Euron held Ashara's hand tightly. His gaze swept over the maidens captivated by Prince Rhaegar, and he asked in a low voice, "All the girls' eyes are glued to him... are yours?"
Ashara chuckled at his words. Her fingers gently squeezed his hand back as she spoke frankly, "I've known Prince Rhaegar since I was very young, and I often heard him play the harp in the court of King's Landing. Having seen it so much, I naturally don't get as stunned or lost as they do upon seeing it for the first time. To me, he is like a gentle and kind older brother."
Euron's gaze, however, did not leave the high dais. He frowned slightly, watching the strange atmosphere between Rhaegar and Aerys II, and whispered, "The relationship between father and son... looks a bit... odd."
The smile on Ashara's face vanished instantly, her eyes darkening. She pursed her lips and didn't answer immediately. Instead, she gently pulled Euron's hand, quietly leaving the noisy banquet hall for a secluded spot.
Only when no one was around did she lean close to Euron's ear. Her voice was suppressed extremely low, as if afraid the walls might listen, revealing a long-buried court secret. "It is because of Queen Rhaella—Aerys II's sister, his wife, and Prince Rhaegar's mother." Her voice carried an imperceptible tremor. "Wildfire—that green, evil fire—stimulates Aerys's desire exceptionally strongly. Every time he burns a criminal to death with wildfire, only then... only then does he go to the Queen's bedchamber. Queen Rhaella has suffered much abuse because of this."
A look of pain flashed through Ashara's eyes. "Every time, Queen Rhaella is beaten black and blue. Even from the towers, one can vaguely hear the screams coming from her room... At first, the Mad King only trusted Ser Barristan, who had saved him from Duskendale. Ser Barristan did try his best to dissuade him, and the Mad King stopped the atrocities for a time. But later, His Grace transferred him away from his side to other duties."
She took a deep breath and continued, "Ser Barristan is a true knight; he swore to protect all women and children. The Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, the 'White Bull' Ser Gerold Hightower, Ser Oswell Whent, and my brother Arthur—they are the same. They could not sit by and watch Queen Rhaella be beaten, so they went together to try to stop it. But they were sternly driven out by the Mad King, who strictly forbade them from approaching the Queen's chambers again."
"Because of this matter," Ashara's voice was filled with helplessness and resentment, "my brother Arthur, Gerold Hightower, and Oswell Whent were furious. On one side, the duty of the Kingsguard required them to protect the King; on the other, the code of chivalry did not allow them to watch the Queen be treated this way. Disheartened, they ultimately chose to leave King's Landing and follow Prince Rhaegar instead. Prince Rhaegar was incredibly angry about this, but with a mad father on one side and a suffering mother on the other... he didn't know what to do. So in the end, he chose to leave, going to Dragonstone, rarely returning to King's Landing."
Euron sat on the stands, his gaze sweeping over the figures in white cloaks below. His original understanding was being quietly corrected. He had only known that of the seven Kingsguard, three chose to follow Prince Rhaegar, while the other four remained with King Aerys II.
This in itself was extremely unusual.
According to iron law and tradition, all Kingsguard should guard the King's safety inseparable as a shadow; such a clear split was rare. He had previously simply thought this was due to Prince Rhaegar's personal charisma and prestige, enough to make these top knights willingly deviate from convention.
It wasn't until Ashara whispered that dark royal secret in his ear that he suddenly understood. This split did not stem from the glory and yearning to follow a wise master, but was rooted in the inability to agree with mad atrocities. It was another kind of adherence to their vows—the knightly spirit of protecting women and children had come into irreconcilable conflict with the command to be loyal to the King.
The root of it all was not radiant attraction, but heinous suffering in the deep shadows.
Hearing this, Euron sighed deeply. His gaze cast toward the noisy banquet hall in the distance, as if he could see through the walls into the shadows deep within the Red Keep of King's Landing.
"Leaving King's Landing... perhaps that was indeed the better choice for them. That city has long become a giant quagmire. Once stuck deep in it, it's hard to extricate oneself; one will only be swallowed by endless darkness."
He paused, his tone turning calm, even somewhat sharp, as he began to dissect Rhaegar's choices. "As for Prince Rhaegar... can his actions be called kindness? No, this is not kindness. This is choosing to turn a blind eye, this is indecisiveness, this is cowardice. He had many choices—he could have forcibly stopped his father's atrocities, he could have found a way to secretly move his mother to Dragonstone for sanctuary, or even..." Euron's voice dropped lower, carrying a trace of cold realism, "...taken more extreme measures. Let Aerys II be promoted to 'Retired Emperor' ahead of schedule, and take over the royal power directly himself. If he had even a fraction of the Conqueror's boldness, the situation would never have deteriorated to what it is today."
His summary carried a near-ruthless clarity. "Look at now: the Kingsguard is split into two factions due to differing ideals, his mother still suffers imprisonment and torture deep in the Red Keep, and Rhaegar himself, though tormented inside, has never taken any substantive action to change any of this... In the final analysis, he changed nothing."
Ashara sighed softly, her eyes still holding pity for the royal tragedy. "As a son, Prince Rhaegar... must be suffering and torn inside as well."
Euron wisely steered the topic away from the heavy royal secrets. He patted the back of Ashara's hand, his tone lighter. "Forget it. The vortex of the royal family's domestic affairs is far beyond our ability to intervene. Time to return to the banquet hall. Enjoy tonight's feast properly. After tonight, until all competitions end, I'm afraid there won't be such a relaxed gathering again."
Ashara looked up in some surprise. "Eh? Isn't the banquet held every night?"
"Starting tomorrow," Euron explained, "the highlight of every night will be the Seven-Sided Group Melee. That is the occasion that truly consumes energy and shakes the sky with noise. There won't be such banquets anymore, only a closing feast when the tourney ends."
Hearing this, Ashara subconsciously tightened her grip on Euron's hand, obvious worry in her voice. "Group Melee? I heard that kind of competition is chaotic and extremely dangerous! You... will you participate?"
"Of course I will." Euron answered without hesitation. But sensing her nervousness, he lowered his head to give her a reassuring smile, his tone certain and gentle. "But don't worry, my moon and stars. If the situation is truly unfavorable and there's no chance of winning, I won't fight to the death for empty fame."
Euron raised his hand, gently brushing her cheek, his voice dropping lower, carrying a teasing but sincere promise. "I still have to keep this life safe, to come back and marry my lovely Ashara."
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