"I don't care about this!" Rhaenyra finally couldn't help but interrupt him, his voice suddenly rising, "I ask you now, what should I do?
Otto is back, his father's attitude is becoming more and more ambiguous, the nobles are waiting and watching, Greens is already ready to make a move!
If this continues, I, the heir, will really become a joke!"
Her face was pale, her lips were trembling, and her usual pride and calmness were gone, leaving only naked fear.
Those purple eyes that had fascinated countless nobles were now filled with "fear of loss" - fear of losing Iron Throne, fear of losing power, fear of becoming the second Rhaenys.
Redd then slowly turned around and his eyes fell on her face. His eyes were calm, even with a hint of ridicule, as if he was looking at a child who couldn't afford to lose the game.
"What's there to panic about?" He said calmly, without any sympathy in his tone, "Hasn't your father Viserys not given up on you completely?
If he really wants to destroy you, there is no need for Otto to be secretive when he comes back, he can just announce it directly to the Royal Council."
Rhaenyra was stunned, as if this sentence hit a certain acupuncture point.
"At most," Redd continued, looking back at the map, as if the discussion was not about the inheritance that determined Seven Kingdoms's fate, but an insignificant matter, "it's just that there was an apparent competitor.
Aegon II? Are you so unsure of yourself that you can't even compare to him?"
"I'm not afraid of Aegon!" Rhaenyra hurriedly retorted, but his voice weakened, "I'm afraid of Otto, afraid of those nobles who follow the trend, afraid... afraid that my father will eventually be shaken!"
There was an unspeakable sadness in her words. She thought of Princess Rhaenys - the woman called "Uncrowned Queen".
Back then, when Rhaenys's father, King Jaehaerys, held a meeting with Great Council to discuss inheritance rights, her voice was very loud. In terms of ability and bloodline, she was no worse than Viserys.
But just because she is a woman, Great Council ultimately voted for Viserys.
Rhaenys's sigh that "men will only bow before power" seems to be echoing in Rhaenyra's ears at this moment.
"I don't want to make the same mistake as Rhaenys." Rhaenyra's voice lowered, with a hint of despair, "If we really go to the step of Great Council, I will definitely lose.
Those nobles would rather choose a stupid man than accept a woman sitting on Iron Throne."
Redd looked at her, the sarcasm in his eyes became even stronger. "So? What are you going to do?"
Run to your father and cry like a little girl, begging him not to give up on you?
Or go find Otto, give him gifts, and beg him to let you go?"
"I..." Rhaenyra was stopped by the question, his lips moved, but he couldn't think of any way.
She was used to relying on her father's favor, and was used to others being in awe of her status as "heir", but when the real crisis came, she realized that she didn't have any chips in her hand.
"Redd," she raised her head, with a hint of pleading in her eyes, as if she had grasped the last life-saving straw, "You will always support me, right? We are husband and wife, and our son..."
"That's not necessarily true." Redd's words were like a cold dagger, instantly piercing her fantasy.
He looked at Rhaenyra's astonished expression, and the corner of his mouth curved in an almost cruel way, "If you are so useless, wouldn't it be nice to let our son sit in that seat?"
"What did you say?!" Rhaenyra's face turned red instantly, not from shyness, but from anger. She couldn't believe her ears, "Redd, are you crazy?"
The position of king is not a child's play! It is my inheritance, and it was promised by my father himself!"
"Child's play?" Redd slammed the map in his hand on the table, making a loud "snap" sound, which made Rhaenyra tremble all over.
He took a step forward, approaching Rhaenyra, his eyes as sharp as knives, staring into her eyes, "I tell you, it's not a joke at all."
Our son is slowly becoming sensible.
He knows better than you that power is not obtained through charity from others, but obtained by oneself."
His gaze was so dazzling, almost predatory, that Rhaenyra subconsciously took a step back, not daring to look directly into his eyes.
She was like a child who had done something wrong, her hands and feet were in a panic, her fingers were twisting the corners of her silk skirt unconsciously, her lips were murmuring, but she could not say a word.
Redd Looking at her like this, the last bit of patience in my heart disappeared.
He was extremely disappointed.
Rhaenyra is a collection of contradictions.
She is greedy for power and longs to sit on Iron Throne and enjoy the feeling of overlooking all living beings.
But when it came time for her to make decisions and even use unscrupulous means, she was always restrained by the so-called "family affection" and "face".
Viserys's attitude has become so obvious, his support for her has become more and more perfunctory, and he has paid more and more attention to Aegon, and even tacitly allowed Otto to come back to disrupt the situation - this is clearly adding sand to her inheritance rights.
But what about her? Apart from crying and complaining here, what else has she done?
She didn't dare to question Viserys for fear of hurting the last relationship between father and daughter; she didn't dare to suppress Greens for fear of being known as "vicious"; even for such an obvious threat as Otto, she just beat her chest here, but couldn't think of any way to fight back.
Such soft-heartedness and hesitation are not suitable for being a queen at all.
Even if you are lucky enough to ride on Iron Throne, sooner or later you will be torn apart by those eager wolves.
In the original work, she ended up being devoured by Dragon and died without a whole body - Redd now feels more and more that that was not an injustice of fate, but the inevitable result of her own character and methods.
He usually seems smart and decisive, but at critical moments, he loses control.
"I've really had enough." Redd cursed in a low voice, his tone full of impatience, "I want to attend the Imperial Council tomorrow."
Rhaenyra raised his head suddenly, a trace of panic flashed in his eyes. "Are you attending? But you are not Hand of the King, nor..."
"I don't need a title." Redd interrupted her with a firm tone, "I will propose to canonize our son as 'Prince Dragonstone' in front of everyone to clarify his qualifications as heir.
Since you don't dare to fight, let our son fight."
"No! Redd, you can't do this!" Rhaenyra finally reacted, his voice trembling, "That's my position! How could you... how could you let your son come and compete with me?"
She couldn't accept this fact.
Her husband, who should have been her strongest support, now wants to support their son to take away the Iron Throne she dreams of?
This made her more heartbroken and more desperate than Otto's return and her father's wavering.