"My apologies for the delay, Lord Tarly, Sam, Dickon."
Margaery lifted the hem of her dress and offered a graceful curtsy. Her radiant smile seemed to brighten the entire knight's hall instantly.
Samwell stole a single glance before lowering his head again.
A beauty like her was far beyond his reach.
At least for the time being.
His younger brother Dickon, however, stared blankly at this delicate rose of Highgarden and remained completely oblivious to his own rudeness.
Earl Randyll cleared his throat to snap his second son out of his trance before addressing Margaery. "May I ask when His Grace will arrive?"
Margaery wore a look of regret as she replied, "Father is feeling unwell today and cannot attend. I am truly sorry."
Earl Randyll frowned slightly. "In that case, we should reschedule."
Margaery shook her head and produced a scroll from behind her. "There is no need to reschedule. Father has already signed the Pioneering Order and entrusted me to deliver it."
"But what about the knighting ceremony?"
"I shall perform the knighting on my father's behalf."
The knight's hall fell silent.
Even the slow witted Dickon realized something was wrong, while Earl Randyll and Samwell understood immediately. Duke Mace was making excuses to avoid coming.
This was not entirely unexpected.
The Reach had been settled and developed for years, leaving almost no ownerless lands. True pioneering meant going to the barren frontiers near the borders, such as the Red Mountains.
Those were places of true poverty and danger, rife with bandits and outlaws. Leaving aside the question of value, the sheer difficulty of establishing a territory there was something few would dare challenge.
The reputation of the cowardly heir of House Tarly was no secret among the nobility of the Reach. No one believed Samwell had the qualifications or ability to settle new land.
Duke Mace obviously did not wish to grant a Pioneering Order to such a person.
If Earl Randyll had not come to plead in person, the Duke never would have agreed.
Granting the order meant Samwell would become a direct bannerman to Duke Mace. Therefore, by rights, the Duke himself should have personally knighted Samwell Tarly as a Pioneering Knight.
However, the Duke was clearly reluctant to accept Samwell as one of his knights.
Thus he feigned illness to avoid appearing and sent his daughter to perform the ceremony and deliver the order instead.
Earl Randyll could understand the hesitation of the Duke. If Mace had sent his eldest son and heir to Highgarden, Willas Tyrell, Randyll would have accepted it begrudgingly.
But Margaery...
What right did she have to knight a warrior?
This was a humiliation. Even though Randyll detested his eldest son, he found this hard to accept.
He stared coldly at Margaery and made no effort to hide his anger.
Margaery maintained the soft and innocent smile on her exquisite face, looking as if she did not understand the source of the Earl's rage.
Just as the air grew heavy and stagnant, Samwell broke the deadlock.
"In that case, I am in your care, Lady Margaery."
Samwell felt the insult, of course, but he knew the rage of the weak was meaningless.
Moreover, he had not forgotten his primary goal, which was obtaining the Pioneering Order.
He would not throw away something tangible and important for the sake of ridiculous pride.
The storms he had weathered in his past life had taught him to endure when necessary.
Margaery flashed a look of surprise at Samwell before smiling.
"Very well. Let us begin."
Earl Randyll glared at his son with a look of utter disappointment that seemed to say, You are actually willing to accept knighthood from a woman?
But since Samwell had agreed, Randyll could say nothing more.
Margaery ascended the steps at the front of the hall while Samwell knelt on one knee before them.
A beam of light shot down from the glazed skylight, enveloping the two of them and adding a touch of holiness to the impending ceremony.
Samwell drew the longsword at his waist and held it above his head with both hands.
Margaery reached out to take it, but Earl Randyll suddenly spoke.
"To knight a scion of House Tarly, one must use Heartsbane."
Clang.
Randyll drew the greatsword from his own waist and presented it to Margaery.
Heartsbane was a Valyrian steel greatsword that had been passed down through House Tarly for five hundred years. It weighed over thirty pounds. A normal man would struggle just to hold it, let alone swing it in battle.
As for a pampered noble lady, she might not even be able to lift it.
Randyll clearly intended to humiliate the Highgarden rose to vent his dissatisfaction.
Margaery did not back down in the face of this deliberate difficulty. She smiled faintly and extended her pale, slender hands.
Ding.
The tip of the sword hit the marble floor, but she gripped the hilt firmly.
She took a deep breath and summoned all her strength to lift the greatsword and rest it on Samwell's shoulder.
"The Tarly heirloom is truly extraordinary. It is no wonder the Earl is invincible on the battlefield with such a weapon."
After these words, Earl Randyll could hardly complain further. He merely grunted and took a few steps back.
Margaery looked down at the knight kneeling before her. She prepared to recite the vows but suddenly remembered something.
"By the way, Sam, do you intend to keep your family name or take a new one?"
After becoming a pioneering lord, Samwell had the right to choose a new surname to signify his separation from the House Tarly of Horn Hill.
Samwell did not answer immediately.
He kept his head down, and his body began to tremble slightly.
Margaery assumed the weight of the greatsword was making him uncomfortable, so she adjusted her grip to take back some of the weight.
In reality, Samwell was not trembling from the pressure of the blade. He was shaking with excitement.
He saw a block of text!
These characters, which did not belong to this world, had appeared in the bottom right corner of his vision once the ceremony began. He had to focus hard to see them clearly:
Samwell Tarly
Rank: Pioneering Knight
Territory: None
Vassals: None
Strength: 1.08
Agility: 0.52
Spirit: 1.12
What was this?
Was it an attribute panel?
Wild joy filled Samwell's heart.
This joy crashed down like a boulder, shattering the composure he had struggled to maintain since his transmigration.
In this moment, the long suppressed anger, fear, humiliation, and worry boiled over in his chest. It brewed into an indescribable emotion that felt ready to erupt.
Before this, he had merely hoped to use his knowledge of the plot to navigate between the major powers or cling to a strong ally for safety. But now, a wild ambition rose within him.
It was an ambition for that twisted, ugly Iron Throne, forged from a thousand sharp swords and covered in spikes.
"I have chosen a new name." Samwell raised his head. His gaze traveled up the cold steel of the greatsword to meet the deer like brown eyes of Margaery. He spoke with a clear voice.
"Caesar! From this day forth, I am Samwell Caesar!"
Margaery paused.
For a brief second, she thought she saw dancing flames in the eyes of the man before her.
She quickly regained her composure. Confirming that there was no precedent for this family name, she smiled at Samwell and adopted a solemn tone.
"I, Margaery Tyrell, daughter of Mace Tyrell, in the name of the Warden of the South and Lord Paramount of the Mander and Highgarden, knight you, Samwell Caesar, as a Pioneering Knight.
All ownerless lands in the Reach are yours to settle. All lordless people are yours to protect. May the Father grant you justice. May the Mother grant you mercy. May the Warrior grant you courage. May the Crone grant you wisdom. May the Stranger grant you the strength to defeat all enemies!"
"I, Samwell Caesar, in the sight of the Seven and by the spirit of the sacred ancestor Garth Greenhand, pledge my loyalty to the great Duke Mace! From this day forth, your will shall be my conviction, and the direction of your sword shall be my path! I shall guard this honor with my life!"
…..
Author Note
Hi guys! Thank you for reading.
I wanted to let you know that I'll be releasing bonus chapters for Power Stones. Here are the goals:
15 Power Stones: 1 Bonus Chapters
30 Power Stones: 1 Bonus Chapters
50 Power Stones: 1 Bonus Chapters
75 Power Stones: 2 Bonus Chapters
100 Power Stones: 2 Bonus Chapters
Thanks for the support!