r18novel Chapter 413 – The Hidden Truth About Those Who Act Even Deeper in the Shadows.
Chapter 413 – The Hidden Truth About Those Who Act Even Deeper in the Shadows.
[Chapter Size: 4400 Words.]
---------------------------------------
Third Person POV
Westeros, 300 AC.
---------------------------------------
------
Year 264 AC
Red Keep, King's Landing
To the venerable Citadel,
under the eyes of the Conclave,
I write to you with the due urgency and discretion that the situation requires.
His Grace, Aerys II Targaryen, continues to display signs of increasing instability. His fits of rage have become more frequent, as have episodes of paranoia and distrust toward his own counselors.
As instructed by the Conclave, I have begun administering the designated substances in carefully measured doses. The effects are already observable: the king's mind has become more susceptible to agitation, and his capacity for judgment deteriorates gradually.
I raise no objections to the purpose of such orders, though I recognize the gravity of what is being done. The stability of the realm, as always, must prevail over the individual.
I will continue to report any significant changes.
With loyalty to the order,
Grand Maester Pycelle
----
Year 276 AC
Red Keep, King's Landing
To the Citadel,
His Grace's condition is irreversible.
Paranoia completely dominates his mind. He no longer distinguishes allies from enemies. The court lives under constant fear, and rumors of his madness spread rapidly throughout the Seven Kingdoms.
As anticipated, his image as a ruler is permanently compromised.
If this was the desired outcome, I can affirm that it has been achieved.
There is no longer any need to intensify the doses. The damage is already done.
I will remain in position, awaiting further instructions.
Pycelle
Grand Maester of the Red Keep
----
Year 273 AC
Red Keep, King's Landing
To the Citadel, under the judgment of the Conclave,
As requested, I present the updated report regarding the condition of Her Grace, Queen Rhaella Targaryen.
The Queen continues to exhibit recurring physical fragility, worsened by successive unsuccessful pregnancies over the years. Records kept in this fortress indicate a persistent pattern of losses: miscarriages, stillbirths, and children who did not survive beyond the first days of life.
Among the documented cases, multiple occurrences stand out in which the newborns presented severe deformities, extreme weakness, or an inability to breathe without assistance. Such events have become frequent enough to no longer be treated as isolated incidents.
According to the previously established guidelines, the administration of the substances has been maintained in minimal and consistent doses, so as not to raise suspicion. The effects appear to contribute to the Queen's progressive weakening, especially during periods of pregnancy.
It is observed that, with each new pregnancy, Her Grace's body responds with less resistance, resulting in increasingly shorter cycles between conception and loss.
It is worth noting that such results align with historical records of similar interventions, in which the continuity of the lineage was compromised without the need for more direct measures.
Up to the present moment, there are no indications that the actions have been perceived by the court or by members of the Kingsguard.
The continuation of the method remains viable and effective.
I submit this report to the evaluation of the Conclave,
in service to knowledge and order,
Grand Maester Pycelle
----
Year 282 AC
Red Keep, King's Landing
To the Citadel, under the eye of the Conclave,
I report that, by orders of His Grace, Aerys II Targaryen, the Queen, Rhaella Targaryen, was sent to Dragonstone at the beginning of the recent conflicts.
The Queen is with child, however beyond our direct reach since her departure from the court.
Given this, there are no means to maintain the administration of the substances previously used. Any continuation of the procedure becomes, at this moment, unfeasible.
Without access to the Queen or her retinue, I cannot guarantee any influence over the ongoing pregnancy.
The situation is completely beyond the control of this position.
I await instructions from the Conclave.
In service,
Grand Maester Pycelle
----
Year 272 AC
Red Keep, King's Landing
To the Citadel, under the judgment of the Conclave,
I record here an observation that I deem worthy of immediate attention.
Lady Joanna Lannister was recently summoned to the private chambers of His Grace, Aerys II Targaryen, on more than one occasion, without the presence of ladies or formal witnesses.
Such visits occurred at unusual hours, and their frequency raises questions regarding the nature of these encounters.
Since then, I have noted subtle changes in her condition: initial signs of a possible pregnancy, though not officially confirmed. Her posture, fatigue, and discreet physical changes indicate this possibility.
Considering His Grace's known interest in the aforementioned lady, I do not dismiss the hypothesis of the king's direct involvement.
If confirmed, the implication is grave. The possibility of unlegitimized offspring bearing traits of the Targaryen lineage demands immediate attention and guidance from the Conclave.
I await instructions on how to proceed in this situation.
