Seeing the throne room erupt in outrage, Earl Hightower immediately crawled to the steps of the Iron Throne and pleaded his case in a trembling, agitated voice.
"Your Majesty, House Cuy has already been stripped of its titles and exiled over that affair. House Hightower was indeed negligent in its oversight, but we truly had no part in it."
"Besides, I had not yet inherited the family title at the time. I really knew nothing whatsoever about it!"
At this point, Otto, the former Hand of the King, also spoke up.
"Indeed, Your Majesty! Princess Senylla had been entrusted to the Church for discipline at the time, and House Hightower knew nothing of the particulars. When we discovered that the princess was missing, we mobilized every resource at our disposal to help search for her. I believe Doctor Vaegon and Sister Magna, who was still alive then, could both attest to that."
When King Jaehaerys saw that Otto actually dared to bring up two more of his children, displeasure surged within him.
Vaegon, his only surviving son, was thirty-nine that year. Ever since entering the Citadel to study, he had all but severed contact with the Targaryen royal house. Even King Jaehaerys's attempts to gather information through him and arrange for people to enter the Citadel had come to nothing.
After Prince Baelon's death, King Jaehaerys had immediately sounded out Vaegon as well. After all, his age and learning made him a fairly suitable choice to succeed as the next Heir Apparent.
But Vaegon had flatly refused King Jaehaerys, citing the Citadel's rules, and suggested that the nobles of the Seven Kingdoms jointly choose the next Heir Apparent.
Had Danyla not appeared, King Jaehaerys would have considered it a fine solution. At the very least, an Heir Apparent chosen that