Tsk, what is meant to come will always come.
Aegon didn't feel frustrated though, since a secret couldn't be kept forever. His arrival at the Old Town would sooner or later be discovered by the Hightower family; it was just a matter of when.
The only thing he had to do was to buy a piece of land before Lord Hightower received the King's letter.
This way, no one could stop Aegon from tinkering with his infrastructure system every day.
—Yes, it's that heartbreaking!
It's been almost a year since Aegon arrived in this world, but he has barely left the castle. The reasons are: one, he doesn't have a dragon; two, he's young; and three, he's the royal heir. Any small accident would stir up a huge commotion.
The Queen had the maid watch over Aegon closely. Even the number of times he went to the toilet each day had to be reported to her, not to mention anything else.
One time, Aegon tried to plant the seeds the system had given him. He wanted to dig some soil in the garden and put it into a pot, but a maid passing by saw him and immediately took him away in shock.
"Your Highness, you are the King's eldest son, and may inherit the throne one day. How can you act like a peasant and touch… such dirty things?" the chief maid beside the Queen said with concern.
Aegon stared with a blank expression. Although he wanted to argue, he held back in the end.
What's dirty about it?
Agriculture on this continent hadn't progressed at all over the years. In the North, people starve to death every winter because you don't take farming seriously. Don't speak nonsense with your eyes wide open. This soil is clean. It's not hard to try planting a seed…
But then, the Queen gave her reasoning.
It turned out that directly above the garden was the corridor bridge, where the King often passed when discussing affairs with ministers. With a turn of his head, he could see Aegon performing "some lowly act."
This could easily make the King dislike Aegon even more and even think he lacks the talent to be the crown prince, believing he is unfit to inherit the throne.
Aegon: "…"
Oh, my dear Queen mother, you are so naïve!
Aegon wanted to speak, but he held his tongue.
Didn't she see the situation clearly?
As his older sister's position as heir grew more secure, and she was already ten years older than him, the King had long abandoned the idea of changing heirs. Now, he was focused on passing the throne to his dearly loved, late first queen's daughter. He didn't even remember the matters he considered when marrying her as the consort
......
Forget about Aegon digging in the garden—if Aegon was in the garden with an excavator, his father, the King, wouldn't even raise an eyebrow. The most he'd do is scold him for making the garden look a mess.
The King just wanted a tool to release his desires, so don't take his grand talk seriously.
Aegon looked towards the path in the field, where the lead knight in silver armor was riding full speed ahead, the fastest of all. The two other cavalry squads followed closely, now forming a single line, rushing towards the farmer's small house.
The approaching sound of hooves and the buzzing of the sun overhead finally made the farmers give in. They all kneeled to the ground like the miller, with only the miller's wife still holding her daughter's lifeless body, sitting in a daze on the spot.
Clearly, the farmers were more afraid of the familiar sound of hooves than the unfamiliar dragon.
As for the bandits who had been lying on the ground, one of the bolder ones tried to escape when he saw so many people, but the cavalry had already noticed him. As they passed, one knight swung his sword and easily slit the man's neck.
Blood splattered everywhere, and before the bandit could scream in agony, he collapsed on the ground and soon fell silent.
The lead knight in silver armor stopped his horse less than 10 meters from Aegon, while the other cavalry remained mounted, holding torches high to surround the empty land in front of the farmer's house.
With the light of the fire, Aegon finally got a good look at the knight in silver armor.
He was clad in shiny white armor, intricately carved with delicate patterns of flowers, leaves, and cavalry holding spears.
From a distance, it looked as though he was covered in bright, pure snow, exquisite and beautiful.
The knight removed his helmet, revealing a face Aegon was very familiar with.
That pale skin, light golden hair, and a smile that exuded a seductive charm, along with that handsome face that made the Southern noblewomen swoon…
It was his uncle!
Aegon immediately came out of his previous mood, turning into a smile of interest: "Oh, isn't this Sir Galwin? It's been years. You've grown taller, haven't you?"
The person was indeed Galwin Hightower, the Queen's brother, and Aegon's maternal uncle.
Unexpectedly, Galwin didn't get angry. Instead, he chuckled and said, "You rascal! It's been a year, and you've become even more mischievous!"
He strode toward Aegon, with his left hand on his sword and his right holding his helmet. In the light of the fire, he looked like a knight straight out of a fairy tale.
"You're really bold, leaving the entire guard behind and even abandoning your grandfather on the road. You rode a dragon all the way to Old Town by yourself, and it really pissed off your grandfather. He wrote several letters to scold you."
