Viserys gave Rhaenyra a helpless look and sighed gently.
The meaning of that look was clear: You're late again.
Rhaenyra curved her lips slightly and stood quietly beside the table laden with food.
She lowered her eyes.
Seven years.
She had served as the Small Council's cupbearer, listening to the court's secrets and learning to govern, for seven years.
Even now, she still had no chair of her own.
Baelon glanced across the council table. Several empty chairs stood at its far end.
Their backs simply lacked carved house sigils; they did not belong to the great officers of the Small Council.
Baelon had not expected Rhaenyra to still have no seat on the Small Council.
He made a subtle face at her, signaling that she should simply sit down without worrying about anything.
It was indeed somewhat improper.
But Viserys and Daemon had always doted on her. They would surely speak up for her.
Nor could the great officers of the Small Council truly insist that Princess Rhaenyra could not sit.
But Rhaenyra merely lowered her head, as though she had not understood his signal.
Baelon: ...
Viserys held his breath. A few seconds later, he broke the silence.
"Corlys..." Viserys sounded hesitant. "The royal fleet... how many ships does it have?"
The moment Viserys finished speaking, the atmosphere in the chamber surged.
Daemon's eyes instantly lit up, his grin growing wider and wider.
A smile bloomed on Earl Lyman Beesbury's face.
Otto stared into space, his thoughts unknown.
Corlys Velaryon, the Sea Snake, instantly straightened from his lounging posture.
His voice rang out. "Your Grace, we have a full 109 seagoing warships."
"Six years ago, we had 81."
Corlys Velaryon felt proud.
He had not been idle all these years!
He had expanded the fleet to 109 ships!
"Besides those, House Velaryon has many merchant ships that can carry supplies or even be converted into warships!"
"We need only build fighting tops high on the masts to station archers there."
"Reinforce the sides and fit them with grappling chains and hooks, and they can be sent into naval battle."
The Sea Snake's eyes were full of confidence. "Over the past several years, I have already sent sailors disguised as merchants to learn the lay of the Stepstones."
Viserys understood that Corlys Velaryon had long been thirsting for this. He had waited far too long for this storm.
Corlys laughed heartily. "Where we can land, where the hidden reefs lie, the rough distribution of the islands..."
He knew it all. Everything was in his grasp!
"Our fleet is strong enough to blockade the islands by sea."
"If the pirates' warships leave their harbors, the dragons need only descend from the sky and burn them!"
The Velaryon fleet would blockade them, with six dragons overhead.
Corlys Velaryon simply could not imagine how they could lose once this war began.
And why stop at the Stepstones!
They could take the Stepstones and use them as a springboard-Dorne, the Free Cities!
Harrenhal had already proved that no matter how high the walls or how sturdy the castle, they were as good as nonexistent before dragons!
Why couldn't they sack those places with their sturdy walls... ahem...
Corlys cleared his throat.
Why couldn't they win glory and increase the power and wealth of Houses Targaryen and Velaryon?
A fierce fire kindled in Daemon's eyes.
He could no longer restrain himself, his tone arrogant. "It belongs to us!"
"Let us take it, brother."
Daemon had always firmly believed one thing.
Everyone should make way for dragons!
For a moment, everyone stared at Viserys.
Viserys drummed his fingers rapidly on the table, his heart surging. He said nothing and looked toward the Hand of the King.
Otto spoke.
"It will not be so simple!" Otto Hightower said calmly.
"The Stepstones are home to a band of pirates. Taking them would indeed be easy."
"But the Triarchy will never accept Targaryen control of the Stepstones and the shipping lanes. They will send fleet after fleet."
"Attacking the Stepstones is tantamount to going to war with the Triarchy."
He frowned. "The Triarchy is now allied with Dorne. Dorne will certainly seize the opportunity to attack."
Otto's expression was solemn. "An overseas campaign, and a war on two fronts?"
"Your Grace, no one can secure victory in two places at once."
"Are we truly prepared to become embroiled in large-scale fighting against the Triarchy and Dorne?!"
He met Daemon's icy gaze and slowly smiled.
The passion that had surged into Viserys's chest turned once more to hesitation, suppressed by an inexplicable dread.
The Iron Throne seemed powerful, but was he truly going to start a war?
What would happen if they failed?! What would the people of Westeros think?
And his family-Baelon, Rhaenyra, Daemon... what if something happened to them in the war...
His uncle, the former Prince of Dragonstone, had ridden Caraxes, the Blood Worm.
He had gone to Tarth to support the Evenstar, merely to deal with a band of exiled pirates from Myr, yet a stray arrow had pierced his throat and taken his life.
Viserys yearned for achievements and hoped to have a song of his own, but death and war shadowed his heart.
He thought that perhaps keeping his family safe and maintaining the present peace mattered most.
He remained silent.
For a moment, the Council Chamber fell deathly still.
Daemon curled his lips into a contemptuous, mocking smile, his heart filled with anger toward Viserys.
His brother, Viserys!
He had always lacked courage!
He lacked the courage to take responsibility, the courage to confront others. He was always trying to please everyone!
He was the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms!
How could the strength of the Stepstones compare to theirs?!
They had six dragons, intelligence on the Stepstones, and enough food.
Yet Viserys still lacked the courage to go to war!
Daemon took an indignant gulp of wine.
"Father." Rhaenyra clenched her fists, her face full of fearlessness and resolve.
"We have dragonriders!"
"Princess Rhaenyra, dragonriders cannot do everything," Otto said evenly.
"Garrisoning the Stepstones and repairing defensive fortifications will require considerable manpower and resources."
Baelon suddenly spoke. "Why must we expend considerable manpower and resources?"
Viserys raised a hand to stop anyone else from speaking and spoke first. "Baelon?"
This was Baelon's first Small Council meeting, the crown prince's first time speaking at one.
Even though Viserys knew full well that Baelon possessed wisdom bestowed by the Crone and had amassed great wealth through the three factories on the banks of the Blackwater Rush.
Still, Viserys did not wish to undermine Baelon's confidence or authority.
So he asked patiently, "What are your thoughts?"
"Stone isn't the only way to build an effective defense," Baelon said.
Baelon knew his own limits. He had been an ordinary person in his previous life, but the history of that life offered more than enough answers for him to copy.
The Stepstones...
To conquer Dorne, they first had to take the Stepstones.
History had already distilled the lessons for him.
To launch an expedition against a mainland, one first had to seize the intervening islands, swiftly secure control of the nearby seas, and only then undertake the longer process of expansion on land.
For a successful example, there was Rome in the First Punic War.
Rome had first taken Sicily, secured command of the sea, and then launched an expedition to the African mainland.
For a cautionary example, there was the Peloponnesian War.
Athens had committed its entire navy to a massive expedition to Sicily without clearing the Aegean islands or eliminating Sparta's navy, leaving its own coastline subject to constant raids and bringing about the collapse of its hegemony.
Besides, he could put himself in their shoes.
If he were a Governor of the Kingdom of the Three Daughters, and the Iron Throne went to war with Dorne while he controlled the Stepstones, wouldn't he take advantage of their plight?
He could seize the opportunity to have the navy in the Stepstones raid Westeros's long coastline, burn ports, plunder towns, and rob merchant ships.
Profiting while two others fought was something he could do with little effort.
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