Chapter 43

Without Wo Dun and Qie Luo by his side, the Duke had no choice but to promote Lai Mude to be his own guard captain, as long as he remembers not to mention in front of him that his grandfather served as a guard for the Duke's grandfather. Besides Lai Mude, he also transferred two new members from his own guard, one named Ben Neide, the other named Ai Er Meng.

Ben Neide looks fierce and brutal, with a head of withered blackish-brown hair, appearing to be a ruthless and aggressive soldier, but when placed in the fields he would also be a diligent farmer; Ai Er Meng is a young man who looks very energetic, but in front of the Duke he strives to appear calm.

They all know the rules; when it's not their turn to speak, they had best stay silent.

After the Duke finished sucking blood with the valley's leeches, they showed neither surprise nor fear. The Duke knew what they were thinking; it didn't matter, as long as they stayed quiet like Walton, Qie Luo, Lai Mude, and the other guards he had walked beside.

After the leeches finished sucking blood, he indeed felt much calmer, and the anger brought on by the little finger also dissipated.

He promised the little finger Sansa Stark, and promised Gai Lue Te Ti Li Er or Gao Ting a she-wolf; if he wanted to secure Winterfell, he would find no suitable marriage partner.

Heh, this might be a big problem for someone like Ai De, but who knows what will happen in the future? After all, the south is really too far from the north, far enough that he basically need not worry about it.

He carefully plucked the newly grown hair roots from his face in front of the mirror, waited for his hair to dry, then had the maid comb his hair and put on his formal attire.

The formal attire was custom-made for him in Gulltown, using the scarlet of the Dreadfort's sigil; to distinguish it from the gold and red of the Lannisters, the Duke additionally chose a black sable cloak, which ought to have been handled by the lady, but the Duke thought he would not be inferior to his own Frey lady.

A suitable lady is hard to find.

Inside the formal attire, he also put on a front-fastened lambskin vest, inside which was fine long-sleeved mail, exactly the one Robb wore the night he died. He thought the maid had already noticed when she dressed him in the formal attire, but at least her expression did not show it.

The Duke will attend tonight's banquet hosted by the Gulltown count; the invitees include, from the allied forces' Tyrell side, Sir Gai Lue Te Ti Li Er and Sir Ma Qie Si Luo Wan, and from the Lannister side, Sir Tai Bo Te Lan Ni Si Te, Sir Qiao Zhi Ma Er Bu Lan, and Sir Ti En Lan Ni Si Te.

Next door to the annex, Huo Si Ding Fo Lei was loudly cursing Jie Sen Ge La Fu Sen Bo Jue; if my guess is right, Yi Ni Si Fo Lei was also angry but remained silent. The Duke easily understands them, for as an important part of the allied forces they had not received an invitation from the Gulltown count, naturally suffering deep humiliation.

At least the Tyrells and Lannisters are representatives of a ducal power; the Ge La Fu Sen Bo Jue, friend of the He Lun Bo Duke, would naturally not invite the subordinates of his nominal vassal Bei Xi Da Ren when the latter is absent, which accords with traditional etiquette and procedure. But the Duke will not use these reasons to comfort the two Freys, who may still think the Riverlands belong to the Frey house.

Huo Si Ding Fo Lei's anger is understandable, but he had best understand this as Ge La Fu Sen Bo Jue looking down on the Frey family that destroys guests' rights; if he is willing to think that way, perhaps he will be more eager to crush the northern rebels for the Duke.

Outside the annex, still the harbor under Gulltown, the setting sun bathed the port in a golden yellow, glittering, the docks crowded thick with all sorts of vessels, farther out on the sea drifted other solitary craft awaiting entry or exit, the Duke felt a vast and desolate aura, not the salty cold wind from the ocean but the autumn wind from the valley carrying the scent of pine needles.

What a beautiful sight.

Farther out, the white clouds on the horizon looked like giants standing up, also gilded crimson by the afterglow, the aurora clouds surged, shifting into various shapes on the skyline as if dissolving; the Duke at first actually thought they were the gradually fading and collapsing Lannisters.

He couldn't help but grin mockingly.

At that moment he glanced back at the villa; the red-robed monk on the second floor looking out noticed his gaze and gave him a mysterious smile as if seeing through everything. The Duke turned his head and, following the stone path between the mountains, wound downward as guided.

In the afternoon, the merchants hawking goods on the small town's streets had gradually departed; the roadside inns were packed close together, some already lit with night lamps, adding brightness to some dim streets. Merchants and vendors voluntarily made way for the Duke's party, waiting for them to pass.

The cavalry riding in front bore the Ge La Fu Sen family crest, which displayed a black inverted triangle with a golden-yellow burning tower inside. They were the Ge La Fu Sen household guards who had come to invite the Duke to the banquet and to guide him.

The Duke saw the merchants, peddlers, and townspeople beside him pointing and whispering at their banner; some snickered in the crowd, others murmured inaudible words to each other.

To them the flayed man banner was still somewhat novel; the Dreadfort was a useful garnish for all stories.

The street wound and twisted, clearly following the bay's arc to form a jagged building complex; the Duke passed a stretch where he thought the street had ended, but turning the corner revealed yet another street, and turning again he saw the street connecting to the next one. When the Duke supposed this would go on infinitely, the sides were no longer markets.

