Blood of the Old Dragon

The clanging of steel swords echoed through the Training Yard of the Red Keep as Stannis sparred with two guards at the same time, one against two.

One of them was Alexander Aemon, and the other was Green Fossoway; both were burly and highly skilled in martial arts.

Faced with Stannis's fierce attack, both men merely defended cautiously, clearly indicating that the king was in a very bad mood.

Not long ago, Varys told him some bad news: Daenerys, the last surviving member of the previous dynasty, had declared herself queen in Slaver's Bay, commanding an elite army and three rapidly growing dragons.

Although he is currently thousands of miles away, it has inevitably caused some people in China to feel uneasy.

The latter was what Stannis cared about most. Although Jaime bore the infamy of Kingslayer," it did not change the fact that Baratheon had usurped the throne.

This fueled Stannis's resentment towards Robert. For over a decade, Robert had squandered the rare Long Summer of Westeros, leaving Stannis with nothing but a mess.

Putting everything else aside, Stannis still remembers how excited Oberyn was when Varys announced Daenerys's coronation at the Small Council.

Although he quickly restrained himself, he knew in his heart that Dorne had not even been convinced by the Targaryen with dragons more than a hundred years ago, let alone him.

After fighting for an unknown amount of time, Stannis finally stopped, feeling somewhat exhausted, which relieved Alexander and his companion.

"Your Majesty is highly skilled in martial arts. Perhaps next time we can add another person to fight against you," Qhorin said with a hint of flattery.

"Hmph, even the Sword of the Morning failed under Eddard Stark's siege, how could I possibly take on three fully armed knights at the same time?"

The thought of fighting against multiple opponents brought to mind a pair of grey eyes. According to Varys and Pycelle, Jon could wield Robert's warhammer with considerable ease.

Strategy, martial arts, tactics— Stannis couldn't understand why the gods would favor one person so much.

At this point, an assistant maester found Stannis and brought him news from the Westerlands.

It turned out that Jon had annihilated the Iron Islands ' army in an unnamed bay, not only killing more than 8,000 men but also capturing a sizable fleet.

Jon's record even made Stannis a little jealous.

"Why is Jon suddenly so cruel?" Stannis finally blurted out after reading the battle report for a long time.

Eight thousand people, not a single prisoner was spared, they were all killed. Even the nameless bay became known as Bay of Severed Heads, and their heads were displayed in Lannisport. It was truly astonishing.

Alexander and his companion, who were listening to the battle report, were also horrified. If all eight thousand men had died on the battlefield, it would have been one thing, or even if they had been taken back to be used as laborers and died from exhaustion, no one would have said anything. But Jon had killed them all, which made them feel awe and even a little fear towards this young duke.

Both of them were secretly relieved that Jon was Stannis's most trusted lieutenant, and that they should not have to be his enemy in the future.

In addition to battle reports, another message came from Casterly Rock: Euron's sorcery.

Jon explained that he hoped Melisandre's help was needed, given Euron's sorcery could be devastating to the fleet.

While others might scoff at witchcraft, Stannis, as one of the earliest beneficiaries of it, would certainly not ignore it, and so he summoned Melisandre.

Melisandre was still in the Great Sept of Baelor at this time. The Great Sept had long since changed from being dedicated to the Seven to a hybrid Great Sept /temple used by both the Red God.

Under Stannis's deliberate push, the faith in the Lord of Light finally spread throughout King's Landing.

Melisandre soon arrived in front of Stannis, accompanied by Selyse. Melisandre assured that what Jon had said was true.

"Your Majesty, if we wish to combat Euron's magic, then I need the King's Blood," Melisandre said.

Before she arrived, Stannis had already dismissed everyone else; he didn't want too many people to know the secrets of magic.

"The King's Blood? Do you intend to let His Majesty—"

"Shut up, woman!" Stannis said impatiently, Selyse lowered her head sullenly.

Stannis gestured for Melisandre to continue, stating that Stannis's blood was not needed, and that Robert's bloodline was also acceptable.

"Can a bastard child be okay?" Stannis asked, and Melisandre gave an affirmative answer.

In fact, when they had just suffered their defeat at the Blackwater, Melisandre planned to tell Stannis to sacrifice Robert's bastard son so that she could find a way to awaken the Stone Dragon for him. However, when news of Jon Snow's intervention arrived, the matter was dropped.

Now it's finally being brought up again.

