HOTD SI: The Bloody Prince (OC x Rhaenyra)(OC x Alicent)

Part 27

Chapter 27

OTTO HIGHTOWER

Marriages were perhaps the greatest weapon in the aspects of political warfare. It allowed one to turn enemies into friends or, better yet, shackle enemies into your friends.

When the King had refused to remove Daemon from the line of succession, Otto had known that he had to act, for if he did not know the political vacuum left by the Queen's death. Initially, he had hoped that Alicent could placate the King, hopefully catching the King's gaze, so he had encouraged her to go and meet the King to share in his grief after the Queen's funeral.

Yet his plans had been foiled by none other than Daemon as he intercepted her on her way to the King's chambers seeing through his intentions. And yet the action was unlike Daemon's, who was impulsive and crass, and so he had looked into it and had found the realm mind behind Daemon's ploy.

Aegon Targaryen, Daemon's estranged son. And as he learned of the incident from the brothel about the little skirmish between Aegon and Daemon, the picture became clearer. The boy finally showed his true nature, showing the political acumen drilled into him by his grandfather, as he used Daemon as a pawn in his own grand schemes.

The son and father due of Aegon and Daemon may pretend to be estranged and antagonistic, but he saw the truth, the inevitable truth that when it came to power and the throne, both of them would join hands, presenting a combined front against him and his people.

And with the boy's political acumen at his beck and call, Daemon would only grow in power, given he now was the Iron Throne's sole heir, one whose position was steadied further by already having a male heir of his own. He half suspected that Lord Beesbury's idea of a potential match between Aegon and Rhaenyra was another one of the boy's machinations, who was moving behind the scenes to secure both his and his father's position.

And Otto could not let that happen. If not for himself, then for the realm itself. He, alongside many others, saw Daemon for what he was. A tyrant. He was a ruthless, honorless, mindless tyrant who would undo all the work of his ancestors, throwing the realm back into the dark times of Maegor the Cruel.

And so, they had to act, and they had to it now to stop him from gathering even more power than he already had, and for that, they needed to neutralize his most valuable asset and weapon—Aegon.

Aegon Targaryen was a young lord, and Prince set to inherit his own lands with a whole Kingdom at his beck and call. He was a warrior of great renown, with a rather favourable impression in the public. He knew firsthand that many Houses, including the Velaryons and several Great Houses, were eyeing the Prince for a match, and any such match would only strengthen Daemon and Aegon further.

And so, he had to act, and it broke his heart to use his own daughter like this. To discredit her with rumors, and whispers that he knew might follow her for years, but he had to and so he concocted a lie about what had truly transpired between Daemon and Alicent that night, an ugly lie but a necessary one and as retribution for the damage done to his daughter he demanded a match between her and Daemon's son.

The King was hesitant at first, and yet he was the King, and Daemon was his brother. Regardless of whether the King believed his words or not, he had to act for Alicent's reputation had been affected, and given that the King had a daughter of his own, one who was friends with Alicent, he could not sweep it all under the rug.

And then there was the fact that Prince Aegon and Alicent were rather close, or so it was believed by the Princess whom the King asked about their relationship rather subtlety before he agreed to his terms and called them both to make the announcement.