Funeral

For the sake of his own survival, these two maids absolutely could not be allowed to attend him personally anymore.

Baelon silently committed the two maids' faces to memory so he could compensate them later. When the younger maid picked him up, he deployed his only weapon.

"Waaah, waaah, waaah..."

Cries rang through the bedroom.

"What's wrong?" Rhaenyra hurried forward to check.

The maid quickly bounced and rocked Baelon in her arms, humming a gentle song.

"Let me see!"

"He hasn't pooped."

"Perhaps he's hungry. I'll fetch the wet nurse."

The older maid pulled a bell, setting it jingling.

Soon, Baelon found himself in an embrace that smelled of milk, and he immediately stopped crying.

A lump of brown flesh approached his mouth.

Baelon pressed his lips shut.

I'm not hungry!

Now isn't the time for milk!

Unfortunately, babies had no teeth, so he could not grit his teeth shut.

He fought with all his strength, but he still could not resist. The lump of flesh slipped easily into his mouth.

Baelon: ...

Forget it.

Since it's come to this, I might as well eat first.

Baelon did not punish his body over any so-called sense of shame. He simply ate ravenously until he was full.

There was no helping it. His little body was rather fragile, so he needed to eat plenty to build up his health.

A little later, the wet nurse finished feeding him and left, and Baelon returned to the maid's arms.

He rallied his spirits. The moment he touched the maid's embrace, he opened his mouth and wailed again, as though she were wearing a dress woven from nettles.

Rhaenyra did not understand what was wrong with him. Trying hard to look after her little brother like an adult, she picked up the Dragon Egg and toys, waving them before Baelon's eyes with helpless, inexperienced movements.

But none of these could stop the prince's cries. All she could do was let the maid rock him back and forth in her arms to soothe him.

Amid the stalemate, a knight came to deliver a message. "Princess, His Grace asks that you go to him. He says the queen's funeral will take place in the afternoon three days from now, and he has matters to discuss with you."

The afternoon three days from now?

Baelon swallowed to moisten his somewhat hoarse throat. Still crying, he glanced at the time marked on the system panel.

[]

If I adjust my sleep schedule over the next two days, I should be able to stay awake that afternoon.

Rhaenyra nodded and squeezed Baelon's fist. "I'll come see you again tomorrow."

With that, Rhaenyra turned and left without hesitation.

For a time, only the two maids and Baelon remained in the bedroom.

Left without support, Baelon silently closed his mouth and quieted down.

The maids were already unhappy about being fined. Baelon thought he had better stop making trouble while he was alone, lest their resentment erupt.

He blinked quietly, neither crying nor fussing, looking exceedingly well-behaved.

The maid breathed a sigh of relief. Supporting the baby's back and head, she gently placed him in a cradle suspended above the floor, lest some oblivious rat climb onto the prince during the night.

The younger maid diligently rocked the cradle with gentle movements, her face showing no trace of resentment over her punishment.

Baelon kept his eyes open, listening to the two maids' hushed conversation for useful information as he opened the system panel.

[Stage one-Forest of Death I

Warning! Warning!

Dying in a stage will consume the host's mental and physical energy. Upon entering a stage, the host will lose all awareness of the outside world. Please ensure, as far as possible, that your body is in a safe environment before entering.]

[Ding!]

[Hatchable Dragon Egg detected. It will hatch into an epic-tier pet dragon. Select as your pet?]

Baelon blinked. Above the Dragon Egg, particle effects formed a golden dragon, beautiful and magnificent, its scales dazzling like sunlight, like gleaming gold.

Even its wing membranes were pink!

An information panel appeared.

[Dragon

Category: dragonkind

Attribute: fire

Personality trait: loyal protector

No matter what pain and torment it endures, this dragon will never leave its master's side until death comes.

Note: a dragon with this trait is 80% harder for a second master to tame. (Difficulty slowly decreases with time after the first master's death.)

