Chapter 80: The Lord of the North.
Artos sighs and smiled "Well Lord Valen, I am Artos Stark of Winterfell. Younger brother to Lord Eddard Stark, He is the Warden of the North. And Lord Of Winterfell."
Lord Valen stared at Artos for a long moment after the last words had left his mouth. He shocked and with no words to spoke. Too shock to speak anything.
The chamber had gone still in that peculiar way rooms did when a man said something too large to be ignored.
Valen's expression shifted slowly, first into disbelief, then into something more guarded.
"You do not say that lightly, " he said at last.
Artos met his gaze without a flicker. "No. I do not. I am from North. I know what it means and its consequences for lying about this."
Valen leaned back a fraction, studying him as though Artos had suddenly become a different kind of man in the span of a single breath. "Winterfell," he repeated, "Stark. Aren't they were the ancient Kings , well before Targaryens came "
"Aye, We are the Lord Paramounts of the North."
The older lord is silent again. He is not foolish enough to dismiss the name Stark outright, not in the presence of a man who stood so calmly beneath it. But he was not ready to swallow it whole either. Braavos had taught him that titles could be borrowed, inflated, or hidden beneath enough honesty to sound real. He had seen too many men dress themselves in importance and call it inheritance.
"But in the you are a younger brother of the Lord. Not saying you aren't important in the North. But tittle will help improving the reputation of Valens and Seraphine not a younger brother." Lord Valen said.
Artos shook his head but he understood the politics behind it enough " Well lucky for you then I also happened to receive a tittle recently, Lord of Sea Dragon Point. "
"You expect me to believe that you are not only the brother of the Warden of the North, but also a lord in your own right?"
Artos's mouth twitched once, though there was no humor in it. "I expect you to believe what I have told you. It is the truth. Although it's newly built but is brimming with potential especially with My trades and contracts and hopefully with you we could penetrate the Westoros markets like never before."
So he watched Artos closely.
And Artos, knowing this, did not move.
"I had you pegged for a capable sellsword," Valen said slowly. "A dangerous , terrifying and smart one, but still a sellsword. This is a very different matter."
Artos gave a single nod. " Indeed It is."
Valen's tone sharpened slightly. "Why did you not say this before? Why are you even here then"
Artos a bit awkward and reluctant now "I uhmm Had some differences with my brother and I left my home on my own accord."
That answer made the lord still for a heartbeat.
"But don't worry, my brother is one who gave me the tittle of Lord. So you don't need to worry about that." Artos explained Fully.
Lord Valen shook his head at the complications of the matters. " So with you as a Lord marrying my daughter would stop the rumours about her and would stop attacks against her reputation."
Artos "Aye , but that would be wasteful in my opinion Lord Valen, it would only stop the attacks but not recover any reputation for either Valens or Seraphine herself."
Lord Valen now silent and is waiting for Artos to continue and Artos did.
Artos continued, steady and plain. "I can protect your merchants, your routes, your people. I can for now. But we can only win by attacking not defending ourselves. Atleast that's what I believe in."
He let the silence settle before going on.
" You asked me if why my men would work without caring about gold of your enemies. This is Not because I have hired men But because I am not some passing commander looking for coin and the next contract I am a lord and I have warriors that followed me to death. I have a name that carries weight in the North. I have the backing of House Stark. And I have a place of my own now at Dragon Sea Point. "
Valen looked at him hard. "That is meant to reassure me?"
"It should. Though it has little push in Essos but we don't need push we need loyal men who could fight and I have those men."
The corner of Valen's mouth twitched, though whether it was amusement or suspicion was not yet clear.
That almost drew a laugh out of Valen, though he stopped himself before it fully formed. He sat forward again, fingers steepled.
"And your brother?" he asked. "Eddard Stark."
Artos nodded once. "Lord of Winterfell."
Valen's expression remained controlled, but the weight of the name was beginning to settle into him. , the Starks were old, hard, and respected.
"So," Valen said slowly, "you are not simply asking to marry my daughter. You are presenting yourself as a man who can stand beside her with power behind him."
Artos answered without hesitation. "Aye."
"And if I refuse?"
"Then I still remain the man who can keep her house alive when others would see it bled dry and I don't think you could really make that decision. One thing I know is that you love your daughter more than you love your House."
That was the kind of answer Valen disliked because it carried truth that he wanted no one to know.
For a while, neither man moved.
Then Valen gave a slow breath and turned back. "I will not pretend this does not alter how I see you."
Artos laughed "It's alright really. I don't mind. I am still the man you think just with a tittle."
The blunt answer made Valen huff once through his nose.
"That is a progress, i guess" Artos muttered
Valen looked at him, and this time he did allow the faintest trace of dry amusement into his voice. "You are a maddening man."
That earned a real flicker now, though it passed too quickly to be called a smile.
Valen returned to his seat, though his posture remained rigid with thought. "There will be more to discuss," he said. "If you are truly who you say you are, then this affects everything. The city will respond differently. My enemies will respond differently. Although they won't care. The city has too much pride for thier own Good."
Artos nodded. "I know that's why I don't like it and used to remain on more rough areas and battlefield."
"And if you are lying…"
Artos interrupted calmly, "Then I have made a very poor choice by standing in your house and offering to protect it. A very poor reputation to the man whose daughter i intend to marry."
That drew another sharp look, but not an angry one.
Valen studied him for a long moment, then said, "No. I do not think you are lying."
The words came reluctantly, but they came.
Artos gave the smallest incline of his head.
Valen's gaze shifted, thoughtful now rather than skeptical. "This will make Seraphine's position more delicate, not less."
Valen was quiet after that, and the silence was no longer hostile.
Trust me when I say this is a build up to a big thing. Ask the Patreon members they seen a glimpse of it. Just wait till Chapter 82. Truly excited for the thing to come. Basically made Essos arc for this thing. Wish me luck so I can really give you what I want and what you would love in my opinion. Ready yourself for next week. Thank you brothers for keeping up with the story even when it is in the lows with the bad writing and grammatical errors , to be honest very less updates, with not my 100%(sorry for that)
We are gonna rise back
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