-Chapter 175-

-POV Aemon Targaryen-

I raised an eyebrow at the audacity Hugh showed when he dared to break Cregan's arm, who was now publicly recognized as one of my most loyal supporters ever since I had placed a tight leash around his neck.

'Something I didn't do with his father, which allowed him to forget his place,' I thought, vaguely remembering the late Warden of the North, who had the misfortune of betraying me under the advice of the snake he called a brother.

Despite that, my irritation faded when I saw he didn't take another step toward Cregan once a volley of arrows landed between them as a warning.

Even though I could have been much harsher, I decided to let it slide, because I had plans for him.

And for now, revenge was all he cared about — and it was pointless to reason with someone who wanted to die more than to live.

'Time will temper his fire.'

"Your Majesty, I beg you, stop this commoner before he kills my son," said Lord Rosby, pleading with the king upon seeing his son on the brink of death.

"Did you not hear the Hand, Lord Rosby?" said Rhaenyra in an authoritative tone, apparently furious that someone was questioning my authority.

'As if she really cared about my well-being,' I thought, slightly amused by the turn of events and by the way she was using my words to justify her desires — and the fact that killing the heir of a lord who had only a daughter and didn't seem to be on her side was suddenly my "will."

"Princess, I deeply respect you, but he is my only son," the lord repeated, watching his son slowly die, undeterred.

"Your Majesty, please put an end to this madness, I beg you," said Alicent this time, almost in tears, also stepping in to stop the fight, because from her perspective, Hugh's next opponent could very well be Aegon.

Viserys turned his gaze toward me, silently questioning me, clearly having wanted to stop this fight for some time.

This time, I didn't wait for him to speak. I cut the discussion short by saying, loud enough for all to hear:

"They had the chance to yield. They chose to fight. These are the ones who will fight in the wars of tomorrow. They must understand this is not a game, and that pride comes before the fall. Knowing how to pick your battles is not cowardice but wisdom. Recklessness, however, is not courage — it is often arrogance."

Seeing that Aegon was no longer in real danger, Viserys said nothing more and fell silent.

'He surely figured out who Hugh's real target was,' I thought, knowing that despite his weakness, my uncle was far from stupid.

Just then, my thoughts were interrupted as I saw one of the two squires who accompanied the heir of Lord Rosby rush toward Hugh and strike him hard on the back of the head.

Hugh managed to take the hit thanks to his helmet, but the blow still sent him crashing to the ground, stunned, releasing the grip he had on the heir of House Rosby.

I raised an eyebrow in surprise, as I also saw Aegon had managed to defeat all the other squires, leaving only his group and Hugh in the arena.

'This show might end up being more entertaining than I anticipated,' I thought, watching Aegon approach Hugh.

The commoners had been quickly eliminated because they had found themselves caught between the two sides without colors, and thus neither side could be sure they weren't enemies.

Hugh stood back up, surrounded by Aegon's group, and looked around, ready to kill everyone to finally claim the vengeance his heart screamed for.

But that's when Aegon did something surprising.

He threw his sword to the ground.

"I YIELD!" he shouted.

Aegon then looked at all his companions, who reluctantly did the same and dropped their swords.

One after the other, they all shouted that they were surrendering and threw their weapons down to back up their words, leaving me stunned — and not just me, everyone was.

'I didn't know he was that mature,' I thought, observing the young "man" who, for the first time in his life, showed everyone he had something of a 'noble' aura.

'The aura of a prince.'

I suddenly stood up and grabbed two spears from my men.

This drew everyone's attention and caused brief confusion — until they realized why I had done it when they saw Hugh rushing toward the heir of House Rosby.

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-POV Hugh the Strong-

'If I can't get all three, then I'll at least kill two,' I thought, charging at the noble I had failed to kill, seeing the relief on the face of the other squire — the one responsible for the death and rape of my wife.

I came to a halt when a spear struck the ground less than a foot in front of me, and I gritted my teeth, not understanding why I wasn't allowed to finish what I had started.

I inhaled deeply to contain the burning rage inside me and looked up.

As expected, the one who had thrown the spear was Prince Aemon, holding a second one ready to throw.

'And this time, he won't miss,' I thought, knowing full well the rumors about his strength, his skill with weapons, and so on — making him the most dangerous man on any battlefield.

I clenched my fists and shouted so he, and all the others, could hear me:

"According to the rules, I can finish what I started!"

"The rules are clear!" replied Prince Aemon, then shouted again in an authoritative tone, his voice echoing like thunder through the arena:

"THE WINNER IS DECLARED ONCE ALL FIGHTERS IN THE ARENA ARE DEAD, HAVE YIELDED, OR ARE UNABLE TO FIGHT!"

I clenched my fists and looked at the two wretched beings a few meters away.

'They're right there. If I move fast, I might be able to do it,' I thought — but then I looked up and saw the gates of the arena already open, letting in hundreds of guards running toward me to surround me.

'And that's not even the worst part,' I thought, noticing the dozens of archers, all perfectly positioned, bows drawn, just waiting for the prince's command to fill me with arrows.

With every passing second, the guards got closer.

I let out a defeated sigh and finally chose to yield.

I lowered my head.

'I still have time for revenge. My path doesn't end here,' I thought, mastering the rage that boiled inside me, promising my wife's spirit that I would never forget her vengeance and that I would make them suffer.

I looked at the body of one of the squires lying nearby, feeling a certain satisfaction — but also a deep emptiness, because it had been too quick.

'He didn't even realize.'

'Killing them like this won't bring me peace… and won't give her justice.'

I had let my anger influence my actions far too much, and it was only after I killed one of them that I realized death wasn't a fitting punishment for what they had done to my wife.

'No. It's far from enough.'

I had to go much further.

I had to take everything from them — and once they had nothing left, then I would kill them.

'Them… and anyone who tries to stop me.'

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