"Daenerys, Aegon, and Maekar are free of the poison; now only Princess Naerys and Prince Viserys remain." In the king's private study, Cadmus spoke in a calm tone. He was somewhat exhausted but still managed to stay awake.
"Thank you for your hard work, Cadmus," Rhaegar said with a genuinely grateful tone. He truly owed Cadmus a great debt; the mage had practically saved his family. Not only that, he was helping the entirety of House Targaryen.
"Do you want the hand of another of my daughters? Rhaenys or Naerys," Rhaegar asked with a smile, looking at Cadmus with a touch of provocation.
"If Daenerys accepts," Cadmus shrugged and replied casually. Although having two wives was tempting, he wanted Daenerys's permission. After all, even if he could marry Rhaenys or Naerys, he didn't want his home to turn into a place of constant bickering.
Thinking about it, Cadmus couldn't help but look at Rhaegar with admiration. Whether it was Elia or Lyanna, both women had strong personalities. He had no idea how Rhaegar managed to have such a peaceful married life.
Faced with the admiring gaze of the man capable of burning an entire city, Rhaegar wore a proud look and understood the implications of the mage's words.
Rhaegar's response was short and simple. "It's quite easy: show them that just one woman isn't enough to satisfy you in bed. Over time, they'll realize they can't handle your 'combat power' and will become friends, and the problem you're trembling over will vanish."
Cadmus looked the king up and down and laughed. He understood exactly what Rhaegar meant by "Combat Power." Obviously, the king was able to completely subdue Queen Elia and Queen Lyanna in bed.
"Speaking of sex," Cadmus looked at Rhaegar with admiration and spoke with a strange expression. "I think your son wants to sleep with me."
When Cadmus said that, the smile on Rhaegar's face vanished completely. The king looked helpless and let out a long, weary sigh. "Do you think Aegon will be able to father a child with Margaery?"
"Honestly, penetration isn't necessary to conceive a child; simply taking Aegon's seed and placing it in Margaery's womb with your fingers could work," Cadmus spoke calmly, but Rhaegar understood what the mage was getting at.
Aegon would not be able to father a child with Margaery naturally.
This brought a massive headache to Rhaegar. He had fought for nearly two decades to keep the realm under House Targaryen's control, but the mere fact that his son preferred men could threaten the very foundations of his kingdom.
"What about naming Prince Maekar or Prince Viserys as heirs?" Cadmus advised. He didn't want the realm to fall into chaos just because a boy decided to sleep with other men. It was such a stupid reason that Cadmus wanted to bang his head against the wall.
"Even more impossible," Rhaegar said with a helpless laugh. "The law that the firstborn always inherits everything has been the foundation of kingdoms for tens of thousands of years. Especially after the Blackfyre Rebellions, the nobles became even more determined and would never accept Maekar or Viserys."
Honestly, if it weren't for the Blackfyre Rebellions, perhaps the nobles would have accepted it, but after those wars, the prejudice against second sons became an almost insurmountable stigma.
"The good thing is that you have dragons; those people have to accept it whether they want to or not," Cadmus said with a laugh. He believed that the most capable person was the most suitable to inherit everything, that was what he would do in the future. If his eldest son were stupid, he would get nothing more than a monthly allowance of gold dragons.
"Yes, that has solved many problems," Rhaegar said with a smile, his eyes shining brighter than ever. As an ambitious king, he wanted to do what Aegon V had attempted but lacked the strength for: granting rights to the commoners and breaking the nobles' monopoly on knowledge!
Once that monopoly is broken, Westeros will become the cultural center of the world. It will be a prosperity capable of surpassing even the Era of the Old King, Jaehaerys I Targaryen. After all, even in Essos, the monopoly still lies with the merchants and powerful families that control the Nine Free Cities.
"I presume we will be returning to Harrenhal," Cadmus said calmly. His eyes narrowed, thinking of the castle that belonged to him. He was already planning to renovate it; he just didn't have the time right now.
