"Today is a memorable day for me, as a father and as a king. My son will finally take the first step to becoming a true man, and that is a cause for great joy," Rhaegar declared. For a brief moment, silence took over the place, before being broken by enthusiastic applause and whistles.
Rhaegar smiled. When he felt that the acclaim was sufficient, he slightly raised his hand. The noise gradually subsided, until it completely ceased, although the atmosphere remained vibrant and festive.
"I see that everyone is excited, and I share that enthusiasm. So many young knights ready to show the world their skills, proving that this new generation is the one we should trust when the years catch up to us," the king said in an inspiring tone.
The young knights, many of them no older than eighteen, puffed out their chests with pride. There was a fierce determination in their eyes, as if they were willing to fight to the death to make the king's words come true.
"The king knows how to make these young knights fight for him." Tyrion brought the glass of wine to his lips and spoke with a laugh.
"What do you mean, uncle?" Young and gentle Tommen asked with a confused look, but there was a look of admiration and childish joy as he looked at the king.
"Boring adult things, little lion." Tyrion showed an amused and provocative expression, making Tommen laugh and, like any child, lose focus and start looking around with extreme curiosity.
Tyrion looked at Tommen and Myrcella with a gentle look, but this gentleness soon disappeared when he felt his sister's look of disgust and coldness.
"Don't soil my children's minds with your strange thoughts, Tyrion." Cersei commented in a lower tone, as if she was afraid the children would hear. Tyrion just shrugged and drank wine with a casual expression. He was already used to it, so he simply ignored it.
However, looking at Cersei next to him, Tyrion showed an expression of sarcasm, especially seeing Cersei's envious look at the Targaryen King's two queens. He knew more than anyone how much Cersei wanted that position, how much she wanted to be the center of attention, how much she wanted her sons and daughter to have the king's silver-blonde hair and purple eyes.
However, what Cersei got was not a handsome, powerful, and intelligent dragon, but a shy fish as a husband and a mediocre man in every sense of the word, who didn't even know how to handle a bow with precision.
Looking at Edmure Tully, who even adored the ground Cersei walked on, Tyrion felt a little sorry for the man. If betrayals could be seen as a bull's horns, Edmure wouldn't be able to lift his head with so many horns on his head.
Suddenly, Tyrion felt a gaze on him and raised his head, where he saw a young man with black hair like a raven's feathers and a pair of emerald green eyes. Seeing him smile and nod his head, Tyrion was surprised because there was no disgust or any negative feeling towards him, which was rare.
Tyrion toasted towards the young man, who returned the gesture with an amused smile. The dwarf couldn't help but think that they could be friends.
"The tournament will begin!!!" With Rhaegar's words, the herald blew the horn once more. The king sat down and drank some water, feeling his throat dry after a speech.
"Your Grace knows very well how to inspire loyalty... and even a certain fanaticism in these young knights," Cadmus commented with a contained laugh, observing the still beardless faces, full of pride and ready to die in the name of glory and fame.
"You should be like them. However, you look more like an old man, without youth or naivety," Rhaegar replied, also laughing. In his eyes, Cadmus was a strange figure: a young man who behaved like a cunning old man, without the impulsiveness or the eagerness to prove his worth to the world, traits so common in young people, especially men.
"Just as a knight sharpens his own sword, I sharpen my mind with knowledge," Cadmus replied with a smile. "This is quite useful for not falling into the manipulation of old men who like to send young people to kill each other on battlefields."
Rhaegar rolled his eyes, but couldn't deny the truth in his words.
All the knights approached with plate armor, shields, and swords. The herald announced the most important ones with a loud and lively voice.
"Arthur of House Dayne, Member of the Kingsguard and Sword of the Morning!!!!"
The first name made the audience explode in applause; some women even fainted seeing the white and gleaming armor of the legendary Kingsguard knight. In this world, there was no young man who didn't long to be Arthur Dayne and there was no man who didn't admire Arthur Dayne.
The knight was so legendary that his name alone could make a thousand knights not take a step forward. That was Arthur Dayne of the Kingsguard.
Although the next names were not as legendary as Arthur, they still made the audience applaud and shout loudly.
"Ser Brynden of House Tully, the Blackfish!!!"
"Ser Jaime of House Lannister, the Golden Lion!!!"
"Jon Umber, Great Jon!!!"
More and more names were called, but a silence hung in the air when the next name was announced by the herald.
"Prince Maekar of House Targaryen, the Black Dragon!!!"
Wearing black armor with dragon features on his chest plate and helmet, the fourteen-year-old prince entered the arena with a black shield with the House Targaryen sigil. The Three-Headed Red Dragon looked especially striking at that moment.
"PRINCE MAEKAR!!!"
"PRINCE MAEKAR!!!"
"PRINCE MAEKAR!!!"
Cadmus couldn't help but click his tongue in admiration at the audience's admiration for the young prince. In comparison, Aegon didn't even have 1% of the boy's popularity, which could be seen by the thunderous sounds of the people.
Nobles and commoners were applauding with an intensity that seemed to shake the place, after all, unlike other participants, this was a prince, even if others were famous, in the end, status still spoke louder in the eyes of nobles and commoners.
"It's a shame the crown prince won't participate in the combat; a duel between princes would be interesting." Cadmus commented while also clapping, he spoke a little loudly, so Prince Aegon's face twitched slightly.
"My son is not good with a sword, Cadmus." Elia spoke in a sweet and gentle tone, wanting to inform Cadmus of Aegon's lack of talent with the sword.
Cadmus couldn't help but twitch his lips hearing the queen's words. He certainly was good at handling other men's swords...
However, her words, which were not intended to hurt anyone, made Aegon clench his fists tightly as he looked at Maekar on the battlefield with a look full of dissatisfaction and anger. It was his day, the day he should be the center of attention, but his brother, as always, had to interfere and steal everything from him.
His mother's words echoed in his mind again, making him feel like an arrow had hit his heart. Not even his mother had confidence in him, which left him full of anger, helplessness, and mainly resentment.
"Thank you for explaining, my queen." Cadmus looked gratefully at the queen and smiled, then looked at Aegon with a playful look; he couldn't help but feel a little sorry for the boy. Although he wasn't a psychologist, he could imagine what Aegon was feeling and thinking at that moment. After all, having a talented brother was one of the most terrible torments a brother could have.
Envy, resentment, and anger could work wonders in the minds of teenagers, especially in Aegon, who was the Crown Prince, but was always surpassed by his younger brother. So, Aegon's mentality was quite predictable in Cadmus's eyes.
"Your Grace seems to put a lot of pressure on Aegon." Cadmus commented with a smile, looking at Rhaegar with an amused look.
"He's going to be king; if he can't even overcome this, how can he rule?" Rhaegar spoke in a calm tone.
As an intelligent man, he knew he was creating a rivalry between the brothers, after all, he always praised Maekar and criticized Aegon, but he felt he was doing the right thing. Only when Aegon felt pressure could he want to be better than his brother.
Unfortunately, it seems that this education was not having the effect he expected; Aegon seemed further and further away from what he expected and Maekar closer and closer to what he really wanted.
(Note: Rhaegar is the father of the year; we have to clap for him.)
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Nota: There was an error when posting the chapters; only one was posted, and with the wrong number. Read chapter 21, then read chapter 22.
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Read my other books:
Game Of Thrones: The God-Emperor of Planetos (500,000 words written).
Percy Jackson: Godwyn the Golden.
Game Of Thrones: The King's Court Wizard