Stannis is not as disoriented as he was after his crushing defeat. Although he has a lot of troubles, none of them threaten his life or death. Therefore, he is not so willing to accept Melisandre's advice now.

Sometimes he would wake up in the middle of the night, dreaming that Renly and Robert were standing in front of him at the same time, one asking him why he killed him, and the other asking him why he took his son's throne.

"Let's leave it for now and let Jon and the Hand of the King discuss it themselves. There's no need to rush into attacking the Iron Islands." With that, Stannis left for the time being.

However, this incident took root in Selyse's heart.

Because Stannis suggested that Jon consult with the Hand of the King, which was undoubtedly another division of Florent's power, she felt she had to do something.

However, Selyse only knew how to please Stannis, and she didn't have any good ideas on how to deal with practical problems.

However, on this day, Varys approached Selyse.

"Your Majesty, in fact, besides the Baratheon royal family, there is another person who also possesses King's Blood; he is a Targaryen."

"Daenerys? But she's in Slaver's Bay, thousands of miles away."

"No, Your Majesty, the one I'm referring to is at the Wall, Aemon, Aemon Targaryen, Aegon V's brother."

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"He's still alive?!" Selyse asked in surprise. In her eyes, the Targaryen seemed like a product of a bygone era, who should have turned to ashes along with the dragons long ago.

"Yes, he has been a scholar on the Wall for half a century, and he probably won't live much longer."

After receiving Varys's advice, Selyse's eyes lit up! That was Targaryen! If she entrusted the Targaryen to Melisandre, it would surely be able to create even more powerful magic!

So Selyse secretly approached Melisandre again, and after confirming with Melisandre that Aemon on the Wall was the perfect sacrifice, she could no longer contain herself.

But who should we ask to do this?

Although Xuecheng claimed to be absolutely neutral and would not take sides, the person he was to sacrifice was a high-ranking scholar who had worked diligently at the Wall for half a century.

If the Citadel finds out about this, it will likely cause Stannis a huge problem. The Citadel will definitely issue a strong protest to Stannis! It might even affect Stannis's royal authority.

If the matter is exposed, the consequences will be unimaginable. We must find a meticulous, reliable, and capable person to do it.

However, the entire House Florent is currently busy attacking the Iron Islands, and he has absolutely no manpower available.

After much deliberation, Selyse finally came up with a suitable person—the former Treasurer of the Court, Petyr Baelish.

He was the one who persuaded the Vale nobles to pledge allegiance to Stannis before, which helped Selyse win Stannis's favor. Perhaps this time, he could also rely on Petyr to do something for him.

Moreover, Petyr seems eager to improve; he was the one who modified Cersei's Royal Carriage, and Selyse was very pleased with that.

Furthermore, Petyr frequently presented gifts to the queen, which greatly strengthened their relationship.

Selyse even privately remarked that Stannis's punishment of him was rather harsh.

So Selyse quickly summoned Petyr.

Upon learning the details, Petyr quickly realized what a rare opportunity this was!

If he does well, not only will he further improve his standing in Selyse's eyes, but he will also have a trump card to threaten the royal family.

Once he accomplishes this, he will no longer be that helpless Littlefinger! He can use Selyse as a connection to climb back to a higher position!

"Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I will handle this matter perfectly," Petyr solemnly assured Selyse, his words filled with utmost sincerity.

"Yes, go ahead and do it. If you do well, I will suggest to His Majesty that you be reinstated." Selyse tilted her head back, a slight smile playing on her lips, her gaze towards Littlefinger filled with satisfaction.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Littlefinger bowed deeply to Selyse. "From now on, you are the only one I will serve." Littlefinger decided to take things a step further.

In his view, relationships are not a responsibility, but merely a bargaining chip for betrayal; he will cash out when the time is right.

Be loyal to me!

Sure enough, upon hearing this statement, Selyse was so overjoyed that she became flustered, but she still managed to calm herself down and accept Petyr's allegiance.

"Alright, I accept your allegiance." Selyse's voice trembled slightly, but the two still confirmed their subordinate relationship.

However, Littlefinger hadn't gone far when Selyse quickly called him back, "Remember! Absolutely no one can know this is a royal order!"

Looking at the serious yet cautious Selyse, Petyr solemnly declared that if things were exposed, he would willingly bear all the blame.

After receiving this assurance, Selyse finally breathed a sigh of relief. But she could feel her heart still pounding!