"The number one rule of politics: never let others use your emotions against you. Believe me, these people have plunged daggers into your back at the slightest moment of weakness. They are worse than hyenas and sharks detecting blood in the sea." Alysanne's thoughts on her long political life.
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All of Aenar's sons and daughters were present, with the exception of Naerys, who was always by her father's side. All were beautiful, tall, and powerful men and women, like true gods among men.
Maegor was by far the tallest and most robust; only his height was comparable to Aenar's, although he wasn't truly as strong as his father. He looked like a warrior in every sense, no one would imagine that this man was so cunning and intelligent that he caused Alysanne great headaches.
Aemon, Jaehaerys, Aegon, Baelon, and Aegon were shorter than Maegor, but they were also tall and powerful. Daenys and Alysanne, two of Aenar's three daughters, were slightly shorter than the men, but they excelled in elegance, grace, and beauty.
At that moment, everyone's eyes were focused on Alysanne, who was eating some grapes with a lazy gaze. Looking at her brothers and sisters, who stared at her with anxiety, like children, she rolled her eyes.
"I know you want to kill anything that moves, but we have to wait for the report on the heretics and their secret bases. Without this information, if we attack blindly, it would only make these heretics scatter across the world and hide even deeper." Alysanne said casually, unconcerned by her siblings' expressions.
She knew they were all eager to make a name for themselves, becoming famous by their own merit, not just famous for being born of the most respected and adored being in the Known Universe.
It might seem that, being Aenar's children, they would have already accumulated great military feats, but this was a misconception. To create the image of invincibility, the Twenty-Two Astartes Legions practically did everything in a thousand years.
This marketing propaganda worked perfectly; 80% of young humans wished to enlist in the Astartes Legions, showing how adored and respected the Astartes were.
Because of this, none of the imperial princes and princesses were truly known for great deeds. They always managed their own fiefdoms without really getting involved in the military aspect.
But now, with the Great Purge about to happen, they finally saw hope of becoming famous on their own.
Alysanne looked at Aegon and asked with a smile, "Aegon, I heard your wife, Lady Joanna, recovered from an illness; I hope she is well." Alysanne's words made everyone's focus shift to Aegon.
Without exception, everyone looked at Aegon with strange glances. Illness? Aside from some genetic diseases, basically any other illness simply ceased to affect current humans.
The Elixir of Life not only promoted longevity but also made humans stronger; it was impossible for an illness to truly attack a current human. It was like a bunch of ants trying to get under an elephant's skin; it simply wouldn't succeed. So, knowing that Joanna was ill was definitely strange.
"She's fine; it's the Mind Sickness." Aegon replied with a calm and indifferent tone. His eyes stared at the woman he loved with a particularly cold gaze.
Everyone understood and lost interest. The so-called Mind Sickness was simply hypersensitivity to the psychic energy of the Warp. It was very common in some people who had great talents for being a Psyker.
However, Alysanne's eyes narrowed as her lips curled into a smile. "I saw Lady Joanna's personal file, and her sensitivity was average, even mediocre. I'm curious how she developed a hypersensitivity to psychic energy."
Everyone's eyes turned to Aegon again, their expressions gradually becoming strange. Maegor, in particular, raised an eyebrow, surprised by his older sister's words.
Unlike physical appearance, psychic talent was innate and fixed; it could not increase or decrease, so Aegon's explanation was extremely suspicious. Looking at Aegon and then at Alysanne, Maegor smiled; he understood that Alysanne was attacking Aegon to prevent him from participating in the purge.
Since this was in his and everyone present's interest, no one really spoke in favor of Aegon and watched with interested glances. They could see that Alysanne had a way to make Aegon back down from the Great Purge, which was about to happen.
"Her talent blossomed late; she never really explored it, but at my insistence, she discovered many new talents." Aegon's expression didn't change at all, and he spoke with a calm and indifferent tone.
"I'd like to know your training method, little brother. Who wouldn't want to artificially produce so many talents?" Alysanne showed an innocent expression and asked curiously, everyone's ears subtly perked up, showing that they too were interested in this method that broke the iron law of the universe, that talent was fixed.
Alysanne didn't know what Aegon had done to his own wife, but after hearing some strange rumors about how Joanna herself was acting strangely sexual and vulgar, she knew something was wrong.
As a daughter of House Lannister, Joanna was trained from a young age to be the perfect wife, especially in public. This was totally inconsistent with the educated, gentle, and elegant temperament of the woman she knew.
"It's a special case, Princess Regent." Aegon looked at Alysanne and replied with an indifferent tone, as if he hadn't sacrificed his own wife and allowed a Chaos God to enter the heart of the Imperium.
"Aegon, Aegon, Aegon… you always think you're so superior to us, as if we were slightly more intelligent monkeys." Tossing a grape into her mouth, Alysanne commented with a smile. "Are you still trying to win our father's favor and get my throne? If you want, I can ask him to give it to you."
With Alysanne's words, Maegor seemed to hear an arrow hitting Aegon's heart. Everyone knew this was the eternal wound in Aegon's heart. He just smiled cheerfully, watching the scene with pleasure.
Aegon's face twitched slightly. Ask Aenar to give him the throne? It was likely that Aenar would simply refuse and reprimand Aegon for being greedy for something that was never his in the first place.
Alysanne? He would simply pat her head and say she was a good sister for thinking of her brothers and sisters. Everyone understood this fact and almost laughed; the suppressed laughter echoed in that particularly silent environment.
"Thank you, but the throne our father gave you is yours alone and no one else's." Aegon's face grew particularly dark, but he forced himself to reply in a calm tone, though anyone could see he was gritting his teeth as he spoke.
Every word he spoke was like stabbing himself forcefully, more painful than anything else.
"By the way, Princess Regent, viewing the personal file of a duke's daughter and a prince's wife is a particularly serious crime." Aegon changed the subject and shot the arrow of accusation back at Alysanne.
"Don't you know? My father gave me permission for such a thing; I thought you would know." Alysanne replied with an innocent tone. If this were a Chinese fanfic, Aegon would definitely spit blood in anger.
This innocent and privileged tone was simply the most deadly for Aegon, who felt repressed on all sides. While Alysanne had all the privileges, he was repressed by his own mother.
This difference in treatment caused the calm Aegon had cultivated for miraculous years to crumble like a sandcastle. He wanted to roar furiously, to scream at Alysanne, but he remained still and seated in his chair.
"Our father truly loves you, Princess Regent." The calm and cold words surprised everyone; they thought Aegon would simply explode in anger, but it seemed that wouldn't happen, which definitely left everyone disappointed.
If Aegon started fighting with Alysanne, it was very likely that Aegon would be exiled to his fiefdom for a hundred years, making it impossible for him to participate in the Great Purge. Even Alysanne looked at Aegon with surprise; she wanted to provoke Aegon to the point of attacking her, but her plans didn't materialize.
"Brother, after the Great Purge is over, bring Joanna to my room for a delicious dinner." Alysanne gave up on removing him from the Great Purge; she could see that Aegon wouldn't fall for the same trick twice.
"Of course, she always speaks of you with admiration, the great Princess Regent, who controls the Imperium when the Three Queens and the Emperor are absent from Court every hundred years." Aegon spoke with a gentle and warm tone, completely different from his previous expression.
Maegor looked at Aegon with more solemnity; he raised Aegon's political danger level by two more notches. A man who could smile like that at his enemies was dangerous.
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Read my other books:
Game Of Thrones: The God-Emperor of Planetos (500,000 words written).
Percy Jackson: Godwyn the Golden.
Game Of Thrones: Son of Zeus