On May 5th, 101 AC, in the lounge on the right side of the Seven Gods Church in the Hightower, Earl Hightower and his wife, along with all the surviving Hightowers, were present.
The once-flourishing Hightower Family now consisted only of Earl Hightower and four young boys, besides a room full of female family members.
At this time, the eastern sky had already turned white. Daenerys, holding her dawn sword, looked at the room full of old, weak, women, and children, and couldn't help but say,
"Earl, you should let the ladies, young misses, and children rest first! With me and my dragon, there will be no danger in the Hightower. After our matters are settled, I can also help you suppress the riot in Oldtown."
After a night of turmoil, everyone was frightened and exhausted, so they all took their leave. Only Emily remained, under the pretense of serving Earl Hightower and Daenerys.
"It's getting late, Earl Hightower. Show your sincerity. Oldtown is now filled with smoke and fire, and innocent people are dying every moment. The longer this drags on, the more passive your Hightower Family's situation will become."
Earl Hightower exchanged glances with his eldest daughter, Emily, and finally made up his mind.
"If we can receive the Princess's protection and support, the Hightower Family is willing to pay any price!"
Daenerys's lips curled into a slight smile upon hearing this.
"Earl, the valyrian steel sword in my hand is named Dawn. It was reforged not long ago. Another valyrian steel sword born with her is named Night."
"The meaning is: Dawn is born in the darkest hour!"
"If your Hightower Family truly will not harm the Targaryen Family's rule, I am naturally willing to rescue you from the deepest darkness!"
"So, as long as your Hightower Family can fulfill my next three demands, I can guarantee that your Hightower Family can continue to thrive in Oldtown."
Earl Hightower knew that Princess Daenerys's demands would not be simple, but any excessive demand would be better than him and the remaining Hightower Family members perishing in the dragon's maw.
So he gritted his teeth and said,
"As long as it is within our Hightower Family's capabilities, we will do our best to satisfy the Princess's demands."
"Very good!"
Seeing Earl Hightower's cooperativeness, Daenerys also showed a satisfied smile.
"The Hightower Family has managed Oldtown for thousands of years. Looking at the endless stream of ships at the Old Town Wharf, one can tell how much wealth you have accumulated."
"Moreover, you personally supported the Seven Gods Church and the Citadel. You have this foundation, yet you never aroused the suspicion of the former Kings of the Reach and the successive Kings of the Targaryen Family, which shows how clever your methods are."
"The power of the septons and maesters has been thoroughly utilized by your Hightower Family!"
Daenerys's words made Earl Hightower's heart twitch, and even the clever Emily's expression turned extremely unsightly.
"So my first condition is that I want you to offer all the wealth currently in the Hightower Family's treasury. From now on, the operation of the Citadel will be personally funded by the Royal Family."
"And you also need to help me persuade the Citadel Conclave to agree to establish branches in King's Landing and Holy Flame Island."
Although Earl Hightower was mentally prepared, he didn't expect Princess Daenerys's first condition to be so demanding.
"Princess, although we are the Citadel's main benefactors, they operate independently, and those old stubborn men of the Conclave will not easily listen to anyone's suggestions."
"Please believe me, Earl! Those maesters are naturally stubborn in front of nobles and knights, but once they encounter bandits and thugs, their knees will buckle!"
"I believe the tragedy of the Starry Sept and the Oldtown rioters will make those clever students learn their lesson."
"Moreover, Earl, this is also for the good of your Hightower Family. Only when the Hightower Family abandons the tools that can threaten royal rule will you be more likely to receive the King's mercy."
"Second, to completely restore order in Oldtown, it will be difficult to achieve with just my dragon and my current forces. Therefore, I need the Hightower family to transfer the right to garrison Oldtown to me."
"This way, I will have a legitimate standing and authority to reorganize personnel, so as to restore order in Oldtown as quickly as possible."
Earl Hightower didn't have much of a reaction to Daenerys's proposal, because he still didn't know that the Hightower Family's armed forces had almost all been lost in this riot.
He thought that since the core personnel of the Hightower Family would still control Oldtown's armed forces anyway, it wouldn't make much difference whether he handed it over to Daenerys or not.
However, the clever Emily sensed a different meaning in Daenerys's words, so she spoke to confirm,
"Does the Princess refer to the right to garrison Oldtown before its restoration, or the right to garrison Oldtown from now on?"
Daenerys said as if it were a matter of course,
"Naturally, the right to garrison Oldtown from now on will be managed by the Royal Family. With the strength of the Targaryen Royal Family, Oldtown will become even safer, won't it?"
Earl Hightower now felt like a fierce tiger whose teeth and claws had been pulled out. But in the face of the lives of his entire family, he could only reluctantly agree.
Meanwhile, Emily took out a parchment and meticulously recorded each of Daenerys's conditions.
"Although the rioters who died this time deserved their fate, their wives, children, and elderly left behind are truly pitiable. Moreover, with bandits rampant in Oldtown now, who knows how many families will face fragmentation. Therefore, the upcoming relief work will require a significant amount of money."
"And I have roughly estimated that the number of casualties in this riot is in the tens of thousands, so quite a few families have been affected. To maintain stability and good order in Oldtown, I believe continuous financial support will be needed in the future."
"Therefore, from now on, the taxes from the Old Town Wharf will be handled by the garrison. Of course, I will also leave forty percent of the revenue to the Hightower Family!"
Daenerys's three conditions made Earl Hightower's heart bleed profusely. Because the port tax was the Hightower Family's most important source of income.
Now that the control was in Princess Daenerys's hands, God knew how much would truly end up with the Hightower Family?
But what could he do?
The charges of stealing Dragon Eggs and assassinating the Princess had not yet been cleared, and now the charges of inciting public opinion and causing rioters to attack the dragon and the church's holy hall were enough to strip the Hightower Family of their fiefdom and title.
If he couldn't satisfy Princess Daenerys, even if she now commanded the dragon to burn the Hightower to ashes, the outside world wouldn't be able to say anything.
So, Earl Hightower, crestfallen, signed his name on the contract document and stamped it with the family seal.
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