Chapter 42

"Sir Mei Yi, there are still at least three kings among the Seven Kingdoms. They are not necessarily all enemies." said the Count of Deep Forest Fortress after a long silence.

"Count, please tell us, among the three kings, which one can we win over?"

"Besides the one on the Iron Throne, the other two might work." he said.

"Youlon is a madman, there's no possibility of cooperation. Stannis? If I recall correctly, you, Count, also abandoned him back then." Her finger stroked the blood-red wolf head on the sword hilt, which now looked like a blazing flame.

"Youlon may be a madman, but he's still unmarried…"

"You aren't suggesting we make him king and then send a queen over, are you?" the Red Knight interjected.

This was the first time Ruika heard him interject in a meeting.

"We don't need to make him king; I'm proposing we enter a marriage pact with him." said the Count.

The counts and nobles on both sides looked at each other, all puzzled.

"Sansa may have fled the wedding, but she's still unheard of." the Earl of Snow hurriedly said, "Even if she has returned…"

Ruika felt that if Sansa truly returned, the Earl of Snow before her would be her perfect match, beyond reproach. They are not only similar in age, but they had known each other since childhood and were familiar with each other. Moreover, Snow City and Winterfell are only a half-day's ride apart, so Miss Sansa could almost anytime return to Winterfell to visit her relatives.

"Youlon is a madman, not a good match for Sansa. Moreover, cooperating with him is just asking for trouble." She made the decision directly.

"Marriage is marriage; when do we need to consider whether it's a good match? If we follow the wishes of the young, who knows what chaos the Seven Kingdoms would fall into. King Robb is a prime example." he said.

"There's no need to mention King Robb's affair; this probably isn't his fault. In Riverrun I saw the mother of Queen Jayne, she has serious problems. Hehe, if it weren't for considering Jayne's feelings, I would have hanged her and hung her corpse on the walls of Riverrun."

"What's wrong with her?" the Count asked.

"I heard her grandmother is a toad witch from a foreign land. She must have learned some petty tricks. Her face is that of a noble lady, but below the face—well, you don't want to see it. Count, please go on with what you wanted to say."

"Sir Mei Yi, you can't deny marriage just because they're not a good match; men and women raised in great families must bear their own responsibilities, everyone knows that."

"Nonsense, with me around, she doesn't need to bear that responsibility."

"Are you misunderstanding? I'm not proposing Sansa." his eyes fixed on the she-wolf.

Ruika almost laughed out loud.

"Me?" she burst out laughing, her fingers drumming on the table, after a while she continued, "Count, don't even think about it. Letting me marry him? I'd rather become a nun!"

Apart from the Count of Deep Forest Fortress, all the other knights and gentlemen burst out laughing. Ruika finally couldn't help joining in, and for the first time he felt the she-wolf was also a woman.

The Count of Deep Forest Fortress began to blush amid the laughter.

"Even without a marriage alliance, we can at least cooperate; they have a fleet."

"If I'm not mistaken, I just killed his nephew and stuck many Ironborn heads on the coast. Especially your Deep Forest Fortress's coast, where I stuck the most." she teased, "Moreover, I myself have a fleet. Does White Harbor have one too?" she asked Wylis.

"Sir Mei Yi, I assure you, with me, White Harbor's fleet will be at your disposal." Sir Wylis replied, adopting a very low posture.

Ruika didn't look down on Sir Wylis just because he was fat, as others did; he felt that in terms of reliability, he'd rather choose the quiet, courteous Sir Wylis than the tall, mighty, loud-mouthed Count of Tao Ha.

Mei Yi expressed thanks to Sir Wylis, then stroked his sword hilt and said with a smile, "Look, we can use White Harbor's fleet and avoid sending women."

Ruika only dared to think to himself, nowadays the Count of Mandel is a lonely widower.

"Maybe we could even win a woman!" Sir Craig Mandel interjected, making a lecherous face.

