Lyanna's pupils widened dramatically. She stared at Glyn's calm eyes for a moment, then shifted her gaze to Surana.
Surana seemed to understand Lyanna's concern and responded with a gentle smile and a nod.
Steward Herschel also stepped forward. "Lady Lyanna, please don't worry too much. The injustice you have suffered—our lord will demand redress for you. Anyone who harmed you will pay the price."
Only then did Lyanna give a clear answer. "Glyn, thank you. I have never hated anyone this much before. I'm sure of it—because I refused to agree to a divorce, I could feel that Woshor had murderous intent toward me. Otherwise, I would never have fled in such haste. If possible… please kill him."
As she spoke, Lyanna still seemed uneasy. "But if he is killed, will it cause trouble for the family? After all, the nobles of the Vale have always been hostile toward us."
Glyn lightly patted the back of Lyanna's hand and sat back down in his chair. "If we remain indifferent, they will only mock House Crabb as weak. Everyone understands this—House Crabb is a noble house, and it will certainly take revenge."
He let out a soft, mocking laugh and continued, "Someone may think the Crabb family would do no more than lodge a complaint with the Red Keep. A weak house not favored by the Hand of the King—at most, the Red Keep would force Woshor to pay some gold dragons to appease the nobles' delicate feelings, and that would be the end of it."
"Aren't we supposed to be half-wildling nobles? Perfect. That way, we can prove they're right. When a lady of our house is wronged outside our lands, we lose our temper. Even from far away, it doesn't stop us from going over and wiping out an entire household. Very wildling indeed."
Lyanna couldn't help crying out softly, "Wouldn't that cause too great an impact? Aside from the maid I brought with me, there isn't a single person there I like. But… would Jon Arryn, that old fox, come after us?"
"At that point," Glyn replied calmly, "it will depend on the methods of our noble queen."
On the surface, the matter could be summarized simply: a noble lady married down to a merchant, suffered humiliation after marriage, and her family took revenge in anger against the merchant's household.
The retaliation might have been excessive, but rationally speaking, it was not entirely beyond understanding.
After all, on the continent of Westeros, a noble's honor is inviolable.
From Cersei's perspective, the scale of Glyn's revenge was far gentler than her father Tywin Lannister's "Rains of Castamere."
Glyn was merely going with the flow, stirring up a small incident or two. That would only make Queen Cersei feel more at ease about House Crabb's initiative in aligning itself with her.
In his heart, Glyn had already planned it out carefully. The people he sent to carry out the deed would never reveal their connection to House Crabb, nor would they leave behind any obvious evidence.
Afterward, those who understood the truth would know it was retaliation from House Crabb. But as long as there was no clear proof, Queen Cersei could easily suppress any attempts at accountability within the Red Keep—without undermining her authority or fairness as queen.
King Robert could be ignored for the moment. In his eyes, to be disturbed over such trivial matters while indulging in wine and pleasure would only earn one a smashed skull from a wine jug.
Thinking this far, Glyn—now back in his study—tapped his fingers lightly on the tabletop, his brow knitting slightly.
By the customs of Westeros, carrying out revenge in secret—though fierce enough—might still invite ridicule. People might sneer that House Crabb did not even dare to raise its banners, calling them cowardly and saying it harmed their honor.
The rules of the game here sometimes gave Glyn a real headache.
After a while, his frown eased. He could simply learn from Tywin Lannister.
Glyn personally selected a group of men from the Crabb troops, then arranged for several people from the territory with beautiful singing voices to travel with them.
–
After having lunch with Lyanna, Glyn was still extremely busy.
After discussions with Steward Herschel and Housekeeper Surana, he arranged for Surana's eldest son, Leyton, to depart first for King's Landing with part of the group.
Acting as a reserve steward, Leyton's task was to purchase an estate outside King's Landing.
Herschel had already asked traveling merchants about prices in advance. Estates outside King's Landing generally cost between 80 and 200 gold dragons.
The cash-strapped Lord Glyn endured the pain and allocated 300 gold dragons to Leyton.
Glyn's core instruction was that the estate should be as close to King's Landing as possible, and as large as possible. With limited gold dragons, the pressure on Leyton would be considerable.
The future "Crabb Estate" outside King's Landing was intended for Glyn to station troops.
From the memories of his original body, he had never left his territory. Glyn did not know how many guards an estate outside King's Landing could normally keep, or what number would avoid triggering the Red Keep's sensitivities.
In Glyn's view, within the limits of what the Red Keep could tolerate, the more troops stationed at the estate, the better. That would greatly increase his sense of security in King's Landing.
–
Mermaid Harbor—clear skies and gentle winds.
Glyn rode his horse, leading his guards as he inspected the area.
With the addition of more than two hundred free prisoner laborers, the "Phase One" construction of Mermaid Harbor was basically complete, and it already possessed the basic functions of a port.
Phase One was designed to get Mermaid Harbor operational as quickly as possible. Wood was used as the main construction material, making it a transitional phase.
Phase Two would last about half a year. Stone would be the primary material, and all kinds of shops from Phase One would be replicated on the other side. Once completed, Phase Two would directly replace the functions of the Phase One buildings.
Next would come Phase Three.
Phase Three had two main tasks, planned on a yearly timeline.
The first task was to add new port facilities according to actual needs, continuing to expand and improve Mermaid Harbor.
The second task was to beautify the completed buildings, from the exterior to the interior, with an emphasis on refined carvings.
Glyn placed great importance on the defensive strength of Mermaid Harbor. He did not want all the hard work poured into the harbor to be destroyed by a few pirate raids.
Strong defenses would also make Mermaid Harbor more attractive to visitors.
The garrison currently responsible for guarding Mermaid Harbor consisted of just over a hundred men, mostly former villagers from the old fishing village, trained and commanded by two veteran soldiers selected from the Crabb troops.
Glyn also did not neglect sanitation management.
He did not want the charming Mermaid Harbor to reek everywhere. Dedicated personnel had already been assigned to oversee public hygiene management.
Standing by the sea and gazing at the endless blue, Glyn had no mood to enjoy the view.
The Crabb long-range ballistae had not yet been completed, and Mermaid Harbor still lacked shore-based long-range defensive weapons against attacks from the sea.
At present, the maritime defenses consisted only of a few small, modified fishing boats that had belonged to the old fishing village.
Far-sea combat was obviously impossible. With just a few small fishing boats, even slightly rough waves could capsize them, and bad weather alone was enough to keep them in port.
As for large warships capable of ocean voyages, Glyn's territory did not have the technology to build them.
Buying them from outside was out of the question as well—prices starting at a thousand gold dragons immediately discouraged the poor Lord Glyn.
Glyn had no choice but to temporarily abandon his dream of becoming a sea lord, deciding that for now he would simply pay honestly and hitch rides on merchant ships when going to sea.
(End of Chapter)
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Powerstone Goal = 50 for 1 Bonus Chapter.