-Chapter 176-

-The Next Day-

-POV Ulf the White-

I watched Hugh walking beside me in heavy silence.

We had been walking side by side for a quarter of an hour without saying a word, as the Prince had tasked me with bringing Hugh to him for a meeting.

Deciding this wasn't the right time to keep quiet any longer, I warned Hugh, who didn't seem any less... angry:

"This time, you better behave properly."

"Hmm."

Hugh sniffed coldly, wearing a falsely calm expression. He might fool those who didn't know him, but I knew him all too well.

And as usual lately, without a word, he kept walking, completely ignoring me, which started to annoy me—even though I now understood his reasons.

'To think he lost Kat in such a horrible way,' I thought, clenching my fists, because I was also to blame.

"Don't blame yourself," said Hugh, opening his mouth for the first time as he looked at my clenched fists.

I frowned, immediately loosening my fists, embarrassed that he had seen right through me so easily.

"I'm going to make them pay a price they'll never forget," he said, a flash of hatred in his eyes, before adding, "They'll beg me to kill them."

"As long as you behave properly with the Prince, you'll get what you want. I'm certain of it. He seems to admire your strength. I even heard him talking with his son about making you his sworn shield."

Hugh turned to me, raising an eyebrow, and said: "That's a great honor."

"Hmm," I replied, then added, so he wouldn't get a big head: "Seems to me it's more a reward for his son than genuine interest in you."

Hugh grimaced and said: "I'm not merchandise."

"No, you're not," I said with a smile, before adding: "To the royal family, nobles are just livestock. And you, a bastard recently knighted, might not be worth more than a pig."

Hugh shot me a dark look, then gave a crooked smile.

I was about to say something else but didn't, because I saw the smile on Hugh's face vanish as quickly as it had come—and that terrifying look he wore in the arena had returned.

I turned my gaze toward what he was staring at so dangerously, and sighed inwardly in frustration, because to our right, the Prince and his followers were all laughing in the courtyard—but that didn't last.

Everyone went silent as soon as they saw us, and their faces turned cold and stiff.

"Let's go. It's pointless. As long as he's under the Prince's command, we have to be careful not to provoke them," I said, not wanting to spark unnecessary conflict between Prince Aemon and his cousin Prince Aegon, as we might lose despite our Prince's clear superiority at court.

Hugh didn't move an inch, his eyes locked onto the heir of House Rosby and his squire.

"What are you looking at?" yelled a man bearing a sigil I didn't recognize.

Hugh didn't even bother to look at him but stepped forward.

I quickly grabbed his arm, but the look he gave me made me instantly let go.

'He's far too unstable these days. I'm not even sure he knows what ally and enemy mean anymore,' I thought, watching my "friend" advance without a hint of fear toward Prince Aegon's group, which was gathering around him.

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-POV Cregan Stark-

I watched the giant who had shattered my arm approach us, calm as if he belonged to the royal family.

His long silver curls could fool many, but everything about his appearance screamed his true origins.

While I thought he would address Aegon, he completely ignored him and said, looking at Rupert—the squire of House Rosby who had helped us—and his lord Artor Rosby:

"I won't kill you yet. But from now on, you'll wish you were dead, I guarantee it."

Rupert—now Ser Rupert, knighted yesterday by the Lord of House Rosby for saving Artor Rosby's life—smiled and stepped forward fearlessly toward the colossus:

"You may be proud of winning a squire's tournament, but watch your tongue when speaking before the future king."

The giant smiled without replying and looked at Aegon, who stared back at him with a burning fire in his eyes.

I could feel the disdain he held for Aegon—which meant Aegon could as well, and so could everyone else present.

I placed a hand on Aegon's shoulder, silently signaling him to stay quiet, as I had heard of a vague plan Prince Aemon was putting in place—and the colossus seemed to be the keystone of it.

"Ser Ulf," I said, spotting the man in the distance, recognizable by his mane of hair as white as the purest snow.

He quickly approached and gave a slight bow: "Lord Stark."

I nodded, then said: "Weren't you summoned by the Hand?"

The man with the white mane nodded and replied promptly: "Yes. Prince Aemon values Hugh greatly."

"Hugh," I repeated, glancing again at the colossus who had turned my arm to pulp.

I took a breath, calming the cold fury boiling up at the memory of the pain I had endured, then turned my gaze away and said:

"Then don't keep him waiting. The Hand doesn't like tardiness and can be very strict with those who disappoint him."

I cast a glance at Aegon as I said the last part, warning him without a word not to do anything reckless.

'There's no point in making an enemy of the Prince when he already has his sister shamelessly trying to assassinate him in broad daylight.'

Aegon sniffed without a word, then turned around and gestured for everyone to follow him, as Hugh walked away without ever breaking eye contact.

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N.A: Small chapter today, I'll be doing bigger ones in the future...Sorry 😭😭😭