In service to knowledge and order,
Grand Maester Pycelle
----
Year 272 AC
Casterly Rock
To the Citadel, under the directives of the Conclave,
As instructed, I have begun the administration of the designated substances in Lady Joanna Lannister, maintaining extreme care so that no suspicion arises from House Lannister.
The dosage has been diluted in infusions and light foods, compatible with her current condition. The application occurs at regular intervals, avoiding abrupt changes that might raise questions.
The pregnancy proceeds, however signs of progressive weakening are already observable. The patient presents constant fatigue, pronounced pallor, and periods of prolonged indisposition.
According to the records provided by the order, such symptoms are consistent with the expected effects of the treatment applied in similar cases.
The objective remains unchanged: to compromise the development of the child before birth, avoiding more evident manifestations that might be associated with external intervention.
I reiterate that there are no indications of suspicion on the part of Lord Tywin Lannister or any other member of the house.
I will remain following the established directives until the conclusion of the process.
In service to order and knowledge,
Maester Hollis
Casterly Rock
----
Tywin was also rereading all the letters, at least for the fifth time.
He could hardly believe what lay before him, but it was undeniable: the handwriting and the signatures were clear — both from Maester Pycelle and Maester Hollis, the maester who had tended to Casterly Rock for 30 years.
First, Pycelle denounced the matter of Joanna sleeping with the Mad King or being forced by him, possibly bearing a Targaryen child... Then, Pycelle sent these letters to the Citadel, stating that Joanna had been forced to sleep with Aerys.
Just thinking about it, Tywin immediately grew furious.
"No... this cannot be true!" he tried to tell himself. "Joanna would not do this... she would not hide something like this. She would have told me..." His voice was weak, perhaps surprising even the lion himself with such weakness.
Tywin knew that the Mad King had always been obsessed with his wife, he desired her, and it made Tywin look at the king as if he wanted to kill him, whenever no one was watching.
Joanna had always behaved properly, despite the king's harassment, she had always been a perceptive lady and knew how to ignore or manage the king's behavior toward her. She had never disrespected Tywin.
"Joanna loved me... She would not do this to me..." He kept repeating it, as if it could make it a lie.
Even so, his analysis of the letters revealed more. Pycelle claimed that, after that, Joanna was already showing signs of pregnancy, returning to Casterly Rock because of it.
The tensions between Tywin and the king at the time were also mentioned. And then came the most serious information in the letters... the Citadel had sent explicit orders to the maester of Casterly Rock.
'She must be poisoned. She cannot give birth to this child, we must destroy all remnants of Targaryen blood...' It was written in one of the letters.
Tywin was surprised by the sheer hatred toward the Targaryens, there were mentions that they had been hunting even bastard dragonseeds among the common folk, killing anyone who seemed to have platinum hair or purple eyes over the last 50 years.
But Tywin cared about something even more important to him... 'They poisoned her during the pregnancy.'
Tywin began rereading the letters that spoke about how the poison was taking effect during the gestation and how, as happened with all Targaryens the Citadel poisoned, they expected a deformed boy to be born, with a tail and wings — as had happened before, when a Targaryen woman gave birth to something monstrous and dead. They used the same poison, precisely to kill the baby in Joanna's womb within Casterly Rock.
The Targaryen lineage, the former queen Rhaella, had been the victim of countless poisonings by Pycelle himself. Even the Mad King was being poisoned by him, making him even more unstable and ensuring that all seven kingdoms witnessed his madness.
"This is madness..." Tywin murmured.
He suddenly returned to those documents that spoke specifically about the poisonings and about the birth of Tyrion.
Then came the accounts of the moment Joanna gave birth. They expected the poison to have worked — that a stillborn, half-dragon baby would be born. But instead, a dwarf was born. Joanna did not survive. The child lived, but deformed.
And then, with coldness, the maester announced to the Citadel: 'The baby is not a Targaryen.'
That is, there was no longer any need to use poison to kill the child, nor to denounce his possible lineage from the former king in the boy, so that Tywin himself would deal with it.
"They killed her... killed her by pure mistake..." Tywin whispered.
The words came out like daggers in his heart.
The letters detailed exactly the poison used, the times at which it was administered.
And Tywin still could not process all of it. They had destroyed his sweet Joanna... by mistake.
As his fingers gripped each of those letters, his eyes drifted to the Arctican symbol.
There was no direct message for him — only the documents.
Tywin almost wished he had never seen those letters.
Then, he let out a strange laugh.
"That bastard... he is trying to affect us. He is trying to divide us... and he is succeeding." The words came out with disgust.
They knew exactly where to strike.
And they struck.
Joanna... his sweet Joanna... had been the target of a conspiracy by people he believed to be loyal... But there was an order above the Lannister name for the maesters...
