Chapter 587

Margaery Tyrell was in a good mood—so good that even being ignored by Aegor didn’t bother her.

Because she could feel it: the Tyrells’ three centuries of humiliation were finally coming to an end.

In Westeros, there was an unspoken truth that everyone knew but few dared to discuss openly. The current rulers of the Reach, the Tyrells, were not noble heirs to the Gardeners, the ancient Kings of the Reach who were incinerated by Aegon the Conqueror’s dragons. No, the Tyrells were merely stewards.

When Aegon raised the Tyrells to rule Highgarden after the conquest, the official story was that they had opened the gates of Highgarden and surrendered. But was that the real reason?

Of course not.

Even the claim that the Tyrells had “surrendered Highgarden” doesn’t hold up to scrutiny. Even if every male Gardener had perished at the Field of Fire, Highgarden should have passed by law to the closest blood relative among the Reach’s noble families. The Tyrells wouldn’t have even ranked among the potential claimants.

They were so lowborn they weren’t even on the list.

So why did Aegon elevate them?

The answer lay not in their supposed loyalty, but in strategy. Aegon needed a family with no legitimacy, one that owed everything to the Targaryens, to control the powerful Reach. The Tyrells were perfect for the role.

The ancient families of the Reach, proud of their bloodlines and still claiming descent from Garth Greenhand, were furious. But they were too afraid of the dragons behind the Tyrells to openly rebel. For the Tyrells, their power was wholly dependent on the Targaryens’ favor. They had no choice but to remain loyal.

This arrangement ensured that the Reach, despite its vast wealth, population, and power, could never act independently. The Tyrells, nominally one of the Seven Kingdoms’ most powerful houses, were reduced to being the Targaryens’ lapdogs. They could hold the title of Warden of the South for a thousand years, but they would never be more than that.

Aegon’s strategy was painfully obvious, yet brutally effective. Like the great powers of Aegor’s world—the British Empire and later the United States—Aegon employed a policy of offshore balancing. By empowering weaker, dependent allies to counterbalance stronger rivals, he maintained unchallenged dominance.

For 300 years, Targaryen kings upheld this policy, ensuring the Tyrells were never allowed into the inner circle of power.

No queens. No Hands. No Tyrells at the top.

The Tyrells played the obedient dog for centuries, but even the most loyal of hounds would eventually dream of slipping the leash. For generations, the Tyrells schemed and maneuvered, desperate to break free from Targaryen control.

Their rise can be divided into three stages.1. Endurance and Submission

The early Tyrell lords swallowed their pride and endured. They obeyed the Targaryens, earning their keep by maintaining order in the Reach. They endured the scorn of other lords while methodically building alliances through marriage, slowly gaining enough respect to command authority.2. Building Strength

Once their position in the Reach was secure, the Tyrells began accumulating wealth and influence. Leveraging their title as Wardens of the South, they expanded their network of alliances and invested in trade, agriculture, and even industry.

By the time of the Blackfyre Rebellions, the Tyrells were among the wealthiest houses in the Seven Kingdoms. While others fought and bled, the Tyrells remained cautious, preserving their strength. By the time the wars ended, the Tyrells were indisputably the dominant power in the Reach.3. Pushing for Power

After centuries of consolidation, the Tyrells finally believed they were ready to enter the center of power. By Mace Tyrell’s generation, they were determined to push for more.

But the Targaryens were quick to notice their ambitions and tightened the leash. Every attempt to rise further was met with resistance.
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During Robert’s Rebellion, Mace Tyrell thought he’d found his chance. Marching his army to Storm’s End, he laid siege to Stannis Baratheon, waiting for the rebels and loyalists to exhaust each other. His plan was to withhold support until Aerys or Rhaegar was forced to beg for help, allowing him to demand a seat at the table—a queen, a Hand, something.

But Mace’s gamble failed spectacularly. Rhaegar died at the Trident, Tywin Lannister sacked King’s Landing, and the Targaryens were wiped out in days.

The Tyrells had no choice but to kneel to Robert Baratheon. Though Robert’s reign left them marginally freer, they were still kept away from true power. Mace’s clumsy attempts to marry Margaery into the royal family—first to Robert, then to Renly, and finally to Joffrey—ended in humiliation, scandal, and disaster.
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Now, with Young Aegon landing in the Stormlands under the Targaryen banner, the Tyrells had hoped their time had come.

But that dream had already begun to crumble.

Young Aegon had no interest in Margaery or any Tyrell marriage alliance. He was set on marrying his aunt, Daenerys. Even the position of Hand of the King had been promised to Jon Connington.

To make matters worse, the negotiations for an alliance between the Reach and Aegon’s forces had stalled. Despite flying the same banner, the Reach forces refused to camp with the Golden Company. Distrust and division ran deep.

When news reached Margaery that Daenerys had rejected Aegon’s claim and that the dragons had refused him, she could hardly contain her joy.

The Tyrells had been humiliated, ignored, and sidelined for centuries. But now, with Stannis all but defeated and the Targaryens divided, the Reach held the balance of power. Whoever the Tyrells chose to support would emerge victorious.

Margaery could barely suppress her glee.

The wheel of history had finally turned, and this time, it was the rose’s turn to bloom.