Chapter 146: Chapter 145: Capture
That night.
Melisandre sat quietly at her desk in her room.
On the table was a half-burned white candle silently contributing its light, dispelling the darkness of the entire room.
"Dispelling darkness to reveal light is bound to be a bumpy process..."
"And there will be sacrifices."
The woman sat at the desk, suddenly mumbling to herself, unaware of the meaning behind her words.
In front of her was a silver-plated copper mirror, polished by skilled Myrish craftsmen. Melisandre's gaze fell upon the half-burned white candle in the mirror.
The flame...danced.
Under the light of the flame, the white candle shrank little by little, turning into droplets of wax falling onto the candlestick below.
"Your sacrifice will not be remembered by the world."
"But..."
Just as Melisandre was whispering something softly.
Suddenly, there was the sound of noisy footsteps outside her room, followed by the footsteps getting closer and closer.
Boom—
The door to her room was kicked open, and a group of guards clad in armor and wielding long swords barged in without regard for whether Melisandre was asleep or not.
Then the guard captain leading the group pointed at Melisandre and shouted.
"Melisandre, follower of R'hllor, you are under arrest on charges of murdering advisor Mirri Maz Duur with sorcery and the arcane arts!"
As he recited the charges, he emphasized the term "follower of R'hllor" loudly, then continued.
"Now, all you need to do is confess and submit to justice!"
As the guard captain's words fell.
Whoosh—
A group of soldiers surrounded her.
However, none of them dared to directly arrest the red-robed witch, as word had spread throughout the castle that this wicked witch had burned Missy alive with fire magic in order to join the castle's ranks and monopolize power.
People are in awe of things they cannot understand, like the existence of magic and witchcraft.
Thus, these soldiers only dared to surround Melisandre but did not dare to actually arrest her. They were also afraid that they would be turned into balls of fire and burned alive.
However, upon hearing the guard's accusations and recitation of the charges, Melisandre, seated in her chair, seemed very calm, as if she had known all along. She lifted her eyelids slightly, her gaze casually sweeping over everyone present.
Then she closed her robe and stood up from the chair.
Whoosh—
The red-robed witch's casual movements scared the surrounding soldiers, who retreated several steps.
"You..."
"What are you going to do!"
The guard captain who had just recited Melisandre's charges drew his sword, looking at her with a cautious expression and a somewhat tense voice.
He had been a guard in the great hall during the day and had heard her blaspheme the Seven, calling them false gods. Therefore, when he received the order to arrest Melisandre, he wanted to teach this woman a lesson.
However, actually standing in front of the witch, he still felt a bit nervous.
Yet, looking at the tense expressions on the faces of the soldiers around her, Melisandre still remained casual. Then she shook her head calmly and said.
"I can be taken away by you."
"But I don't accept these crimes that have been forced upon me."
Hearing Melisandre say this, the guard captain was about to scold her.
"You..."
But he was interrupted by the red-robed witch's next words.
.
"And I suppose Princess Rhaenyra didn't order me to wear these things either."
The red-haired woman raised her chin slightly, and following her gaze, they saw the chains and shackles in the hands of the guards.
"This..."
Melisandre's words left all the guards looking at each other in confusion, their gazes eventually settling on the captain.
"Did Her Grace say that?"
The Andal warrior's face turned red and pale in turns.
"Well..."
He recalled the specific instructions Princess Rhaenyra gave when issuing this order...
In the end, he looked up to see a hint of fear in Melisandre's eyes.
Because... the reality matched her words almost perfectly.
Though Rhaenyra had ordered Melisandre's arrest on charges of murder, she had specifically instructed that she be treated well. It was an arrest in name only, and was actually more like house arrest.
But how could this woman know all this?
He remembered that he was the only one present at that time.
Or was this... the power of witchcraft and magic?
The captain's expression changed, and his eyes showed more fear as he looked at Melisandre.
Finally, facing the eyes of his brothers, he clenched his teeth and waved his hand.
"Do as she says!"
"Take her away!"
Several guards then put down their weapons and the shackles meant for criminals.
Melisandre, true to her word, did not resist as they led her out of the room and onto a carriage. The curtains on both sides were drawn, and the carriage left the castle under the cover of night, imprisoning the red-robed witch in the dungeons of Andalos.
Boom—
The dungeon's iron door closed and the lock was reinserted.
...
Meanwhile, back at the castle.
Rhaenyra was standing alone in the darkness, her mind in turmoil.
"Why... did I do that?"
She didn't know if Melisandre had killed Myrcella, but she felt that the possibility was small. They had no reason to harm each other, and it seemed unlikely that Melisandre would suddenly kill her upon arrival.
But Rhaenyra didn't know what was going on in her head, and in the end, she inexplicably agreed with her teacher's suggestion.
She had the red-robed witch arrested and thrown into the dungeon.
Doing so was supposed to make everyone believe that Myrcella hadn't been killed by Balerion, so they wouldn't fear or despise him...
However, Rhaenyra never considered that by doing this, she was essentially admitting that she believed Myrcella had died at Balerion's hands.
She didn't know why Myrcella had been near the dragon in the middle of the night. Perhaps... she was just passing by?
Or was she curious about the dragon and wanted to touch it?
Then Balerion mistook her for an enemy. He didn't want to hurt her; he... he... maybe he just wanted to play a game with Myrcella?
"I..."
The brown-haired girl crouched on the ground, feeling as if her brain was about to explode.
Bold ideas kept running through her mind, but she could never make a firm decision.
She had always lived under the protection of Viserys, and now that she was away from him, she didn't even have the courage to make a significant decision on her own.
Hiss~
At that moment, Rhaegal let out a cheerful roar and jumped onto her shoulder, rubbing his head against Rhaenyra's cheek.
The girl's heart softened, and she stroked Rhaegal's fearsome scales gently.
Then she raised her hand and slapped Balerion hard.
The black dragon tilted his head slightly, either unable to dodge or not wanting to, and was slapped firmly by Rhaenyra.
Roar...
He let out an unhappy growl.
"Hmph, you troublemaker."
"Wait until Viserys returns, and don't cause any more trouble in the meantime!"
...
Time passed, and more than half a month went by.
Toot...
Accompanied by the sound of horns, the Andalos army finally returned to their homeland.
.
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