"Commit suicide." Cadmus said in a calm tone as he threw a dagger at him. The assassin simply smiled and plunged the dagger into his own head while still smiling gently, as if what he was doing was a good thing.
"What terrifying magic." Cadmus muttered in a calm tone; he was truly shocked by the Three Curses; all three spells were extremely inhumane, capable of killing, torturing, or controlling a person's mind, body, and soul.
"However, his last words are a problem." Cadmus said with a tone full of helplessness; although the smell and voice were indeed a clue, this was easily changed with a little makeup and disguise techniques.
If he were to arrest anyone with a voice like that and smelling of lavender, lilac, or rose water, Cadmus felt that the Harrenhal dungeon didn't seem so big at that moment. However, he discovered that the assassins were from Essos, which was a step forward in the clues.
Looking at the two lifeless bodies, Cadmus shook his head and left the dungeon with a calm expression. As soon as he saw the sun outside, he noticed that the guards around looked at him with frightened expressions; they had obviously heard the screams inside the dungeon.
The poor guards didn't even dare to raise their heads when Cadmus passed by them; their bodies even trembled for a moment, showing how scared they were.
This left Cadmus speechless; he felt he had reinforced the stereotypes that mages were dangerous and inhumane... "People's prejudice is like huge mountains; not even I, a handsome mage, can escape this situation."
Although he spoke this way, there was an amused smile on his lips. Having a reputation for being cruel was not entirely bad; after all, fear was still one of the best ways to control people.
When Cadmus returned to stand before Rhaegar, the king was in comfortable clothes with both wives beside him. There was an exchange of comfortable smiles full of kindness between the three, leaving the mage speechless.
He refused to accept that he was envious and spoke in a calm tone. "Your Grace, the result of the torture was not as good as expected."
"Just say what you got; we will try to unravel this together." Rhaegar certainly knew how firm and tough an assassin could be, so he was not surprised by Cadmus's lack of success. However, the next words surprised him.
"The assassin said that a man came to Pentos, where his organization's headquarters is, and bought the death of Queen Ellia and Queen Lyanna. The man had a thick, aged voice, perhaps around fifty years old, but he smelled of lavender, lilac, or rose water." Cadmus said in a deep tone.
Ellia and Lyanna's faces did not look good at all with Cadmus's words; no one would be happy to have an enemy in the shadows ready to send assassins at any moment. Could they sleep without worries? Especially after seeing Cadmus's fight with the assassins.
Rhaegar's face was also grim; there was obviously a force in Westeros looking at his kingdom with greed. As for who it was, he had no idea.
"Could it be a descendant of Saera, the Old King's daughter?" Ellia regained her composure and spoke with an uncertain tone. In her eyes, to get the throne, one would at least have to have Targaryen blood, so Saera's descendants were the main culprits.
"They have an empire of brothels throughout the Continent of Essos, which Saera built hundreds of years ago; they have never shown any interest in returning to Westeros." Rhaegar shook his head and spoke with an equally uncertain tone.
Although Saera's descendants had never given any sign that they wanted to return to Westeros, Rhaegar knew that people changed. No one could remain the same as they were, especially a new individual with great ambitions.
"We were free from House Blackfyre; now another Bastard House appears looking at the Seven Kingdoms." Lyanna said with a distressed expression. The Blackfyre Rebellions were truly a bad thing for Westeros, as they came every few decades. Fortunately, in the last Blackfyre Rebellion, the Kingsguard Knight, Barristan Selmy, had cut off the head of Maelys the Monstrous, ending the male line of House Blackfyre.
A light bulb went off in Cadmus's mind upon hearing the name Blackfyre. He looked at the king and asked, "Could it be the Blackfyres?"
The one who answered Cadmus was Barristan Selmy the Bold himself. "Lord Peverell, I personally killed Maelys the Monstrous; I cut off both his heads."
Maelys had two heads, his own and the head of his dead twin brother on his neck, as Maelys himself had killed his brother while still in the womb and become deformed.
"You killed the last male member, which doesn't mean he didn't have daughters in secret in the Golden Company." Cadmus's words surprised everyone, but Rhaegar shook his head and spoke in a calm but helpless tone.
"If it's true, then we will face a Blackfyre Rebellion while fighting a possible civil war..." A heavy atmosphere hung in the air; if it were true, then the future would indeed be troubled; it was wars on all sides.
Looking at their expressions, Cadmus sighed and did not mention that humanity would face a war for survival in the coming years; otherwise, Rhaegar's expression would not be so calm at that moment.
"Your Grace, I wanted to talk about my confrontation with the Faith." Feeling that the atmosphere was too tense, Cadmus changed the subject. He wanted to give some good news amidst such bad news.
Rhaegar nodded and spoke. "Any doubts?"
"Not at all; I already have a plan to weaken the influence and strength of the Faith." Cadmus's words surprised Rhaegar; he didn't expect Cadmus to make a plan in such a short time.
"My plan is simple; we will invite a new religion to Westeros." Cadmus once again surprised Rhaegar, making the king's eyes widen. "Fighting the Faith is quite complicated, so it's better to leave it to professionals."
"I spoke with Lady Kinvara, the High Priestess of the Red Temple of Volantis, and she was quite interested in making a proselytizing trip to Westeros. She would bring a hundred ships full of red priests and priestesses, as well as a fully equipped and experienced army." Cadmus said with a smile.
"What do you want to do, Cadmus? Get straight to the point." Rhaegar felt quite tempted to accept the proposal but wanted to know what Cadmus was thinking at that moment.
"Let the two religions kill each other while weakening themselves; the king will only need to intervene when things escalate into a situation of total chaos, becoming a mediator between the two religions. Over time, the influence of both faiths will balance out, and the Faith of the Seven will not have as much prestige or strength among the common people." Cadmus's strategy was simple, something used over millennia by kings and queens to weaken the rulers' enemies.
"Will the High Priestess agree to become a sword in my hands?" Rhaegar frowned and felt that the plan was good, but would anyone really willingly agree to become a pawn in someone else's hands, especially someone as powerful as Kinvara?
"Your Grace underestimates the eagerness of religions to spread their faith to other peoples; the Red Faith has always wanted to spread throughout Westeros but never had the opportunity, and the Targaryen Kings were also not interested in it." Cadmus said with a smile.
The more influence the Red God had over Westeros, the more power he had; it was a temptation that Kinvara and other leaders of the Red Faith could not ignore and did not want to.
A smile appeared on Rhaegar's lips, good news after a long time. Perhaps another Targaryen king would have hesitated, but Rhaegar was everything one could expect from a bold king. Knowing that the situation was so critical, he didn't mind following Cadmus's plan.
"I accept; you can ask the High Priestess to come as soon as possible; she is authorized to build a Red Temple in King's Landing." Rhaegar spoke in a calm and deep tone; there was sarcasm in his gaze, as the place he expected the Old Temple to be built was in front of the Great Sept of Baelor.
"However, the Red Faith must adapt to the customs of Westeros; no slaves and no burning people." Rhaegar added with a touch of harshness, remembering what society was like in Essos.
"I had already told her that, and she accepted the terms." Cadmus said with a smile.
Rhaegar was surprised and looked at Cadmus with a satisfied gaze; having such a good subordinate was truly comfortable.
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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