Chapter 728

With the combined strength of the North, Riverlands, Westerlands, and Dorne, the overwhelming firepower of royal artillery, and House Tyrell’s eager cooperation in guiding and persuading surrender, resistance in the Reach was swiftly crushed.

The clever ones had already traveled to King’s Landing as "honored guests." The diehards, who refused to yield, were buried neatly in the earth. As for those captured and exiled beyond the Wall, they had begun their long, northward march into the unknown.

By redistributing lands to loyalists directly sworn to the Queen and appointing crown officials over key settlements, the royal domain expanded southwest, reaching as far as Bitterbridge. Nearly a third of the Reach was swallowed up in one swift bite.

House Baratheon, after suffering rebellion, usurpation, and extinction, was simply erased—Daenerys never even considered installing a bastard heir or seeking out some distant kin. With a single wave of her hand, the Duchy of the Stormlands was abolished and directly absorbed into the Crownlands.

Thus, the royal domain more than doubled in size.

Though it fell short of Aegor’s original "Grand Royal Domain" blueprint, it was still an unprecedented expansion. Given the interference of the Slaver’s Alliance, the slight shortfall was more than acceptable.

Beyond this, border territories of the Reach were ceded to the Westerlands, Riverlands, and Dorne, carving away nearly half the Reach’s total landmass.

The latter half of the western campaign had proceeded with remarkable efficiency, not just because of the undeniable strength of the royal army, but also because of a crucial strategic deception:

Aegor had bought the loyalty of key noble factions with enough rewards, while concealing the Grand Royal Domain Plan—disguising this power grab as a four-nation partition of the Reach.

With the illusion of shared spoils, no one resisted. Instead, everyone rushed to claim their piece of the pie.

With the Reach subdued, only two lingering issues remained:Bandit groups roaming the Stormlands-Dorne borderlands.Negotiations with the Vale, the last kingdom yet to formally swear allegiance.

After a quick assessment of priorities, Aegor shifted his focus—toward the Anti-Dragon Queen Alliance across the Narrow Sea.
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Despite winning victory after victory, the newborn Targaryen dynasty was already deep in debt.

The royal treasury—though seemingly well-stocked—was entirely reliant on:Lannister gold infusions,Reparations and fines from the Reach lords,Targaryen bonds sold to investors.

Even in the best-case scenario, these funds would barely last until the war’s end.

After that?

When it came time to reward allies and repay debts, the financial shortfall would be catastrophic.

Even Tyrion’s genius could not plug such a massive gap alone.

To keep the economic machine running, Aegor needed to act fast—by defeating the Slaver's Alliance and absorbing their wealth to finance the new kingdom.
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The Targaryen military held an overwhelming technological advantage—but after barely emerging from winter, Westeros lacked the resources for a prolonged war against the entire Free Cities trade network.

In this situation, Aegor recalled an old military principle:

"Better to break one finger than injure all ten."

The question was which finger to break.
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Examining the world map, the strategic latitude alignment of major cities along the Narrow Sea was clear:North: Braavos → Gulltown (Vale)Center: Pentos → King’s LandingSouth: Sunspear → Lys & Volantis

Logically, the Slaver’s Alliance would focus its naval pressure on King’s Landing, the capital, as their primary threat and target.

This meant that their naval forces would mostly gather in Pentos, using it as a staging ground for operations against Dragonstone.

Under normal circumstances, this analysis would be pointless—King’s Landing was too valuable to be sacrificed as bait.

Originally, Aegor had planned to take a conventional approach—leading the Western Fleet to King’s Landing, linking up with the Dragonstone Fleet, and engaging the enemy head-on.

But then the Slaver’s Alliance made a fatal mistake.

Their first attack failed miserably.

The moment Aegor received news of the Royal Fleet’s overwhelming victory, he immediately realized the enemy navy would retreat to Pentos to regroup.

Which meant that Tyrosh, Lys, and Volantis were now vulnerable.

Aegor’s response was swift:

He ordered supplies to be gathered at Sunspear’s docks.

By redirecting the Western Fleet south, bypassing King’s Landing, and resupplying directly from Sunspear, he could strike Lys and Volantis before the Slaver’s Alliance could react.

The half-month advantage gained from skipping a return to King’s Landing was enough to catch the enemy completely off-guard.
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Aegor exhaled deeply, submerging himself further into the steaming waters of the natural hot springs.

The legends were true—Sunspear’s baths were as comfortable as they were rumored to be.

Due to fulfilling his promise of granting borderland farmlands to Dorne, he had been welcomed with unprecedented hospitality.

He had been escorted into the city with great fanfare, personally greeted by Prince Doran, and treated to lavish feasts.

Before he could even retire to his guest chambers, a private letter was hand-delivered to him—

Arianne Martell had invited him to the hot springs north of Sunspear, offering a scenic view and an exclusive retreat.

The water was at the perfect temperature, the sulfuric scent mild and bearable.

It could have been a wonderful, relaxing getaway—

If not for Arianne and the Sand Snakes sitting beside him, relentlessly complaining about Prince Doran.

The princess was clearly trying to win his favor.

Her admiration and infatuation were feigned.

Her true goal was political alignment.
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Arianne Martell’s insecurities ran deep.

At fourteen, she had discovered a secret letter from her father, promising her younger brother, Quentyn, that he would rule Dorne.

This had devastated her.

But the truth was more complicated—Doran had planned to marry her to Viserys Targaryen, making her the future Queen of the Seven Kingdoms.

Yet fate had played its hand—Viserys and Quentyn were both dead.

Though Arianne now stood uncontested as Dorne’s heir, the lingering resentment over her father’s favoritism had never truly faded.

She was desperate to secure her future.

Thus, she sought to align herself with the most powerful figures in Westeros.

And Aegor was at the top of that list.

To him, this was an opportunity.

A chance to negotiate on both sides, extract concessions, and still leave House Martell indebted to him.
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"Alright, alright, Princess Arianne," Aegor sighed, raising his hand from the water as if waving her complaints away. "We’ve barely met, must we only speak of such unpleasant matters?"

He tilted his head, feigning boredom.

"Honestly, I don’t think Prince Trystane is a threat to you. But if it’s truly bothering you, I may have a way to resolve it…"

Arianne tensed.

She sat bolt upright, water dripping from her bare skin.

"Trystane is my brother. I love him! I only ask that you speak well of me to my father, or perhaps have the Queen offer her support—I do not need you to "resolve" anything!"

Aegor rolled his eyes.

"Do I look like a brute who only knows violence?" he asked dryly. "I was merely going to ask—if you were to rule Dorne, what would you offer Westeros in return?"

Arianne smiled.

Finally, they were speaking the same language.