"You are achieving what you want, Jon Arctica..." Tywin admitted...
How could he not? They were being affected... And, no matter how much he knew he had to remain firm, he could not… he could not ignore who killed Joanna — the woman he truly loved.
His hatred for Pycelle, for Maester Hollis of Casterly Rock, for the Citadel and, above all, for Aerys grew significantly. His desire was to go to the black cells, where Pycelle should now be, still getting used to the darkness of his new home, and behead him right there with his own hands.
He knew that the maester's imprisonment would already be causing a great uproar in the Red Keep. And it did not take long before he began to hear shouting from outside.
"Let me in, now!" He recognized Cersei's voice very well, practically shouting at the men to let her pass.
"My lord..." the door opened, with a Lannister guard looking at him with some concern.
"Let her in," Tywin finally said.
As soon as the door opened, Cersei entered with heavy steps. She used to be dazzling, the most beautiful woman in the seven kingdoms, the lion queen, proud.
All that remained was a woman wearing a mask at that moment, to hide her current appearance, concealing her face marked by an animal with claws and wings. An unfortunate event in Winterfell with no one able to explain how the eagle attacked her beyond the explanation that it was magic.
Her walk used to be calm, controlled and dazzling, now it showed a woman living under her hatred, heavy and authoritative steps, weighed down by her anger.
Tywin looked at the woman, her face hidden, while her hair was still visible.
'The monster of the Red Keep.' That was what they called her now.
"Father, what does this mean? Why is Pycelle in the black cells!?" she demanded immediately.
"Sit down, Cersei," he said, with a restrained anger that even surprised her. Tywin was not in his best state to deal with his foolish daughter.
Cersei stared at him for a moment, before nodding carefully. She immediately lost her aggressive posture at her father's tone. He was angry, very angry.
Then, she looked at the table… and saw the letters. Her eyes widened upon seeing the sealed symbol.
"They..." she said. And fear immediately began to take hold of her. How could it not, she remembered very well being hunted by birds for weeks, trying to claw her face. It only delayed the inevitable a little, because she managed to escape Jon Arctic's birds for 2 full moons, but in Winterfell, she was caught.
She immediately looked at the window, expecting any attack, she had to order all the birds to be killed immediately. She now feared the sky. She also failed to notice the raven that hid itself, only to listen to the conversation.
"Yes. They appeared, finally. And they have already begun their attack against us," Tywin replied, still knowing nothing about the Arcticans, whether they would invade the North or come to the capital with their fleet, from the eastern sea.
"What does that have to do with Pycelle? Is Pycelle with them!?" Cersei was horrified at the thought.
"No. That is not the problem," he said, calmly.
"Then what is it?" Cersei narrowed her eyes at her father.
"When those men from Arctic sacked Oldtown, they took several secret documents from the order of maesters. And these documents were sent in these letters."
Cersei immediately picked up a letter and began to read. There were records about her mother made by the maester of Casterly Rock.
---
Year 273 AC
Casterly Rock
To the Citadel, under the directives of the Conclave,
I report the conclusion of the procedure conducted on Lady Joanna Lannister during the period of gestation.
The birth occurred under adverse conditions, after a prolonged period of weakening of the patient, consistent with the expected effects of the administered substances.
The child was born alive, however presenting significant deformities. It is a dwarf, with irregular body proportions, though functionally viable.
No traits were observed that indicate characteristics associated with the Targaryen lineage.
In light of this, I conclude that the initial suspicion was not confirmed.
As for the patient, Lady Joanna did not survive the birth. The debilitated state of her body, aggravated by the continuous progression of the treatment, resulted in her death shortly after the birth.
The main objective — to prevent the emergence of a possible descendant with undesirable traits — was, in part, achieved, albeit with an outcome differing from what was expected.
There are no indications that the intervention was identified as the direct cause of the events.
I remain at your disposal for any further clarification.
In service to the order,
Maester Hollis
Casterly Rock
---
"What is this...? Poison?" she did not understand.
Tywin closed his eyes for a moment, sighing. "Pycelle sent a letter to the Citadel when your mother became pregnant with Tyrion almost 30 years ago... saying that, when Joanna became pregnant with Tyrion, he believed it was Aerys'. Pycelle informed the Citadel that your mother was sleeping with the Mad King." Tywin seemed to be dying as he spoke those words, it was humiliating for him to say this even to his own daughter.
Cersei stared at him, saying nothing for a few seconds. "This cannot be...", she murmured.
"The documents prove it. The signature and the handwriting are Pycelle's. You can check it yourself," Tywin said, showing the letter with Pycelle's writings attached to it.
