-Chapter 154-
-POV 3rd-
"THE KING AND THE QUEEN"
As soon as the herald announced the arrival of the king and queen, everyone turned in their direction, and everyone's breath stopped when they saw the king who had changed so much since the first time he had set foot in this throne room.
No one dared to speak while the drums arranged by His Majesty resonated, giving a more pronounced feeling of tension to this official and solemn moment, for everyone knew that an important announcement was about to be made, but no one knew what it was, and especially what it meant for their factions.
Arriving in front of the Iron Throne, the king let go of the hand of his queen less than a meter from his own throne, which had been added at the foot of the king's throne.
The king's ascent was made in silence as the drums had stopped resonating. The only sound that could be heard was the king's footsteps.
Once in front of his throne, he turned to the crowd and sat down quietly with a small smile.
Unlike other days, he was not wearing a leather armor nor his Valyrian steel war armor, but a magnificent tunic in the colors of House Targaryen, with a brooch representing a three-headed dragon similar to the one on his banners attached to his chest, and a simple band-shaped crown.
"I welcome all my loyal subjects who have taken the time to come to the capital to celebrate the new year, as well as all our guests from beyond the seven seas to witness and support the history that will be written today."
Although everyone was confused by the king's choice of words, no one dared to point it out because everyone had seen the dragon flying over the castle before entering, as well as the 5-meter-tall wolf in the royal gardens with its pack of Direwolves now reaching the impressive number of 16.
"I have spent a lot of time building the peace that the Seven Kingdoms currently enjoy, and all of this was done in fire and blood, a lot of fire and far too much blood in my humble opinion," said the king before taking a minute to stare into space as if to remember all the people he had killed over the past few years.
His eyes refocused on the people below and he said:
"Today, the first day of the year 300 marks the beginning of a new century for the realm of the Seven Kingdoms, and in absolute terms, this would be the perfect moment for me to forget the past and focus solely on the future. Although this is what I do every day since I snatched the crown from the hands of all the usurpers who contested my authority, I cannot forget everything that has happened so far."
All the people who had taken up arms against the king began to sweat, fearing that the king would hold a grudge against them and seek to settle scores now that he had eradicated all signs of opposition in the realm.
The king continued, saying: "Too much blood has been spilled for me to close my eyes and simply move on. So many people have died needlessly over trivialities that it literally makes me want to vomit at this moment."
The self-loathing the king had, as well as the disdain he felt towards all the actors in these wars, could be felt by everyone present in the throne room:
"Today, more than 40 million souls count on me, and I am becoming increasingly aware of the enormous burden that the crown on my head represents, the burden not of a kingdom or a nation but that of an entire continent."
He paused again, the audience hanging on his every word before continuing:
"It is for this reason that I had to ask myself a fundamental question: how did we reach the point where all the noble houses of the realm, which were supposed to be united under House Targaryen, were at each other's throats? What caused such a state of dissension?"
Some in the front rows frowned because those with the most power could feel that the changes that were about to follow would not be to everyone's liking, and particularly not to theirs, but no one dared to say anything. The memory of Varys's head still attached to his spinal column was still fresh in everyone's mind, not to mention the extermination of the Ironborn.
"One might think it was the actions of my father, Rhaegar Targaryen, that provoked the anger of House Baratheon and led us to this terrible rebellion that cost so much to our house and the other citizens of Westeros, or perhaps the actions of my paternal grandfather, the mad king Aerys II, who cruelly murdered my maternal grandfather, Rickard Stark, or the weakness of my great-grandfather King Jaehaerys II, or the madness and naivety of my great-great-grandfather King Aegon V, the debauchery and stupidity of Aegon IV, the fanaticism of Baelor I, the arrogance of Daeron I, the fear of Aegon III, the greed of Aegon II, the irresponsibility of Rhaenyra Targaryen, the weakness of Viserys I, or simply the cruel lack of vision of Jaehaerys I in undermining the birthright of his granddaughter and giving power and the illusion to the lords of Westeros that they had a say in the royal succession."
At this stage, a shiver ran down everyone's spine. Then the king said:
"Although my predecessors are at fault and have made countless mistakes, many other people are just as, if not more, at fault than they are, starting with my mother Lyanna Stark, Denys Darklyn, Tywin Lannister, Robert Baratheon, Eddard Stark, Brandon Stark, Rickard Stark, Hoster Tully, Jon Arryn. In short, you understand, I am talking about all the people who knowingly or unknowingly were part of the problem or contributed to it. In my eyes, they are all guilty, which led me to think once I had dealt with the Ironborn that I could simply do the same with all the Noble Houses of the Kingdom."
Following the king's declaration, the nobles gathered in the throne room all began to look around, and they saw that the throne room was surrounded not by elite troops of the dragon guards but by the Unsullied.