Although Galwin's words were reproachful, his tone didn't carry any blame. Instead, it had a touch of mischievousness.
He looked up at the blazing sun and, with interest, asked, "Your dragon?"
Aegon nodded: "Yes, it's called sunfire "
"It loves me so much. If it doesn't see me for a day, it whines. Sigh, what can I do? I'm just that cute."
Galwin couldn't stand Aegon's narcissism, so he stopped joking and looked around at the farmers kneeling on the ground and the bandits that had been subdued.
He asked, "Who are these people…?"
Galwin didn't linger on the miller and his wife, as if the spot they were kneeling on was just an empty patch of land.
Aegon explained the situation.
Galwin nodded: "I see. Tie them up and take them to the prison. We'll wait for the court's judgment."
"As for you," he continued, "tonight, you'll come back with me to the Sky Tower. It's getting late, so I'll arrange a room for you to sleep in. After breakfast tomorrow, my uncle will have a few words to ask you. You'd better think about how to answer, or you'll regret it."
Galwin's "uncle" was the Lord of Old Town, the current Lord Hightower, Aegon's maternal grandfather's older brother.
Rumors had it that he was an unfathomable and cunning man, much more difficult to deal with than his rigid, scholarly younger brother, Otto Hightower. Even the King avoided him and only corresponded by letters, never wanting to meet face-to-face.
Galwin unceremoniously pinched Aegon's smooth little face.
Aegon, furious, glared at him and muttered, "What are you doing?! Ugh… let go of me! I'm a prince! Ouch…"
The young knight chuckled.
His features were exquisite, and when he squinted, he looked like a pretty, mischievous fox: "What's the matter? Why don't you call your dragon to fight me?"
"Ugh… you're bold!"
This banter between the cheeky uncle and nephew went on for a while, and eventually, Aegon sent off sunfire . Galwin then picked him up and put him on his horse, intending to take him back to the Sky Tower personally.
Aegon struggled in his arms: "Wait!"
"What else is there, my Prince?" Galwin asked lazily.
"The child who protected me just now… he died. Can you give his family some money, Uncle?"
He lied without batting an eye.
The miller's daughter, a small and young girl, had probably crossed paths with the bandits in the dark, and one of them had slashed her throat. But Aegon didn't care, and as long as he said it, even if it was a lie, it became the truth.
Galwin smiled and didn't refute it. "Alright, give them 20 silver deer coins."
A cavalryman dismounted and handed the miller and his wife 20 silver coins, shocking them to the point where they kept bowing in thanks, not daring to lift their heads.
Now, a feast fit for a noble wouldn't even cost a single silver coin. For these farmers who had spent their lives paying money to the nobles without ever receiving any in return, this was a huge blessing.
The couple knew this was probably the best solution.
They lived in a distant town and had three children. The eldest, who was playing in the road and didn't step aside for a noble's carriage, had been trampled to death, and no one knew who had done it.
They could only bury their child in sorrow, unaware of the culprit.
Their daughter, shy and timid, had no chance to protect the prince. But now that the prince's dragon had flown overhead and seen the girl's death, he felt bad and found an excuse to give some compensation.
In this world, you had to accept fate!
The miller and his wife accepted the money and returned, thanking the knight repeatedly.
Galwin saw that things were settled, with the bandits tied up and taken away. He mounted his horse, preparing to leave.
Just as he was about to ride off, Aegon called out again: "Wait!"
"…My Prince, what is it now? You might as well say it all at once!" Galwin said with a sigh.
Galwin was starting to give up and raised his hands in surrender.
Aegon blinked and put on an innocent look, pressing further: "My guard doesn't have a horse. How is he supposed to ride into the city with us?"
"This is someone my mother sent to protect me, and we can't just leave him here, can we? At least give him a mount," he added.
Galwin wasn't interested in entertaining this request.
He responded in a low voice, "What? Didn't you see? I already noticed him. The one holding the big sword, right? A royal guard who needs a six-year-old prince to protect him with a dragon? He's got some nerve."
"Let him go into the city on his own!" Galwin added, annoyed. "You're the prince, so you'll ride with me. As for that guy, he's heavy enough on his own, and we need to take these daring bandits back. The fool from the Riverlands is so big, I can't have him crushing my horse."
After that, without waiting for Aegon to protest, Galwin spurred his horse forward.
"Sit tight!" he said with a laugh.
The other knights, seeing this, followed in order. They left the "fool from the Riverlands" Adam standing helplessly in place, tears rolling down his face.
Aegon had called for the dragon to protect him, so what was wrong with that?
Wasn't Galwin just jealous of him riding a dragon? Well, that was it—jealousy!