Arthur stepped into the Lord's Hall of Daisding City, and an invisible pressure immediately assailed him.
Lady Roselyn sat on the high-backed Lord's chair, her once radiant face now ashen, her eyes staring blankly ahead, as if her soul had been extracted from her body.
Below her, Old Maester Walder and the other courtiers hung their heads, like a group of eggplants withered by frost.
Old Maester Walder lifted his head, saw Arthur, and a flicker of panic crossed his cloudy eyes.
He tremblingly raised his hand, tore open a letter, cleared his throat, and began to read, each word like a heavy stone dropped into a still, dead pool.
"The main Ironborn fleet has appeared… Seaguard… Seaguard is heavily besieged…" Before he could finish, Lady Roselyn on the high-backed chair let out a short gasp.
Her body suddenly went limp, like a flower broken by a fierce wind, and she slid straight from the chair.
The maids' screams pierced the oppressive silence, and the hall instantly erupted into chaos.
"Lady!"
"Someone, quickly!"
"Quick! Quickly wake the Lady!"
Maester Walder no longer cared about the letter, dropping it and rushing over in a flurry to help the Lady.
In the center of this chaotic vortex, only Arthur stood still.
He quickly stepped forward, bent down, and picked up the forgotten parchment letter from the cold floor.
His gaze quickly scanned it, taking in the hasty and urgent handwriting that followed.
Amidst the gentle pats and calls of the maids, Lady Roselyn's eyelids fluttered, and she slowly regained consciousness.
Her pale lips moved, her awareness not yet fully returned, but the instinct of fear had already taken hold of her.
"Balon… my dear husband…" she murmured to herself, her husband's name squeezed from her throat, tinged with a sob.
But as soon as the Lady opened her eyes, the terrible news of Seaguard's siege flooded her mind again like a tide.
Her body trembled violently, and she seemed about to fall back into darkness.
"Lord Balon is fine, Lady," a voice sounded in her ear at that moment, unusually calm, yet with an undeniable power.
It was Arthur's voice.
Lady Roselyn suddenly turned her head, her unfocused eyes fixed on Arthur, hope like a faint light flashing in the depths of her desperate pupils.
Arthur knew he had to give her a point of support as quickly as possible.
He strode up the steps, handed the parchment to her, and pointed to a section.
"The letter says that before the Ironborn fleet appeared, Seaguard had dispatched a four-thousand-strong army into the interior to pursue those Ironborn."
"Lord Balon is with that detachment."
Lady Roselyn's eyes instantly lit up, the light dispelling the shadow of death.
She struggled, snatched the letter from Arthur's hand, ignored everyone else, and greedily read it word by word.
Once her gaze confirmed that her husband was indeed not in the city, her tense body suddenly relaxed, and she let out a long breath, slumping down, repeatedly muttering:
"It's good he's not in the castle, it's good he's not in the castle…"
The crowd in the hall also let out a sigh of relief, and the chaos gradually subsided.
Arthur looked at the relieved Lady Roselyn, his mind, however, racing.
One crisis had just been averted, but a new, more insidious predicament had quietly emerged.
Through his observations of Lord Baron Deddings's behavior, he knew him to be a man who valued loyalty and honor more than life itself.
When his own territory, Daintings City, was attacked, he did not abandon his post but remained steadfast in Seaguard.
Now, knowing that Seaguard was heavily besieged, what would he do?
The answer was obvious: he would undoubtedly lead his troops to break away from the four-thousand-strong army, turn back, and go to relieve the siege of Seaguard.
And what about himself? As Daedings Family's most "loyal" vassal, once Lord Balon's summons arrived, what should he do?
Follow him to Seaguard and use his own people's flesh and blood to fill that sturdy city wall?
This was impossible; he would not do that.
Logically, he could refuse.
He had done enough for Daedings Family, even if it was pretense.
He had paid enough and could completely refuse the summons.
But once he refused, his carefully cultivated "loyal" persona would instantly collapse, and all his previous efforts would be in vain.
One navigates the world based on one's persona, especially in Westeros, where one must outwardly maintain a positive and commendable persona.
A thought flashed through his mind like lightning: wasn't there a good task right now that could buy him time?
