Game of Thrones White Wolf

Chapter 182 - 184: Euron's Story Time

The arrival of Jon and Margaery instantly elevated the atmosphere in the hall.

The various noble guests parted to make way for the couple-to-be, who walked past everyone with smiles on their faces.

Seeing his daughter's happiness, Mace found that despite his extreme dissatisfaction with Jon before, for some reason he couldn't explain, the young man was starting to look more pleasing to the eye.

Olenna felt much the same. Perhaps Jon's birth wasn't ideal, but he was now an indisputable Stark, and he could bring Margaery the honor of being the "Lady of Casterly Rock."

In the future, their children would control Casterly Rock, making Casterly Rock and Highgarden staunch allies.

This was wealth more precious than anything else.

Willas and Garlan watched Jon and Margaery pass by and offered their congratulations, leaving only Loras looking thoroughly uncomfortable.

Catelyn, Sansa, Arya, Oberyn, Lyman, Rhaegar Frey, Selyse... Jon looked at these faces, some familiar, some strange, feeling as if it were all a dream.

But Jon didn't immerse himself in this atmosphere; he was constantly monitoring the distance between himself and Euron.

Jon was confident he could kill Euron right here, but killing him in full view of the public would bring too much trouble afterward.

Moreover, even if he killed him, Euron's soul might transfer into the bodies of those mute sailor puppets, failing to achieve his goal. But not being able to kill him publicly didn't mean he couldn't be killed. There were still two days until the formal wedding. Jon planned to use this time to root out all the puppet sailors Euron had hidden in the city.

He also needed to have someone watch Euron's ship to ensure his escape route was cut off.

Soon, Jon and Margaery had walked the length of the hall. At this moment, Mace stepped forward and happily announced, "Everyone, behold!"

A maid pushed a cart into the center of the hall. The cart was covered with a piece of blue silk, beneath which was an obvious bulge.

Because of Mace's bragging, many people already knew what it was, but the prospect of seeing it again still excited them.

"It's a dragon egg. I heard that thing is a dragon egg," Lyman whispered to Arya. He had arrived earlier than Arya, so he had heard about it.

"A dragon egg? Can it hatch a dragon?" Arya also lowered her head and asked in a whisper.

Everyone stared at the dragon egg on the cart and whispered among themselves. The king before the "Mad King" Aerys was Aegon V.

Aegon V had brought pyromancers from the Free Cities to Summerhall, attempting to use wildfire to hatch dragons.

Those were the only remaining dragon eggs of House Targaryen, but the pyromancers clearly failed to control the wildfire. Not only Summerhall, but even Aegon V himself perished in the flames, which allowed Aerys to succeed the throne.

In other words, for decades, there had been no known dragon eggs in Westeros.

Not only were dragons extinct, but even dragon eggs were nowhere to be seen.

Now that there was finally a chance to feast their eyes, all the guests craned their necks in anticipation.

"A dragon egg. Pity we couldn't cut one out of Meraxes' belly back then," Oberyn said from the crowd with a somewhat gloomy tone.

Aegon the Conqueror's dragon was named Balerion. His two sisters rode Vhagar and Meraxes.

But Meraxes was killed during the campaign in Dorne, and Rhaenys, who rode Meraxes, also died in Dorne.

The Dornishmen naturally obtained the dragon's corpse.

However, Oberyn's eyes never left that piece of blue silk.

"A few days ago, a brave adventurer came to me and said he wanted to give me something that didn't exist in all of Westeros as a wedding gift for my daughter. He is Euron Swanson!" Mace announced loudly, extending a hand to introduce Euron to everyone.

Euron bowed politely to the crowd. "Euron" was his alias, and "Swanson" was a surname he had casually made up.

"Ser Euron told me that he and his companions ventured deep into the lost land where countless have explored but none have returned—the Doom of Valyria! And finally found this," Mace said mysteriously.

"Our Duke really loves to keep people in suspense," Oberyn said helplessly to Willas beside him. Willas smiled as well.

It was mainly because Willas had forgiven Oberyn for crippling his leg, leaving Oberyn feeling indebted to him; otherwise, Oberyn would have cursed outright.

"The wedding gift Ser Euron gave my daughter is—" Mace deliberately dragged out the tone, then quickly pulled a corner of the silk. "A dragon egg!"

"Wow—"

As if to cooperate with Mace, some minor nobles exclaimed in admiration.

Other nobles also knew this Duke's preferences well, and even though they had already heard about it, they all acted very surprised.

The blue dragon egg lay quietly there. To highlight the preciousness of this egg, Mace had specially commissioned a dragon-shaped base.

