Androw continued walking, but his mind was elsewhere. His eyes darted around, his thoughts racing. He was now acutely aware of who had brought him the Tears of Lys and the possible reasons behind it. "That b*tch was good at making enemies", he thought. Her dismissal of Commander Merrell from his position might have triggered his son's involvement, but they wouldn't dare to think of getting rid of Rhaena unless someone offered a better deal and price for their part. And that someone had to be influential.
Rogar? That was Androw's first thought. Rogar had every reason to resent Rhaena. He was the main reason she had wed Androw to begin with, hoping to form an alliance between the Baratheons and Targaryens. Instead, she had refused him and married an incompetent man, which led Rogar to marry her mother. But still, Rogar was too proud and muscle-headed to resort to poison.
Then Androw's thoughts wandered to Lyman Lannister, the cunning fox. The Lannisters had gambled big on Rhaena, and it had not paid off. Perhaps they wanted payback. Still, it didn't add up until Androw's thoughts settled on the gaslighted good king, Jaehaerys.
He stood still, lost in his thoughts. "But could it be Jaehaerys?" Androw mused inwardly. "The Conciliator turned out to be kinslayer?" The idea seemed preposterous at first glance. He recalled the cryptic words of Jaehaerys' master of Coin, Rego Draz.
"In the Free Cities, we are well-versed in such matters," Draz had remarked. "The tears, without a doubt. The old maester would have discerned it soon enough, thus he had to go first. If I were to do it, which I wouldn't. Poison is... dishonorable."
Androw's thoughts connected the dots. Rego Draz, astute and well-connected, openly discussed the very method employed on Dragonstone by real Androw. The poisoning had gone unnoticed until Draz's revelation. Moreover, Fire and Blood revealed Draz's role as Jaehaerys' shadow spymaster, with influence stretching across the Narrow Sea.
"Could Jaehaerys, with his close ties to Draz, have orchestrated such a scheme?" Androw wondered. The king's familiarity with Dragonstone's garrison and his tense relationship with Rhaena added weight to the suspicion. And then there was Lord Albin Massey, the Master of Laws, once a Citadel-trained maester with knowledge of poisons and a penchant for suggesting drastic measures.
Androw's mind raced through the possibilities. Jaehaerys, burdened by Rhaena's challenging presence and her dragon, Dreamfyre, could have seen her as a threat to his newly established rule. Her marriage to Androw had not only defied the king's authority but also deprived him of a crucial political tool. The tensions escalated when Rhaena's actions with the Lannisters and her demands for Dragonstone threatened to destabilize the realm.
"Did Jaehaerys seek to remove Rhaena to secure his reign?" Androw contemplated. The pieces seemed to fit—motives, means, and opportunity aligned with the subtle yet powerful nature of the king's court.
Androw started to laugh as he said to himself, "So you wanted to get rid of her, such a lovely brother." His laughter grew louder, almost hysterical, as he realized how close he had come to his own demise. Tears welled up in his eyes, a mix of relief and bitterness.
As his laughter subsided, Androw's face twisted into a cruel expression, his eyes turning cold. The realization hit him—Alyn, who hadn't been around for a while, had resurfaced just to confirm the obvious: their plan had failed. "That means now they are not targeting Rhaena," Androw thought, "rather, they are targeting me."
A sly smile crept across his face as he walked forward, a new resolve hardening within him. He relished the challenge, the danger. But unbeknownst to Androw, someone had heard his mutterings—Rhaena.
[
Hello everyone, I hope you are all doing well. I got busy this week but somehow managed to find time despite the overtime. Anyway, I decided to tame Rhaena rather than leave her. After all, she is just a broken woman.
There are a few questions I'll answer below, in case many of you had the same doubts. These are just my speculations, so don't take them too seriously.
Also, two new chapters have been released on Patreon.
link: patreon.com/AmouxCreationX
You are not wrong; the MC doesn't have a clear plan ahead. No one can make clear plans just because they know a little bit about the plots given from Archmaester Gyldayn's perspective. How can he say how accurate it is since it isn't story-based but rather the perspective of some old man who hasn't seen the whole event or has any insight into what actually transpired? So, it's baby steps now, with greater schemes later. Until then, he has to play along.
Why is he surprised by the king's questioning? The moment he realized he just walked into a lion's den, he wasn't expecting formal talk but rather a demand to kill his dragon or get rid of him. The second case won't happen as long as his wife is alive, even though she doesn't care a f**k about him at that moment.
The third case, you could imagine, would mean kidnapping the heir to the throne, which would simply make him an enemy of the whole realm. He isn't an idiot to do that. And it was never a kidnapping; rather, the girl willingly followed her stepfather. It's just that Rhaena thought that for a moment.
]