. He took Helaena's small hand. "I'll take you back to your room first. Tomorrow, I'll have a craftsman make you a ball of your own. You don't have to keep fighting over this one."

Helaena didn't move. She leaned against the wall without saying a word.

"What's wrong? Why are you unhappy?"

Rhaegar couldn't tug the tiny Helaena along, so he asked again.

Helaena only shook her head and said nothing, holding the ball in one arm.

Thinking of Aegon's usual behavior, Rhaegar probed carefully. "You're afraid Aegon will take your ball, aren't you?"

Helaena looked up at him, biting her pouty lip without answering.

After a moment's hesitation, Rhaegar suggested, "Then leave the ball with me. You can take it out and play whenever you want, without Aegon seeing."

Helaena's violet eyes lit up. She nodded, speaking softly. "Okay. I'll give you the ball. Aegon wouldn't dare take it from you."

She reached out and handed Rhaegar the ball she had been clutching to her chest.

Though the little girl usually seemed rather silly, like a closed-mouthed saw,

she was actually quite clever. She knew Aegon wouldn't dare provoke Rhaegar.

Rhaegar shook his head with a laugh. "That's not what I mean. Tomorrow, I'll give you a new ball, and Aegon can have the old one."

A smile blossomed across Helaena's rosy face. She stopped resisting and let Rhaegar lead her away.

Helaena's room was on the same floor as Rhaegar's.

She had originally lived with Aegon and their mother, Alicent.

But now that there was a baby, ವಿಶેષણ, Alicent couldn't stand his crying.

So she had arranged three separate rooms for her children.

Helaena told him that the attendants looking after her had often been called away to work these past few days, so she and Aegon had spent all day together.

That was why Aegon often bullied her, leaving her to sneak out and play at night while everyone was asleep.

Rhaegar didn't doubt her. The Red Keep had been short-staffed lately, what with Rhaenyra's return from her voyage and the tourney.

He walked Helaena back to her room, then leaned against the doorframe and warned her, "Don't go wandering around again. There are dragons prowling the Red Keep at night. Be careful they don't eat you!"

Rhaegar pretended to bare his claws and frighten his little sister.

Helaena wasn't scared at all. She covered her mouth and giggled.

"Heh, you're a brave little girl."

Seeing her adorable expression, Rhaegar raised a hand to pinch her cheek.

Before he could touch her, Helaena suddenly shuddered, and her smile vanished.

"What's wrong, Helaena?"

Noticing the change, Rhaegar grew concerned.

Helaena stared straight at him, tense and uneasy. "A hungry wolf has its eye on a lamb!"

"What do you mean? Helaena, did you see or hear something?"

Rhaegar immediately thought of the rumors about Helaena. Combined with his own Dreamer talent,

he guessed that Helaena might have a similar prophetic gift and had sensed something.

However, Helaena turned distant again and silently closed the door.

Rhaegar was left outside. He thought about knocking, but raised his hand and hesitated.

Helaena's state was clearly unusual, and might be some kind of self-protection after a premonition.

Waking her abruptly from it might not be a good idea.

"Helaena, get some rest. I'll remember to have a ball made for you."

He spoke softly through the door, then left and returned to his room.

He still had many old books stored in his space bracelet that he hadn't finished reading.

Perhaps he would have to start there to understand the Dreamer talent.

He paid particular attention to the bloodline section on the system panel.

[Rhaegar Targaryen]

Bloodline: Valyrian Dragonlord (12%)

Ever since he awakened Explorer, the bloodline section had changed frequently.

At first, the number in parentheses had been only 5%. After he gained Blood of the Dragon, it had surged by 8%.

It had continued to rise slowly afterward.

Rhaegar guessed the percentage represented the purity of his bloodline.

Just as the evaluation section had noted:

"His Dragonlord blood is so potent that even in the Valyrian era, it would have been considered excellent."

After half a year, his bloodline purity had reached 12%.

That was more than double what it had been at first.

The "+" before the percentage had disappeared. The effect of Blood of the Dragon had probably reached its limit, and the number wouldn't rise any further.

"I'll look through the books when I get back. There were so many Dragonlord families in Old Valyria. What use is bloodline purity?"