Although Duchess Allerie Hightower did not appear much in the book, Linde was deeply impressed by her when he read it.
This Duchess had gotten along with a sharp-tongued mother-in-law like the Thorn Queen for decades, yet her personality was not affected at all, which showed how incredibly resilient her mindset and character were.
The Hightower Family's strength in The Reach was absolutely top-tier; their bloodline was not only the oldest in The Reach but also one of the oldest in all of Westeros. As early as the First Men, their family had already flourished in this land, and more or less, all top-tier noble lords in The Reach had some Hightower blood.
The Thorn Queen's decision to have Duke Mace marry a Hightower lady was undoubtedly one of the most correct decisions she ever made. It was precisely because of this marriage alliance with the Hightower Family that some restless lords in The Reach, such as House Florentine, had to suppress their ambitions.
"Linde? You are Bear Hunter Lind!" Loras immediately looked at Linde with a surprised expression upon hearing the Duchess's address to Linde.
"Loras, you should address him as Ser Linde," the Duchess said, reaching out and patting Loras's head.
"I'm sorry, Ser Linde," Loras quickly apologized.
"It's fine," Linde said indifferently.
At this moment, Fotimo walked out from the inner city. He was surprised to see so many people gathered in the garden pavilion where Linde was. After clearly seeing the Duchess standing beside Linde, he immediately stepped forward to greet her.
"Lord Fotimo, weren't you supposed to take Ser Linde to see the Duke? Why did you leave Ser Linde alone here?" the Duchess asked with a hint of doubt.
Fotimo immediately explained the situation, then said to Linde, "The Duke felt that since it wasn't convenient to meet, it was fine. He has already arranged a place for you to stay. I'll take you there now. Also, the reason you were temporarily recalled is for a guard mission. I'll tell you the details on the way."
Upon hearing Fotimo's words, Linde felt no dissatisfaction. For him, not meeting Duke Mace was fine; at least he wouldn't have to deal with the group of jealous nobles around Duke Mace.
However, the Duchess beside him frowned, seemingly very displeased with her husband's treatment of Linde. But she did not directly refute the Duke's decision here. Instead, she asked Fotimo, "Where has the Duke arranged for Ser Linde to stay?"
"In the guard barracks outside the city," Fotimo replied.
The Duchess frowned again, then thought for a moment and said, "I remember the Golden Rose Garden outside the city seems to have been vacant all this time. Ser Linde can stay there for now!"
"But..." Fotimo said with some difficulty.
"If anyone asks, just say it was my decision," the Duchess said, her tone slightly firmer. Then she turned to her head maid and said, "Send someone to accompany Ser Linde to the Golden Rose Garden, and tell the people there not to neglect Ser Linde." After speaking, she smiled at Linde, "Ser Linde, I hope you enjoy your stay at the Golden Rose Garden. I have other matters to attend to, so I must excuse myself."
With that, she took a child by each hand and left the pavilion, leading a group of people back the way they came.
Watching the Duchess leave, Fotimo said with considerable envy, "You're really lucky, you fellow, to be able to stay at the Golden Rose Garden."
"Is the Golden Rose Garden very special?" Linde asked, puzzled.
Fotimo gave a brief introduction, saying, "That's an estate specially built by House Tyrell for summer retreats."
At this moment, a woman dressed as a maid hurried over, bowed to both of them, and stated that she was instructed by the Duchess to lead Linde to the Golden Rose Garden.
Fotimo told the maid to wait, then found a guard from the outer city wall guardhouse and called Jon, who was waiting there. Then, the group left through the East Gate, got a few horses from the gate guards, and rode towards the Golden Rose Garden.
Perhaps because it was already nearing evening, there were few people on the road to the Golden Rose Garden. Only some farmers and farmwomen could be seen in the fields and orchards on both sides.
By the time the group arrived at the Golden Rose Garden, it was already evening, and this was precisely when the Golden Rose Garden displayed its beauty. The evening sun shone upon the golden rose bushes inside and outside the estate, and the reflected light made every rose shimmer as if cast from gold.
The Golden Rose Garden was built at the foot of a small hill outside Highgarden. This small hill had several springs, which, guided by irrigation channels, converged to form a small stream. The stream then flowed into an artificial lake dug at the foot of the hill, and the core estate of the Golden Rose Garden was situated beside this artificial lake.
