Late at night, Dragon Nest City.
The dragons in Dragon Nest City's Dragonpit are famously diverse in temperament; some prefer to stay in their lairs for months without moving, while others prefer to fly around, thus the latter undertake the mission of patrolling the territory.
Since Sendroth, usually the most active, was absent, this mission fell to Shadow Nightmare.
The emaciated black dragon quietly spread its moon-obscuring wings in the night sky. The giant dragon soared over Dragon Nest City's towering spires, swept past Summerhall's brightly lit night, silently glided over the foothills of the Red Mountains, and finally landed atop the Twin Towers.
Nowadays, the top of the tower, which once could accommodate it, Vermax, Stormcloud, and Arrax, was somewhat difficult even for it to land on. Shadow Nightmare had to carefully avoid any spots it might collapse. Ray was already waiting there.
Among their three brothers, only Valarr showed the most obvious signs of aging. Dragonzel still looked like a middle-aged man in his thirties or forties, and Ray was even more extreme; without much beard, his face showed not a single wrinkle. However, everyone knew that this seemingly young and kind-looking man was more terrifying than his god-like elder brother.
Because he truly would kill.
According to unreliable sources, the collapse of Oldtown might have an unmentionable connection to him, and the profits Varezes gained in the Stepstones War, as well as the Baratheon family not achieving their initial goals, seemed to have been influenced by this important member of the Varezes family.
"Roar~" Shadow Nightmare let out a comfortable roar, stretching its head towards Ray's outstretched hand, allowing its old friend to stroke its gaunt skull.
Ray deciphered the meaning of its roar.
"Old friend, everything in the territory is peaceful today. However, there seems to be the scent of a kin, but it cannot determine which one."
"It doesn't matter which one, old friend," Ray leaned his head against his giant dragon's head.
Just then, Shadow Nightmare suddenly looked vigilantly at the sky.
In the distant night sky, a topaz-colored dragon shadow quietly glided out of the darkness.
Syrax immediately spotted Shadow Nightmare looking at it. The robust golden beast wanted to roar, but Prince Aegon, behind it, gently held it down.
"Syrax, calm down. The dragons here are even fiercer than those in the Dragonpit."
Syrax decisively swallowed the roar it was about to let out, and a flap of its wings increased its speed.
Shadow Nightmare coldly watched the approaching Syrax, then turned and soared into the air, watching Syrax carefully fly a circle and land atop the Twin Towers.
Shadow Nightmare was now considerably larger than Syrax, and its gaunt, terrifying appearance made Syrax cautiously curl up a bit upon landing.
Prince Aegon solemnly dismounted from the dragon saddle and respectfully bowed to Ray.
Ray watched Prince Aegon deftly complete the standard audience etiquette, then glanced at Syrax and said, "Prince Aegon, if I'm not mistaken, His Majesty the King entrusted you with an envoy mission to Braavos, correct?"
"Yes, Your Highness." Prince Aegon took a deep breath. Meeting this great-granduncle, who clearly wasn't easy to deal with—was that the right seniority?—was indeed not an easy task.
"But I don't trust myself," Prince Aegon said sincerely. He was not unfamiliar with Ray's gaze, because Viserys also looked at him that way.
Wait, that's not right.
Prince Aegon instantly became alert. He was well aware of his image in the eyes of outsiders. Normally, people's gazes towards him should be like those of Aemon and others, or uninformed outsiders, who would think he was an incorrigible lecher, a debauched playboy who couldn't control his lower body. Their gazes should be those of disgust, contempt, or clear hostility.
But Ray and Viserys were not like that. Their gazes at him showed curiosity, wanting to know what he would do next, and a sense of disappointment. After all, Viserys knew his good-for-nothing son best and understood what kind of person he truly was.
But Ray had no interaction with him at all.
However, Ray didn't show much of the 'disappointed' emotion; he was more curious, and... a hint of wariness.
It seemed the intelligence was correct. Ray also noticed Prince Aegon's momentary wariness, and couldn't help but raise his evaluation of the intelligence collected by Tigaro and Hagen.
Big brother's old friends are indeed reliable.
Prince Aegon was definitely not as lecherous as he appeared; at least, the public's perception of him and his true self were not the same person. However... the gap might not be as large as Hagen estimated.
After all, in that kid's estimation, Prince Aegon was using lechery as a cover, secretly plotting big things, but after reviewing all the intelligence, Ray could only say that this child was still too young. He attributed some actions of Prince Aemon, Prince Ilion, and Prince Viserys, especially Prince Viserys's clean-up efforts, to Prince Aegon.
That would certainly lead to problems.
"Your Highness, I wish to request an audience with Prince Dragonzel," Prince Aegon respectfully said, "Could you please convey my request?"
"My brother is already asleep." Ray shook his head. Since turning sixty, Dragonzel, like Vermithor, had become fond of sleep, especially after Diana's energy gradually waned. Dragonzel cherished the time he could enjoy the warmth of the velvet bed with his wife even more.
Children also need sufficient sleep.
Therefore, the lights in the top-floor bedroom of Silver Blood Tower were often extinguished very early.
"This..." Prince Aegon was stunned, various thoughts running through his mind.
He was hesitating whether to directly tell Ray what he wanted to do...
Never mind, let's just consider it for the family, to live up to the bloodline, and for Daeron.
"Your Highness, I can tell you the truth." Prince Aegon looked sincerely at Ray, who read determination and sincerity in his eyes.
This is somewhat promising.
"I can control myself in Braavos not to actively seek women, and I can control Syrax, to stop it from laying eggs, but I cannot guarantee that I won't be schemed against by Braavos's methods." Prince Aegon laid out his situation completely.
Ray tilted his head and extended a finger.
"I can offer you a few suggestions for this problem," Ray said, looking at Prince Aegon, "There's a slow-acting poison in Lys that will kill your seed. As long as the dosage isn't large, it won't affect your future life, nor will it overly affect your offspring."
He watched Prince Aegon's eyes suddenly light up.
"But no one knows if its effect will fail due to too small a dosage, and no one knows how long it will last."
Ray extended a second finger.
"You have a dragon. You must use the dragon to tell the Braavosi the price of coveting the True Dragon's offspring. Tell them, don't forget how their ancestors escaped."
Ray smiled, looking at Prince Aegon's crotch: "Or you can find an excuse not to enter Braavos City, and then you'll be fine."
"I can accept all costs," Prince Aegon said without hesitation after only a slight pause, "as long as it doesn't harm the family's interests."-
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you like the story please give it some power stones and reviews. And if you want to read 40+ advance chapters or just want to support me please join my patreon at [email protected]/Translatingfanfics