Sir Wylis blushed. He is the heir of White Harbor, with only two daughters; judging by his build, he probably can't father another son. That means his elder daughter is very likely to inherit White Harbor. If Brandon doesn't mind her age, she could someday rule White Harbor directly with the help of her lady. And if White Harbor wants to stay independent, even better—his younger daughter's age is closer to Brandon's.

Everyone laughed good-naturedly, but this matter itself carries an oddness; if mishandled it could have the opposite effect. However, in Ruika's view, binding White Harbor's support through marriage brings only benefits and no drawbacks.

When everyone quieted down from the joking, the she-wolf gestured for the Count of Deep Forest Fortress to continue.

"Youlon can't be a friend; what about Stannis? He's Robert's younger brother, and if the little king on the Iron Throne is indeed the spawn of Cersei and the kingslayer, then he is the true king of the Iron Throne. If we feigned allegiance…"

"Count, if we submit, it's him trying to win us over, not us trying to win him over. Though I thought you'd forgotten—I know you once urged Robb to abandon him." She placed both hands on the sword hilt, propping herself up on the ground, "Speaking of which, Stannis's claim is a mess; now that the realm is in civil war, his rights need to be sorted out properly."

She sheathed her sword and stood up. "Sir Lawrence, tell us about the origin of the Seven Kingdoms' king."

Lawrence was somewhat surprised, but he still stood up, straightened his posture, and spoke. Ruika couldn't help feeling jealous.

"Originally, the king of the Seven Kingdoms was naturally the conqueror Aegon from three hundred years ago; before that, each of the Seven Kingdoms had its own king, but afterward there was only one king. The position of the Seven Kingdoms' king, i. e., the Iron Throne, was passed down among Aegon's descendants until Robert rose in rebellion and overthrew the mad king Aerys's rule." He wasn't sure if that's what the she-wolf wanted to hear.

"Hmm, has anyone considered that although Robert rose in rebellion, the effort wasn't solely from House Baratheon; it also included the North, the East, and the Riverlands, and later the West as well. How could this chair fall to House Baratheon?" She patted her own bench.

"I guess it's because of Robert Baratheon's grandmother, who gave him a close bloodline to the Targaryen family; of course, House Baratheon itself is a branch of the dragon family." Lawrence Snow said carefully.

"Aside from him being a candidate acceptable to all sides of the rebellion, bloodline is certainly one of the reasons."

"But where does the legitimacy of the Targaryen bloodline's control over the Iron Throne lie? Dragons? The Targaryen dragons didn't last long after the Dance of the Dragons, yet they continued to hold the throne for over a century."

Ruika had never heard this kind of analysis before; could it be that dragon kings ruling a nation is not a given?

"The power of the Iron Throne, i. e., the king of the Seven Kingdoms, is established by force and maintained by inertia. But after the weakening of the Targaryen family themselves, the Usurpers' War, and the War of the Five Kings, this inertia has become fragile; after our latest blow, it will grow even weaker. The current Iron Throne is merely the result of the Riverlands and the West barely holding on; the true Iron Throne that represents rule over the Seven Kingdoms has long been vacant."

"You just said Stannis is the legitimate king of the Seven Kingdoms, but if he truly wants to sit on the Iron Throne, he must first defeat the little king who has usurped the Baratheon seat, proving he is the true mainline of Baratheon blood."

"But when that time comes, I believe the inertia driven by the conqueror Aegon's great power can no longer be sustained; in other words, then any claim to the Iron Throne based on bloodline will be hollow, including that of the dragon queen eyeing Westeros hungrily, Daenerys Targaryen."

So if the Iron Throne is a stag, then naturally whoever catches it will own it.

After finishing that long explanation, she turned to the Count of Deep Forest Fortress. "My lord, I already understand your meaning. Since you believe we still have usable goals, let's drop the matter of proclaiming kings for now and see how the southern hunters catch deer; if they're clumsy, don't blame us northerners for lacking manners."

