The black cat leaped onto the desk, temporarily holding down a corner of the map.
Rhaenys Targaryen slowly stroked the black cat's fur, and the black cat reveled in the sensation.
When the one-eared black cat was quiet, it seemed rather composed, not as wild.
"You said those children are the little birds?" Rhaenys asked.
"If they are in rags, pale-skinned, and all mute, then they are definitely the little birds," Viserys said.
"But shouldn't the birds be in King's Landing?" Rhaenys asked, puzzled.
"There are some in King's Landing, but don't forget the Spider came from Pentos. Varys still has allies in Pentos, and they might be quite influential," Viserys explained.
Viserys knew about the alliance between Varys and Illyrio, which was his hindsight, and he even knew their biggest secret, Aegon.
"Varys." Rhaenys tightened her grip on the dragonbone dagger hilt. "He was one of my father's most hated men, and I despise him too."
Viserys looked at Rhaenys. Rhaegar Targaryen probably had a long list of people he hated.
Lord Selyse Staunton of Rook's Rest, the Master of Laws; Lord Qorgyle of the Night's Watch, the Master of Coin; Rossart, the Wise; and Varys, among others.
Like a multitude of immortals, this was the sycophantic faction during the later years of King Aerys's reign.
These men all acted in concert, flattering King Aerys and slandering Rhaegar in every way, making the Mad King distrust his son even more.
Now, except for Varys, all these men were dead.
"We will have our revenge," Viserys promised. "Because true dragons never forget."
"True dragons always remember," Rhaenys said.
"Why are these birds observing us?" Rhaenys asked curiously.
"Perhaps we still have some value," Viserys replied.
This was indeed the truth; Varys and Illyrio's duo intended to use them as a pretext for war.
Viserys hadn't provoked Illyrio and Varys, yet they couldn't stop thinking about him.
"But who exactly is Varys loyal to? He followed the king before, now he follows the usurper, but he still seems to want to deal with us." Rhaenys only referred to the king, not her grandfather.
She didn't have much affection for Aerys, that despicable person.
"Perhaps he is not loyal to anyone; he is only loyal to himself." Viserys looked at the location of Pentos.
Pentos borders the Narrow Sea, facing the Seven Kingdoms from afar, and is the closest free city to King's Landing.
"He's not an information broker, but an ambitious man." Rhaenys was a little bewildered; this assumption was quite bold.
"In these chaotic times, even some minor characters believe they can rise to prominence," Viserys replied.
The greatest disguise for people like Varys and Littlefinger was their humble origins, making them appear harmless.
But if one paid attention to them, their biggest weakness was their lack of legitimate military power and status, forcing them to rely on schemes.
"What about those birds?"
"Ignore them, as long as they don't approach the inner depths of our courtyard. This is Braavos; even if the Pentoshi have ideas, they wouldn't dare to act rashly."
"That's true." Rhaenys nodded. "The Pentoshi are defeated adversaries of Braavos, so they naturally wouldn't dare to offend the Sealord."
Over approximately two hundred years, the Sealord and Pentos had fought at least six wars, and the reasons for these wars, besides slavery, included control over fertile lands and waterways between the two cities.
Braavos won four times, with the last victory occurring over eighty years ago, when Pentos sacrificed four princes within a year until, after a rare victory, the fifth prince, Naelo Nerathis, persuaded the archons to seek peace.
In the peace treaty, Pentos had to make concessions, abolishing slavery and outlawing the slave trade.
"Pentos is so weak, yet they still struggle."
"It's too difficult to make those slave masters change their way of life," Viserys said. "Although they no longer have overt slaves, many powerful people still employ slaves through contracts."
Viserys felt that Illyrio and Varys's team had big plans; they surely wanted the Iron Throne and also considered overturning Braavos's unfair agreement.
"Anyway, the Pentoshi and Braavosi are not on good terms. They're just observing us; they wouldn't dare to come to our door." Viserys looked at the location of Pentos. This magnificent great port had been turned into an undefended city by the Braavosi.
Pentos was not allowed to possess more than twenty warships, employ mercenaries, contract free riders, or have any armed forces beyond its city watch.
Now Pentos had almost become a neutral city-state, not daring to offend other city-states, let alone the Dothraki khals.
"That's true, but thinking about these flies constantly spying on us still feels unpleasant." Rhaenys bit her lip.
She disliked these little birds because they represented Varys's shadow.
"If we truly acquire land, we will inevitably deal with the Pentoshi," Viserys said. "With those butter merchants, cheese merchants."
Rhaenys looked at the lands of the Andals and the Rhoyne region; they would eventually have to start anew.
"The black cat will continue to observe them, but not act?" Rhaenys asked.
"Just do that," Viserys approved of this solution.
"Ser Roland has traveled extensively in the Free Cities and is familiar with the customs of the major city-states and the Dothraki. For other issues, we can consult him more," Viserys said.
Ser Roland was a great asset, and they needed to rely on him more.
As long as Viserys was still around, this golden signboard still held some influence.
There was no need to rush and alert the enemy; they would see if the fat magister would take the bait.
However, the appearance of the Pentoshi made Viserys feel that the matter of the dragon eggs was already on the agenda.
His personal combat strength was improving rapidly through hard training and cheats.
The next priorities were to make money, raise an army, and acquire dragon eggs.
Viserys was also making money, and now he had a positive cash flow, but it still wasn't enough. To get the most money, it seemed he could only borrow another sum.
As for territory and an army, he also had planned ideas for those.
The appearance of the Pentoshi also reminded Viserys of dragon eggs.
The Targaryens indeed had many dragon eggs in the past, but they had long since disappeared. Now he could only look for real clues.
King's Landing, Dragonstone, and Summerhall were all places Viserys had imagined might contain dragon eggs, but these were just conjectures and not enough to support real needs.
Viserys currently only confirmed that Euron Greyjoy might acquire dragon eggs from the ruins of Valyria in the future, and Illyrio also possessed three fossilized ones. There was no need to rush this matter.
Once they left Braavos, Illyrio's people would contact them sooner or later, instigating Viserys to become cannon fodder.
Although fossilized dragon eggs were precious, there had never been a case of a small dragon hatching from a fossilized dragon egg before, so Illyrio would most likely still use them as bait.
After all, if Illyrio knew that the fossils, when exposed to magic, could still hatch, he would certainly not give them away; he would keep them for the fake Aegon.
It was only after the fat magister experimented for too long and discovered they were truly just stones that he gave up and sent them out...
Like the sword Blackfyre, Viserys felt that this sword was also with Illyrio, as it was a heirloom of the Blackfyre family.
Dragon eggs, soldiers, territory, golden dragons—these grand words, Viserys believed he would possess them.
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