Unable to retort, the woman fell silent again. Arthur's logic, on the land of Westeros, was cold, realistic, and irrefutable.
She looked at the young man before her; he was so young, yet he had already melded with the filth of Westeros.
After a long while, she lowered her head and whispered, "I understand."
A few days later, the construction of the New Military Fort was officially put on the agenda.
In the council hall, a huge map of the territory was spread across the long table. This map was drawn by Evelyn, detailing treacherous terrain, High Mountains, rivers, and forests. He truly couldn't imagine how this woman had managed to draw it.
In Arthur's view, this map alone made her value unquestionable. If her troubles weren't too great, he might be able to resolve them for her.
Arthur's core courtiers gathered around the table: Lucien and Hakon, the two officers; Barna, the treasurer; and Olivier, the scribe, and Evelyn, the handmaiden.
"I've chosen these locations for the military forts," Arthur said, his finger pointing to several spots on the map.
Everyone leaned in. The circled areas on the map were almost all backed by the incredibly steep and treacherous Brightmoon Mountains and three rivers flowing down from the High Mountain. The front faced a vast, open plain with flat terrain and seemingly fertile soil. Evelyn's markings indicated that the flat areas were all forests, suitable for cultivation, and the soil was fertile.
"Here, backed by the Brightmoon Mountains, nothing is more secure than a natural barrier. And the front on all four sides consists of cultivated land and forests," Arthur explained to everyone. "When war comes, we can harvest grain, and even if we can't hold it, we can retreat into the High Mountain."
"And the other military forts can provide support at any time through secret passages from within the High Mountain."
Evelyn's blue eyes looked at Arthur with a strange, perplexed expression. She felt that his choice of location wasn't for dealing with bandits, but rather for confronting a large army. He hadn't placed the military forts around the main King's Road, which would have been beneficial for commercial development and collecting tolls.
Instead, he placed the military forts in remote, strategic areas right next to the Brightmoon Mountains, far from passing crowds, as if preparing for battle against a large army, ready to retreat into the High Mountain at any sign of defeat.
Arthur looked at the confused Evelyn and said, though it felt a bit strange to explain to his "handmaiden":
"Here, there's water, stone, trees, cultivated land, and natural barriers. Nothing is more formidable than nature's masterpiece."
"It allows for direct construction using local materials, eliminating transportation costs and wasted time."
"Simply put, we'll dig directly into the mountain! And then live inside the mountain!"
This was something he had learned and borrowed from the Dwarves, though this group certainly wouldn't know. But then he heard something that quite surprised him.
"Just like the Reynes family's mines," Evelyn whispered.
"Yes," Arthur looked at her, thought for a moment, and realized it was true. Then he slowly said, "But it will be more complete than theirs."
Arthur thought back to his memories. The Reynes family were practically the Dwarves of Westeros, living underground in mines. Unfortunately, they hadn't built a proper water system and were all drowned by Tywin Lannister.
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