Curse of the Chains

"Father, I'm fine..."

His back numb, Rhaegar mustered his strength to speak.

"Rhaegar, my child, did I disturb you?"

Viserys sat by the bedside, helpless, reaching out to touch his son but hesitating.

"No, I wasn't deeply asleep anyway."

Rhaegar smiled, reaching out to grasp his father's large hand and comforting him, "I have the White Hart's blessing, I can live to be a hundred."

Viserys gripped his hand back, nodding repeatedly, "You're right, you are a child favored by the Seven Gods, pain cannot make you yield."

Forcing a smile, Viserys tentatively asked, "Tell me, is it true what they say, that your injuries were from trying to tame a dragon?"

Rhaegar said regretfully, "Yes, I almost tamed Dreamfyre."

"Seven hells! How could you dare to secretly tame a dragon behind your father's back, and it was the usually ferocious Dreamfyre."

Viserys was close to breaking down, unable to believe his eldest son was so reckless.

Rhaegar explained, "But I really almost gained Dreamfyre's recognition."

"I didn't see what you're talking about, I only see my beloved child lying in bed with blisters the size of beans all over his back!"

Viserys reprimanded him in a low voice, his heart aching.

He was expressing his anger, but also worried about frightening his severely injured eldest son by shouting.

His wounds stung again, Rhaegar's face flushed, "I'm not lying, I can feel Dreamfyre's heart filled with anger at being confined, it recognized me!"

"But Dreamfyre almost killed you with Dragonflame!"

Viserys roared, his eyes filled with lingering fear.

Rhaegar blurted out, "Someone changed Dreamfyre's chains. In the final step of the recognition ritual, Dreamfyre was enraged by the chains and attacked me."

"Chains!?"

Viserys's expression froze, his brow furrowing.

"The chains confining Dreamfyre were abnormal, forcing it to lie on the ground."

Rhaegar immediately revealed the truth.

Viserys fell into thought, pondering who had changed the chains and for what purpose.

Lyonel's voice came from behind, "Your Majesty, Sir Illyric is at the door, shall I summon him?"

Snapping back from his thoughts, Viserys said angrily, "Bring him in, I want to ask him how he protected my child?"

Illyric entered the room and walked to the bed, kneeling on one knee.

Viserys stared at him with sharp eyes and said coldly, "Give a full account of your day's activities, especially why Rhaegar was injured. Do not omit a single detail."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Under the gaze of everyone in the room, Illyric truthfully recounted his day's activities.

From departing the Red Keep to the blacksmith's shop...

From entering the Dragonpit to encountering Princess Rhaenyra and Prince Daemon...

From Rhaegar's solo dragon taming to his narrow escape from the dragon's maw...

In just a few minutes, Illyric laid out every detail.

Viserys's face grew darker as he listened, he glared at Illyric resentfully, blaming him for not following Rhaegar every step of the way.

Lyonel interjected at the opportune moment, "Your Majesty, that scholar named Menas is very suspicious. We can start by investigating him."

"Where is that bastard?"

Viserys nodded in agreement and irritably demanded of Illyric.

Illyric whispered, "Menas is locked in the dungeon by me."

"Sir Harrold, handle this matter personally."

Viserys nodded in agreement and dispatched the experienced Harrold.

With the suspect in hand, Viserys's anger subsided slightly, and his focus returned to Rhaegar.

Rhaegar hesitated, "Father, Menas probably doesn't have the guts to harm me. Can you spare his life?"

Viserys snorted, "You're still thinking of others, I truly don't know if you're kind or foolish."

However, he did not refuse his eldest son's request and instructed Harrold to leave Menas with a breath of life.

Rhaegar turned to Illyric and said softly, "Sir Illyric was loyal and diligent. I was too arrogant, you..."

"Enough, I know what you want to say."

Viserys interrupted him, pressing his hand and saying impatiently, "I won't punish him, alright?"

"Thank you, Father."

Rhaegar felt a warmth in his heart and obediently lay on the bed.

For a moment, father and son fell silent.

Seeing this, Lyonel beckoned to Illyric and Meros, who tactfully withdrew from the room.

After a long pause, Viserys gazed at the sunset clouds outside the window and said hesitantly, "You... you almost tamed Dreamfyre?"

"Yes, if it weren't for that damned chain, I would have succeeded."

Rhaegar replied dejectedly.

Viserys fell silent again upon hearing this, a sharp glint flashing in his lowered eyelids.

Dreamfyre was an adult dragon. Although smaller than Vermithor, who hatched at the same time, she was far fiercer than the young Syrax and Sea Smoke.

She was even slightly stronger than the Red Queen, Meleys, and the Blood Wyrm, Caraxes.

His eldest son could have tamed such a powerful ally.

Yet, he was hindered by a ridiculous chain and nearly lost his life.

Viserys could not accept such a loss and psychological blow.

Gently stroking Rhaegar's messy short hair, he said deeply, "Good boy, Father will handle this for you."

Rhaegar said, "I recently had a dream about the Dragonpit. You told me to trust my dreams, and I want to tell you about it."

"Go on! You have the gift of dreamwalking. Whatever you say, I will listen carefully."

Upon hearing that it was related to prophetic dreams, Viserys became very expectant.

Rhaegar used the same rhetoric he had used when talking to Rhaenyra.

He emphasized the harm of the Dragonpit: "Dragons cannot be bound by chains, or they will be cursed!"

Viserys pondered, "You mean this loss of control with Dreamfyre is the so-called curse?"

"No! Dreamfyre's loss of control was overwhelmingly due to human factors; it's not a true curse."

Rhaegar said with a hint of intimidation, "This might just be a warning. If we continue to restrain dragons with chains, it will surely bring about more terrible consequences."

He was certain that the experience in the ancient texts was not mere fancy.

If Dreamfyre hadn't been wearing shackles, he wouldn't have been harmed.

Viserys's expression shifted unpredictably, and he finally decided, "Dreams do not lie. I will thoroughly investigate the Dragonpit and root out the hidden rats."

"However, the family's bonded dragons cannot be without nests in King's Landing. The Dragonpit will remain, but the chains can be removed appropriately."

Rhaegar agreed with his father's approach, saying, "As long as the dragons are no longer confined by chains, the curse will have no place to manifest."

As the sky darkened, Viserys looked at his eldest son with concern and bid farewell, "Rest well. I'll come see you again tomorrow."

"Mm, see you tomorrow."

Rhaegar bid farewell obediently and watched his father leave the room.

Once the person was gone, the room fell silent.

Rhaegar was left alone, collapsing onto the bed in despair, baring his teeth in pain.

How could such extensive burns be fine?

He was just pretending for his father.

"Hiss, the power of Dragonflame is no joke. A little spark almost burned me to death."

He gasped in pain, a sense of lingering fear washing over him.

Thanks to the effect of [Blood of the Dragon], his fragile body surely wouldn't have been able to withstand the Dragonflame burns.

He might have been burned through from back to chest.

"Thank you again, Balerion!"

Rhaegar thought of the skull of Balerion placed in the center of the shrine, a flicker of relief in his eyes.

Thank you for the 3000 coin tip from God's favor.

Thank you for the 100 coin tip from Huang Xiaoyang.