One king, two consorts?

Barbara and the attendants joyfully sorted through the gifts the prince had sent, while the penniless Ghost sank into the mysteries left behind by the plot of Game of Thrones.

There were actually quite a few contradictions and unresolved issues between the original books and the Game of Thrones show. The money issue was an obvious one.

In the show, everyone saw Littlefinger seemingly raise huge sums without breaking a sweat, even borrowing heavily from the Iron Bank. But no one had considered this question: had the wealth left behind by the former Targaryen dynasty simply vanished...?

Even if Robert Baratheon was a big spender, could he really have spent the savings of several generations of the Targaryen dynasty in just a few decades?? Without leaving a single coin in the treasury??

During his lessons with Weilisi, Ghost had gained a rough understanding of the denominations and circulation of currency in Westeros.

The monetary system of Westeros was broadly as follows:

One gold dragon = 30 silver moons = 210 silver stags = 11,760 copper pennies. Copper pennies were the smallest denomination, with copper stars and copper groats between silver stags and copper pennies. (Prices varied between fiefs, so they would not be detailed here.)

Take ordinary people's lives as a comparison. One gold dragon was enough for an ordinary family to live for half a year with meat and wine; a few more silver stags could buy a good horse; three gold dragons could hire a free knight with a longsword and armor to kill for you...

If you could offer more than fifty gold dragons, you could even hire a mercenary company to slaughter a noble family. How many heads you wanted depended entirely on how much you could pay.

During the War of the Usurper, if King Aerys had been willing to spend even some of the treasury's gold dragons on hiring mercenary companies to fight, Rhaegar could never have suffered such a crushing defeat at the Trident.

Ghost calculated until his head spun. As an ordinary citizen in her previous life, she had never concerned herself with national finances.

Judging by the dreadful living conditions in King's Landing, which had dirt, chaos, squalor, and ugliness all in one place, the royal family had not invested in urban development either. King Aerys held an enormous fortune and was certainly planning something behind the scenes.

Did Prince Rhaegar know about this?

Ghost began to worry about how King Aerys would deal with Rhaegar.

She still knew too little, and her intelligence was severely lacking. She needed to get Master Weilisi into the Red Keep as soon as possible. Only then might she be able to draw on House Stark's resources.

Ghost called the maid over. "Barbara, go ask the steward where Prince Rhaegar is. I need to speak to him."

Barbara nodded and ran out. Before long, she came running back, panting as she reported, "The prince is receiving guests in the front hall. The steward told me to bring you over, Princess."

When Ghost reached the front hall, Prince Rhaegar was chatting and laughing with a delicate, wheat-skinned beauty. The atmosphere was very harmonious. The handsome man and beautiful woman were pleasing to the eye, too.

Whatever Rhaegar said, the beauty suddenly covered her mouth and laughed. Rhaegar followed with a tender smile, and the two were so damn close...

Damn it, you womanizing, philandering bastard... Ghost thought sourly. She said nothing, simply standing in the doorway and watching as though sulking.

The lively young man sitting beside the beauty spotted Ghost. His eyes lit up, and he bounded over. Then he slid onto one knee, seized her hand, and kissed it:

"This must be Princess Rhaenys Targaryen! Your beauty is like the blazing sun of Dorne, lighting up my heart. Mwah~"

Ghost-at a loss.jpg.

Dorne? So they must be nobles from Dorne.

The lively young man had ear-length black curls and a somewhat dark complexion. He wore an outlandish golden-yellow outfit with flashy patterns. And that flamboyant bearing, those flirtatious eyes, that sexy jawline...

Another celebrity!! Ghost was so delighted that he forgot to pull his hand away. Instead, he clasped the Red Viper's hand and shook it up and down excitedly. "Are you Oberyn? Oberyn Martell, the Red Viper?"

He looks so young! He doesn't have that rakish air he had in the show, but he's handsome in person! There's a particularly wild, exotic flavor to him.

