Still in the Baratheon Army, in another tent.
Aegon pulled on his pants while looking at Renly on the bed with a helpless expression. "Stop looking at me, we have work to do."
Renly, who was covered only by a sheet, laughed and stared even more at Aegon. His eyes seemed to delight in the handsome young man before him.
(Note: Griffith seeing this: What a promising boy.)
"My brother is going to attack the Targaryen and Tyrell army, especially with the arrival of that stupid old man," Renly said in a casual tone while watching Aegon, still dressing. He had to admit: whether men or women, everyone with Valyrian blood was very beautiful.
"I know, it's a good opportunity to gain prestige." Aegon certainly knew that the next step was to change strategy with the arrival of the Knights of the Vale. The Baratheon Army, which had been on the defensive, could finally have time to sleep and counterattack.
"How naive." Renly couldn't help but find it cute how determined Aegon was. But this was a futile effort; Robert wouldn't let the young man do anything, not even clean the makeshift stables. Aegon was a bird in a cage.
"I know what you're thinking." Aegon certainly knew what Renly thought, for if he were in Robert's place, he would do the same thing. "But things change."
Suddenly, Renly noticed the hilt of the sword Aegon had at his waist. He was startled and quickly got out of bed. He approached and asked in a shocked tone, "Is that Blackfyre?"
"Yes, it's been passed down from generation to generation in the Golden Company." Aegon didn't hide it, not when he had such a famous sword. Any lord, knight, or even a mere squire would know what sword was at his waist.
There was no way not to know; it was the sword of Aegon I Targaryen, the Conqueror. The man wielded the sword to end twelve thousand years of wars in Westeros and managed to unify all the kingdoms under the crown of the Targaryen Dynasty.
It wasn't just a sword, it was a symbol of power, just as a throne or a crown was; but Blackfyre was even more extraordinary, as it was recognized as the Sword of Kings.
Renly's breathing quickened at the sight of the sword. "Can I touch it?" He asked, looking at Aegon with an expectant gaze, almost like a child seeing a toy.
Aegon didn't answer and looked at him with a mischievous smile. "That's possible, but I have to gain some benefits."
Showing a look considered seductive? Renly smiled and knelt while untying the drawstrings of Aegon's pants. "Let me give you a little benefit."
(Note: I'll spare your eyes from seeing something not very interesting.)
•
Ten minutes later, Renly wiped his mouth and looked at Aegon with a smile. He touched the hilt of the sword and drew it.
Seeing the characteristic gray color of Valyrian steel, Renly was fascinated by the sword. Every detail of this sword was described in books. So he knew very well what the sword looked like, even though he had never touched it in his life.
"With this sword, you can gain some supporters." Renly said with a smile.
"Really?" Aegon asked, confused. In his eyes, although the sword was famous and a symbol, his situation was somewhat precarious.
"Don't underestimate symbols, they can mobilize entire legions." Renly said, looking at Aegon. He returned the sword and smiled. "Some fools will still follow you, thinking you are the chosen one, the true king destined for the Iron Throne."
Aegon looked at the sword in his hand and found it hard to believe that such a cold and lifeless sword was capable of subjugating some fools. After all, following him at this moment was asking for the Stranger to come before the appointed time.
"Unfortunately, even with this sword, it's hard for you to be king." Renly shook his head. "If Rhaegar didn't have dragons, maybe you'd have a chance, but with dragons, Rhaegar's throne is as solid as the lips of an old Septa's cunt."
"You don't seem happy with this war." Aegon noticed Renly's indifferent tone.
"This war is my brother's, not mine. Fighting against House Targaryen is suicide, especially with that mage on the king's side." Renly spoke in an indifferent tone. "If it weren't for the king not wanting to be the cause of mourning for hundreds of thousands of families, you and I would be dead right now."
Renly was very lucid about this war, for he felt that, by some divine intervention, if they won, they couldn't control Westeros and would have to return to the Stormlands. In other words, winning or losing, this war had no meaning in his eyes.
Especially with a mage with the strength of an apostle on the other side, not to mention the dragons that would grow in the coming years. Let's not even talk about Harrenhal, that enormous castle, which is now renovated; it was completely invincible.
If you don't have a dragon hundreds of meters long, please turn around and go back to your own castle.
Aegon frowned; he was no fool, so he understood the implications in Renly's words. Originally, he didn't know about the dragons or mages; only when he arrived in Westeros did he discover that things had changed drastically.
"Is the mage that powerful?" Aegon asked in a confused tone; he had heard of the mage, but they were just rumors he thought were exaggerating. People tend to exaggerate rumors, so he was indeed skeptical of the court mage rumors.
"Oh, my sweet Aegon." Caressing Aegon's face, Renly spoke in a gentle tone. "He is more powerful than the rumors. He is a being on the same level as apostles, legends from the Age of Heroes. That is a monster capable of destroying a city alone."
Aegon's face, for the first time, became solemn at Renly's words.
"Besides, there is another apostle-level being on the king's side." Renly added, with a touch of concern in his voice: "The High Priestess of the Great Temple of Volantis. She is a woman hundreds of years old who controlled the world's largest religion in the palm of her hand. At this moment, this woman is near Oldtown, blocking the path of the High Septon and his Seven-Colored Knights."
"We're lucky; the Court Mage and the High Priestess are not murderous people, or we really would be dead right now."
Renly wanted to turn around on this battlefield; just knowing that Cadmus was on the other side, only a few hundred meters away, was unnerving. This feeling of not having control over one's own life was agonizing.
"Even with these facts, Robert still dared to declare war?" If Aegon had known the current situation in Westeros, he would have waited in Pentos longer and prepared for some more time. So, Robert's choice to go to war, even knowing the danger, was madness in his eyes.
"Robert lost the will to live a long time ago." Renly mocked with a touch of sarcasm in his voice. "He just wants to kill the king, regardless of what happens after. As for us, he doesn't care; revenge for him is everything."
Aegon showed a touch of caution and fear upon hearing Renly's words. He thought Robert had a somewhat strange mentality, but he finally understood it was madness. The Storm King simply went mad and didn't care about anything else.
"Do the vassals still serve him?" Aegon asked in an incredulous tone. Although loyalty was important, fighting for someone mad was two completely different things.
"They don't know, even Jon Arryn doesn't know that Robert wants to fight to the death." Renly said, shaking his head.
"Then why don't you..." Aegon didn't need to finish for Renly to understand what he wanted to say.
"Why don't I take control of the castle by spreading rumors and other things?" Renly completed Aegon's sentence with a smile.
"You're really naive, Aegon." Renly said. "What do you think Robert would do in this situation? Who would he confront?"
"He would kill me without any hesitation." Renly didn't wait for Aegon to answer and replied to his own question. "In his eyes, there is nothing more important than killing Rhaegar and proving to that wolf bitch that he was always the better choice."
Aegon fell silent; just like him, Renly also lived in a dangerous environment.
"I just hope Robert can die as quickly as possible so I can take the whole army back to Storm's End and then bend the knee to Rhaegar." Renly said with a smile. In this timeline, he was never a prince, so he didn't aim for the throne. Was it too much to ask to live a life of debauchery and wine in his castle?
Seeing Renly's lack of ambition, Aegon hid the trace of disappointment in his eyes, but became determined not to be a bird in the eyes of all the Lords of Westeros.
He would not be the puppet Robert wanted!
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Read my other books:
House of The Dragon: The Pale Prince
Jujutsu Kaisen: The True King
Game Of Thrones: The God-Emperor of Planetos (500,000 words written).
Percy Jackson: Godwyn the Golden.
Game Of Thrones: The King's Court Wizard