Queen Alicent's palace is filled with the smell of herbs and blood.
At this moment, she was half leaning between the piled pillows, her face was pale, but her green eyes suddenly lit up as the family members filed in.
Viserys I is sitting beside the bed. Half of his face is covered by a gold mask.
The disease began to erode his face half a year ago, and it never stopped.
Although his body is getting weaker day by day, the king still maintains his spirit today and waits beside Queen, who is weak after giving birth.
Just an hour ago, Alicent gave him a pair of children.
The boy was named Baelon in honor of the king's late father;
The girl's name is Isera, taken from Queen's mother's name.
Hearing the sound of footsteps, Viserys turned his head and looked at his eldest son, Aegon.
Aegon bowed calmly, and Aelin·Velaryon beside him also nodded gracefully.
The king was depressed. He had not yet told Alicent the news--
A few days ago, Storm's End wrote: The three brothers Jacaerys officially gave up the inheritance rights of Iron Throne and assigned them to House Velaryon; Rhaenyra has declared Aegon the Younger as her heir.
Hand of the King Otto had suggested delaying notification to Queen to avoid affecting production.
"Mother."
Aemond was the first to step forward, kneel on one knee beside the bed, and hold Alicent's hand.
"Thank you for your hard work."
Queen's eyes moistened instantly. For two years, she could only touch her second son's words in letters and see his face in dreams.
"Aemond... You are finally back."
"I'm back." He whispered.
The king looked at this scene with a complicated expression.
At this time, Rhaenyra and Daemon also entered the room, while the three brothers Jacaerys were waiting outside the door. Princess raised an impeccable smile on his face and stepped forward.
"Alicent," she said softly, "Congratulations. I just went to see the children. They are all beautiful."
"Baelon's hair is very much like his father's, and Isera's eyes are exactly the same as yours."
Alicent and Rhaenyra looked at each other.
All the unspoken past events and emotions flowed silently between the two women's eyes.
"Thank you for coming, Rhaenyra." Alicent finally said, "I heard that you just gave birth soon... Are you feeling well?"
"Very good." Rhaenyra's smile remained perfect, "Little Viserys is very healthy. Like his brother Aegon the Younger, he has inherited the purest characteristics of Targaryen - silver hair, purple eyes, and the outline of Valyria."
Alicent stared at her silently.
Daemon, who was leaning against the door, smiled softly, breaking the delicate balance in the air.
"What a warm family reunion." He drawled, "Let me think about it, when was the last time Targaryen's family was so neat and tidy? Ah, by the way, it was before Tidepool Island's night."
The words were like ice cubes falling into hot oil.
"Daemon." Viserys cast a warning glance, "Pay attention to the situation, Alicent needs to rest."
"What did I say wrong?" Daemon spread his hands and chuckled, "It's just that time flies by. Look, those children Tidepool Island back then are so old now."
"Okay."
The person who spoke this time was Rhaenyra.
She turned to Alicent, her expression gentle again. "You take a good rest, we will come see you another day."
Alicent nodded politely.
As of now, she no longer has any illusions about reconciliation with Rhaenyra.
According to tradition, on the night when the king's heir is born, the royal family will have a family dinner together in the small banquet hall of Maegor's House.
There are clearly differentiated seats on both sides of the long table.
The king sat alone on the throne, and Queen Alicent was unable to attend due to postpartum weakness.
On his left hand side are Greens: Aegon, Aelin·Velaryon, Aemond, Helaena, Daeron;
On the right hand side are Blacks: Rhaenyra, Daemon, Jacaerys, Lucerys, Joffrey.
The maids silently presented the dishes one after another.
Viserys looked around at the silent people at the table, cleared his throat, and tried to break the suffocating silence. His eyes finally fell on the youngest Daeron - this child has always been gentle and least likely to provoke disputes.
"Daeron," the king's voice was a little dry, "How is your study at Oldtown? Maester Maynard wrote that you are quite fluent in High Valyrian and have even started to study ancient books."
Daeron Put down the silver spoon and sit upright.
"Yes, father. I am reading <The Fall of the Freehold>. Maester Maynard said that to understand the present of Targaryen, you must first understand the past of Valyria." He paused for a moment, "In addition, I am also studying Valyrian poetry."
"Poetry?" Aegon on the side sneered, tapping the edge of the bowl with a silver spoon, "What's the use of learning that thing? Why not learn to taste wine, or..."
He suddenly felt the eyes coming from his side, turned his head to meet Aelin·Velaryon's gaze, and swallowed back the second half of the sentence "How to please a girl".
Aelin wiped the corner of his mouth elegantly, and Common Tongue with the accent of Lys spoke softly:
"Poetry is the essence of a civilization, Aegon. A good poem can be passed down for thousands of years."
"Did you hear that, Prince Aegon?" Daemon played with the wine glass and slowly interjected, "Even your fiancée thinks you should read more books."
The air in the restaurant suddenly solidified.
Being ridiculed by his uncle made Aegon a little angry, but he still endured it.
Aelin's expression froze, but he quickly recovered his smile, "Your Highness, you are joking."
Daemon said nothing, but stared at Aemond who was dining quietly.
At this time, the king spoke again.
"Rhaenyra, I already know about Jacaerys and their group being classified as House Velaryon."
The entire long table fell silent for an instant.
Rhaenyra put down the tableware and raised his eyes to meet his father's gaze.
"Yes, father. This is a decision jointly made by Lord Corlys and I."
"Jacaerys, Lucerys, and Joffrey will become the legal heirs of Velaryon and enjoy all the rights of Tidepool Island.
"And my heirs will be Aegon the Younger and Little Viserys - he is the pure blood Targaryen, Silver hair and purple eyes, undisputed."
She paused briefly, her gaze swept across the Greens crowd, and returned to the king's face:
"In this way, the inheritance dispute will no longer exist. Seven Kingdoms will return to stability. This can be described as... a win-win situation."
"Win-win?"
Aemond repeated softly, still not looking up, slowly cutting the roast chicken on the plate.
"Let me think about it... my sister won, Velaryon won, and the king also won?"
He put down his knife and fork and raised his eyes to look at Daemon next to Rhaenyra:
"They're all winning, aren't they?"
"Aemond!" Viserys looked at his sinister son.
But Aemond continued speaking in a calm tone:
"But that's not the point of tonight. The point is..."
He turned to Rhaenyra and showed a polite smile.
"Since Jacaerys has become Velaryon, then the marriage contract made by my father back then... does it still count?"
Everyone's eyes suddenly turned to Helaena.
Rhaenyra glanced at Helaena, then turned to the king, his voice gentle but firm:
"This is exactly what I want to ask for, father. You made the engagement yourself. At that time, Jacaerys was still Targaryen."
"Although he has changed his surname now, his bloodline has not changed, and the engagement... should continue."
She paused briefly and added, "This can also further strengthen the alliance between the two countries."
Viserys fell silent.
After a long time, the king slowly spoke, "The engagement... is indeed made by me, so just follow what I said before."
"Mother won't agree."
Aemond's voice cut off the king's words.
There was dead silence in the restaurant.
Daemon raised his eyebrows and watched this scene with interest.
"Aemond," Viserys's tone became stern, "This is not your mother's decision, nor is it your decision."
"I am the king, and the future of Helaena is decided by me."
"Aemond, do you still have any objections?"
Aemond smiled and shook his head.
"His Majesty, I have no objection."
After that, he pushed away the seat, turned around and left the restaurant.