Unlike the grandeur and luxury displayed by Highgarden, a marble castle, the all-wooden Golden Rose Garden appeared somewhat simple, without excessive decoration or ornate carvings. All it had were naturally growing gardens and simply furnished rooms. Whether a noble lord of high status or a humble beggar, living here would not feel too uncomfortable.
The Duchess arranged Linde's residence in the Golden Rose Garden not in the Torch Tower, where guests stayed, but in Mirror Lake Hall, specifically for important vassals. This showed that in the Duchess's heart, Linde was already considered a key family minister.
After the maid left, Linde had the servants of the Golden Rose Garden arrange fresh meat for Glory, then unfastened the weapons and armor from his body and placed them on the armor stand and weapon rack in the room.
"These two Knight's Greatswords of yours..." Fotimo quickly noticed that Linde's swords were somewhat unusual. He then gestured to Linde, asking if he could pick them up and look.
Linde nodded, then reminded him, "These two swords are a bit special. Be careful when you pick them up."
Although Fotimo didn't know what was special about them, he still took Linde's warning to heart. And when he grasped the hilt of one of the swords, he immediately felt a bone-chilling coldness transmit from his palm. His entire arm instantly felt as if it were frozen, almost losing all sensation.
This sudden change also made him release his hand involuntarily. And at the moment of release, the coldness vanished, but a bone-chilling coldness still lingered in his arm.
Fotimo immediately rolled up his sleeve, saw signs of frostbite on the hairs of his arm, and asked with a shocked expression, "What's going on?"
"My Lord, this is a sword with magical power," Jon, on the way here, had also been frozen by the Lost Knight's Greatsword out of curiosity. Now seeing Fotimo also suffer a bit, his mood immediately brightened considerably.
"A sword with magical power?" Fotimo was stunned, not quite understanding for a moment.
Linde, observing Fotimo's reaction after holding the sword, also realized that the Dragon Rune magic within the Lost Knight's Greatsword produced completely different effects on different people. For example, Nameria only felt a slight chill when she touched the Greatsword, and could even pick it up and swing it. However, when Fotimo and Jon touched the Greatsword, their entire arms were frozen by the coldness generated by the Dragon Rune. If they hadn't pulled away in time, their entire arms might have truly turned to ice.
At this moment, Fotimo's arm also returned to normal. He looked at the Lost Knight's Greatsword with lingering fear, his curiosity not only undiminished but greatly intensified. He really wanted to know what the blade of the Greatsword inside the scabbard looked like.
Linde could read Fotimo's thoughts. He didn't say much, just drew one of the Lost Knight's Greatswords and placed it in front of Fotimo.
"Is this Valyrian steel?" Fotimo recognized the material of the sword from its distinctive pattern at a glance, which made him feel incredibly unbelievable.
As a swordmaster with family heritage, he knew very well what a Valyrian steel sword meant to any warrior and knight. Not to mention ordinary warriors and knights, even noble lords hoped to obtain a Valyrian steel sword in their lifetime.
For example, successive Dukes of House Tyrell had been searching for ownerless Valyrian steel swords all over the world, but there had been no news to this day.
However, Linde, right before him, had a Knight's Greatsword made of Valyrian steel, which left Fotimo speechless for a moment.
At this point, he suddenly thought of something else and pointed to the other Lost Knight's Greatsword, asking, "That one wouldn't happen to be made of Valyrian steel as well, would it?"
"Yes, My Lord," Linde nodded.
Upon confirmation, Fotimo's mind went completely blank. He had the illusion that he might be dreaming right now.
"You found Valyria's treasure?" This was the only answer Fotimo could think of at the moment.
"No," Linde shook his head and said, "These two Knight's Greatswords and this set of armor were all given to me by a friend."
Fotimo felt that Linde's answer sounded incredibly false. In the Seven Kingdoms, even a wealthy great lord like Westron Protector Tywin would not casually give away a Valyrian steel sword. Linde seemed to be casually brushing off his question.
However, contrary to his rational judgment, Fotimo's intuition told him that what Linde said might actually be true, that these could indeed all be gifts from a friend.
Fotimo couldn't help but say enviously, "Why don't you introduce your friend to me?"
