In a mere two days, just as Cadmus had expected, rumors about him and what had happened at Duskendale spread like wildfire across a prairie. His healing potions during the Tourney at Harrenhal had helped, and most of the nobles on the continent already knew his name and his power.
At the same time, the burning of Duskendale shocked the entire country, which was no surprise. An entire city had been nearly destroyed, and its population had almost completely vanished. This was no ordinary news, and the people were truly terrified.
Rhaegar seized the opportunity to speak about the Shadowbinder and Balon. If the Greyjoys' reputation had been bad before, they were now demons in the eyes of the people.
Although the rumors had impacted Cadmus's reputation, since he had burned the entire army of zombies and ghouls along with a good portion of the city, people still felt a sense of admiration for the Court Mage, who strangely brought a feeling of security.
But it wasn't all sunshine and roses; the Faith of the Seven reacted violently to Cadmus's arrival at the Court of King's Landing. Like any religion, they detested anything related to magic, mysticism, or the supernatural. Cadmus was no exception; he was painted by the Faith of the Seven as a human who had sold his soul to demons to obtain such great power.
Tension in King's Landing grew gradually, and everyone could feel that something was about to happen,and it wasn't anything good. Having lived through two rebellions, the people were quite sensitive to anything that might cause death.
Balon's Second Rebellion, the Burning of Duskendale, and the conflict between the Crown and the Faith, all of this made people cautious, especially the nobles, who could smell war drawing closer and closer.
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Cadmus frowned as he looked at several potion vials before him. The potions were red, but in his eyes, they were complete failures. He had planned to create a resistance potion capable of turning into a mist to cover a specific area, but the potion had failed entirely.
Suddenly, sensing one of the seven magical items he had created activate, his expression changed drastically. In an instant, he Apparated.
When Cadmus felt the ground beneath him again, he found himself in a luxurious bedroom. He saw the Dowager Queen in her nightgown, surrounded by three women, with two bodies on the floor. Two of the three women held crossbows, the weapons that had triggered the Protego charm.
Cadmus didn't wait and acted quickly.
"Petrificus Totalus!!!" The spell was cast in an instant. The three women, dressed as servants, could no longer move. Only their eyes shifted, showing panic and horror.
Cadmus approached and saw that the Dowager Queen was safe, with the Protego shield protecting her from all sides. However, he noticed the Queen's hands were stained with blood, especially the dagger she held.
Looking at the female corpses on the floor with their throats slit, Cadmus knew that Rhaella had killed two of the five assassins herself.
"Are you alright, Your Majesty?" Cadmus asked in a calm tone, his eyes scanning the room for anything else that might pose a danger.
Rhaella, seeing Cadmus's arrival, sighed in relief and dropped the blood-stained dagger. Looking at the three women who couldn't move, her eyes reflected a flame of pure rage, fear, and even more anger. If it hadn't been for the bracelet she had received from Rhaegar, she would be dead!!!
Picking up the dagger that had fallen to the floor, Rhaella approached the three women. Just as she was about to kill them all, a hand gripped her shoulder. The Queen looked back, confused and incredulous.
"They are more useful alive than dead," Cadmus said with a malicious smile.
Though confused, Rhaella trusted Cadmus. "What do you want to do with them?" she asked, looking coldly at the three women.
"While she was bathing, Queen Alysanne I Targaryen suffered an assassination attempt by women of the Faith of the Seven. Doesn't this seem similar?" Cadmus said with a smile, looking at the three women with a playful and malicious gaze.
Rhaella was surprised and looked deeply at the three women still alive; then, she mirrored the same malicious smile Cadmus wore. She understood what Cadmus wanted to do and completely abandoned the idea of killing the three women.
"Let's put on a show for everyone to see. Let them see how insane the Faith is and what they are prepared to do if something threatens their hegemony," Cadmus whispered to the Queen as he planned to stage a grand spectacle for King's Landing.
The Faith of the Seven had attacked him, and he planned to strike back by undermining the very foundation of the Faith—the People!
When people see that the church is not as pure, holy, and sacred as they imagine, they will lose much of their reverence and respect.
"What do I need to do?" Rhaella asked in a calm, deep tone.
She could imagine that this assassination was indeed the fault of the Faith of the Seven. She had killed all servants, regardless of gender, who had ties to the Faith. In her eyes, they were all spies, equally guilty of the deaths of her sons and daughters.
The death of over forty servants could not be hidden, no matter how well Rhaegar controlled the castle. People began to notice the missing staff and their disappearances, especially since all these servants were involved with the Faith of the Seven. It wasn't hard to see that House Targaryen was purging the Faith's spies in retaliation for the Church's accusations.
"The Queen is going to be assassinated again, but this time, before the eyes of the people of King's Landing. Let them see how filthy and human the church they believe in truly is," Cadmus continued, smiling. "While this might not cause much damage to the Church as a whole, at least in King's Landing, the Faith of the Seven will lose a great deal of power."
Cadmus knew his show couldn't impact the entire Church; after all, this wasn't a modern world where information circulates rapidly. If it were, Cadmus could use a camera and broadcast it across the realm, practically destroying the Church's prestige in one fell swoop.
Rhaella nodded, not minding being used as bait. She would risk even more to make the Church pay for the deaths of her children.
Looking back at the three women, Rhaella smiled and said in a calm tone, "Your lives will be sacrificed in a beautiful spectacle. I hope you enjoy it when you are burned in the hellfire you believe exists."
The women were terrified but could do nothing but move their eyes. Beyond horror, there was rage, fury, and resentment. They wanted to curse, to let all their resentment pour from their lips, but they couldn't.
Cadmus smiled and knocked all three women unconscious. "Your Grace must speak with the King; I will be busy for a while."
"I will speak with Rhaegar as soon as possible. He should be excited to drive the Faith of the Seven out of King's Landing," Rhaella said as she sat on the bed, a hint of exhaustion in her voice. Fighting five women and killing two had truly drained her stamina.
Cadmus nodded, and with a wave of his hand, the entire room became clean, with no sign that a battle had taken place. After that, he took the two corpses and stored them in his bag.
"No rumors must leave this room," Cadmus warned in a solemn tone. If others knew the Dowager Queen had suffered an assassination attempt, the show wouldn't work, and the entire conspiracy would vanish before it even began.
Rhaella knew this and, instead of leaving the room, she simply stayed and went to bed. Although she couldn't sleep, the scene of the assassination repeated in her mind over and over. It wasn't her first time killing; she had killed a dozen people personally and indirectly more than forty.
She was reliving the moment to learn from her mistakes and felt she was still a complete amateur when it came to fighting. She could kill people who were bound and chained, but in a fight, it was completely different.
If the assassins hadn't been women as inexperienced as she was, and if she hadn't had the magical bracelet, she would now be on the floor with an arrow through her heart.
Seeing the Queen in that state, Cadmus shook his head and said nothing. He Apparated himself and the three women, leaving the Dowager Queen's room.
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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: The King's Court Wizard