From the third moon onward, Dragonstone gradually welcomed warmer weather.
Today, the sunlight shining across the island felt especially gentle.
Because New Dragonstone Island possessed an active volcano, the surrounding land retained warmth even during winter.
Over the past several years, plants across the island had begun recovering earlier each spring.
Many fruit trees and flowers had already bloomed ahead of season.
Originally, it should have been one of the rare pleasant days of the year.
Yet Prince Baelon, who had himself been born during the first spring following the Great Winter decades ago, had now passed away during another spring season.
Perhaps fate truly enjoyed mocking men.
Then again, when had this world ever changed for anyone’s sorrow?
After breakfast, Daniella carefully reviewed every detail of the funeral preparations together with Maester Gerardys.
To Daniella, this was not merely work.
It was practical training.
In Maester Gerardys’s eyes, Daniella was an exceptionally gifted student.
Not only did she learn rapidly, but she could often infer entirely new ideas from a single lesson.
At such a young age, she already displayed astonishing intelligence and judgment.
Daniella herself also noticed that her mind in this life was unusually sharp.
Her memory was nearly photographic.
Her physical condition was equally extraordinary.
Especially after becoming Dreamfyre’s rider, Daniella could clearly feel her body growing stronger year by year.
Under Bronn’s guidance, she had also practiced swordsmanship diligently for many years.
Although she was far from a true master warrior, Daniella could already be considered highly skilled compared to most noble ladies of Westeros.
In this world, funerals, especially royal funerals, were tremendously important events.
Being personally involved in organizing one provided valuable experience for managing a household, castle, or territory in the future.
Fortunately, the status of women within Westeros was not entirely hopeless.
When no suitable male heir existed, women could still inherit lands and titles.
Of course, House Targaryen itself had never truly accepted such precedents.
The Seven Kingdoms remained overwhelmingly male-dominated, and most lords naturally favored sons over daughters.
Compared to the customs of many noble houses, Targaryen funerals were actually relatively simple.
However, the tradition of cremating royal dead using dragonfire elevated the ceremony into something unimaginably grand.
After all, aside from the ancient Valyrian Freehold itself, House Targaryen was currently the only family in the world capable of such a spectacle.
Because Prince Baelon had been the heir to the Iron Throne and one of the most respected men in Westeros, nearly every great lord of the Seven Kingdoms would personally attend the funeral.
As a result, every detail required careful consideration.
Whether it involved food, wine, guest chambers, entertainment areas, or private resting places for noble ladies, everything needed to reflect the dignity of the royal family without appearing excessively extravagant.
House Targaryen traditionally valued restraint over needless luxury.
Thus, quality mattered far more than quantity.
Under Daniella’s instructions, Maester Gerardys sent servants and merchants to Driftmark, seat of House Velaryon, to purchase the freshest seafood and valuable spices imported from the Free Cities and distant Essos.
Combined with Dragonstone’s own reserves, the resulting banquet would easily rival those held by the greatest noble houses in Westeros.
As for tableware, Daniella instructed Maester Gerardys to bring out several specially crafted sets she had commissioned years earlier from master artisans in Myr.
The pieces were made from dragon bone.
Naturally, these luxurious items belonged entirely to Daniella personally.
Yet she willingly displayed them during the funeral feast because she already possessed a very specific plan.
Each major house would receive its own set for use during the banquet.
House Stark of Winterfell.
House Arryn of the Vale.
House Tully of Riverrun.
House Tyrell of Highgarden.
House Lannister of Casterly Rock.
House Baratheon of Storm’s End.
House Greyjoy of Pyke.
House Martell of Dorne would almost certainly not attend due to their tense relationship with the Iron Throne.
Naturally, House Velaryon and members of the royal family would also receive their own sets.
The dragon bone tableware included bowls, plates, goblets, trays, forks, knives, serving boxes, and wine vessels.
Every set was decorated with silver and gold inlays while pearls and gemstones adorned many of the pieces.
