At night, the Great Hall was filled with people; music played in the background while food was served in heaps to the guests. Surprisingly, the atmosphere was light and cheerful. And there was a reason for that, and that reason was named Maekar.
With an A-rank charisma, Maekar talked to everyone, kept the atmosphere light and pleasant, and made friends with all, whether they were men or women, old or young.
Maekar won over these nobles with his charisma, his smile, his conversations, and his jokes. No one could truly say no to Maekar; it seemed as if he had a spell around him, making everyone admire him and want to talk to him even more.
Even with Jaehaerys sitting on the Iron Throne, all eyes were on Maekar, fixed as if he were the sun, and everyone orbited around him.
While talking to a group of older women, who didn’t stop discreetly touching his arm and letting out ambiguous laughs, the women noticed the approach of a young person with silver-blonde hair, wearing a beautiful blue dress.
How could they not recognize Princess Gael?
Giving some ambiguous looks to Maekar and Gael, they said their goodbyes amidst some laughter, leaving Maekar and Gael alone.
"You seemed to be having fun with them." Gael held Maekar’s arm and spoke with an adorable pout. Obviously jealous: "I saw them touch your arm and you just laughed."
"Don’t be jealous, my heart is yours, my beautiful princess." Maekar whispered into Gael’s ear, making the twenty-year-old blush and look at Maekar with a loving gaze. Maekar knew exactly which buttons to press to make Gael happy.
"By the way, you look beautiful." Maekar did not spare the compliments, which made Gael’s lips curl into a happy and shy smile.
Their approach naturally drew the attention of many people, especially Jaehaerys. Seeing Gael kiss Maekar’s cheek and hold his arm so intimately made the king knit his brow for a moment before relaxing again.
However, his eyes grew colder. It seemed that no one truly respected him as king and father anymore, for even Gael was ignoring the decency of a princess and involving herself publicly with an unmarried man.
But the one who was angriest was not Jaehaerys, but Tymond himself. He had tried many times to speak with Gael, but the princess simply treated him like the wind, ignoring him entirely as if he were invisible. Now, seeing Gael act so intimately with a man before the entire court made the handsome face of the Heir of Casterly Rock turn grim.
It would be an understatement to say that Tymond was not furious; she was his fiancée, the king himself had arranged the marriage, and his fiancée was practically cheating on him under everyone’s eyes!
Perhaps it was his anger or his pride, but Tymond felt the gazes of the men around him, which were full of contempt and sarcasm when they looked at him.
Throwing his wine cup to the floor, Tymond rose from the table and, before his father could hold him back, he had already rushed over to Maekar and Gael, who were talking in low voices with bright and happy smiles.
"Maekar." Tymond forced a smile and greeted Maekar in a calm tone, but his clenched fists said he was anything but calm.
"Prince," Maekar replied in a calm, deep tone, yet still smiling.
"Huh?" Tymond showed a confused expression.
"Prince Maekar. You are not my kin to call a prince by his name," Maekar said with a smile. "Or do you perhaps not recognize my legitimation sanctioned by the king himself?"
The men around, who were close enough to hear those words, couldn’t help but take a deep breath and look at Maekar with admiration. Because of a simple greeting, Maekar had made Tymond fall into a trap before the entire court.
"Damn, that was cruel," one of the nobles said with a smile; his gaze was full of admiration for Maekar. He discovered that the royal bastard was entirely different from what he expected; he was cheerful, courteous, elegant, and surprisingly full of charisma that made you want to be his friend.
In the end, Tymond was still the heir to Casterly Rock and had received a noble education since childhood. He smiled and bowed elegantly. "I apologize. Since I am to marry Princess Gael, I thought we could be friends; after all, I will be your Good-Uncle."
Maekar knew this was Tymond’s counterattack, but in his eyes, it looked like a boy boasting. But the part about marrying Gael truly irritated him.
Showing a polished and cold smile, Maekar looked at Tymond and spoke with a touch of sarcasm: "First of all, the engagement has not yet happened; Gael is no one’s fiancée, least of all yours, Tymond. Furthermore, I am not friends with a man who tries to steal the beloved of another. If you can steal another man’s woman, what else can you do?"
The men around agreed with Maekar’s words. Tymond truly was not worthy of trust, let alone friendship.
Maekar’s words practically threw Tymond’s entire reputation into the mud, along with the pigs. Not only that; any man Tymond spoke to might fear that he also had his eye on their wives.
Don’t think it’s an exaggeration; there were already similar cases among the nobles. Never test the limits of a human being!
Tymond’s face was red with fury; he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. At the same time, looking around, he saw the men looking at him with contempt, as if they were seeing something filthy, and then turning their gaze away.
Tymond drew his sword. The blade came out of the scabbard with a sharp, cutting sound; even the music stopped at that moment. All eyes focused only on that corner of the banquet.
"Tymond, put the sword back in the scabbard!!!" The roar of the Lord of Casterly Rock echoed in the Great Hall, but Tymond ignored him completely. He was already fed up with the injustice he was suffering.
First, his future wife hadn’t even spoken a word to him or even looked at him; then, he saw the adultery before the eyes of all the nobles, and now this. If Tymond did not fight to maintain his reputation, by the next morning, everyone would know that the future Lord of the Westerlands was a coward who did not dare stand up to defend his own honor.
"How dare you insult me, you bastard, fruit of the demons’ lust!!!" Tymond practically screamed with a furious look on his face.
At the royal table, where Daemon and Viserys were sitting, their expressions changed upon hearing Tymond’s roar. Both showed grim expressions, especially Daemon, who stood up with a murderous look.
According to Tymond, was his father a demon who enchanted a woman and had relations with her?
Even with all his grudge against Maekar, Daemon could not stand by. Maekar’s lineage was a matter for House Targaryen; no one but them could criticize him. That was why Jaehaerys legitimized Maekar in the first place.
Drawing Dark Sister from its scabbard, Daemon walked toward Tymond with a murderous expression, but he didn’t get the chance to continue.
"I hope you keep in mind that in King’s Landing, people are judged by their words. That includes you, Tymond," Maekar said in a chilling tone.
Tymond felt no fear. Looking at Maekar, who was younger than him and a bit shorter, he spoke with a snarl. "Then let us prove it before the eyes of the gods. I demand a trial by combat!!!"
Exclamations rang throughout the Great Hall; they couldn’t believe what they were hearing. Tymond challenged Maekar to a duel!!!
Even Jaehaerys frowned; he hated duels, for one side always dies, and the consequences of those deaths were usually resolved by him, as both noble houses would start warring at any moment.
At the same time, he could not allow Maekar to be killed. Even if he didn’t like Maekar and wanted to exile him, that didn’t mean the king wanted him dead. In the end, Maekar was his descendant and a dragon rider, riding an extremely large adult dragon.
"Very well, I accept," Maekar said with a cold look.
"I will cut off your head, and when everyone looks at it, they will think: this was the fool who dared to challenge Maekar. In hell, the dead will look at you and think: Look, this is the fool who did not know how to recognize his own insignificance."
When Jaehaerys heard Maekar’s heroic and arrogant words, even he had to admit: the boy knew how to build his own reputation.
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/GOTSW
Read my other books:
House of The Dragon: The Pale Prince
Game Of Thrones: The God-Emperor of Planetos
Percy Jackson: Godwyn the Golden.
Game Of Thrones: The King’s Court Wizard