At this point, the Golden Tooth had only one thousand soldiers and two thousand newly conscripted miner recruits. This was already dangerously close to the minimum needed to defend the castle safely.
Lady Alysanne Lefford had even begged Daven repeatedly not to send any more soldiers away.
Daven assured her that he would increase patrols at night and personally inspect the walls and outposts, which finally calmed her down.
That afternoon, true to his word, Daven inspected the ramparts of the Golden Tooth while observing Jon's encampment in the distance. A defending officer gave him a reconnaissance report.
"My lord, there is even less cooking smoke from the enemy camp today than yesterday. They must have moved another portion of their troops away last night." The officer looked to be nearing fifty and appeared quite experienced.
Daven noted the officer's cloak—golden pillars on a blue field—indicating he was from a branch of House Lefford. After all, anyone serving as an officer in Westeros wouldn't be of common birth.
Following him was a young man of seventeen or eighteen. From their similar features, they were undoubtedly father and son.
"So, how many men do you think are left in that bastard's camp?"
"Ser, I believe no more than five thousand! And judging by the banners, it's basically just his own troops left."
Daven nodded, feeling much relieved.
He looked at the Lefford beside him and thought that if this man were to guard or even inherit the Golden Tooth, the pressure on Casterly Rock would be greatly reduced.
At least he wouldn't be pestered to leave soldiers behind.
Why not? They're all Leffords anyway, Daven thought. Just then, the Golden Tooth's maester rushed over, nearly tripping on his grey robes because he was walking so fast.
"Ser!"
The maester arrived in front of Daven and solemnly handed him a letter.
Daven glanced at it and saw the golden tube. His stomach felt like it had been filled with ice water. The previous letters from Casterly Rock had all been requests for troops. He hoped this one would contain something else.
Daven took a deep breath to calm himself, opened the tube, and his eyes widened.
In the short message, the words "Iron Islands" stood out glaringly.
The letter stated that the Ironborn were raiding the area around the Crag, with over three hundred longships spotted. Not only had nearby Banefort sent troops to help, but Tywin was also ordering the Golden Tooth to send as many soldiers as possible.
Seven Hells, those damned pirates! After confirming the order, Daven crumpled the letter in his hand. It was Tywin's command; he had no choice.
Daven looked down at the enemy camp. It should be mealtime, yet there was very little smoke rising. There definitely weren't five thousand men down there. This finally made up Daven's mind.
"Ser Daven? Why are you moving troops away again?" Early the next morning, Lady Lefford received the bad news almost as soon as she opened her eyes. She had her maid help her with a simple wash and then rushed to Daven's side.
"Ser Daven, we only have five hundred soldiers and a thousand miners still in training left. That is not enough no matter how you look at it."
Facing Lefford's worry, Daven said helplessly, "My lady, if our enemy still numbered over twenty thousand, then it certainly wouldn't be enough. But now our enemy numbers less than three thousand—" Daven lied and continued, "Most of them are exhausted Riverlands soldiers. Trust me, even with the remaining soldiers, I can hold the Golden Tooth for you and for the Westerlands."
Daven had to tell Lady Lefford about the Ironborn, explaining that if the Ironborn ran rampant, the Golden Tooth would face enemies from both front and back, making the situation even worse.
Then Daven remembered "Tywin's" instructions—when necessary, get closer to Lady Lefford.
As a man, how could Daven not understand Tywin's meaning? After a moment's thought, he said, "Rest assured, my lady. I will strengthen the patrols around your keep tonight."
Hearing Daven say this, Lady Lefford breathed a sigh of relief. "Then... I will have the children sleep early tonight."
---
Late at night, Daven lay in Lady Lefford's bed. On the wall hung a portrait of Lady Lefford and her late husband.
The family of four looked particularly warm and loving.
When Daven saw the painting on the wall, he felt as if her husband, Leo Lefford, was watching him. It made him uncomfortable, so he looked away at Lady Lefford beside him.
She was sleeping soundly against his arm, sucking her thumb like a baby.
Daven adjusted his sleeping position, trying to fall back asleep, but he couldn't. Something felt wrong.
Especially that pile of orders from Tywin recently. It made him feel as if someone else was in charge at Casterly Rock.
In short, it wasn't the Tywin he remembered.
The more Daven thought about it, the more suspicious he became. He suddenly wanted to send someone personally to Casterly Rock to ask if there was anything wrong with those orders.
