Blazing Flames

"Who are you!?"

Rhaenyra gasped softly, quickly putting distance between them.

Illyric grabbed her, hastily threw a black cloak over her, and dragged her out the back door.

"Who are you, and where are you taking me?"

Rhaenyra struggled fiercely, glaring at Illyric, whose face she couldn't see.

Illyric had no choice but to reveal his face and warn, "Someone saw you sneaking out of the Red Keep with Daemon. Prince Rhaegar sent me to bring you back."

"Rhaegar sent you?"

Rhaenyra froze at the words, her expression softening.

Illyric said, "The situation is urgent. It's best if you remain quiet and don't let anyone discover your identity."

Rhaenyra nodded repeatedly and quickened her pace.

Outside the back door, a beggar boy leaned weakly against the wall.

Illyric blocked Rhaenyra's path, grabbed the beggar boy by his hair, lifted him up, and slammed him hard against the wall.

Blood splattered, and the beggar boy collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

"He was just a little beggar?" Rhaenyra said blankly.

"Everyone in the city knows that ninety-nine percent of the beggars near brothels and casinos are informants."

Illyric turned back. "He's not dead, just knocked out."

Rhaenyra breathed a sigh of relief and stopped paying attention to the little beggar.

"Fire! Hurry and put it out..."

"The backyard is on fire! Come quickly..."

"..."

They hadn't gone far when a raging fire erupted, centered around the brothel.

As the night wind blew, the fire grew larger, quickly spreading to nearby streets and igniting houses.

Amidst the panicked shouts, people roused from their sleep, too rushed to dress, grabbed buckets and joined the firefighting efforts.

The scene gradually descended into chaos. Illyric let out a long breath and, avoiding the firefighting crowd, led Rhaenyra through a small alley.

Meanwhile, Arryk tossed a torch through a second-story window of the brothel and vanished into the night.

Arson was his mission for the night.

Although it was a loss of knightly honor, he had no reason to refuse Prince Rhaegar's orders, given by his own brother.

He looked favorably upon the young eldest son of the King.

Whether by law or by his own feelings, he was willing to serve him.

As for Prince Aegon?

That was merely the King's arrangement for protection, not someone he felt compelled to be loyal to.

The wind changed direction.

Illyric and Rhaenyra ran at full speed, only to run into a group of gold cloaks rushing to fight the fire.

"Avoid them."

Illyric whispered a warning and turned into another narrow alley.

As soon as he looked up, he saw a lone gold cloak approaching.

"Who's there? What are you doing lurking around?"

A familiar voice rang out. Rhaenyra's gaze shifted, and she saw Harwin's face.

Illyric instinctively shielded Rhaenyra. "Get out of the way. This is none of your business."

Harwin drew his longsword and sneered, "Such a big mouth, daring to oppose the City Watch."

As a valiant knight, Harwin was an excellent fighter and feared no challenge.

Illyric naturally recognized him, but the mission's prerequisite was to conceal their movements; he couldn't expose his identity.

His hand under his cloak moved to his sword hilt, Illyric ready to act at any moment.

"Don't do this, we're friends!"

As the tension escalated, Rhaenyra ignored Illyric's attempt to stop her and ran between them to de-escalate.

As soon as she spoke, Harwin froze, confused. "Princess, it's you again?"

Rhaenyra pulled down her hood, embarrassed. "No time to explain. I got separated from Daemon and was found by one of the accompanying Kingsguard."

She wasn't completely foolish and knew to conceal the truth.

Harwin studied Illyric for a moment before smiling at Rhaenyra. "In that case, Princess, you should go. I still need to help with the fire."

"Thank you, Sir Harwin."

Rhaenyra had no interest in catching up. She grabbed an ashen-faced Illyric and left.

Watching the two figures disappear, Harwin frowned in confusion. He glanced at the distant fire and fell into thought.

The fire on Silk Street spread, alerting the city guard.