Some of her direct subordinates laughed loudly, and Ruika saw that some northern noble knights also showed proud expressions, some of the younger ones even eager to try.

Ruika took the opportunity to eat the last bite of bread.

"Miss, when would you like to hunt deer? You'll have to call me; I love hunting." Ronnal said with a grin.

He is the hunting king of Winterfell; Ruika had seen him many times when at her estate.

"That's natural. You've only hunted northern deer, but I tell you, southern deer are fatter and taste better." she said.

"Sir Mei Yi, you've made the bread in my hand lose its fragrance." said the Count of Deep Forest Fortress. "Anyway, since we've been winning big in the south, the southerners must be nothing special. Since you hold that view, let me tell you I also want to try southern venison. But before that, I must say my news isn't finished yet."

"Hurry up and say it!" laughed the Count of Tao Ha.

The Ironborn swept along the coast of Ironborn Bay; the Earl of Seagard couldn't protect his lands, only able to hold Seagard, watching the Ironborn plunder.

"What does Youlon intend to do? Can the coast of Seagard still be squeezed for profit?"

"Isn't Earl Merryweather looking for us to help him fight pirates?"

The Ironborn penetrated inland, following the riverways at the river mouths, and sacked their timber yards. Sir Mei Yi, good shipbuilding timber needs to be air-dried in the timber yards; the wood stored at the Count's place may have been cut decades ago." explained the Count of Deep Forest Fortress.

"Are the losses great?" asked the Earl of Snow City.

The Count of Deep Forest Castle glanced at him. "The loss is great. But that's not what I want to say. Ironfolk adventurers looting 'Wood' may indicate they are still intensively building ships, naturally wanting to strengthen war preparations. Since we cannot send women to him, we can only have the western coastal lords strengthen defenses."

"Hmm, not bad. Let's inform them when we return to Bēnliú City." She made the decision instantly.

"I heard someone gave me the nickname 'Sea Monster Slayer'? Haha, Seien and his older sister are at most just little sea monsters." She again touched the sword hilt, "I originally wanted to return to the northern border via the King's Road, but since that's the case, let's just go back the same way; they'd better act swiftly, otherwise don't blame me for being impolite."

When they finally began discussing returning to the northern border and how to arrange for the rescued captives to return to their own homelands, a soldier burst in from outside. He had a face full of black beard, wore a black cloak, underneath which hid shiny silver armor (obviously captured), making him look extremely awkward. He was seen holding a scroll of parchment, stopping beside the table, his eyes darting between the Count of Deep Forest Castle and the wolf woman, apparently unsure which adult to give the parchment to.

"Ah, Count, one thing does not trouble two masters; please look at the parchment again to see what information it says!" Rica knew she was growing impatient with the meeting; it had already taken too long.

The Count of Deep Forest Castle had no choice but to take the parchment and quickly unfold it to read. Most people were waiting for him to speak, while Willis had already started tearing open the third piece of bread.

"It's about Will and Charles. They have already returned to Bēnliú City, rescuing Duke Edmundo, but Charles may not be so handsome anymore; the letter says he got a slash on his face."

"The letter looks big, but it doesn't say how the rescue was done, right?" Ronald asked.

"It's quite simple. After the Frey army retreated, the two led cavalry units to harass and attack. After the Frey army collapsed, they began pursuing a group of Frey soldiers who had taken Duke Edmundo, and after chasing them for dozens of days in the mountains and forests, they exchanged for Duke Edmundo. In the mountains and forests, they also encountered members of the Brotherhood Without Banners. Fortunately, no conflict occurred, but the Brotherhood Without Banners hanged the black warden they had released."

He glanced up at the wolf woman, then sighed, "Sir Meyi, you really shouldn't have given the letter to me."

The wolf woman dubiously took the letter from his hand. After reading it, she sat back down in the chair, one hand gripping her sword, the other looking at the parchment, and let out a long sigh.

Rica had never seen such an expression before.