From the Golden Tooth to Casterly Rock, there was only Sarsfield in between, and the three fortresses were connected by a wide, flat road. Sending a light rider wouldn't take much time for a round trip.
I'll just send someone back to Casterly Rock tomorrow to ask Lord Tywin directly.
Daven took a deep breath and exhaled the stale air from his chest. He wanted to fall asleep quickly, but suddenly felt something poking him underneath.
Shifting slightly, Daven fished the object out. It was a small piece of fabric. The room was too dim, so he used the moonlight from outside to look closely. It was fine linen adorned with lace.
Noble ladies loved to use this material for their undergarments. Daven noticed Lady Lefford's undergarment was also embellished with a few small pearls—the culprits that had poked him.
Tossing the linen undergarment to the foot of the bed, Daven tried to sleep again.
But just as he drifted off, he snapped his eyes open. He seemed to have heard something. Daven looked toward the outside of the castle, frowning and holding his breath.
Suddenly, hurried footsteps rang out, followed by a young man's voice outside. "Ser! The enemy is attacking the city!"
"What?!"
Daven ignored Lady Lefford, who was still clinging to his arm in her sleep, and yanked his arm away. Lady Lefford woke with a start.
She opened her eyes to see a muscular, shirtless body sitting up.
Just as Daven was getting up, he suddenly felt a chill on his back, followed by a burning pain.
Daven stood up and looked back at Lady Lefford. She was half-crouched there, stark naked, clutching a dagger.
The blade was already stained red with blood. Daven touched his back; his hand came away bloody.
"Woman! What are you doing?!" Daven roared in anger, like an enraged lion.
How could he not see that the woman he had just been intimate with was trying to assassinate him?
But she had clearly never trained with a blade. The strike had only cut his skin and flesh, missing any vital organs.
"Ah—" Lady Lefford knew she had missed her chance with that one strike. With a scream, she lunged at Daven with the dagger.
But the difference in their size was like an antelope pouncing on a tiger.
Stimulated by the pain, Daven's reactions were sharper than ever. Before Lefford could reach him, his fist met her.
Daven's fist smashed into Lady Lefford's face, knocking her to the ground.
Lady Lefford cried out in pain. Trembling all over, she slowly rose and said with pale lips, "The Golden Tooth belongs to my son with Leo! No one can take it away!"
"No one wants to take your Golden Tooth!" Daven shouted angrily, feeling the woman before him was unreasonable.
Although he had thought about it, he hadn't actually done anything. Besides, replacing the main branch with a cadet branch was a huge matter that would require many people to decide together.
"Heh heh, you don't," Lady Lefford said, her demeanor changing from docile and lustful to cold and sinister. With hair sticking to the corner of her mouth, she looked terrifying, like a ghost crawled out from the water. "But that old thing and his son can't wait!"
It turned out that a rift had appeared within House Lefford as well.
The branch family believed that as long as they helped Tywin hold the Golden Tooth and contributed to its defense, they could replace Leo's son as the Lord of the Golden Tooth in the future.
If the branch family replaced the main branch, the main branch would definitely meet a bad end. To secure their position, the branch family would likely ensure her two children didn't live to adulthood.
As the lady of the house, Alysanne Lefford naturally didn't want to sit and wait for death. Since they wanted to seize the inheritance by defending the Golden Tooth, she would assassinate Daven and open the gates!
It was just a pity that for a woman with no martial skills, getting close to Daven was hard enough, let alone assassinating him.
Even unarmed, Daven wasn't someone a woman with a dagger could easily kill.
"Stupid woman!" Knowing the whole story, Daven felt even more strongly that those letters couldn't have come from Tywin.
He absolutely had to send someone to ride to Casterly Rock to ask.
"Damn it! You should go to hell, you stupid woman!" Cursing didn't vent his anger enough, so Daven raised his foot and kicked the naked body hard.
Lady Lefford groaned from the blow. Outside, the soldier urged again: "My lord, the enemy has already started attacking our fortifications on the mountain! There are people everywhere!"
"People everywhere?! How is that possible!"
Daven couldn't figure it out. Shouldn't there only be five thousand besiegers left down there?
But the wound on his back was still bleeding. The moment his padded inner lining touched the wound, he winced in pain.
In this situation, he couldn't afford to think too much. He could only gear up quickly and hold off this wave of attacks first.