The moment he left the conference hall, Redd could feel the heavy air behind him slowly closing, like a stone door that had been pushed to the limit and slowly returned to its position under the wind pressure, with a thick and dull sound.
His boots stepped on the stone floor outside the conference hall, making a regular, monotonous sound that echoed in the empty corridor.
The sunlight shone in slantly from the narrow windows high up, casting rows of alternating light strips of light and dark on the stone floor. He stepped on those light strips, and the tips of his boots raised very fine dust, which looked like golden powder stirred in the light beams.
His breathing was steady and even, and his heartbeat showed no sign of accelerating, but something was rearranging in his mind.
Rhaenyra This woman, he decided to give up completely.
He gave her the whole night last night.
A whole night was enough for her to turn over the hesitations, swings, ridiculous family ties and so-called moral concerns over and over in her mind a hundred times.
She could choose to stand on his side and say "Father, I also think it's time for you to abdicate" when he proposed that Viserys abdicate.
That sentence doesn't need to be long, just four words - "I think so" - can make his plan move forward more smoothly.
But she didn't. She chose to stand in front of Viserys, choosing to use her body that had softened countless times in front of him to block the unsheathed sword in his hand.
Redd remembered the way she stood in front of his sword - the expression on her face at that time, the look that was a mixture of fear, struggle and something he couldn't name.
She chose to side with her father, not with him.
For a person who wants to be a queen, this is an attitude expressed through actions: in the balance of power, she will eventually favor those family ties that she thinks should be "protected" more.
Of course, he also got what he wanted today.
The two legitimate names, Rhaenyra and Jaehaerys, the names of the first and second heirs have been nailed to the document, stamped with the king's seal, and Red Keep has been announced.
The fleet's right to enter Blackwater Bay has also been settled. The route from Dragonstone to King's Landing will be unimpeded, and no one can stop it.
The last obstacle to seizing Iron Throne by force has been removed from the chessboard by him.
But he didn't choose to take action today.
He thought for a moment that the sword in the conference hall could continue to move forward, and the three people standing in front of him at that distance, no one could stop his wrist from turning.
Captain Kingsguard's sword was still in the air, Rhaenyra's throat was still pressed against the tip of his sword, Viserys was sitting on the chair, his gray lips were open, and he couldn't even form words.
At that moment, he could have pushed the sword forward a few inches, and the blade penetrated Rhaenyra's throat, bypassed her body, and continued to stab Viserys's chest.
He can do it, and he is 90% sure that he can complete this action before Kingsguard's sword touches him.
King Ghidorah is also waiting outside the window. It only needs to push inward for half a minute, and those stone walls will be completely shattered. The broken bricks and gravel will fill the floor of the conference hall in the flying dust. Then it will use Gravity Beams to lift the entire roof, allowing the afternoon sun to fall unobstructed on the faces of this group of people who can no longer close their mouths.
But he stopped.
It's not because I can't bear it, or because I still have any unresolved feelings for Rhaenyra.
It's because it's not worth it. What happens after killing Viserys?
He must face Seven Kingdoms's reaction.
Those big nobles will not kneel down and call him "Your Majesty" just because the king is dead. They will wait and see, sway, and watch the wind direction, and then decide the next move according to their own interests.
He would be locked in a long and endless counterinsurgency war.
The North's snow, Vale's mountain roads, Westerlands's gold mines, Dorne's desert - every inch of land requires him to spend time grinding it flat.
His fleet needs to be redeployed, his army needs to be reorganized, and his time will be swallowed up by these trivial, inefficient, and life-wasting counter-insurgency affairs for more than half a year or more.
And Valyrian Peninsula is still waiting for him.
The broken land shrouded in volcanic ash, the islands torn apart by the doomsday catastrophe, the dragons that may still be sleeping deep in the ruins, and the expedition plan that he had spent more than a year preparing and spending countless manpower and resources on drawing maps were all much more important than the trembling old king in this conference hall.
So he stopped at the last moment, took back the sword, and swallowed the choice that had been brought to his lips.
Let Rhaenyra taste the bitter fruits she has sown.
She chose to stand with Viserys, chose to block his sword edge with that body, and chose to maintain the already riddled father-daughter bond.
Then let her face the consequences of this choice by herself.
He will take his son and daughter back to Dragonstone, and will continue to advance his real plan, and will let his fleet continue to map the outlines and waterways of the islands around Valyrian Peninsula.
As for those people in King's Landing, Iron Throne and Red Keep who are watching each other cautiously, let them slowly digest everything that happened today.
Redd When walking around the corner of the corridor, he met a maid carrying an empty tray.
The moment she saw him, she felt like she was nailed to the spot, with her head lowered, shoulders slightly shrunk, and her whole posture seemed to make herself as small as possible.
She stood against the wall, staring at the ground beneath her feet, and she clutched the tray in her hand until her knuckles turned white.
Redd walked past her without speaking or pausing, but when he passed her, he could feel her breathing pause for a moment as he passed by, and then start again after he walked away.
Similar scenes repeated themselves over the next two days.
When Redd walks in Red Keep, the corridor will become empty.
The walking guards would turn around and enter the side passage the second before they saw him. The maids who were talking would lower their voices the moment they heard his footsteps and then quickly disperse. The ministers who were originally speaking loudly would suddenly become quiet when his figure appeared at the end of the corridor, and all sounds would be suppressed.
No one dared to look at him, no one dared to walk up to him and say hello, no one even dared to make any unnecessary noise when he passed by.
A subtle, almost silent understanding is forming in Red Keep, and everyone has learned to remain silent when and where he may appear.