Growth potential: A+

Time until hatching: 730 days, 4 hours, 23 minutes, 33 seconds]

[Bind as your pet?!]

What a good dragon.

With that inward sigh, Baelon chose no without hesitation.

Choosing this little bonded dragon that would hatch in two years would indeed be safe and convenient.

But that's a loser's way of thinking!

My system panel only has one pet slot!

For a rank-grinder, the perfect match for a premium percentage-based buff was obviously a fully grown dragon with high base stats!

Vhagar, Vermithor, Silverwing, Dreamfyre...

This really was House Targaryen's heyday.

Even with the requirements of being fully grown and riderless, there were still various styles and types of dragon to choose from.

Ignoring the system warning, Baelon was about to enter the first stage to scout it out.

Suddenly.

A wrinkled hand, washed pale, swept before his eyes and interrupted the process.

The hand checked his breathing, then withdrew.

It belonged to the older maid, whose facial wrinkles resembled the veins of a leaf.

Listening to the two maids chat, Baelon learned that this old woman had a lovely name: Lola.

The younger maid was called Mia. She had a face full of freckles and red hair.

"Lola, go get some sleep. I'll take the first half of the night. I won't take my eyes off the prince for even a moment."

Lola shook her head, her voice hoarse. "No, Mia. These next few days, we must be even more attentive and careful in serving the prince."

They're serving me even more carefully after being punished?!

Baelon pricked up his ears in bewilderment. Is servility that deeply ingrained in this world's servants?!

"If anything happens to the prince from now on, it might all be blamed on us! The king and princess will think we bore a grudge and deliberately did something wicked!"

"What?!"

"Mia, kings and nobles don't care about justice when it comes to maids. If anything happens to the prince, our heads will be mounted above the city gates."

Seeing Mia turn a little pale, Lola comforted her. "But if we serve the prince diligently, perhaps the king will reward us!"

Baelon was a little surprised.

According to the usual novel formula, weren't the two maids supposed to harbor resentment and get bought off by the enemy?

Why was this Lola moonlighting as a counselor, managing her colleague's emotions?!

But on second thought, maids entrusted with caring for the crown prince must have been carefully selected. Perhaps Lola's behavior was what one should expect from a normal person.

He had fallen into the habit of judging others by himself again.

No one would lie in front of a baby.

In that case, he did not need to go to the trouble of having these two replaced.

Expressing his desire to change maids through crying was still far too complicated. Pulling an ornament off Viserys's finger or shoulder to indicate that he wanted to reward the maids would be much simpler.

Relieved, Baelon continued examining the system panel.

[Recommended preparations:

1. Obtain a pet.

2. Have two of the host's strength, agility, and constitution stats reach 5.

Confirm entry into stage one?!]

The recommendations were good.

But Baelon expertly ignored the risks and continued the installation.

I won't actually die, so what's there to fear?!

He was not sleepy at all right now. Going to the Forest of Death to burn off some mental and physical energy would actually help him sleep.

Just grind away!

The next second, Baelon's consciousness was stuffed into a flushing toilet, spinning round and round. He had no idea how long the dizziness lasted.

Splat!

He landed on the grass like a puddle of mud.

He raised both hands. Wait, why do I still have a baby's body?!

[Baelon Targaryen

HP: 100]

Lying faceup, Baelon struggled to move his limbs. He kicked his legs and rolled!

He failed to roll over...

Utterly immobile, Baelon readily chose to sleep right where he had fallen.

It wasn't as though I'd actually die.

The sea of grass beneath him was soft. The scent of vegetation and earth was fresh and pleasant. It was a good place to sleep.

Compared with the stench that had lingered in his nostrils since birth, it was wonderfully refreshing.

He took a deep breath and turned his head to survey his brand-new, eight-hundred-square-meter bed with no boundaries in sight.

Nearby stood a forest, its trees tall and shadowy. Lights like fireflies of varying sizes glimmered on the roots and moss, like green starlight roaming among the trees.

