WILOW-Ch.447: Mingling in the Great Hall

Red Keep, King’s Landing

POV of Domeric Pendragon

Domeric stood at the far back of the Great Hall and looked at Aegon, who had a stoic look on his face as he tried his best not to let the nervousness show in his face.

Domeric wasn’t one of those who would sit on his throne all day, watching the people in the Great Hall from above.

Therefore, after fulfilling his part in Aegon’s coronation, he descended from his throne and mingled with the other nobles, conversing with them.

The Kingdom of Ashborn was now the most populous kingdom in Westeros. And people needed to know him as an approachable ruler.

Domeric noticed King Aegon’s eyes went toward the Tyrell contingent, and... was that a faint blush on his cheeks?

He wondered if Margaery had already made her move on the boy.

He had been at the receiving end of her seduction attempts after he saved her from King Stannis’s hand and knew that Aegon had nowhere near enough fortitude to decline the woman if she visited his bed.

But regardless, he hoped the boy would find some happiness in his marriage.

Because the upcoming years were going to be some of the hardest he’ll ever face.

Domeric turned his gaze away from Aegon and refocused it on the nobles around him.

The decision not to participate in the siege of the Red Keep had angered some nobles. Although they didn’t show it on their faces, Domeric could tell this from their micro-expressions when he spoke to them.

But the people now knew that he would not take the murder and rape of the commoners lightly, and they knew better than to cross him. That was good enough for him.

After King Aegon’s coronation, the whole hall dissolved into small groups, talking among themselves.

Meanwhile, the lords were successively approaching King Aegon to offer their oaths of loyalty and present their gifts.

But this wasn’t the case for the Northern Lords. They had already given their oaths of loyalty and gifts to King Eddard. Now all they had to do was wait and offer their congratulations to King Aegon after the other lords had sworn their oaths.

Of course, King Eddard and he were exceptions. Although they were obligated to offer their congratulations, they also had to give a gift.

After King Eddard’s coronation, King Aegon had already offered his congratulations and presented his gifts. Aegon’s gifts to Eddard were mostly food and winter supplies.

Although seemingly simple gifts, these were the things the Kingdom of Honour needed most for the approaching winter.

And yes, this kingdom’s name was another one that Domeric had decided on without much thinking.

As for Domeric’s gifts to the King, he hadn’t yet given King Eddard a gift because he wanted to give his gifts together with King Aegon’s.

Domeric knew the gifts he was going to give would have a huge impact on everyone, and he wanted to save that for last.

He was also sure one of the gifts would open a can of worms. And he didn’t want any drama to erupt before the coronation ceremonies were complete.

At the moment, Domeric himself was standing along with Lord Karstark, Lord Ryswell, Lord Umber, Ser Wylis Manderly, and Lady Mormont.

He kept an eye on the other lords in the court as they went to King Aegon one by one and gave him their allegiance along with a gift.

Right now, it was the turn of the Lords from the Reach to give their oath of loyalty to the King.

Ser Garlan Tyrell, substitute for his father Lord Mace Tyrell, bowed to King Aegon and swore the oath required from House Tyrell. He then gave him a gift that essentially amounted to providing free food for King’s Landing for the next 5 years.

Lord Leyton Hightower bowed to King Aegon, swore the oath required from him, and gave him a library full of books as a gift.

Ser Horas Redwyne and Ser Hobber Redwyne, substitute for their father Lord Paxter Redwyne, bowed to King Aegon and swore the oath required from them and gave him the model of a small ship named King Aegon’s Valor. The real ship was still under construction in Arbor.

The procession continued, but his concentration was broken as someone punched his arm.

He turned around and saw Dacey Mormont ready to punch him again.

"Hey..." he said and easily caught her second punch. "What’s up with you? You know I’m an Emperor now, right?"

"You’ve been ignoring me for the past five minutes. That’s what." She frowned at him, "Do you think that being rich, pretty, and an emperor gives you the right to ignore me?"

That’s why Domeric preferred the Northern lords and ladies to the Southerners. They were far more sincere than the Southern nobles, who always had scheming in their heads.

Even though the Southerners viewed this sincerity as savagery.

But at the end of the day, Domeric didn’t know any Southern nobleman bold enough to punch an emperor on the shoulder to get his attention.

He smiled, "Sorry about that. Was keeping an eye on our little King and making sure that no one stabs up during his coronation."

Dacey snorted, "Yeah, you were. I need to talk with you about something after this feast... Your Majesty."

He nodded, looked around himself, and whispered, "Is this about you and your sisters having some talent in skinchanging?"

Dacey’s eyes widened for a moment before they narrowed, and she looked around and then nodded at him. "I was wondering if you could lend one of your skinchangers to teach us how to do it properly?"

He frowned for a moment and then nodded, "How about this. When we go back, you and your sisters come to Dreadfort. The old gods have a better presence there, and you’ll be able to learn skinchanging more easily in their presence."

Of course, that was not the truth. The truth was that the high ambient magic generated by the Heart Trees slowly but surely seeped into the people living in his lands.

This allowed them to awaken any dormant talent in their bloodline.

That was why he now had more than 4 times as many skinchangers as he had back when he first brought the Free Folk from the True North.

It was also why his skinchangers were more powerful than before, even without some help from him in the form of mind magic.

Dacey’s eyes narrowed and frowned once again. "Are you trying to sleep with my sisters and me?"

Her frown then turned into a grin, and she said, "Not that I’m averse to the idea. You’re a pretty boy who can fight. People like you are quite rare in the north. ...Your Majesty." She said, and her hand reached down to fondle his balls.

He raised an eyebrow and separated from her, using his occlumency shields to stop himself from getting aroused.

"Ygritte would cut off my balls if I tried something like that." He said.

That only made her grin even wider. "So, are you saying you would have slept with us otherwise?"

"Definitely. If only I weren’t already committed to someone. It might be strange, but women who can fight and protect themselves are a huge turn-on for me."

"Oh? But aren’t you the Emperor now, Your Majesty? Naturally, you can have more than one woman, can’t you?" she asked.

He was about to say something, but a large hand falling on his shoulder stopped him from doing so.

He turned and saw Greatjon looking at him and Dacey with a huge grin. "Come, lad... ahem... Your Majesty. You can try getting into the lassie’s breeches some other time. It’s time we conveyed our congratulations to the King. And then it’s your turn... Your Majesty."

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Next Chapters’ Name:

Ch.448: Gifts for Kings

Ch.449: A Personal Matter

Ch.450: The Trial Begins