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Her Eternal Excellency, a Genshin Impact and ASOIAF crossover, Raiden Ei Reborn as Argella Durrandon, is 15 chapters ahead
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—
Storm Kingdom
Storm's End
13 BAC
Lord Lucan was incensed at having a girl, even if she was his granddaughter, shut a door to his face, but he would not let things end here.
The papermaker, Carn, was sought after by many, all wanting to employ the man for their own benefit. However, the man was like a gust of wind, coming and going as he pleased.
They did not know where he lived or where he was from, but his machine had made an impact in Weeping Town.
He would get to the bottom of this.
–-
Two Months Later
A week.
It took him a week to find time to speak with the only princess of this castle within its boundaries, after the whole debacle with those damn trees.
He did not understand how. Lucan would visit the places his granddaughter spent most of her time, and she would be somewhere else.
He went to the library once, only to see she wasn't there, and searched through the castle with a dozen men.
Where did he find her in the end?
Back at the library.
She claimed she was there the whole day, and it went on for a week, as if she was dancing around him.
But he finally had his opportunity. Argella was in her room; her maid was sure of it, and he went there as fast as his old body would take him just to not miss her.
He knocked on the door and entered upon hearing her permission. She was sitting on the bed, legs crossed and eyes closed.
"Meditation," she had called it, whatever in the seven hells it meant.
"Princess, I was hoping to speak to you more about this paper business," he said, but Argella kept staying still, not even breathing.
She did not answer, and the silence trailed on for a while, but Lucan was patient. He could wait.
"Paper business, Grandfather?" she finally acknowledged him, opening her eyes and uncrossing her legs to stand up.
"Yes, I simply wished to know how you came to do business with that man."
If the man would do business with her, she should have no reason to refuse him.
"Carn is merely an intermediary. I designed the machine; he was simply responsible for overseeing the deals with the merchants, as I cannot leave the castle."
Lucan narrowed his eyes. She, a girl of seven years old, designed a machine like that?
And he was the Mother herself.
"Princess, we are family, and while we might not have been close, I still wish to ensure your safety. You can tell me the truth." He tried to appear as if he was thinking of her well-being first and foremost.
"How… amusing. Your attempt to treat me as if someone is taking advantage of me is not appreciated, grandfather, and neither is your insult to my hard work." She said, smiling as if she did find the whole thing truly amusing.
"But," he began before she cut him off.
"But, what? Family, Grandfather, is not people who share the same blood, but people that are tied through bonds. Seeing as this is the first time you've ever bothered to visit Storm's End and only because you were made the Regent, it means we don't share any bonds for you to claim we are more than just relatives."
Lucan frowned. He had seen many lords claim their children were blessings from the gods, and some were above average in his opinion, but the rest were idiots who only ascended to their position because of their blood.
But Argella was something else. No child at this age could be so sharp and well-spoken, nor carry themselves with the quiet confidence she did.
"I meant no disrespect, Princess. I just think you are a bit young to design that machine. I know maesters with decades of experience who said they could not design something like that." He had, in fact, contacted several maesters, even the ones from the Citadel, to see if they could replicate the machine and he could build one near his castle. Alas, he had no luck on that front.
"How old are you exactly, Lord Lucan?" She asked, dispersing any attempts at familiarity.
"Fifty"
"Would you say you are old enough to build a machine like that?"
"No," he admitted after a beat of silence.
"Then we can agree that age is not a barrier for success."
"We can, but experience and knowledge matter too, Princess," he said, changing his angle.
"I completely agree," she smiled at him, as if she was privy to some information he was not.
"I had another matter I wished to speak about," he changed the subject, giving up on the machine.
He would find out the truth himself.
"The purple trees that appeared in Godswood, do you know anything about them?"
Purple lightning at her birth and now purple weirwood trees?
He did not believe it to be a coincidence.
"Be direct, my lord. Are you calling me a sorcerer?" she asked, her smile not even wavering.
