Now, only the father and son are left in prison.
Viserys stumbled in and looked around, including the stone walls, bookshelves, wooden beds, desks, and the marks Aemond had carved on the walls with his pen.
"You are doing well." The king finally said and sat down opposite Aemond, exactly where Mushroom was just now.
The raised stool made him look slightly funny, but he didn't care.
Aemond calmly replied, "Thank you.
"Having books to read, food to eat, and company... is much better than many prisoners."
He knew in his heart that his father was here to test him.
If the answer is not good, you will be exiled.
Viserys stared at his son.
He tried to search for anger, resentment, or at least a hint of grievance on that young face.
But all he saw was a deep pool of calm.
The king spoke slowly, "It's been a month. Have you figured it out?"
"What do you want to understand, His Majesty?"
Viserys says depression.
"Your fault."
"Draw your sword at Throne Room, face Daemon with your sword, and disobey my will in front of all the nobles."
"These are your fault."
Aemon looked at his father quietly.
The firelight on the wall danced on his face, making his purple eyes sometimes bright like stars, sometimes sinking into darkness.
He asked softly:
"What's wrong with me?"
Viserys frowned.
Aemond continues to state:
"Ser Vaemond is for his family."
"He defended the purity of Velaryon bloodline with his life. Although the method was harsh, his original intention was beyond reproach."
"And I stopped Prince Daemon from killing people in front of the emperor, and carried out your order to execute traitors, all for the sake of the family."
He paused and looked directly into his father's eyes:
"It would be a real blasphemy to Targaryen to allow those brown-haired, brown-eyed children with Stron blood to sit on Iron Throne."
"Our power comes from the dragon, and the dragon's power comes from the blood."
"A diluted bloodline with no Targaryen characteristics is the beginning of its decline."
Only blood is our foundation..."
Viserys raised his finger and pointed at Aemond: "So you admitted it?"
"You admit that you were targeting Rhaenyra and her child?"
Aemond shook his head. "I'm not targeting anyone, I'm only targeting mistakes."
"If Rhaenyra did not have those three illegitimate children, if her heir had pure blood of Targaryen."
"I would never hold it against her."
"I will be her most loyal supporter, as I should be."
He stood up and looked at Viserys:
"But those three Stron are the source of trouble."
"Ser Vaemond has proven this with his life."
"Today is the succession crisis of Tidepool Island, and tomorrow it will be the succession crisis of Iron Throne."
His Majesty, do you really want the Seven Kingdoms nobles to bow their knees to a Stron king after your death?"
"Do you think these nobles will truly surrender to their illegitimate children?"
Viserys's breathing became heavy.
He wanted to refute, but Aemond's words were like needles, piercing into the truth that he had been avoiding for so long.
Since January, he has received countless letters from ravens, from the North, Westerlands, Riverlands, Riverlands, Vale, Stormlands... Ancient families from all over the world express their concerns about the bloodline of Crown Prince's children in subtle or implicit words.
The loyalty of the nobles is indeed wavering.
The king spoke with difficulty, "Are you... are you really doing it for your family? Or for yourself?"
Aemond smiled.
"If it were for myself, I should train the army and make allies at Dragon's Roost at this moment."
"Instead of here, in the dungeon, reading the books sent by the grand maester and listening to the jokes told by the dwarfs."
He looked into Viserys's eyes:
"I don't care who sits on that Iron Throne."
"What I care about is that the person who rides on it must be worthy of Targaryen name."
Viserys was silent for a while.
His eyes roamed over his son's face repeatedly, but he still couldn't see through it. After the Tidepool Island incident, he could no longer see through his second son.
Viserys finally spoke.
"If your sister... or your brother..."
"If they block your way, will you kick them away?"
Aemond looks back calmly:
"Father, House Targaryen is standing on the edge of the cliff.
You see, the gap between Greens and Blacks is getting deeper day by day."
"Greens will not accept Rhaenyra for an illegitimate child to inherit Iron Throne, not Otto, not Hightower, not even half of Seven Kingdoms."
"And Rhaenyra and Daemon will never give up Iron Throne."
