Chapter 67 - The Coronation (II)

"Wealth, a word that moves the hearts of commoners to great lords. In the end, a gold coin was much more valuable than a life." Willas Tyrell, Master of Coin.

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Oberyn looked at the dead Triarch and gradually understood how Aenar acted and how he preferred to have a conversation. Believe me, this was something that every vassal had to understand when talking to his liege, it could save lives and avoid any war over some foolish comment.

Just like the Triarch who has just died, if the man had been more respectful and less arrogant in front of a king, he would probably be alive right now.

Oberyn wanted to learn how Aenar thought, about the things he didn't like and the things he did like. Even if the chances were slim, it was all to avoid being his head rolling on the floor.

"I beg your pardon for my companion, but I have come before Your Grace with a request." Malaquo smiled gently as he settled down on the marble floor in a more comfortable position. He was the oldest of the three and knew very well how to control his emotions.

"You've earned my attention, Triarch Malaquo." Aenar looked interested and gave the old man a thoughtful look.

"I would like to buy from your dragons, Your Grace." When Malaquo said this, his companion Doniphos looked at the Triarch in confusion, obviously it wasn't the same request they had agreed on earlier.

Yes, after seeing the three dragon chicks, Malaquo wanted to buy a dragon. Just imagining House Maegyr becoming a glorious House of Dragon Lords was enough for him to be remembered for all of history. There wasn't a single noble house descended from Ancient Valiria that didn't want to become a Dragon Lord.

It was the dream of many noble houses and House Maegyr was no different in that respect.

However, the man didn't realize that when he said this, a look of pure fury appeared in the eyes of Daenerys, Visenya, Rhaenys and Rhaella. The four women wanted to tear the filthy old man apart in front of them. They never thought that Malaquo would be so arrogant as to ask them to sell the dragons.

Daenerys snorted coldly, but remained silent; she knew that Aenar would never agree to something like that. Dragons belonged to House Targaryen and no one else. Anyone who dared to get their hands on dragons was to be killed to set an example for others who were secretly greedy.

However, contrary to what everyone thought, that Aenar would personally kill the man, he laughed and asked with a curious tone. "How much are we talking about?"

Seeing that Aenar didn't refuse and even seemed interested in the proposal, a smile appeared on Malaquo's parched and flabby lips. "Your Grace needs money for everything, be it to increase your armies or even to build fleets of ships. House Maegyr is willing to pay ten million Honors."

"What I'm asking for is just the smallest of the litter." Malaquo finished with a big, proud smile on his face. He knew that asking for the strongest cub was unrealistic, but even the weakest cub was enough for him.

Aenar had expected a large number, but when he heard the absurd amount of money, he couldn't help but take a deep breath. What was the concept of ten million Honors? It was no different than five to seven million Golden Dragons of Westeros.

Aenar knew that these houses descended from Valiria had profited greatly from the Volantis Slave trade over more than three hundred years, but he hadn't imagined it would be so much, and from Malaquo's proud expression, there was much more to it than met the eye.

If it hadn't been for his self-control, Aenar would have been laughing right now. He never thought that these Triarchs really thought themselves so untouchable that they could reveal such wealth without attracting anyone's attention.

"Your Grace, House Paenymion offers ten million Honors and two thousand strong and healthy slaves." Doniphos, seeing that Malaquo really could buy a dragon, hastily made an offer.

As for the previous events, he had completely forgotten. What it was like to kneel before a king, the possibility of owning a dragon was too tempting.

Aenar wondered how many people these people had sold to accumulate such wealth. That's at least three hundred years of selling slaves and possibly much more.

The Targaryen prince just wanted to storm the Black Walls and plunder the whole place. What was his motive? Did he need a motive? No, he didn't, but to maintain his saintly image, he needed a valid motive and looking at the two Triarchs, Aenar smiled mischievously.