"I am asking if you are one."
She wanted directness, and he could be so.
"No, I am not," she said, her tone sincere.
Lucan believed her for some reason.
"Very well, if you excuse me, I shall head out; I still have to check the ledgers."
There was nothing else he wanted to talk about.
"I wish you good luck, grandfather," she said, emphasizing the last word.
He might have slammed the door a bit too hard to be appropriate.
–-
At first, the Septa he assigned to the Princess reported that she did not disappear anywhere, unlike with that airheaded maid, but she did not seem interested in listening to her teachings.
Her reports had changed weeks later, saying the princess had become more docile, doing as she was told.
Perhaps she had finally learned to fall in line?
But the septa could not follow her all the time, so she enlisted the help of Maester Larry, wanting to know the progress of her granddaughter.
At least that was his excuse.
The man had been excited, to say the least, speaking very highly of her intelligence.
Turns out there were extremely rare records in the Citadel of people who could memorize whole pages with just a look and finish books far faster than any other human could.
She was one of those extremely rare people and apparently could read dozens of books a day, only slowing down when a particular subject had her attention and she wished to savor it.
He was beginning to rethink his doubts regarding her.
–-
12 BAC
Argilac was glad to be back home, for all he enjoyed fighting those Pentosi cunts. He wanted to rest first, but the work of a king was never done, and his godfather had dragged him to the Godswood to show him something important.
Whatever he was expecting, it wasn't purple Weirwood trees of all things.
They had deep purple barks with light purple leaves that reminded him of the lightning strikes on the day of his daughter's birth.
"We tried to cut them down, but whatever magic is responsible for the trees protected them," Lucan said, gesturing around the Godwood, though he could swear there used to be more trees. A lot more.
"Wait, don't!" he shouted, just noticing the king approaching the trees, thinking he would be struck too, just like everyone who approached the damn trees.
But nothing happened as Argilac put his hand on the bark, and nothing happened.
He inspected the tree, noticing its smooth bark and how the leaves looked as if purple lightning crystallized.
"No one is to touch these trees."
"But," Lucan wanted to protest, though Argilac would not have it.
"I won't hear it, godfather." He turned back and left.
The tree had a face, one eerily similar to Argella, and whether it was her or the gods, his instincts told him to leave them alone.
—
He had thought about asking her if she knew something, but his godfather already had, and nothing came of it.
Even if he did, what would it matter? She was his heir and daughter, and while he was sure there was a connection, it wouldn't do if the people thought that the heir to the throne of the Storm Kingdom was a sorcerer worshipping the Old Gods.
He would let it be and hope it did not end in a disaster.
–-
Maester Larry had earned his chains in silver, copper, and gold, signifying medicine, history, and accounts and sums. He, just like every other maester, wanted to rise higher but eventually found himself assigned to a keep, though he lucked out and was chosen to serve the Storm Kings.
He had taught King Argilac when he was a prince, and while he wasn't what one would call studious, he still learned his accounts and sums very well, with no small amount of his father's insistence.
But fate, it seems, brought him to Storm's End for a different purpose.
Princess Argella Durrandon.
She claimed to have learned her letters so fast, he had thought she was just playing around, but the princess quickly proved him wrong by writing a passage on astronomy with handwriting so neat and clean, unlike the chicken scratch writing children her age produced.
It wasn't just the letters she learned at an inhuman rate, but everything else.
A dozen books on history? She read and summarized them before noon, with an even better grasp of the said books than him.
Entire tomes as thick as his hand on the structure of the Seven Kingdoms, their cultures, practices, and histories?
They had discussions over them, and he had felt as if he was the student and not her.
Medicine, war, trade, whatever subject drew her interest, she had devoured them in the blink of an eye. At the rate she was going, he wouldn't have anything left to teach her.
If the gods truly blessed someone on this continent, it would no doubt be her.