He looked at the still-shaken Lady Roselyn, and under her puzzled gaze, he explained how Norbert Vance had summoned him to pursue the Ironborn for the Riverlands.
Lady Roselyn suddenly sat upright in her chair, her cheeks, which had just regained a hint of color, flushed with anger: "What?!!!"
"By what right do the Vance Family summon my family's vassals! They have no such power!"
She was like a lioness whose territory had been invaded, her voice sharp and furious.
"Our own territory is still in danger! Someone! Go to Vance's camp immediately! Tell him! Daintings City rejects his unreasonable demand!"
Arthur, however, displayed a perfectly timed look of difficulty, bowing slightly, his tone full of respect and helplessness: "But Lady."
"Lord Vance summoned me in the name of Riverrun.
I am but a small Lord, and it would be truly difficult to directly refuse the House Tully's summons…"
Lady Roselyn's anger was instantly extinguished by this remark.
Although the Vance Family was powerful, they had no right to summon her vassals to do anything.
And the House Tully of Riverrun, while also having no right to do so, still…
Oh, right, he could refuse himself.
She looked at Arthur, her eyes holding a trace of expectation, hoping he would refuse himself to preserve Daedings Family's dignity.
Arthur, meanwhile, lowered his gaze, silently indicating his humble status, hoping the Lady would, in her capacity as liege lord, refuse this un-obligatory summons on his behalf.
Their gazes silently pulled and collided in the air; neither wanted to be the "bad guy," and both wanted to push this hot potato to the other.
The next morning, Norbert Vance's camp was bustling.
Knights were checking their horse gear, and soldiers were dismantling tents, preparing to break camp.
He was going to pursue the Ironborn who were still roaming the interior, and at the same time, he was waiting for Arthur's reply.
Through observation, he found that Arthur's army was incomparable to ordinary armies.
Most crucially, his army nominally had four thousand men, but only one thousand could truly be called soldiers, of which five hundred were his own family soldiers.
He had no confidence in defeating a force of twelve hundred Ironborn, especially while minimizing casualties among his own family soldiers.
Therefore, the more people, the better.
Just then, a knight came to report, pointing in a direction and saying, "My Lord, Arthur has arrived."
Norbert Vance turned his head and saw Arthur riding his warhorse, slowly approaching him, then dismounting with crisp, clean movements.
Arthur walked up to Norbert, and under the other's slightly scrutinizing gaze, he drew his sword and plunged it into the ground: "I, Arthur, am willing to answer Riverrun's call, leading my people to follow you, my Lord, and together pursue the Ironborn."
"My personal interests! They are nothing!"
"All for the Riverlands!"
His voice was so loud, respectful, and firm that it echoed throughout the camp.
Everyone's eyes turned towards him—this was precisely the effect Arthur wanted.
Norbert Vance looked at this "sensible" young man before him, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.
This was exactly the result he wanted.
He personally stepped forward and helped Arthur to his feet with both hands:
"Very good, my boy, Riverrun will remember your loyalty."
He patted Arthur's shoulder warmly, but his tone suddenly shifted, and he pointed to the northern sky, his expression becoming serious.
"I presume you are aware of the situation in Seaguard."
"We must immediately find and eliminate these Ironborn, stabilize the situation, and absolutely not allow the Ironborn's schemes to succeed."
He turned and pointed to the banners of the Bracken Family and the Lychester Family on the other side of the camp.
"Now, I need you to complete another important task."
"I need you to cooperate with the armies of the Bracken Family and the Lychester Family, and split off from me to pursue those Ironborn who are still roaming the interior.
How about it?"
What Norbert had in mind was something else.
The people from the Bracken and Blackwood families were constantly quarreling in his army, disliking each other, and were practically two powder kegs.
He had to find a reason to send one of them out.
No matter who it was, quickly send out one army to separate them.
He said to Arthur in an authoritative tone, "Your mission, along with mine, is to ensure the safety of the castles of the various Lords of the Riverlands."
"As for those outside the city… you don't need to worry about them."
A strange smile emerged in Arthur's eyes.
These words, though sounding like a command, actually gave Arthur great freedom, successfully freeing him from the fate of fighting a hard battle at Seaguard, and allowing him to coast through the entire campaign.
Waiting for the situation to change.
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