Game of Thrones: Dance of the Dragons

"I promise you, Your Highness."

Ilik agreed without hesitation.

On the one hand, the prince was the king's eldest son. To refuse would be tantamount to publicly humiliating the future king.

Another aspect is that Ilik simply doesn't believe Baylor can win.

The answer is simple: although illegitimate children are the lowest in status, they are a group of crazy people who will do anything for profit.

In King's Landing, you can even find groups of bastards in underground casinos, all dreaming of getting rich overnight. For this goal, they're willing to cut off their limbs and abandon everything!

Ilik's analysis is well-reasoned and supported by evidence.

Unfortunately, he lost his gamble.

In the afternoon, while Baylor was reading the Dragon Studies Journal, Aston, whose little finger had been cut off, respectfully approached the prince and handed him a piece of paper detailing the day's dragon's lair situation.

Throughout the entire encounter, Ilik saw no anger in Aston's eyes, only a respectful and fearful attitude.

The shadow cast by Baylor was so deep that Aston didn't even have the courage to look up when the two met.

"Hmm, you may leave." Baylor was engrossed in reading the Dragon's Lair's logbook, not even wanting to lift his head.

Aston bowed respectfully and left Prince Beller's bedchamber in an orderly fashion.

"Well, Sir Illic, you lost the bet." Baylor closed his journal, finally revealing the smug look of a child who had won.

Ilic looked puzzled. "Prince, I don't understand."

"You cut off Aston's little finger, so why is he still so respectful to you, without even the slightest complaint?"

Baelor explained, "In Westeros, bastards are equivalent to slaves in the free cities. Their only chance to climb the social ladder is through war and the favor of others."

"In Aston's eyes, I am the king's eldest son and the future crown prince. As long as I can still use him, he would be willing to continue to serve me even if it meant losing his little finger or his leg."

Nearly six years of living in the old town had honed Baylor's intelligence and sharp mind, which always told him what to do and when, and helped him make the most decisive judgments.

That's just human nature. No matter who it is, if you give them a desire, they will give anything for that desire!

Ilik was clearly frightened, and cold sweat involuntarily broke out on his forehead.

He had thought that Baylor's decisive act of cutting off Aston's little finger in the Dragon's Lair was already shocking and surprising enough.

Unexpectedly, what the prince was most outstanding about was not his decisiveness, but his control over human desires.

Keep in mind, he's only six years old!

In Westeros, noble children of this age are still engrossed in fighting with their peers and rebelling while studying!

Prince Beller, however, was already able to handle people like pets, turning them around in his hands at will.

"Prince, I, Ilik, am utterly convinced of your methods, and hereby swear an oath by the honor of the White Knight and my own life!"

"Not a single word of what I said today will leave my mouth!"

Ilik knelt on one knee before Baylor, placed his right hand on his chest, and solemnly made a promise to Baylor.

As a member of the Royal Guard, he could not unilaterally pledge allegiance to the Prince, but he would demonstrate his loyalty to him through the most important promises he could make.

"I believe you, Sir Illic, please rise." Baylor smiled and raised his hand.

From then on, the Imperial Council, the Dragon's Lair, and the Imperial Guard all had his eyes and ears; the next step was to tame the dragon.

At night, the family gathers at the dining table.

Baelor formally asked Viserys for permission from his father to go to Dragonstone's lair and tame a dragon of his own.

Viserys put down his knife and fork, and looked at his eldest son with a serious tone, "My son, taming dragons is no joke, especially taming giant dragons."

"Vormitor and Dreamfire are both extremely brutal dragons. If you're not careful, their dragonfire can take your life."

"I remember the dragon's lair in King's Landing, where there was a young dragon named Yangyan, who was about the same age as you. The dragon guards said that it had a gentle temperament and would be very suitable for you to tame."

Viserys had finally welcomed a healthy firstborn son, and he did not want Baylor to be crippled because of dragon taming.

"Targaryen, never afraid of trials!"

"Besides, I never tamed the dragon for personal reasons, Father."

"The royal family needs a dragon to deter all enemies who seek to disrupt and invade the Targaryen dynasty's rule!"

Baylor grasped Viserys's rough hand and, at such a young age, uttered words that defied all comprehension.

Renilla excitedly spoke first, "Well said, little brother, I support you!"

"If those dragons dare to harm you, Syracuse and I will never let them get away with it!"

Damon's expression was somewhat complicated, showing both admiration for Baylor and a reluctance to see him achieve such success.

In contrast, the expressions on the faces of Alison and her two children were quite a sight.

A person who appears to be smiling, but is actually picking at the flesh under their fingernail with their thumb.

One breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that the Prince wasn't interested in Yang Yan.

Another one was intently playing with the insects in the jar, only looking up when Baylor spoke, sincerely offering encouragement to his brother.

Seeing everyone so unusually united, Viserys sighed in annoyance, "Oh, this is a disaster!"

"My child, I agree to let you tame the dragon, but you must promise me that you will first approach the most docile of them all, the Silverwing!"

Since he couldn't win against his eldest son, Viserys was willing to make some concessions, and Silverwing was a very good option.

It is docile and its size is second only to Vaghar and Vomisor.

"I promise you, Father." Baylor nodded.

He was just using the Dragonstone dragon-taming trip as an excuse; the one who really wanted to find dragons was the Glutton.

This is a wild dragon that has never been tamed and is exceptional in terms of combat power, size, and evasion ability.

With patient training, Baelor is confident that he can make Gluttonous's fighting power surpass that of Vaghar, making him the second "Baelorion" of the Tangrian family!

"My son, get some rest tonight. We'll depart from King's Landing at noon tomorrow and take a boat to Dragonstone." Viserys patted Baelor on the shoulder.

"Understood, Father." Baylor gently hugged his father to express his gratitude.

After dinner, everyone returned to their rooms to rest.

Baylor, meanwhile, stayed up all night, enjoying the cool summer breeze of King's Landing, browsing through the Dragon Guard's records of dragon customs.

"Food...devour...grow strong."

Baylor marked several key pieces of information he noticed with a pen.

Just then, a raven suddenly flew in through the window, with a letter clearly tied to its feet.

Baylor recognized it; it was Larry's raven.

He walked to the window, untied the letter at the raven's feet, and found only a short sentence on the paper.

Prince Damon, disguised, went to Queen Alison's room.