It was a wooden carving of a dragon, wings spread as if about to fly. The pair of wings and the head perfectly cradled the blue dragon egg steadily.

Mace adjusted the position of the cart again so that it could sit in the sunlight.

The dragon egg shone brilliantly under the sunlight, utterly beautiful.

Jon looked at the expressions of the people around him; their amazement was plain to see. After all, it was a treasure no one had seen for decades.

He looked at Margaery beside him, only to find that she was looking at him.

"Lady Margaery must have seen this dragon egg already, right?" Jon asked.

"That's right," Margaery said. "Lord Stark gives me the feeling that you've seen a dragon egg before."

"Yes, that's correct."

Seeing Jon answer frankly, a strange light blossomed in Margaery's eyes.

"Was it in the Mountains of the Moon?" Margaery whispered.

"Keep trying. It would be best if you could find my birth mother," Jon quipped, secretly tightening his arm around Margaery's arm with his elbow to express a mild protest.

In the eyes of those around them, they would never guess what the two were talking about, assuming it was just a little flirtation between newlyweds.

"Ser Euron." Mace was very satisfied with everyone's reaction; it greatly satisfied his vanity. "Come and tell us about your adventure in Valyria."

"It is my great honor, My Lord Duke." Euron bowed again and came to the side of the dragon egg.

He looked around at everyone, then spoke: "Everyone, this is indeed a dragon egg, but it is merely a fossilized dragon egg. It can no longer hatch a dragon," Euron said frankly.

"Ahem! No need to say that here." Mace looked a bit embarrassed and reminded Euron in a low voice.

Euron smiled and continued, "However, what I need to tell everyone is that dragons have reappeared in the world! The 'Mad King' Aerys's daughter, Daenerys Targaryen, has already hatched three dragon eggs. When I left Valyria, I saw her dragons with my own eyes near Slaver's Bay."

Euron dropped such a bombshell that everyone seemed a bit uneasy.

Even Selyse, who had maintained a poker face and sat primly, couldn't help but sway slightly.

She had lived through the Targaryen era and knew perfectly well how powerful the Royalist forces were back then.

If not for Mace's failure to take Storm's End for so long, the Reach's army would have marched north, and Robert would not have won.

If the news about the Targaryen orphan hatching dragons was true, then when she crossed the sea with dragons and an army, at least the Reach and Dorne would definitely support her.

And currently, Stannis's court was not strong; it could even be called weak.

As for the others, they didn't react as strongly, and even listened with rapt attention, like Oberyn, who was born with intense curiosity.

"Daenerys—" Oberyn's great-great-grandmother was a Targaryen princess, also named Daenerys.

And Oberyn, who had been active in the Free Cities in his early years and even formed a mercenary company, was better informed about news from the Free Cities and had heard rumors about dragons.

Recently, House Martell was also confirming the accuracy of the news. If the news was accurate, they would find a way to contact this exiled princess.

Bring her back to Dorne to marry his little nephew, and then—

Just as Oberyn was lost in thought, Arya couldn't wait to ask, "Is her dragon big?"

Arya's voice was crisp and loud. It was a question many people cared about, but Catelyn still patted her daughter's shoulder, hoping she would have the demeanor a lady should have.

"Not big. Her dragons are currently only the size of foals, nothing compared to those terrifying beasts of the Targaryens," Euron said with a smile, looking at Arya. "Right now, she probably can't fly on a dragon yet. If a few archers were gathered, they should be able to shoot her dragon down."

Euron's words made Selyse breathe a sigh of relief, but what Mace said next made her vigilant again.

"Then do her dragons grow fast?"

"Why is he asking that?" Selyse pursed her lips as thin as a knife, staring at Mace.

Jon also realized that his old father-in-law spoke without thinking at all. He looked at Selyse and found that her expression was indeed wrong.

Olenna clearly sensed the change in Selyse's mood and spoke up: "Back then, the Targaryens prepared on Dragonstone for a full century to conquer Westeros. It took them a century to grow dragons into giant beasts, and a century is simply too long. A little girl in a foreign land ten thousand miles away, carrying dragons, is likely to be devoured by all sides. I heard she seems to have a brother, isn't he dead now too?

"Only King Stannis's rule will be prosperous forever!"

Olenna's words were both a statement of position and a placation.

Although Highgarden wasn't afraid of Stannis now, it wasn't a good time to fall out yet.

At the very least, they had to wait until Jon integrated the West and reorganized a large army.

"Yes! Lady Olenna is right," Euron spoke again. "Three flying beasts thinking of conquering a huge kingdom is simply impossible. Let us continue to celebrate Lord Jon and Lady Margaery's wedding!"