A Fierce Competition

Night deepened.

Red Keep, guest room.

A candle burned on the desk, driving away the frightening gloom.

"Your grandfather was Brave Baelor, one of the boldest knights in the Seven Kingdoms."

"If you trace your ancestry back, your bloodline is no less pure than Rhaegar's."

Daemon's lazy voice rang out as he chatted with an air of ease, his dark, inscrutable eyes especially profound.

"..."

After a brief silence, Daemon leaned back in his chair and spoke calmly. "That boy wants to take you to The North. Have you decided?"

His eyes slid sideways, a hint of scrutiny in them.

As if trying to confirm something.

Where he looked, Benella stood by the fireplace, lighting the pile of firewood.

Click, click!

Flint struck flint, sending sparks flying.

As the firewood gradually caught, its glow drove the damp chill from the room.

"I have no such intention."

Benella's voice was flat. She stood and began tidying the disordered books on the bookshelf.

They were all her father's leisure reading.

She picked one up at random. The cover read True History of the Ancient Dragonlords.

Daemon glanced at it and casually remarked, "That's a rare copy from the library in Pentos. Your mother packed it in her luggage. We really were a loving couple back then."

At his words, Benella's hands stilled. She slowly closed her eyes.

Thud!

The book slammed into the shelf, shaking loose a layer of dust that had gone undisturbed for ages.

Benella opened her eyes and demanded coldly, "What are you really trying to ask? Don't use my mother as bait."

Her mother, who had died in childbirth, had always been a thorn in her heart.

If not for the unbreakable bond between father and daughter, she would have left him for good long ago.

Daemon's expression