"Yes, we're going to stop Balon's advance in the Riverlands." Rhaegar nodded, a trace of sarcasm appearing on his face as he continued. "Historically, all wars have happened in the Riverlands; there's no reason to change the battlefield."
Seeing the king's sarcastic look, Cadmus knew he was thinking of the misery House Tully would suffer for being the center of another war. Even now, the Riverlands had not recovered from Robert's Rebellion, leaving House Tully in total poverty.
Honestly, Cadmus assumed Hoster Tully only had control over House Tully's castle, Riverrun, and a little money in the vaults. As for soldiers, he wouldn't have more than ten thousand; without money, it's impossible to maintain many troops. And believe me, just the soldiers' armor was an expense few nobles could afford.
Inheriting old armor had long been an established habit even among the Noble Houses. Not everyone could afford a new set.
"Hoster Tully must be so full of regret for rebelling," Cadmus said with a laugh. He could imagine how much the Lord Paramount regretted it at this moment. The dream of having Tully blood on the Iron Throne did not come to fruition, with Eddard Stark and Jon Arryn losing the war.
"He'll regret it even more when I destroy House Tully," Rhaegar said, a cold look reflecting on his face.
Cadmus nodded, not at all surprised by Rhaegar's reaction. After all, of all the Noble Houses that rebelled, only House Tully had no truly valid reason; they simply rebelled out of greed.
It was exactly because of this that House Tully had little prestige in the Riverlands. House Tully rebelled against House Targaryen, the very Noble House that had granted the Riverlands to them. Such ingratitude bred much distrust, contempt, and caution among the Lords of the Riverlands.
However, Rhaegar's next words surprised the mage.
"Cadmus, after the war, I will give you the Riverlands."
"Are you sure? With my methods, I will make countless changes to the region's political structure," Cadmus asked with a smile. He didn't hide that he would change many things, even creating a lot of chaos in the Riverlands.
"As long as the Riverlands remain part of the Seven Kingdoms, you can do whatever you want." Rhaegar was indifferent to the great powers the Noble Houses held over their own fiefs. In his eyes, Cadmus was doing nothing different from what the other Great Noble Houses did in their territories.
Cadmus couldn't help but think that Rhaegar was truly generous with his gifts, but he felt that was exactly why he managed to keep House Targaryen on the throne even after Robert's Rebellion.
Without that generosity, the damage Rhaegar and Aerys caused would not have been so easily repaired. Especially with Rhaegar stealing the betrothed bride of his cousin, Robert Baratheon. It was because of that, and other reasons, that Jon Arryn and Eddard Stark rebelled, forming the alliance of the Three Great Noble Houses.
"Who will be in charge of King's Landing?" Cadmus asked, remembering that the city couldn't be left without someone responsible. And in a world like this, where betrayal was quite common, not everyone could be trusted with the command of King's Landing.
"My mother." Rhaegar didn't hesitate. If there was anyone suited to rule King's Landing, it was Rhaella. Previously, he would have chosen his Master of Whisperers, but with the resolute and cruel nature of recent events, Rhaella had become more suitable.
"I just hope she doesn't kill too many," Cadmus said jokingly, which brought a smile to Rhaegar.
"I hope so too," the king replied with a very amused look.
Whether it was Cadmus or Rhaegar, both knew that Rhaella would likely initiate a purge in the city in search of fanatics still hiding in the shadows. Even with the fall of the Great Sept of Baelor, it wasn't so easy to eradicate all the fanatical members of the church.
"It's better to ask her to kill only the fanatics; if she starts killing commoners, things could get complicated and a revolt might happen," Cadmus advised the king in a calm tone. He didn't doubt for a second that Rhaella was capable of killing the followers of the Faith of the Seven. In her eyes, a good follower of the Seven was a dead one.
"I know." Rhaegar also knew his mother was a bit unstable when it came to the Faith of the Seven, but he knew she was also a Targaryen and would know how to maintain priorities while in command of King's Landing.
Or at least, that was what he was hoping Rhaella would do.
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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