Going up along the mountainside in a winding fashion, one side of the road adjoined the lower commercial district, the other side a row of deep mansions resembling small castles; between these estates lay unquarried rock and trees, serving to block passage between them.

At the center of the mansions stands a small shrine of the Seven Gods. Though small, it is taller and more imposing than all the surrounding mansions; on its two sides are carved sculptures of a great maiden and an old crone, whose faces, following the shrine's doorway, gaze toward the now completely dark harbor.

Following the guards' guidance, the Duke turned onto a gentle slope and doubled back; soon he saw the former row of mansions now beneath his feet. They were now on a higher level of the original villa, but in terms of position they were farther from the count's castle.

As if sensing the Duke's puzzlement, one guard explained: 'My lord Duke, the count's mansion faces the harbor directly, divided into many levels; each level can almost reach the street, but your status differs, so we must guide you from the mountainside straight to the lord's residence. There was also a nearer route, but it would be steeper, so we took the liberty of going a bit farther.'

The Duke nodded slightly.

On this level there were still continuous villa mansions. Through the screened dense thickets, the Duke could see the merchants and maidservants living inside, with some children still curiously clinging to the iron railings, watching them pass one by one. On this level the most eye-catching was still the chapel. It is about the same size as the chapel below; the two sculptures still stand in the chapel's courtyard entrance, they are the warrior and the smith. The chapel has been whitewashed, its roof topped with seven spires thrusting into the sky; sunlight now falls on the spires, making them look entirely golden.

Going forward along the wide boulevard beside the villas, after passing countless villa estates the Duke again saw a larger chapel; its exterior still bore gigantic sculptures, though shaded by layers of trees, but one could tell without thinking that this time they were the Heavenly Father and the Holy Mother, its layout the same as the previous two.

After continuing along such a winding boulevard for a while, the Duke finally saw the count's mansion.

The count's mansion appeared as if carved from the whole mountain range, seeming to be part of the mountain itself. The uppermost layer looked like it was piled directly from stone; even on the mountaintop they still built high walls, as if guarding against enemies from the sky.

The warriors garrisoned on this wall likely must endure the loneliness of being on the mountaintop.

Inside the walls is the Ge La Fu Sen Bo Jue's stronghold, its high tower piercing the sky through the walls; one can almost certainly say this is Gulltown's tallest building, hard to imagine that at certain special times it would also light fireworks to warn and guide distant ships.

At this moment the bay had begun to darken, but sunlight could still strike that lofty tower; only then did the Duke understand why the tower in the Ge La Fu Sen crest is golden-yellow rather than the white of the Hightower house.

'My lord Duke, the count's stronghold runs through the entire mountain up and down; the topmost layer is where the count normally resides, beside the cliff there is a small sacred grove. I suspect it's certainly not as large as the northerners' sacred grove. The next layer down is where the garrison lives; they can go straight to the harbor via the castle's stairways, or patrol several layers of streets along the way. Below that is the armory and drill ground, which is noisy during the day.'

He undoubtedly knew the count's stronghold extremely well.

'The lowest layer is where the servants live. But beside them is the municipal hall, of course they are not directly connected.'

The Duke thanked him for the introduction; the few fellow knights either smiled or looked around—on the whole Westerosi continent, the count's stronghold would not be the most special, but undoubtedly it is also extremely unique.

When they approached the castle, Ge La Fu Sen Bo Jue had already opened the gate and stood outside to welcome them.

The wind at the mountaintop had already tousled his blond hair into a mess, but he didn't care, warmly welcoming their arrival. He was stocky and loud-voiced, reminding the Duke of the forest hunters on his lands.

'My lord Duke, gentlemen, the wind outside is strong; please come in quickly.' He gestured to enter. Thus the Duke handed the reins to the guard, and they, following the stable boy leading the horses, passed through the lofty city wall and entered the castle.

The interior of the castle appeared neat and spacious. Following the guidance, they entered the count's main keep.

At this moment the fireplace had roared to life, the chandelier bore lit flames for illumination, hung high above the hall emitting bright light; the top was pitch black, unknown how many ages it had endured.

The hall no longer held the outside chill. He took off that black cloak, and the Ge La Fu Sen maid quickly took it from him.

After the Duke entered the hall, the chatter and laughter ceased at once; many men and women were already waiting inside.

The count burst into loud laughter, breaking the silence, then introduced him and the others one by one, including his two brothers, Qiongen Ge La Fu Sen and Nei Si Te Ge La Fu Sen, together with their wives and children; his own lady and three sons and two daughters; officials from the harbor, including the harbor's tax officer, dispatch officer, and sea affairs chief, as well as other valley nobles.

The Duke noticed that there were not many valley nobles present here.

Including several members of the Ai Lin family, though they are not the Ai Lin of Eagle's Nest City but the Ai Lin of Gulltown; besides that, there were several knights surnamed Wei Wu De and Ke Bu Rui, as well as several viscounts of minor families sworn to Ge La Fu Sen.

'My lord Duke, don't disdain their lowly status, for they come bearing a mission.' After the introductions, the count said this with a smile, then led him to a seat.