The Gold Cloaks rushed to the scene from all over the city and joined the firefighting efforts.

They worked until midnight before the raging inferno was finally brought under control.

The brothel where the fire originated was completely reduced to a charred stone frame.

Along with over a dozen nearby houses, everything was swallowed by the flames.

Fortunately, the area was densely populated, and the fire was discovered immediately after it started, resulting in no casualties.

Before this, Arryk, the arsonist, had already met up with his brother at the Red Keep.

The two exchanged a knowing smile, everything understood without words.

They parted ways in two directions.

Illyric, meanwhile, led Rhaenyra back to her room through a secret passage.

Rhaenyra, forcing herself to stay upright, walked to the edge of the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the fiery glow over King's Landing.

He knew it was the Illyric brothers who had done it.

This fire, he was the mastermind.

Rhaenyra had fallen into Daemon's trap, and someone else was lurking in the shadows, watching them both.

Through normal means, no matter how Rhaegar searched for Rhaenyra, he would have left himself vulnerable.

This was because wherever Rhaenyra was, there would be spies watching.

Especially that brothel.

Rhaenyra sneaking out was something that couldn't be hidden; too many people had seen her movements.

All Rhaegar needed to do was to erase the traces of Rhaenyra and Daemon entering and leaving the brothel.

A fire that burned everything would consume any trace, no matter how small.

Even if someone testified that Rhaenyra had gone to the brothel, who could discern the truth from a pile of ruins?

Rhaegar's duty was to arrive at Rhaenyra's room in advance and provide her with an alibi.

At that point, anyone who dared to accuse Rhaenyra without proof would be silenced by their father, Viserys.

Creak--

The wall at the entrance of the secret passage rotated, and Rhaegar quickly turned his head.

What greeted his eyes were Illyric and Rhaenyra, whom he had been waiting for.

"Rhaenyra, you're finally back."

Seeing his sister's figure, Rhaegar smiled, a heavy weight lifting from his heart.

He had feared that Rhaenyra would be swayed by Daemon and refuse to return with Illyric.

It seemed Rhaenyra hadn't disappointed him.

"Rhaegar, how did you know I snuck out?"

Rhaenyra looked at her brother in surprise, pulling off her black cloak as she asked.

Rhaegar glanced at Illyric, who closed the secret passage.

Illyric said in a low voice, "There were too many eyes around, and I didn't have time to explain to the Princess."

Rhaegar nodded. "Did the plan go smoothly, Sir?"

"It went relatively smoothly, but we encountered Harwin Strong on patrol midway. The Princess's identity was exposed," Illyric said with self-reproach in his tone.

Rhaegar lowered his head, contemplating whether Harwin would speak carelessly and if he needed to issue a warning.

That man was the eldest son of Hand Lyonel and the heir to Harrenhal.

Regardless, given his father's achievements and his own status, Rhaegar couldn't fathom eliminating him.

Watching the two converse as if playing a game of riddles, Rhaenyra whispered, "Harwin is Lyonel's son. He respects me greatly, so he probably won't say anything out of line."

"That would be for the best," Rhaegar said with a slight smile.

Lyonel was indeed a trustworthy man, and his son should be a smart one.

Rhaenyra moved closer to Rhaegar, her bright eyes blinking as she feigned a sister's authority, "Who tipped you off? And this fire, was it all your arrangement?"

Rhaenyra had been pondering these questions on the way back.

Illyric's sudden appearance and the perfectly timed fire.

Seeing Rhaegar in her room now, Rhaenyra realized he was behind all of this.

"I have plans for the informant, but I can't tell you yet."

Rhaegar kept Shiryu a secret. His identity was too strange, and it wouldn't do to alert him too early.

He then put on a stern little face. "I started the fire. I was protecting you!"

Here it comes, the first chapter of the day.

Thanks to Dragon Emperor Níðhöggr for the 500 Coins reward.

Thanks to Clownfish10086 and For What Do We Fight for the 100 Coins reward each.