His surroundings were quiet, and even the breeze was gentle. There was no sign of what made the Forest of Death deadly.

Baelon's eyes gradually widened.

Several large fireflies slowly emerged from the dark forest, drifting straight toward him.

In the moonlight, black noses and snow-white fur came into view.

And... gleaming green eyes and brilliant white fangs!

The giant wolves gradually revealed themselves in full: silver-white wolves the size of bulls, with powerful limbs and sleek, glossy coats.

There were three whole wolves!

[White wolf lv. 1

HP: 500

Attack: 30

Defense: 50]

Baelon's eyes bulged in horror.

Moonlight spilled from the sky, falling equally upon the giant wolves and Baelon.

The evening breeze blew gently. Between the pitch-black sky and the lush earth, the silver wolves ran freely, letting the wind brush every strand of fur.

What a beautiful, free-spirited scene.

If only the wolves had not been running toward him.

Baelon did not flee in panic at all. He lay calmly on the grass, seeing the gleam of intelligence in the wolves' green eyes.

After a moment of silence, he curled his lips into a wickedly alluring smile.

They're intelligent. Then I've thought of a plan!

Just three intelligent beasts. Watch me work!

I'll give these three white wolves a memory they'll never forget for the rest of their lives!

Baelon maintained his inscrutable smile.

The white wolves drew closer and closer, opening their great jaws. Their heavy, hot breath washed over Baelon, their fangs especially white in the moonlight.

Baelon kept smiling.

That's right!

This is my plan!

I'll maintain this unfathomable, mysterious smile, then die with one bite from a white wolf!

I'll use my body to leave these white wolves utterly baffled!

[hp -30]

[HP -30]

Oh, damn!

That hurts!

Baelon's expression twisted uncontrollably. Adrenaline kicked in, pain turned into rage, and he instinctively began to fight back.

[Host used skills:

Kick!

Scratch!

Damage dealt: 0.1!]

Soon, Baelon's vision turned gray, and his soul rose higher and higher.

Several white wolves stared in bewilderment as Baelon dissolved into light and vanished without a trace.

The white wolf bringing up the rear flicked his tail idly. He hadn't even had a chance to sink his teeth in, so how had the prey disappeared?

The wolves remained warily bewildered for a moment. When the prey that had escaped as specks of light failed to reappear, they relaxed, pouncing on and nipping at one another as they played their way into the depths of the forest.

Baelon: Hah!

Those three wolves had no sense of fair play, ambushing and ganging up on a child!

Let them give him a few months to grow, if they dared!

In his cradle, Baelon jerked his eyes open and sucked in a sharp breath.

Hiss-

His head hurt so much. Someone was stabbing his tender brain with a cactus.

[Attempts remaining today: 2

Enter stage one?]

No, no, no, no!

He wasn't a masochist!

Baelon's eyelids grew heavy. His head swimming and throbbing, he closed his eyes.

Sleep aid successful!

Sure enough, death was a cool summer night, where one could sleep without a care.

Below the cradle, in the stillness of the night, Lola and Mia's quiet chatter drifted over.

They spoke of the queen dying in childbirth, leaving behind a newborn baby.

"Poor thing..."

Probably more platitudes about what a pitiful child he was, losing his mother the moment he was born.

He certainly didn't think there was anything pitiful about a prince.

Lola's husky voice brushed softly against Baelon's ears.

"That poor woman, so young... lost her life..."

Baelon tilted his head slightly and looked down through the cradle's openwork enamel pattern.

Mia sat on the floor, leaning against Lola's shoulder, while Lola combed through Mia's red hair with her fingers.

Soon, Queen Aemma's funeral was held by the sea.

With the system's help, Baelon's plan to adjust his sleep schedule had barely succeeded. When he woke again, he found himself tightly swaddled.

Using his powerful skills, which could already injure a white wolf, Baelon punched and kicked until he managed to struggle open a gap.

He breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn't missed the funeral entirely.