Conquest Year 290, Braavos, the Secret City.
Braavos only had three types of weather: bad fog, worse rain, and the absolute worst, freezing rain. Today, however, Braavos was experiencing a rare day of clear and refreshing weather.
Braavos's latitude was roughly similar to that of the Stepstones, so its climate was naturally colder than King's Landing.
Six years had passed since he left King's Landing, and Viserys Targaryen had adapted to the Braavosi climate.
The Known World's long summer had arrived, a summer that would last from 289 to 299, more than ten full years.
A long summer meant prosperity; the ignorant might forget the memories of winter and sing praises to the new Baratheon dynasty.
South of the magnificent Sealord's Palace, in the noble quarter of Braavos, one could find a Red Door building with towering walls.
Braavos was full of stone, with far more architectural wonders than King's Landing. There were over twenty grand structures that could rival the Red Keep and the Great Sept of Baelor.
Ever since Dragonstone fell, Viserys had been sheltered by Ser Willem Darry in this Red Door mansion in Braavos.
Viserys wasn't the owner of this mansion; it was a rented courtyard.
Even this rented courtyard wouldn't last long, as Ser Willem was now on his deathbed, and the servants were planning to abscond with their money.
To avoid truly becoming the "Beggar King," Viserys had to do something.
The Red Door mansion wasn't small, but it didn't employ many servants. This was partly for safety, and partly because they hadn't brought much money during their escape.
There weren't many Targaryen family symbols here, only the three-headed red dragon emblem Viserys wore on his chest.
Ser Willem had told him that if he forgot the Targaryen symbols, he would forever lose the courage to seek revenge.
"Snap!" Viserys crouched down, looking at the wild flowers and mushrooms growing in the courtyard garden. It was difficult for plants to grow in Braavos, but the wealthy still indulged in such leisure.
However, due to neglect, the garden looked messy. Renting this mansion had already cost a lot of money, and the exiles had no inclination to repair or build a beautiful garden.
The most expensive plant here was a lemon tree, as trees were always scarce in Braavos.
In a corner of the garden, near some broken tiles, Viserys saw a few mushrooms growing. These mushrooms appeared very white, but underneath, they had dark, blood-like spots.
There were seven mushrooms in total, a sacred number that seemed to hint at something. Viserys carefully wrapped the mushrooms in his glove and dropped them into his trouser pocket.
Poison was the method of women and villains, but at this moment, he needed poison.
After collecting the mushrooms, Viserys nonchalantly began to walk out of the garden.
"Good day, Your Highness, are you looking at these flowers and plants again?" the smiling, fat steward asked, appearing very gentle, but his tone carried a hint of mockery.
"Yes, steward. Flowers and plants are much simpler than people," Viserys said seriously.
The steward was taken aback for a moment but didn't show much reaction.
He had long understood this child, the exiled prince, who liked to observe the plants in the garden. He was helpless and alone; if it weren't for the money, he would have stopped serving them long ago.
Viserys was tall, with long silver-gold hair and purple eyes, a typical Targaryen appearance, of inhuman beauty.
He was more handsome than Rhaegar, but his impoverished life had undoubtedly diminished the prince's aura.
An exiled kingdom, confined solely to this house.
"Good day, steward." Viserys stood up and left; he needed to consult with his strategist.
Viserys had already marked the steward as a problem in his mind; the conspiracy within this mansion revolved around this steward.
There was also a cook, a laundress, and others.
"As you wish, my king."
The college student from Blue Star, who had "lucked out" and arrived in this world, had finally merged the souls of two different worlds after four or five months.
From then on, he was Viserys, and Viserys was him.
He was the exiled king of Westeros, and a handsome young man, which wasn't too bad.
Currently, Viserys was still hiding in Braavos, and things were still quite good.
But upon realizing that their time at the Red Door mansion in Braavos was coming to an end, Viserys had no time for melancholy.
Because the servants had set their sights on the meager funds he had as an exiled king.
These people had conspired to abscond with all their wealth once Ser Darry passed away.
Once that money was gone, Viserys would have to wander, officially beginning his days of begging in the various Free Cities.
Viserys first went to Rhaenys's room, where a delicate, olive-skinned, black-haired, black-eyed little girl was playing with her one-eared black cat.
Rhaenys was Viserys's strategist; this girl had awakened her "warg" talent.
This was the "Dornish-flavored child" the Mad King spoke of; indeed, compared to typical Targaryen features, this girl resembled a Dornishwoman more.
At first, Viserys was curious why Rhaenys was alive and well, but then he discovered that during their escape, Rhaenys and her cat had snuck into their group. This was a minor change in the timeline.
"I heard it, Viserys. When they were discussing, I was the black cat hiding in the corner," Rhaenys said. "They're preparing to act. Once Ser Darry is gone, they'll steal the gold and kick us out."
Viserys felt that the gods were still good to him; though few, his people were all elite.
This small team of three: his niece Rhaenys was a gifted warg, and his sister Daenerys was a dragon dreamer.
Only Viserys himself, at the moment, seemed rather unremarkable apart from his handsomeness.
"You have a plan, Viserys?" Rhaenys asked, then jumped up and grabbed Viserys's arm.
Viserys nodded, then took out the poisonous mushrooms he had prepared, alluring yet deadly.
"They treat us like children; that is their weakness," Viserys said firmly.
"When I begin my plan, you are responsible for protecting Daenerys," Viserys whispered into Rhaenys's ear.
"No problem," Rhaenys nodded. "I won't tell Daenerys about this yet."
Strictly speaking, Daenerys was her aunt, but Rhaenys was older than Daenerys.
"Thank you for your hard work!" Viserys ruffled Rhaenys's dark, small head, and the black cat meowed restlessly a few times.
Viserys looked at the lemon tree outside the house. If historians were to write his biography, then the story would begin in Braavos.
"You could have gone to Dorne with the Red Viper, or they could have fostered you in Tyrosh," Viserys murmured.
The Dornish and Tyroshi had a good relationship, and it was close to the Three Daughters..
"My father said that dragons have three heads, so the three of us naturally have to be together," Rhaenys said very seriously... Viserys was speechless for a moment. If Rhaegar hadn't been so foolish as to believe that prophecy, they wouldn't have ended up in this situation.
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