Game of Thrones: Dance of the Dragons

Mond Hightower's expression changed visibly. He placed his hands on his lower abdomen and said respectfully, "Prince, you have misunderstood."

"I'm just worried that your consumption of meat has angered the Seven Gods, which will harm your already limited health. What if the King blames you..."

Mond Hightower meant, "You're asking for trouble, kid. Don't drag my family down with you."

Baylor understood his meaning, and leisurely put down the bread in his hand, saying sarcastically, "Oh? Lord Mond Hightoar means..."

"As the eldest son of House Targaryen, the future heir to the Iron Throne, am I to be punished by my father simply for eating a little bit of pork sausage?"

Mond Hightower hadn't expected the prince to be so direct, and he was speechless on the spot, stammering for a long time without being able to give a decent answer.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness. My conversation just now was entirely due to my own foolishness and had nothing to do with the family. Please forgive me!" Mond Hightoar had no way out and could only obediently bow his head and admit his mistake.

This time, it was Baylor's turn to play dumb. "Weren't we discussing something? There's no right or wrong involved, so why are you apologizing?"

"I...I..."

Just as Mond Hightower was at a loss, the Captain of the Guard hurriedly pushed open the door and handed him a letter from a raven.

"Master, this is a letter from King's Landing regarding the battle situation at the Stone Steps Islands. Prime Minister Otto hopes you will reply as soon as possible."

Mond Hightoar felt as if he had been granted a pardon and hurriedly turned to Prince Baelor, "I'm sorry, Your Highness, a letter has arrived from King's Landing, and I must attend to it."

"No need to see me out. We can discuss this matter another time." Baylor nodded.

Mond Hightower was truly panicked. Without even a basic reply or farewell, he hurriedly left the Church of the Seven.

Having suffered this injustice in silence, Beller guessed that Mond Hightower would not want to see him again for a long time.

Unexpectedly, things were quiet for a few days, and Baylor even ate two extra pieces of bread at his meal.

A day later, Rhaenyra Targaryen, Viserys I’s eldest daughter, known as the “Light of the Kingdom,” arrived in Oldtown riding her dragon Syracuse.

Mond Hightower, accompanied by his vassals, children, scholars, and parishioners, personally went out of the city to greet the princess, wondering why she had suddenly come to Old Town.

"Lord of Oldtown, Mond Hightower, the current head of House Hightower, along with his vassals and children, respectfully welcomes Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, eldest daughter of Viserys I!"

May the seven gods bless you with lasting beauty and eternal health!

"Thank you, Lord Mondstadt. Please take me to see my brother." Rhaenyra got off Syracuse, maintaining a polite smile.

"I'm very sorry, Princess, but now is the time for the Prince to atone for his sins to the Seven Gods. You must wait a while."

Mond Hightoar was furious with Baelor yesterday, but because of the latter's status as the king's eldest son, he could only manipulate the Seven Gods' Atonement to postpone the siblings' meeting.

"My brother's body is in such a state, and you actually made him kneel until noon?!" Renilla was furious.

This is not atonement at all!

The Hightower family clearly intended to use this method to slowly torture her brother to death under the most plausible pretext, so that Aegon, who had Hightower blood, could sit on the throne!

"Please forgive us, Princess. This is the instruction and guidance of the Seven Gods, and we are simply following it." Mond Hightoar used the most legitimate reason to directly rebuke Renilla.

"You!" Renilla was speechless for a moment.

Just when the two sides were deadlocked, Scholar Orville slowly stepped forward and won a round for Renilla.

"Lord Mondstadt, the prince's health is deteriorating day by day. The king granted special permission a month ago that the prince does not need to kneel for too long and can eat a certain amount of meat."

"Scholar Orville, didn't you say before that the king only allowed princes to eat certain kinds of meat?!" Mond questioned.

"Yes, but it was also said that the prince wouldn't be made to kneel for too long."

"Moreover, as the head of the Hightoar family, shouldn't you know more about this than I, a mere scholar?" Orville argued calmly, not forgetting to add a final blow at the end.

"I...I was helping the king gather provisions to support the Stone Steps Islands, and that's why I accidentally overlooked the king's letter and the prince!" Mond offered the most legitimate reason.

"The Mondstadt family, ignoring the King's orders and indirectly abusing the crown princes of the seven kingdoms, what crime should you be charged with according to the law?" Rhaenyra didn't care about anything else, her left hand on the sword at her waist, pressing closer step by step.

Otto's power in King's Landing grew, forcing her uncle Damon to leave and even attempting to seize the throne that belonged to her brother, thus binding the royal power entirely to House Hightoar.

Now that Mond Hightoar has made such a fatal mistake, Renilla will never give up the opportunity to bring down the Hightoar family.

Syracuse sensed Renilla's emotions and poked its head out from the side, gazing at Mond Hightoar before it.

Seeing this, the mercenary knights loyal to the Hightower family refused to be outdone. They drew their longswords and stood in front of Mond Hightower.

The atmosphere was tense, with neither Renilla nor Mond willing to back down first.

Just then, the prince, dressed in black, heard the standoff between the two sides and walked over unhurriedly, leaning on a wooden cane.

"Sister, we've already entered the old town, why don't you come and see your beloved little brother first?"

"Of course I want to see you the most," Renilla said with a smile, then quickly changed the subject, frantically hinting to Baylor to cooperate with her.

"However, there is a lot of filth and bugs at the old town gate, and I'm considering whether to clean it up."

"Oh, there's filth and insects?" Baylor feigned surprise. "Lord Mondstadt, the Seven Churches are located in Old Town. Is this how you, a follower of the Seven, handle things?"

Renilla looked at Beller in disbelief.

Is he trying to exonerate Mond Hightower?

Mond Hightower was overjoyed and immediately knelt down before Baylor.

"Please forgive me, Your Highness, I will immediately send men to clean up the filth. And I assure you, the same mistake will never be made again." With that, he waved his hand, signaling the Oath Knights to disperse and make way for Renilla.

This time, before Beller could even speak, Renilla, like a lion out of control, grabbed Beller's arm and angrily marched toward the Seven Gods Cathedral.

Inside the Seven Gods Cathedral.

"Baelor, do you realize that was one of the few opportunities we had to defeat, or even kill, Mondl in a direct confrontation!"

"I don't understand why you're defending him?!" Renilla paced back and forth angrily.

If it weren't for Baylor's poor health, she would have loved to spank him until his backside was a bloody mess and then find a distinguished scholar to examine his brain to see if it was burned out.

Otherwise, how could he say such foolish things?

"Sister, listen to me first." Beller took Renilla's hand and made her sit next to him. Then, he looked up at Scholar Orville.

Orville immediately understood and got up to go outside to keep watch.

"Sister, let me ask you, how many children does Mond Hightower have?" Baylor asked.

"My two daughters, what's wrong?"

Where is Otto?

"A son and a daughter...both." Renilla was clearly stunned.

At this moment, the answer is almost obvious.

Baylor nodded. "That's right. Even if we use this as a pretext to kill Mond Hightoar, the vassals will only support Otto to inherit the lordship because he has a son."

"I don't want another enemy who juggles the roles of family head and former prime minister, and I certainly don't want that old bastard Otto to benefit from it!"