"Besides... here is our maester Hollis, trying to poison your mother throughout the entire pregnancy, in a subtle way, so that it would not be discovered. They expected Tyrion to be born as a grotesque creature. And... well, they succeeded in that. But your mother also died because of it."
His voice was dry. Indifferent.
Cersei stood there, frozen.
"What will happen to Pycelle?" she finally asked after a few seconds of silence.
"I will send a message to the Citadel. I will ask for a representative to come here and explain how exactly this happened. But Pycelle will be executed. There is no need to try to argue anything further about..."
All Tywin wanted was revenge for Joanna's death.
"Tyrion is still a monster who killed our mother in the end, nothing changes what I think of him..." Cersei's voice still carried hatred.
"I do not consider him my son, even after knowing this." Tywin did not deny it either.
Cersei seemed satisfied with her father's answer. Regardless of her mother having been poisoned, Tyrion was still a monster in their eyes — a disgrace to the family, one that should be discarded as soon as they had the chance.
"The Tyrells will want to know what is happening," she said at last.
"I will explain it to them," Tywin replied.
"They are not trustworthy, father. The moment they see the letters sent to those savages, they will want to save their own skin against those monsters from the north and they will betray us," Cersei began raising these concerns, hoping her father would understand.
But Tywin only looked at her with anger. "You still have that in your head? Do not be foolish. We need the Tyrells."
"You do not understand, father! That Margaery is poisoning my son. Joffrey is being enchanted by her charms. She is a witch!" Cersei said, from behind her mask.
How could she not feel anger toward Margaery? She was everything Cersei was not — and much more. She had not only the admiration of the people of the Red Keep and the court now, but also of the common folk. She walked through the city, pretending to be a good person and its lady.
But Cersei knew. She was a manipulator. Someone who came to take everything from her son.
Margaery shone like the sun, walking through the Red Keep as if she completely ignored that Cersei was still the queen.
Meanwhile, Cersei's name was whispered in corners. When someone spoke of her, it was always in secret, out of attentive ears. The fear everyone had of pronouncing her name was evident.
In the first moons after she returned from the north and used cloths and bandages to cover the wounds the eagle had made on her face. Everyone whispered horrible things, the queen who had become a monster... Those who saw her appearance said they saw a grotesque creature. Later, she began to wear a mask and only removed it when she was with the maester or alone.
Cersei had become a machine of hatred.
She had even begun to kill servants — or even nobles — who mocked her. All she lived for now was revenge.
She believed that Arya Stark, the queen of the prophecy, was trying to take revenge on her with all the Starks, after what had happened.
But, at the same time, there was now another threat: Margaery Tyrell, who had arrived in King's Landing, joined the army of the Reach alongside the Lannisters, and was now about to become queen.
Cersei hated that.
She hated that woman who made cynical remarks about her while hiding everything behind a friendly and concerned smile — but there was always mockery there, something only Cersei seemed to perceive.
How she hated that woman. If she could, she would crush Margaery.
But she could not. Her father was greatly limiting her actions, as the Red Keep now feared her, calling her a tyrant, or the monster of the Red Keep.
Her cruelty, according to some whispers, sometimes even surpassed that of Joffrey.
The arrival of the Arcticans certainly brought anxiety and fear, but also a thirst for revenge — revenge for what they had done to her and her brother.
Her brother was never the same again. He learned to use his left hand to fight, but he never returned to being the same swordsman — and never would be. And she had lost her most powerful weapon: her beauty.
How could she not hate those people?
"I will not tolerate your nonsense any longer!" Tywin, in the present, spoke firmly, already without patience after all that. He looked at Cersei. "Joffrey will marry Margaery. They will have a child, and my great-grandson will be the next king. We will have the support of the Tyrell army, their food and their gold, while we have a common enemy."
"We can use Sansa first..." Cersei growled upon hearing her father ignore the danger that Margaery was, calling her necessary. Then, she remembered the Stark they still held as a hostage.
"You speak of our hostage, correct?" Tywin mocked this, and a part of her hesitated, but she still looked at him with anger.
"I did what had to be done." Cersei said.
Her actions had become limited after a certain incident with Sansa Stark. She had done something abominable to the girl — something that left wounds that had not yet healed. All because of the hatred she felt for Arya, the Starks, and the Arcticans.
Sansa had become a shrunken, broken girl. And the Arcticans, upon seeing this, would not let it go, nor would they see any value in the girl, who had already betrayed her own father. They would show no love for her — and what Cersei had done only made everything worse. Cersei had destroyed any chance of a good negotiation.