What king has never created a reason to steal and plunder other people's possessions? In England, English kings loved to steal church lands and parish wealth. What Aenar was about to do was no different from that, but unlike the English kings, he wouldn't be robbing the church, but filthy slavers.

Not only would Aenar fill his coffers, but he would also sanctify his image in tens of millions of slaves across the Continent of Essos.

It was such a good thing that he almost felt unable to stop the smile from appearing on his lips.

Honestly, he felt that the Triarchs had done him a great favor and if it weren't for them being disgusting slavers, he might well spare them, but that was impossible. He would kill them all because he didn't want problems to arise in the future. An ant really can't kill an elephant, but a million ants is different.

He left Ramsay alive only to destroy the Dreadfort in the future, otherwise he wouldn't have bothered to make that monster hate him. A hatred so great that it would make him kill all of House Bolton just to gain more power and take revenge on him.

Unfortunately, Ramsay didn't know it, but he was acting according to Aenar's wishes so that, in the end, the whole of House Bolton would serve as an example to the unruly Lords of the North.

Cruel? Aenar didn't think he was cruel, he thought he was acting according to what the world was asking of him, he was just following the example of others for the greater benefit of House Targaryen.

Seeing Aenar in silence, Malaquo and Doniphos were secretly anxious, they didn't think the price was enough to make the Targaryen prince accept the proposal.

"Leda, what is the punishment for anyone who tries to assassinate the king?" Aenar asked, causing many to look at him with puzzled looks. Only Daenerys, who knew Aenar, smiled mischievously.

Leda, although confused by her king's question, still answered with a respectful tone. "It depends on Your Grace's orders, but generally beheading is the quickest option."

"Then kill your king's murderers." Aenar smiled and said with a playful tone, his purple eyes narrowed with a hint of amusement.

Leda understood what Aenar wanted and once again drew Dawn from its scabbard. The sword came out of its sheath with a sharp, slashing sound in the air, sending chills through the bodies of the two Triarchs of Volantis.

Holding the sword in both hands, she walked towards the two Triarchs with a cold stare. Although what she was about to do was not an honorable act, she was not a knight being guided by the Faith of the Seven.

Her only god and king was Aenar, and the god's orders were unquestionable.

With every step she took, the colors on the faces of the two Triarchs faded. Their hearts seemed to explode with fear and nervousness. In the end, knowing their fate, they didn't beg, but tried to run away.

Which proved impossible in the next second, their bodies were fixed in place and no matter how much they wanted to, their bodies wouldn't respond to their commands.

"Your Grace, don't kill me!!!" Seeing that it was impossible to escape, Malaquo tried to beg, snot and tears streaming down his old, wrinkled face. There was no trace of the mighty Triarch facing death, just another powerful old man who was terrified at the thought of dying.

"Triarch, I'm going to tell you something important." Aenar ignored the man's pleas and continued speaking:

"The only thing that makes everyone human is death."

"You and your house have sold humans since the dawn of your existence, but in the end, you and the slaves who carry your Palanquins are no different in my eyes, you're just humans. Humans that you deprive of their freedom and sell as items."

"I will destroy and plunder everything that matters to you and I will be recognized as a hero in the eyes of millions."

Aenar spoke every word without looking the man in the eye, a human like Malaquo wasn't even considered human in his eyes, unworthy of him looking him in the eye.

Leda arrived in front of the two Triarchs and raised Dawn, there was no suspense or epic scene, just the simple brutality of a sword decapitating heads with surprising ease.

"Kinvara. Go and spread the word that the Triarchs wanted to kill me and steal my dragons, let the people be our sword to pierce those black walls." Aenar looked down at Kinvara below the steps and spoke with an amused tone.

"Yes, Your Grace." Kinvara replied with a smile on her face, she was going to enjoy what was about to happen.

Just as Kinvara was about to leave and start spreading the rumors through the Emperor's Daughters, she heard her king's voice again.

"All the Noble Houses of the Three Triarchs must be exterminated, I don't want even a speck of them to remain alive."

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