To create these collections, Daniella had consumed thousands of kilograms of dragon bone over the years.
The cost of each set exceeded a dozen golden dragons, making them objects of extraordinary luxury.
In total, Daniella had commissioned hundreds of such sets.
Today’s gathering of the realm’s most powerful nobles was the perfect opportunity to display them.
Did these lords not constantly compete with one another over status and prestige?
Daniella refused to believe they would not desire such treasures after seeing them firsthand.
When the time came, selling them for enormous profits would hardly be excessive.
If certain lords could not afford them, then they could only endure losing face before the rest of Westeros.
As for ingredients, Dragonstone’s food reserves were already excellent.
The whale Dreamfyre hunted several days earlier also became one of the highlights of the feast.
Whale meat was considered an extremely rare delicacy within the Seven Kingdoms.
More importantly, Daniella also prepared a special wine she personally developed.
Dragonflame Wine.
The liquor was brewed by slowly fermenting certain dragon-related substances together with the strongest barley spirits before repeatedly distilling the mixture.
Daniella could confidently declare that Dragonflame Wine was likely the strongest alcohol in the known world.
Despite its potency, however, it caused surprisingly little harm to the body.
Instead, moderate consumption actually strengthened vitality and improved physical endurance.
Even pregnant women could safely drink small amounts.
For today’s banquet, Daniella intentionally diluted the original brew tenfold.
Even so, it remained overwhelmingly powerful compared to ordinary wines.
Its strengthening effects were simply weaker after dilution.
At the same time, Daniella ordered White Sheep Town to send over more than one hundred fat sheep.
With so many dragonriders gathering on Dragonstone, dragon food naturally could not be lacking.
The roasted sheep prepared by the so-called Sheepskinner Knights were especially delicious because Daniella added her own secret barbecue seasoning.
The ingredients themselves were not particularly complicated by the standards of her previous life.
However, after incorporating certain dragon-derived materials together with mineral-rich volcanic salt collected near New Dragonstone Island, the flavor became extraordinary.
The seasoning possessed astonishing commercial potential.
Low cost.
Highly addictive flavor.
If managed properly, this business alone could become one of Daniella’s greatest future sources of wealth.
When nobles of the Seven Kingdoms gathered together, aside from wine and women, their favorite pastime remained tournaments and jousting.
Naturally, holding a grand tourney during a funeral would be inappropriate.
However, smaller contests held in remembrance of the deceased were considered acceptable.
Prince Baelon had loved hunting and tournaments throughout his life and was widely known as Baelon the Brave.
Thus, some degree of martial competition during his funeral ceremonies was practically inevitable.
Because of this, Daniella ordered Ser Alfred to clear and prepare the training grounds outside the castle.
Weapons and armor long gathering dust within Dragonstone’s armories were also brought out and polished by squires and servants.
At the same time, Daniella took the opportunity to reward Bronn, her two sworn shields, and the twelve Sheepskinner Knights.
Each received a suit of plate armor alongside a finely forged steel sword.
Although the equipment was worth only around sixty golden dragons altogether, it represented a tremendous fortune for ordinary knights and retainers.
Recently, Daniella herself had also improved significantly in swordsmanship under Bronn’s guidance.
Even Bronn admitted that she possessed considerable talent for becoming a warrior.
Because of this, he personally commissioned a custom sword for her using part of his reward money.
The weapon was a slender hand-and-a-half sword perfectly suited to Daniella’s size.
Its hilt was crafted from polished dragon bone.
The blade itself measured barely half a meter and was thin, elegant, and deadly sharp.
The silver alloy scabbard was decorated with seven different gemstones.
It suited Daniella perfectly.
After waiting outside the main gates of Dragonstone Castle for more than half an hour, Ser Harrold finally hurried over to report.
“Princess,” he said respectfully, slightly out of breath, “His Grace has arrived.
King Jaehaerys and the royal procession have already disembarked and are approaching the castle.”