Fortunately, Daenerys had brought a fire starter with her today, otherwise moving around in the dim Dreamfire cave would have been quite inconvenient.
Upon entering Dreamfire's cave, Daenerys found a volcanic fissure not far from Dreamfire's resting place, where ground fire occasionally erupted.
She then piled up a large quantity of rubies nearby and buried two Dragon Eggs within them. Stroking the two newborn Dragon Eggs, rich with the breath of life, Daenerys felt an inexpressible sense of satisfaction.
Relying on the continuous hot energy emanating from the volcanic fissure and the magic contained within the rubies, Daenerys believed these two Dragon Eggs should be relatively easy to hatch.
After settling the two Dragon Eggs, Daenerys solemnly stroked Dreamfire and looked at Miraxis, who was hiding in the distance, admonishing her,
"Dreamfire, Miraxis! You must never do anything to harm the Dragon Eggs in the future, understand?"
"If you find any more Dragon Eggs, you must tell me immediately. When that happens, I'll roast more delicious livestock for both of you!"
After speaking, Daenerys gave Miraxis a fierce glare.
The two giant dragons, who could now communicate telepathically with Daenerys, both let out low guttural responses.
Miraxis, knowing she had done wrong, took the opportunity to approach Daenerys, rubbing her head against Daenerys's thigh in an attempt to please her.
Since the incident had already occurred, what could Daenerys do? She could only symbolically tap her head a few times and repeatedly warn her never to swallow Dragon Eggs again.
After leaving Dreamfire's cave, Miraxis returned to her own small cave to continue her slumber. It seemed that devouring Dragon Eggs did have some benefits for giant dragons.
As for Dreamfire, after escorting Daenerys back to Dragonstone, she returned to her nest. With her protection and care, those two Dragon Eggs should be safe.
The three little ones make another appearance.
"How was it? Father, Mother, weren't we amazing! Sheepstealer was caught by Daenerys and me and locked up on Dragon Mountain!"
As soon as Rhaenyra returned to Dragonstone, she went to her parents' room and vividly recounted how she and Daenerys had defeated Sheepstealer.
"It's just a pity that the Targaryen Family doesn't have a suitable Dragon Knight right now!"
Viserys, looking at his daughter Rhaenyra's proud expression, felt a bit helpless but still praised her,
"You two certainly accomplished a great feat!"
"However, don't casually get into conflicts with giant dragons in the future! They are just some livestock, their loss is not a big deal."
"The struggles between giant dragons are too unpredictable, especially for Dragon Knights; one careless mistake could lead to a life-threatening situation."
Emma also spoke up with some helplessness,
"What I'm worried about is, once this matter is known by the visiting noble young masters, who knows how much trouble it will stir up!"
"These days, it's difficult for me to find a quiet place to enjoy the scenery!"
"And every day, I have to listen to the maids discussing all sorts of interesting stories about them."
"Oh! It's really giving me a headache."
Viserys, hearing this, also shook his head and smiled,
"These young noblemen are in the prime of their youth; their boundless energy has nowhere to be placed."
At this point, Rhaenyra excitedly suggested,
"Father, Mother, since so many noble young masters from the Seven Kingdoms are gathered, why don't we hold a tourney?"
Viserys and Emma both thought Rhaenyra's suggestion was a good idea.
After all, everyone was well aware of the purpose of these young nobles' visit to Dragonstone, and a tourney was indeed a good way for the Viserys family to get to know them better.
So they began to discuss it seriously.
Not long after, Daenerys, who had returned to Dragonstone, came to her parents' room to greet them and joined the discussion.
When most of the arrangements had been discussed, Viserys stroked his beard, pondered for a moment, and then slowly said,
"Now there's only one problem: hosting a tourney requires a lot of manpower and resources. The current staff on Dragonstone might not be enough!"
After he spoke, the family's gaze all turned to Daenerys.
Indeed, unlike Daenerys, who had her own fiefdom, Viserys and his family still lived off royal stipends!
Because of his successful taming of Vhagar, Father Viserys's stipend would increase this year, but it hadn't arrived yet!
Rhaenyra did have some savings, but not much, as the cost of keeping a giant dragon was considerable. Especially for a dragon like Syrax, who was in her peak growth period, the annual expenditure was almost over two hundred thousand gold dragons.
And Rhaenyra's own annual expenses also amounted to fifty to sixty thousand gold dragons, so her current savings probably didn't even add up to one hundred thousand dragons.
To host a decent tourney, the cost would be at least two to three hundred thousand gold dragons to start.
Looking at her family's eager gazes, Daenerys immediately understood their meaning.
However, the "money-loving" Daenerys would not be a fool for nothing.
She cunningly said,
"The expenses and manpower can be arranged by me, but I want eighty percent of the profits generated from this tourney."
Rhaenyra, hearing this, asked in confusion,
"Will a tourney have any profits?"
Viserys and Emma were also completely bewildered. After all, in their understanding, a tourney was definitely a money-burning affair.
It was merely an act for the royal family or great nobles to display their power and status.
Daenerys patiently explained,
"Wherever there are people, there will always be a way to make money."
"First, we can create different tiers of seating, making all the seats with good views into luxury boxes. Then, we can sell them at different prices according to their level."
"Those noble young masters, to show their status and position in front of everyone, will certainly be willing to pay a high price to purchase these luxury seats to watch the competition."
Viserys immediately understood upon hearing this,
"Isn't that the same method as the dueling arenas in the Free Trade Cities?"
"Doing this might be criticized by the nobles of the Seven Kingdoms! I think it's inappropriate."
Daenerys responded with a firm attitude,
"As long as we don't harm others' interests, their opposition has no standing! If anyone dares to speak out about this, I'll let them taste the heat of Dragonflame!"
"Cousin, no... Father, so-called traditions and customs also have their originators. If the Targaryen Family, who can control giant dragons, cannot innovate and change something as trivial as this, then it would truly be a sad thing!"
Viserys, who was usually not very firm, stopped saying anything more when he heard Daenerys's insistence.
Daenerys continued,
"Secondly, we can secretly set up betting. In fact, this kind of activity is not uncommon among the great nobles of the Seven Kingdoms; it's just an open secret!"
Viserys had no objection to this point. It was indeed as Daenerys said, an open secret among everyone.
However, what made Viserys curious was how Daenerys, who hardly ever left Dragonstone, was so familiar with these petty tricks behind the nobles' backs? Looking at Rhaenyra, who was beside him with a puzzled expression, it was clear that his eldest daughter, who frequently mingled among the great nobles, had no inkling of these matters. Even his wife Emma was the same!
Grey Shadow