"The root of all this is those three Stron who should not exist."
He lowered his voice slightly and argued more clearly:
"I wouldn't kick my sister or brother away."
"But if Rhaenyra cannot let go of his mistakes, then I implore you to follow the decision of Great Council that year and act in accordance with the male primogeniture system."
"Although the nobles were dissatisfied back then, they still accepted Rhaenyra because there was no scandal about her illegitimate child at that time. Everything is different now."
"Seven Kingdoms will never admit that a child of unknown origin is sitting on Iron Throne. Even if he is silent at this moment, he is only frightened by the power of the dragon."
If the root of the problem is not eliminated, the future of Targaryen...
"If the royal family takes the lead in trampling on the rules, others will follow suit. Once the rules collapse, Targaryen's dominance will also be gone."
"Unless you can kill all the Seven Kingdoms nobles."
"But can you do it?"
"These families that have lasted for thousands of years have so many descendants?"
"Already, there is me among you, and you among me..."
"Even Maegor the Cruel, even if Black Death were praised by others, warriors went down to earth and massacred tens of thousands of resisters, they still couldn't do it."
"And we Targaryen... are now very sparsely populated."
"Without the dragon, we would never be able to rule Seven Kingdoms."
"If one day the dragons become extinct, the only thing waiting for us is the destruction of our country and the annihilation of our race."
He paused briefly, his purple eyes reflecting the dancing firelight:
"As for Rhaenyra... if she insists on taking the side that will destroy the family, then yes, I will do what I have to do.
For the survival of the family, for the bloodline not to be tarnished, and for the dragon not to become extinct."
Viserys felt dizzy and reached out to hold the edge of the table.
Aemond spoke so calmly and confidently, as if what he stated was not a prophecy, but a destiny that had already been written.
And the scariest thing is that Viserys knows in his heart that Aemond may be right.
The king raised his wet eyes.
Maybe Daemon said it cruelly, but it is reality. The best destination for the three children is the Wall.
Just Rhaenyra...
He was distraught and didn't know how to convince his daughter.
He looked at Aemond, at this son who was so young that it was heart-stopping, yet so old and frightening.
"You swear." Viserys suddenly said, "Swear that you will not covet Iron Throne, swear that you will not do it for the throne."
Aemond Without hesitation.
He raised his right hand and pressed it on his chest:
"I swear by Targaryen name, by the Blood of the Dragon flowing in my body."
"I, Aemond·Targaryen, will never become the king of Seven Kingdoms."
"I only hope that House Targaryen will be great again, and that the dragon's blood will last forever."
"I would like to be the sword and shield of the family and the pillar supporting the throne."
The oath echoed in the dungeon and sank into the stone walls.
Viserys stared at him closely, staring at those purple eyes, looking for traces of lies, looking for a flicker or insincerity.
But he only saw sincerity.
But deep down in Aemond's heart, there are still things that have not been said.
Just because I can't be the king doesn't mean I can't choose who will be the king.
Blood Dragon Dance will eventually break out, and someone will have to bear the notoriety of killing relatives to fight for power.
He will not become a king, but his descendants will sit firmly on Iron Throne.
And he will stand behind the throne and wield real authority.
After a long time, Viserys finally nodded.
"Tomorrow."
The king stood up, his steps a little heavy.
"You will be released and returned to your fiefdom."
"No one is allowed to enter King's Landing again without being summoned."
He walked to the door without looking back:
"Remember your oath, Aemond."
"Remember everything you said today."
The prison door closed again.
Aemond sat quietly alone for a moment, reached out and picked up the book "Valyrian Blood and Dragons" on the table, and turned to the place where he read it before.
There is a paragraph written in Old Valyrian between the pages, with a translation annotation by the Grand Master next to it:
"Blood and fire are one, Dragon and man are one."
"When dragon wings cover the sky, the beginning of bloodline inheriting the crown."
"But If blood thins, the contract must be broken."
"Therefore, Dragon Kings is the blood of the system."
"This is the eternal decree of Valyria."
He stared at this text for a long time, his fingertips lightly brushing the raised ink marks on the parchment.
Then, he slowly closed the book.