Oberyn Martell raised an eyebrow and winked playfully at Ghost. "I never imagined my reputation had reached King's Landing. It is an immense honor to hear you speak my name, Princess. Still, 'Viper' hardly suits me. Why not call me darling..."

The delicate, dark-skinned beauty picked up an apple and stuffed it straight into Oberyn's mouth. She smiled at Ghost. "My apologies. My younger brother isn't very bright sometimes."

"..." Oberyn bit into the apple and gave Prince Rhaegar a provocative look.

The prince pretended not to notice, holding Ghost loosely in his arms. "Rhaenys, this is the princess of Dorne-Elia Martell."

The beauty before him wore light, revealing clothes, and her exposed wheat-colored skin exuded the same exotic charm as the Red Viper. Her waist was so slender it scarcely seemed to fill a hand, and she wore a sheer veil with somewhat Arabian-style teardrop gemstone pendants and gold tassels. Long tassels dangled from thin, oval gold hoop earrings, making her neck look long and delicate.

"Elia Martell greets you, Princess of Dragons." The beauty dipped in a curtsy.

Ghost was stunned by her looks and bearing. No matter how he looked at it, he felt he had lost. This was the bearing and poise of a true royal princess.

He returned her greeting somewhat awkwardly. "Ah, hello. I'm Rhaenys Targaryen."

Elia smiled at him. "I hadn't expected Princess Rhaenys to know my unruly younger brother, too. If I may ask, where did you hear of him? Oberyn Martell rarely visits King's Landing."

Ghost stammered a little. "Ah, I heard merchants talking about him in the Free Cities."

Elia Martell looked thoughtful. "I see... Oberyn really is incorrigible. I'm sorry you've had to witness that."

Rhaegar suddenly spoke. "Rhaenys, show the prince around the Red Keep. Elia and I still have matters to discuss."

"All right, carry on." Ghost promptly turned, grabbed the Red Viper's arm, and rushed outside.

The young Red Viper was a little excited. It seemed Rhaegar's beautiful fiancée felt something for him...

He coughed and shifted his grip to take Ghost's hand. "Princess of Dragons, watch your step." With that, he turned back and gave Elia a meaningful look.

You take the man, I'll take the beauty-that was what his eyes said.

Rhaegar watched them leave, his gaze settling on their tightly clasped hands.

Elia patted Rhaegar's shoulder in amusement. "Stop looking. They're long gone. Let's talk about my proposal. What do you think?"

Rhaegar's tone was cold, his earlier smile entirely gone. "An alliance is acceptable. A marriage alliance is not."

Elia was a little puzzled. "Rhaegar, isn't this what His Majesty wants to see? Or is there something about me you find unsatisfactory?"

"He is he, and I am I. Even if a marriage between our houses would benefit the rule of the Seven Kingdoms, I don't want to treat my marriage so frivolously."

Elia's beautiful eyes flickered. She leaned slightly closer to Rhaegar and said softly, "What if I said I agreed to His Majesty's proposal?"

"Prince Rhaegar, would you be willing to marry two consorts?"

Rhaegar studied the woman's expression intently. "Elia, if you're doing this for Dorne, you really don't have to. My answer remains the same: my father is my father, and I am I. When I ascend the throne, House Martell of Dorne will be my staunchest ally."

Elia smiled gracefully and abruptly changed the subject. "Marriage is the foundation of close cooperation between houses. Rhaegar, have you considered how you would deal with House Lannister if you rejected me?"

"House Lannister's name resounds throughout the Seven Kingdoms. I've even heard rumors that His Majesty has already... lost his reason, and that Tywin Lannister is the true uncrowned king of the Seven Kingdoms."

Rhaegar remained silent.

Elia said, "On my way here, I heard Tywin had already gone to fetch his precious daughter. You had better give some thought to how you're going to turn down that empty-headed pretty face."

"As for that adorable little girl, the Princess of Dragons... she won't bring you any help. Instead, she'll bring you quite a bit of trouble."