Linde shook his head and said, "You probably wouldn't like my friend. No, I should say you definitely wouldn't like my friend. You two are completely different kinds of people."
Seeing Linde say this, Fotimo didn't press further. His gaze returned to the Knight's Greatsword, and he asked what the hilt was made of.
Upon hearing it was dragon bone, he fell silent again. Although the shock this time was not as great as before, it still gave him the illusion of being hit by Linde with a large bag of golden dragons.
After taking a deep breath to calm his somewhat chaotic emotions, Fotimo gestured for Linde to put the sword away and back on the rack. He felt this wasn't enough, so he had Jon find a cloth to cover the sword, thoroughly implementing the out of sight, out of mind principle.
After calming down, Fotimo said with a serious expression, "Try not to let anyone know you have two Valyrian steel swords, otherwise there will be trouble."
"It's fine, I'm not afraid of trouble now," Linde said with a smile.
Fotimo was startled by Linde's confidence and did not continue to persuade him, instead returning to the main topic.
He didn't let Jon leave, but spoke in front of him, "Previously, the Duke intended to have you bring Glory to the Hall of Affairs, but some people prevented it. Although the reason they gave was that Glory was dangerous and the Duke shouldn't be put at risk, which isn't wrong, they were actually jealous of you, jealous that you would soon become a landed knight."
Linde chuckled, self-deprecatingly, "I didn't expect my popularity to be so bad. I haven't even arrived in Highgarden yet, and I've already made a bunch of enemies here."
"Enemies? You're thinking a bit too highly of yourself right now. Your achievements in Tengshi Town have inflated your confidence quite a bit. In their eyes, you're not an enemy, just a slightly annoying object," Fotimo said with a hint of sarcasm. "They're just incidentally suppressing you; they won't specifically spend effort to plot against you. You're not yet qualified to sit beside them and play their games."
"Your words are quite hurtful," Linde said, though his expression showed no abnormality, clearly not taking Fotimo's sarcasm to heart.
Fotimo rolled his eyes at Linde and continued, "The main reason you were summoned from Tengshi Town to Highgarden this time is for Lord Velas's trip to Dorne in a few days. You will serve as Lord Velas's guard, protecting his safety along the way."
"Is it the martial arts tournament in Godgrace?" Linde confirmed.
Fotimo was startled and asked, "How did you know?"
Linde replied, "A friend guessed it on the way here."
"You have many friends indeed," Fotimo looked at Linde with a slightly meaningful gaze and continued, "Originally, this had nothing to do with you. I was responsible for Lord Velas's safety, and knights from some lords in The Reach would also accompany him. These knights are all renowned strongmen in various martial arts tournaments in The Reach. However, your title as the Seven Kingdoms' First Swordsman made some people unhappy, and coupled with the smooth progress of your affairs in Tengshi Town, some worried that you would quickly complete the bandit suppression mission and receive the reward. So, they recommended you as the captain of the guard, to temporarily halt your bandit suppression mission."
Upon hearing Fotimo's words, Linde couldn't help but smile, because those who were jealous of him had no idea that what he most wanted was to extend the duration of the bandit suppression mission. Only if the time was long enough could he gain enough benefits from it and build a more stable foundation.
Although their actions were meant to disgust him, the outcome was actually a help, so Linde naturally wouldn't feel angry.
Fotimo also reminded him, "There's one more thing I need to remind you: on the way to Dorne, you might encounter provocations from accompanying knights. No matter how angry you get, do not strike with heavy blows when you act, because the knights accompanying this time are from various lords' retinues, and some might even be heirs to certain nobles and lords, unlike the House Tyrell sworn knights before."
Linde frowned upon hearing this, a troubled expression on his face.
Fotimo then suddenly hinted, "Lord Velas's trip to Godgrace this time is mainly for peace talks with Dorne. Many people in The Reach oppose this, and many in Dorne also oppose it, so there will definitely be some attacks and assassinations along the way. Casualties are quite normal."
"I understand, My Lord," Linde said with a smile.
"I didn't say anything, what do you understand?" Fotimo rolled his eyes at Linde again, saying.
-------------------------------
I've already posted the newest chapters on Patreon!
If you enjoy this story, come check them out and support me there too.
Here's the link: [patreon.com/TripleCrown07]
Thank you so much for your continued support!