The safety of the children could not be compromised.
Only after confirming that Harrenhal was secure did Rhaena Targaryen turn her attention back to the turmoil in King's Landing.
"Lord Rego, the so-called 'Master of Air,' controlled the economic lifeline of the realm," she said. "With him dead, no one will be able to replace him quickly. I wonder how my royal brother intends to deal with those rioters."
In the Seven Kingdoms, power revolved around the king.
After ascending the throne, King Jaehaerys I Targaryen formally established the royal advisory council as the Small Council, consisting of six permanent seats. Each member advised the king according to their area of expertise.
The Hand of the King — effectively the prime minister and the king's right hand. His authority ranked second only to the king. When the king was absent and no regent had been appointed, the Hand could even sit the Iron Throne and rule in the king's stead.
Master of Ships — commander of the royal fleet and empowered to coordinate the naval forces of the Seven Kingdoms. Every holder of this office so far had come from House Velaryon.
Master of Laws — the king's legal advisor. He oversaw the dungeons of the Red Keep, the prison system, and the royal executioners.
Grand Maester — all scholarly knowledge in the realm was monopolized by the Citadel in Oldtown. Those trained there became maesters, sent to serve noble houses as advisors and tutors. The maester assigned to the king became the Grand Maester, acting both as academic counselor and royal physician.
Master of Whisperers — responsible for gathering intelligence throughout the Red Keep, King's Landing, the Seven Kingdoms, and even lands across the Narrow Sea. As the head of the king's spy network, this office inspired both fear and fascination.
Master of Coin — the keeper of the royal purse. His duties included managing the crown's finances, recording revenue and expenditure, supervising taxation and customs duties, arranging loans, managing the treasury, and overseeing the kingdom's three royal mints.
Beneath the Master of Coin served an army of officials: treasury stewards, royal accountants, surveyors, mint masters, harbor masters, tax farmers, customs agents, wool brokers, road toll collectors, shipping officials, and wine merchants.
Each of the six councilors controlled a crucial branch of royal governance.
Yet the plague had shattered this structure.
Grand Maester Benifer and Lord Albin Massey, Master of Laws, had both died of the epidemic.
And now the rioters in King's Landing had murdered Lord Rego Draz.
The king's purse had quite literally been stabbed open in the street.
The situation had spiraled beyond control.
Lord Rego Draz, the murdered Master of Coin, had originally come from Pentos in Essos.
People called him the "Master of Air" because it seemed he could conjure money out of thin air.
During his ten years in office, he had skillfully exploited rivalries among the banks of Braavos, Tyrosh, and Myr, securing massive low-interest loans for the crown. Those funds had allowed construction of the Dragonpit on the Rhaenys Hill to begin.
He also reorganized taxation according to production, origin, and transportation costs, while imposing tariffs on imported luxury goods favored by the nobility.
Within a decade, the royal treasury, once drained by years of war, had become overflowing.
With such a man dead, no one dared speculate openly about what the king might do next.
They waited for Rhaena to continue speaking.
Having just been given a task earlier, Lord Grover Tully spoke up again.
"The death of Lord Rego is tragic," he said solemnly. "But our king is merciful. I believe he will capture the murderer and conduct a fair and public trial to uphold the law of the realm."
In his mind, it was the perfect answer.
Vague enough not to offend the king, yet respectful enough to preserve royal dignity.
When he finished speaking, everyone at the table looked at him.
Silence followed.
Each person pretended to be deep in thought.
Meanwhile, in the gallery, Rhaegar shifted uncomfortably on his hard wooden seat. He stood up on the chair and crossed his legs instead.
Seeing the awkward atmosphere, Rhaena noticed Rhaegar and seized the chance to lighten the mood.
"And what would you do with the murderer, little Hard-Rod?"
I'm four years old. Why are you asking me for political advice?
Rhaegar instantly realized his grandmother was using him to ease the tension.
So he played along, putting on an innocent expression.
"I don't know!" he said. "And I'm not little!"
"Ha!"
"HAHAHA!"
Laughter filled the hall, some genuine, some forced, but the mood eased considerably.
In truth, Rhaegar's real thoughts were far darker.
Cut off his balls. Sell his wife and daughters into slavery. Dig up his ancestors' graves.
Could he say that?
Of course not.
If such words came from a four-year-old's mouth, half the nobles present might collapse from shock.
Rhaegar had overheard rumors calling him simple-minded.
Adults often waved candy in front of his face like he was some pet child and expected him to laugh along.
When he stared back silently, they assumed he was slow-witted.
Summer insects cannot discuss ice with winter.
As long as the people close to him knew he wasn't stupid, that was enough.
When the laughter faded, Rhaena spoke again.
"If the crown does not use iron-handed methods this time, then today the rioters dare murder the Master of Coin. Tomorrow they will dare storm the Red Keep and assassinate the king."
She paused.
"I believe Jaehaerys understands what must be done."
Most of those present were unconvinced.
For twelve years since taking the throne, Jaehaerys had avoided repeating the violent tyranny of King Maegor I Targaryen.
He preferred clever solutions that shed no blood.
Even with the Master of Coin murdered, they believed he would still follow the law.
A week later, a knight arrived from King's Landing with fresh news.
The events had unfolded exactly as Rhaena predicted.
When word of the assassination reached the Red Keep, King Jaehaerys flew into a rage.
Ignoring the advice of his council, he immediately declared the riots an act of rebellion and sent ravens announcing the decision throughout the Seven Kingdoms.
He summoned troops from nearby lords and combined them with the remaining City Watch to conduct a massive citywide sweep.
Every criminal found in the city was arrested.
The rioters responsible for the assassination were seized and thrown into the dungeons of the Red Keep by the Kingsguard.
Whether they had struck the fatal blow or merely stood among the crowd-
All were sentenced to death.
By the laws of the realm, condemned criminals could choose to join the Night's Watch, spending the rest of their lives guarding the Wall in the far north.
King Jaehaerys refused them that mercy.
More than a hundred rioters were lined up along the walls of the Red Keep.
The executioners cut open their bellies while they still lived, leaving them hanging from the battlements.
Blood and entrails poured down the castle walls.
All of King's Landing watched as rats devoured the bodies—listening as living men screamed and slowly became skeletons.
Jaehaerys had first declared the riot rebellion, announcing it to the realm.
Only then did he crush it with ruthless brutality.
Because the legal framing came first, the nobility felt no urge to oppose him.
Instead, many praised the king's wisdom.
The plague had only just ended.
Across the realm, lords were already suppressing unrest or fighting inheritance disputes.
With the king leading the way, they had every reason to support him.
For years, Jaehaerys had been known for excessive gentleness.
Now, by choosing the correct moment to wield merciless force, he proved both his wisdom and his strength.
The people saw that their king was not merely a thinker.
He could also be terrifying.
In a warrior culture like Westeros, nobles preferred a king who could wield both pen and sword.
Even those who had once opposed Jaehaerys grew noticeably quieter.
None dared underestimate him again.
Rhaegar's own opinion of King Jaehaerys rose considerably.
If Maegor the Cruel had done the same thing fifteen years earlier, his reputation alone would have ensured that history recorded it as another atrocity.
But when Jaehaerys did it-
It became an act of necessary justice.
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