Many then feared that the king would order them to be killed directly, but the king reassured them in the next second by saying:
"I abandoned this idea because in eliminating House Tully and a good part of the nobility of the Riverlands, I realized the enormous task that governing a single kingdom represented. So, I decided to spare you, which led me to find another solution, and I realized that the status of House Targaryen supposed to represent the Dominant House of Westeros had long been unclear. For like the Ancient Houses Lannister, Stark, Arryn, Durrandon, who integrated into the bastard lineage of the Targaryens by becoming Baratheon, and House Greyjoy, we were only a Royal House."
"My ancestor Aegon the Conqueror was just to your houses. He could have simply eliminated you, but he left you all your territories, your wealth, and your vassals. But once the dragons reached a point of mutual destruction, the ambitions of each began to emerge slowly. By closing my eyes to the past, I would only reproduce the same mistakes as my predecessors. That is why from now on I announce to the world the unification of Westeros by the formation of an Empire and by the abolition of all previous territories."
"From today, Dorne, the Westerlands, the North, the Vale, the Riverlands, the Stormlands, the Reach, and the Crownlands no longer exist. The concept of Warden is therefore abolished as well. All noble taxes will therefore be paid only to the Imperial House, the House Targaryen, and all lands directly under my control will be annexed to the Imperial Domain."
---
-POV Cersei Lannister-
My heart skipped a beat upon hearing what he had just announced.
He does not have the right to do this.
Although he had already decided in the past that all taxes would be directly paid to the crown, the Suzerain Houses always had a certain percentage.
But by destroying the concept of territories and the chain of vassalage, he deprived the Suzerain Houses of their most important power.
'I cannot let this pass, otherwise the houses that are loyal to us might take advantage to supplant us,' I thought, advancing while placing a hand on my belly to draw his attention to my pregnancy in order to subtly manipulate him.
"Your majesty, I think this is not…"
I did not have time to finish my sentence when a scream resounded: "SILENCE!"
The king, still seated on his throne, glaring at me, had said nothing, but instead, the commander of the 8th legion looked at me coldly and said:
"Kneel when you address the emperor."
'How dare this vulgar wretch address me in this way? I am the future queen,' I thought, looking for the king's gaze, who said nothing but looked at me coldly.
A shiver ran down my spine when I saw the look he gave me, so I obeyed his dog, glaring at him. Then he said:
"Lower your eyes and look at the ground."
I did as he said, and then before I could say anything, Aegon said:
"Return to your place, Cersei. You are lucky to have a future dragon rider in your womb; otherwise, you would have lost your life for your disrespect."
"Your…" I tried to say before being interrupted by the father of my baby.
"Do not test my patience," he said coldly.
"Yes, your majesty," I said, feeling that I could lose all his affection if I went any further.
"Your Majesty the EMPEROR! Address him properly next time," said Aegon's dog without showing the slightest respect for me or my status as Duchess.
'That vile son of a bitch,' I thought, returning to my place red with shame, humiliated in front of all the nobility.
"That was stupid," murmured Joffrey.
I turned my head furiously, but he said nothing, keeping a small mocking smile at the corner of his mouth.
'He looks more and more like my father; unfortunately for him, he still does not know how to manage his impulses and mood,' I thought, sniffing coldly, unhappy.
---
-POV Arianne Martell-
Seeing Cersei's embarrassed appearance gave me so much pleasure that I glanced in Tyene's direction, who winked at me with a mocking smile.
'She's the one who told me I should let her be, this woman has such a big ego that she will cause herself trouble,' I thought, trying to hide the smile forming on my face.
'Fortunately, I have Tyene with me because I could have been in the same situation as her,' I thought, thanking the Seven for making her stay by my side for a moment.
"Now that the Duchess has returned to her place, let me finish. Although many things will change in the future, one of the biggest changes will be that of marriages and succession. The only one capable of approving and validating the marriages of a member of the Imperial House will be the Emperor. The only ones eligible to become Emperor are the male descendants of my lineage bearing the name Targaryen, descended from another male descendant. All female descendants or those from a female lineage are automatically excluded from the line of succession."
I felt a shiver run down my back, and then I understood that he did not want the name Targaryen to be lost or for a man to try to rule through his daughter or a female descendant of the Targaryen House.
'He does not want history to repeat itself,' I thought.
"And finally, all people taking up arms against the Imperial House will be found guilty of treason and will have their lines hunted down and exterminated, regardless of their pitiful excuse," he said.
Looking at the expression of his uncle Eddard Stark, I could feel the deep unease he felt because this warning was clearly a warning to House Stark and all those who would want to follow in their footsteps.
"GLORY TO THE FIRST EMPEROR AEGON TARGARYEN, SECOND CONQUEROR OF WESTEROS, AND TO HIS WIFE, THE EMPRESS ARIANNE TARGARYEN," shouted the commander of the Eighth Imperial Legion, Jonothor Waters, before his men repeated it in unison.
'I am now the Empress of Westeros,' I thought, practically floating on a small cloud.