The warhorse grazed nearby, occasionally glancing at its male and female owners on the grass.
Alec glanced in the direction of her home. If she weren't worried that the child might suddenly run away, she really wouldn't want to give up now.
Blackstone's face began to swell, from the slaps Alek had given him.
Alec started wearing skirts.
"You're a rider of the Mountain now?" Alec didn't use honorifics, addressing Gregor by his infamous name, 'The Mountain'.
"Yes."
"Let's sell our armor and swords and head south."
"I have sworn allegiance to Lord Mountain."
"He'll kill you when he's unhappy."
"Won't."
"You believe in the Magic Mountain?"
"I swear."
"We'll have warhorses for locomotives, we can travel along the coastal road, sell the Mountain's longsword and armor, and then we'll have the capital to open a small shop in the southern Reach. The southern lands are more fertile than the Westerlands." Alex tied her skirt and began to dress.
"The longsword and armor are all mine, as are the warhorse. They are all ours, not Lord Mountain's," Blackstone said.
Alec stopped, looking at Blackstone with a puzzled expression.
"The horse, sword, armor, and helmet are all our property." A smile appeared on Blackstone's face. "I swore allegiance to Lord Mountain. These things were given to us by Lord Mountain, not issued by him."
Alec's hands, which had paused, began to move again, and she dressed more quickly.
"Then it won't be illegal for us to sell the armor and longsword. Sell them and let's go."
How much can it sell for?
"I don't know, maybe seven gold dragons. Adding the gold dragon the Demon Mountain gave us last time, we have quite a bit of money. Going south to find a noble to rely on and cultivating the wasteland will be safer than staying here."
Black Stone grabbed the underwear, shook it, and the coins jingled.
Alec's hand holding the corset stopped again.
Black Stone threw her underwear at her.
Alec caught it; it was heavy. She reached into her pocket and pulled out several gleaming gold dragons, and there were more in her pocket. She took out all the gold dragons, counted them, and found ten.
A large sum of money, enough for their family to live comfortably for many years.
"Where did all this money come from?" Alec's voice changed.
"Lord Mountain, compensate us for the losses we suffered from growing poppies."
Alec froze, staring blankly into Blackstone's eyes.
"He really gave us compensation?" Her voice sounded hollow, unreal. It was like a dream.
"Lord Demon Mountain compensated each of our eleven households with ten gold dragons." Blackstone walked over, picked up his clothes, and began to put them on quickly. "I am now a miner for Lord Demon Mountain. — And salt, snow-white fine salt. I've already tasted it. It can be eaten directly with rice. It has a very delicious taste, not bitter at all, and without any residue."
Salt was a rare commodity for Alec.
"Where's the salt?" Alec asked. As she asked, Alec had already begun rummaging through Blackstone's bag.
The brown kraft paper wrapped around several kilograms of white salt made Alek's eyes widen in disbelief.
No matter how wealthy the nobles of the West are, even if they are richer than a country, the common people of the West are still mostly poor.
Alec had seen the salt sold in the big city of Lannisport before—pale yellow salt with a bitter taste, often containing pebbles. This was the first time Alec had ever seen salt so white and fine as sand.
She dipped her finger in salt and put it in her mouth. Her brow furrowed and her face contorted slightly. So salty and delicious.
"The salt given by Lord Mountain?" Alec addressed the Mountain with honorifics, adding the word "Lord Mountain".
"Yes."
"Where did this salt come from?" Alec had never seen such exquisite salt before.
"According to the notebook and the scholar, it was Lord Mountain who made this salt by refining it using a secret method. Only the people in our Crigonburg territory have this salt."
"Is Lord Mountain going back to Clegane Castle to sell salt?"
"This salt is not for sale. Lord Mountain only sent this salt to Lord Tywin Lannister, and then to the people of Clegane. Lord Mountain promised that we would be able to eat this fine salt for free from then on. Maester Harry said that his teacher, Maester Potter, wrote to him that Lord Tywin Lannister had given this salt a special name: Snow Salt."
"The Mountain is giving us snow salt for free?" Alec asked incredulously.
"Yes! Lord Mountain not only gave us snow salt to eat, but also swore an oath before the statue of the Seven Gods to protect us. In the future, if anyone in other territories bullies us, Lord Mountain will stand up for us and seek justice. Just like Thomas Mann's youngest daughter Julie, even though the other party was a Saloth noble, little Julie will not be allowed to be violated."
How could such a good lord be the infamous Mountain? Alex lived in constant fear, afraid that one day the lord would suddenly break into her house with a gang of thugs and rape her. Her youngest daughter was four years old, and she raised her with the same trepidation, her heart filled with unease.
"We all know about Little Julie. People in the surrounding territories are saying that Little Julie has taken the surname Clegane, but she did not enter the sanctuary to take the oath under the supervision of the maester."
"Little Julie will soon be sworn in as Clegane."
"real?"
"It's true. Maester Harry has been in charge of getting the craftsmen from Lannister to come to Clegane Keep to build the Seven Saints' Temple. From now on, we will have a place to pray for a good harvest, for good health, for our children to grow up, and for victory in battle. We will no longer have to go to other lords' temples."
"That's wonderful!" Alec exclaimed excitedly.
"And there's even better news."
"What news?"
"Outside his castle, Lord Mountain is building not only a sanctuary but also a village called Clegane. Once the houses are completed, all eleven of our households will move into Clegane. We won't have to contribute any gold; Lord Mountain will pay for their construction. Wells, livestock pens, chicken coops, stables, underground storage rooms, woodsheds, and walls will all be built. Our stone houses will be more than twice the size of our current thatched huts."
Alek stared at her husband, her mouth agape in astonishment.
"Alec, are you still thinking about escaping to the south?" Blackstone dressed, put his armor on his horse, and hung his longsword on the saddle.
"Lord Mountain...does he...also rape...women?"
"The Mountain swore an oath with us before the Seven Gods that he would protect only the people of Clegane, regardless of age or gender. If any people or nobles from other territories bully us, they will only have one painful feeling: regret."
"Just like the Sartre family."
"Yes, just like the Saloth family."
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