Chapter 222: The Bastard Who Captured Everyone's Attention
Eight days later, the academy officially opened atop Visenya's Hill.
Nobles from across the realm arrived to offer their congratulations, and most of their gifts consisted of treasured copies of rare books from their family collections.
The Citadel proved especially generous.
It formally granted the academy permission to copy every book housed on the first three levels of its library, a gesture that delighted Daenerys.
---
Jon and Sansa had arrived in King's Landing three days earlier.
Returning to the city that had once been the source of so many nightmares, Sansa found that her feelings had completely changed.
She enrolled in the academy, choosing government administration and history as her primary fields of study.
At Daenerys's instruction, Jon also joined the academy and attended classes alongside her.
---
News that Jon had been released from the Night's Watch and ordered to remove his black cloak gradually spread throughout King's Landing.
Before long, the nobles connected the news with the mysterious banquet held shortly after the coronation.
Many concluded that Daenerys had truly fallen for Jon and had freed him from his Night's Watch vows because of it.
But just as that rumor began gaining momentum, another piece of news surfaced.
Jon had not traveled south with only Sansa.
He had also brought Ygritte—the former wildling, now recognized as one of the Free Folk.
Anyone with eyes could tell the relationship between the two.
It was obvious they were lovers.
If Daenerys truly intended to make Jon her consort, how could the Empress possibly tolerate another woman remaining at his side?
The rumors shifted almost overnight.
Perhaps Daenerys had released Jon from his vows simply so he and Ygritte could finally be together.
---
The speculation wasn't limited to the nobility.
Even members of Daenerys's Small Council found themselves privately wondering about the Empress's true intentions.
Tyrion even took advantage of his friendship with Jon to sound him out.
Jon, however, refused to reveal anything.
Still, Tyrion wasn't entirely unsuccessful.
From Jon's hesitant answers, he sensed that the truth was far more complicated than simply helping two lovers reunite.
---
The matter drew even greater attention when Jon used a break from the academy to travel to Dragonstone.
He maintained only temporary quarters in King's Landing.
Dragonstone, however, was now his permanent residence.
The moment that news spread, the aristocracy was thrown into an uproar.
Anyone familiar with House Targaryen's history knew what Dragonstone represented.
For generations, it had been the seat of the heir to the Iron Throne.
Unless Daenerys had completely lost her senses, why would she allow an outsider to live permanently on an island that held such immense symbolic importance?
---
After confirming that Jon would indeed reside on Dragonstone, Tyrion sought out Daenerys directly.
He demanded to know why she had made such an extraordinary arrangement.
The only answer he received was frustratingly vague.
"Stop asking about this matter."
"You'll understand when the time comes."
---
But as Hand of the Empress, Tyrion couldn't simply let the issue rest.
The question of succession was too important.
Only recently, he and Varys had privately discussed the future heir to the empire, even debating whether the unmarried Daenerys should seek a political marriage to secure the succession.
Yet now, without any warning, she appeared to have quietly designated Jon as the heir.
Neither of them could make sense of it.
The more they thought about it...
The less it made sense.
The people most concerned about Jon's identity weren't the members of the Small Council.
It was Dorne.
Now that the relationship between Oberyn and Doran had greatly improved, Oberyn carefully considered the news that Jon had taken up residence on Dragonstone before seeking out his brother.
"So you think Jon is very likely Rhaegar's bastard?" Doran asked in surprise.
"That's the only explanation for why Daenerys would allow him to live on Dragonstone," Oberyn replied, frowning.
"If Jon truly is Rhaegar's bastard, then during the battle at the Tower of Joy, Eddard Stark not only buried his sister Lyanna... he also carried away the newborn Jon?"
Doran contemplated the possibility.
Both brothers had heard of the battle that had taken place in Dorne's Red Mountains. As lords of the region, they naturally knew the story well.
What they had never imagined was that Lyanna had left behind a son.
"Still, Jon doesn't resemble a Targaryen in the slightest," Oberyn said thoughtfully. "Perhaps he inherited the Stark bloodline entirely."
"But even if he is Rhaegar's bastard, Daenerys is still young. She could easily have a son of her own to inherit the empire. Why would she choose Rhaegar's illegitimate child instead?"
Neither brother was especially bothered by the sudden appearance of Rhaegar's bastard.
Among the nobility, illegitimate children were hardly uncommon. Every region even had its own surname for bastards.
Jon had merely gone from being a Snow of the North to a Blackfyre of House Targaryen.
If Daenerys truly wished to make Jon the imperial heir, it would not be difficult for her to use her authority to restore the Targaryen name to him.
As the brothers of Rhaegar's lawful wife, they had no real power to stop it.
What they didn't know was that the truth was far beyond anything they had imagined.
The only thing they couldn't understand was why Daenerys would choose her nephew over her own future children to inherit the Iron Throne she had fought so hard to win.
---
On Dragonstone, Ygritte gazed at the magnificent castle, its towering walls resembling a dragon preparing to take flight.
Even after living there for five days, she still couldn't believe this would be the place where she and Jon would spend the rest of their lives.
"Jon... is Daenerys really your aunt?" she asked, leaning comfortably against him.
"She is."
Daenerys had forbidden Jon and Bran from revealing the truth to anyone outside their family, but Jon felt Ygritte deserved to know.
"I've also heard that the Targaryens were fond of marrying brothers and sisters... or even aunts and nephews." Ygritte looked up at him mischievously. "Have you ever thought about that?"
Jon froze.
Of course he knew about that old Targaryen custom.
But when he thought of the noble and radiant Daenerys, he couldn't help feeling utterly unworthy.
He immediately shook his head.
"What? You haven't?" Ygritte teased with a grin.
"What do you think?"
Unable to endure her teasing any longer, Jon cupped her face and kissed her.
A long while later, Ygritte looked out over the endless sea.
"Do you think... Daenerys will make you Emperor?"
"I don't know."
At this point, Jon had simply been following whatever arrangements Daenerys made for him.
He had never seriously considered sitting upon the imperial throne.
Becoming Lord Commander of the Night's Watch had already felt like an enormous responsibility.
Ruling an empire this vast...
That thought genuinely intimidated him.
"I hope you never become Emperor," Ygritte murmured.
"Why?"
Jon looked at her in confusion.
"If you become Emperor, do you think your aunt would let me be Empress?"
She lowered her gaze.
"Even now... I don't know how much longer I'll be allowed to stay by your side."
Looking into the eyes of the first—and only—woman he had ever loved, Jon gently drew her into his arms.
"I don't think she'd ever do that."
"And I won't let anyone separate us."
Tears slowly welled in Ygritte's eyes as she wrapped her arms tightly around him.
---
That night...
Inside the Red Keep...
"Drogon! Save me! Drogon!"
Startled awake by Daenerys's frightened cries, Drogon immediately sprang from his nest, flew onto her bed, and nudged her shoulder with his claws.
"Drogon... I had another nightmare..."
Daenerys suddenly opened her eyes.
The moment she saw him, she pulled him tightly into her arms.
Only after feeling the comforting warmth of his body—like holding a living furnace—did she finally calm down.
Nestled against her chest, Drogon fell into deep thought.
Ever since returning from the Free Cities campaign, Daenerys had begun suffering nightmares from time to time.
She had experienced them before, but never this often.
At first, Drogon assumed she was simply exhausted from the campaign and hadn't fully recovered, so he hadn't paid much attention.
But now...
Nearly half a month had passed.
Yet the nightmares showed no sign of fading.
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