"You..." Tywin growled, and Cersei looked at her father as if she regretted nothing. To her, what she had done to Sansa Stark was justified.
Tywin reached his limit. "Enough. I need to focus for the next council meeting. I want everyone gathered in an hour. But I do not want you continuing with these ideas, understood?" her father said seriously.
Cersei clenched her teeth, but nodded in the end.
"Of course, father," she said, in a completely empty tone.
Tywin watched his daughter leave, guards placed to monitor her actions following her down the corridor. He had much to think about.
The Arcticans were back after all this time.
Well… they still had some hostages to use.
At least some of them — since his daughter had done something irreparable to Sansa in the past moons, blinded by hatred and the desire for revenge.
That act shocked the entire Red Keep and made Tywin place guards constantly around Cersei, stripping much of her authority, no matter how much she shouted that she was the queen. Joffrey was the only one who supported his mother's actions, but Tywin put them both in their place.
She was out of control. And now she had become someone they could no longer allow to act freely. His daughter was a problem — and he needed to remove her from there as well. His son was on the same path...
"It is not enough that he is trying to divide us... we are also willing to destroy one another..." Tywin murmured.
His foolish family...
Cersei stepped out of the Tower of the Hand, and the first person she encountered was Tyrion, who was watching his sister. Behind the mask, she was still unmistakable — being one of the only two women who needed to hide her face within the Red Keep.
"Hello, dear sister. I just heard… that Pycelle was arrested by father. Certainly surprising. The Tyrells are all stirred up around the castle," he said, looking at her, while she was followed by Lannister guards and a Kingsguard.
"Keep your sharp tongue elsewhere, you monster!" Cersei said, full of hatred.
But Tyrion was not offended. He simply smiled. "Well… all right if you do not wish to talk, but now, we are both... both monsters, are we not, sister? The difference is that I do not wear a mask to hide my wounded face."
Tyrion had suffered a blow from a Kingsguard during the siege of King's Landing, and his face was disfigured.
He saw his sister begin to tremble after the comment. Tyrion imagined that, if she had a sword — anything in her hands — she would have lunged at him. Even her guards looked concerned, seeing Tywin's daughter on the verge of collapse.
Tyrion was more than satisfied. He could never have imagined that the former most beautiful woman of the Seven Kingdoms — well, that was before they saw Arya Stark of Winterfell — would fall to that.
Seeing someone who had once been proclaimed the most beautiful in the Seven Kingdoms become the "monster of the Red Keep" was extremely satisfying to him, since she had spent her entire life calling him a monster.
Now, she was living practically the same thing.
But she managed to be even worse. Cersei was not judged only by her appearance — with the large cut that the bird sent by Arya Stark had left on her face — but also by her actions.
She had become an uncontrollable monster. She was cruel. She tortured and killed since she returned from the North.
Not even her father could control Cersei's temper anymore. All she sought was revenge. She saw enemies everywhere.
Tywin tried to restrain her, but he was not having much success.
Cersei continued trembling for a few moments, until she finally stopped. She looked at Tyrion with a gleam in her eyes that clearly said: he would pay for that one day.
And, in a way, that made Tyrion a little concerned.
She could be worse than her own son.
Cersei said nothing more. She simply moved on.
Tyrion watched her leave, without saying anything else. Then, he turned and headed toward the Tower of the Hand. He wanted to speak with his father to understand what was happening.
As he walked, a messenger from the Hand of the King approached. "An urgent meeting will be held in an hour. All must attend."
Tyrion simply nodded. Whatever was happening, he would know soon, so he did not delay in heading to the Tower of the Hand, as he was going to get answers. Whatever had gotten into his father to arrest the castle's maester, everyone would find out.
◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
🦝 Raccoon here: 🦝
I deeply appreciate your support since the beginning of this exciting journey!
🌟 RaccoonLeague | 🌟
Visit our for more: https://www..com/RaccoonLeague
Extra Content Already Available:
One Piece - I Am a Different Luffy!: 30 extra chapters!
👑 Game of Thrones: The Legend of Jon Arctic!: 30 extra chapters!
👑 Game of Thrones: DragonBorn! 30 extra chapters!
👑 HOTD: Jon Arctic! 30 extra chapters!
🌀 Naruto - Minato Namikaze SI!: 30 extra chapters!
🗡️ The Witcher - As Uchiha Madara! 30 extra chapters!
⚡HP - Jon Arctic as Severus Snape! 30 extra chapters!
⚡ Harry Potter - Shadow Monarch! Finished! [100%]
⚡Danmachi – The Alchemist! [Coming Soon.]
Visit our for more!!
◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