Verbal Engagement

"Good day, Lord Ned!"

Garon stepped forward and bowed respectfully to Ned.

Ned rose from his seat, walked down from the dais, and came before Garon to help him up.

"You've grown much sturdier than before," Ned said, patting Garon on the shoulder with a hint of satisfaction. "It seems you haven't been slacking off during this time."

"To guard Deepwood Motte well for you, my lord, one must have a strong body."

Garon smiled and bowed slightly in response. "Besides, my father's dying instructions taught me never to be idle, for fear of bringing shame upon our family honor!"

A flash of admiration crossed Ned's eyes, and he nodded in deep agreement.

"Good lad!"

"I can rest easy now that Sansa is betrothed to you!"

Although Garon had anticipated that a man of Ned's honorable nature would not go back on his word, he could not help but feel overjoyed when the result was finally confirmed.

Fearing he might have misheard, he confirmed once more, "Lord Ned, what do you mean?"

Robb, standing to the side, laughed. "What else could he mean?"

"Garon, from now on, we are family!"

Ned smiled and nodded, confirming Robb's statement.

Garon was overwhelmed with excitement; he hurriedly bent to bow again, but was stopped by Ned.

Ned's voice reached his ears.

"However, Sansa is still young, so your marriage will have to wait another two years."

"Garon, you have no objections, do you?"

Garon shook his head, indicating he had no issues with that.

He only needed the legal legitimacy of the betrothal; as for when the wedding would take place, he was in no rush.

"You must have seen it when you entered the city; Winterfell is preparing for the King's arrival."

Ned shifted the topic and explained, "I intend for the King and the Old Gods to witness the betrothal between you and Sansa."

"Garon, stay in Winterfell for a few days."

"Once the betrothal is officially set, you can return to Deepwood Motte. How does that sound?"

Understanding flashed in Garon's eyes, and he immediately replied, "I shall follow your arrangements, my lord!"

Then, he feigned confusion and asked, "My lord, why would His Grace the King suddenly come to The North?"

Ned shook his head, a trace of sorrow flashing in his eyes; he was clearly thinking of the death of Jon Arryn.

He actually had an answer in his heart as to why the King was visiting The North, but it was difficult to tell Garon.

Not wishing to continue the conversation on this topic, Ned prepared to have Robb take Garon to meet his other children.

But just as he was about to speak, he realized another issue.

"Garon..."

Ned pondered for a moment and cautioned, "I have a ward, Theon Greyjoy of the Iron Islands."

"Now that the King is about to arrive at Winterfell, I hope you will not cause any trouble!"

He knew well that if Theon's arrogant nature clashed with Garon, it would certainly lead to trouble.

Therefore, he gave Garon a warning in advance to prevent any bloodshed that might spiral out of control.

Garon's mind raced, and he immediately understood Ned's intention: he wanted him to avoid conflict with Theon Greyjoy.

But given his position, how could he agree to that immediately?

"The North remembers!"

He met Ned's gaze and said solemnly, "Lord Ned, please forgive me, but I cannot back down before an ironborn!"

Ned felt an instant headache.

He muttered to himself, I should have had Garon come later...

It was no wonder Ned had a headache; the grievances between Deepwood Motte and the Iron Islands were impossible to untangle.

The Iron Islands had long revered raiding, believing that "we do not sow."

Throughout history, whenever the ironborn raided The North, Deepwood Motte had always been on the front lines of the resistance.

Because of this, the sigil of House Glover was a silver iron fist on a red field.

The family motto—

Blood-Forged Deep Roots!

It signified that even if they bled dry, they would defend Deepwood Motte with force.

And that was indeed the truth.

Generation after generation of Glovers followed their family oath, like a wooden wedge driven deep into the Wolfswood, resisting the ironborn's aggression on behalf of Winterfell.

Nine years ago, Balon Greyjoy of the Iron Islands launched a rebellion and declared himself King of the Iron Islands.

Ned Stark answered the king's call, summoning his vassals from The North to suppress Balon, and Galbart, Garon's father, readily raised his troops to join the campaign.

The two sides held deep-seated grievances, and Galbart was always the first to charge into battle.

As a result, during the assault on Pyke, he was struck in the chest by a stray arrow fired by Theon's second brother, Maron Greyjoy, leaving him severely wounded.

For the eight years that followed, Galbart's injury never fully healed, recurring time and again.

By the time Garon transmigrated into this world, the maester could do nothing more than feed Galbart a cup of milk of the poppy, allowing him to end his life in his sleep.

It could be said that as Galbart's son and the lord of Deepwood Motte, Garon was destined to be at odds with the Iron Islands, both emotionally and by virtue of his position.

Either the Iron Islands would kill Garon, or Garon would completely conquer the Iron Islands.

There was no room for reconciliation between the two.

Therefore, even though Theon was Ned's ward, Garon had no opportunity to befriend him.

Before arriving at Winterfell, Garon had already prepared himself to stand in direct opposition to Theon.

Unfortunately, Ned had also seen through Garon's intentions.

He stared at Garon and said sternly, "This is not a request; it is an order!"

"The North must not lose its honor before the king!"

Garon understood the subtext of Ned's words: as long as it aligned with honor, Ned would not interfere.

A strange glint flashed in his eyes, and after a moment of silence, he promised, "Yes, Lord Ned!"

Hearing Garon's reply, Ned felt a slight sense of relief.

He nodded slightly and turned to give Robb a look.

Robb, standing to the side, did not overthink it, assuming Garon simply disliked Theon.

After all, Theon's arrogant personality was truly difficult to get along with.

Seeing his father signal him, Robb understood and pulled Garon toward the exit.

"Come on, Garon."

"I'll show you around Winterfell and introduce you to my younger siblings."

Garon only had time to nod at Ned before being hurried away by Robb.

Once the two figures disappeared, Ned sighed with deep concern.

Recent news had been arriving one after another, filling his heart with pressure.

"Winter is coming!"

Ned whispered to himself, causing Catelyn, who had just entered the hall, to pause in surprise.

"Ned..." she called her husband's name, then walked quickly to his side to ask, "Has something happened again?"

Ned snapped out of his thoughts, shook his head, and said, "Nothing, I was just thinking about the feud between the Glovers and the Greyjoys."

Catelyn understood immediately.

Her heart stirred, and she pleaded with a hint of expectation, "Ned, you shouldn't have agreed to the marriage between the Glovers and Sansa."

"The king will arrive at Winterfell in three days. Given your relationship with him, he will surely propose a marriage alliance."

"By then, our daughter will become the queen..."

As soon as Catelyn spoke, Ned's mood grew heavy.

They had argued about Sansa's marriage too many times in the last few days.

He could not understand why Catelyn was so insistent on having Sansa marry into the south, or even become a queen.

Ned held his temper and interrupted Catelyn, just as he had the previous times: "Cat, we have already discussed this!"

He took a breath, attempting to explain one last time.

"Galbart was my vassal; he fought for me with his life, to the point of being wounded and eventually passing away."

"His dying wish was merely for me to agree to this marriage."

"Do you really want me to betray my family's honor and remain indifferent to a vassal's sacrifice?"

Catelyn knew her husband valued honor more than life itself, and she knew it would be difficult to change his mind on her own.

Continuing the argument would only lead to another unpleasant parting, just like before.

So, she feigned silence while silently calculating in her heart.

"When the king arrives, I hope King Robert can persuade him to change his mind."

"Honestly, why must he sacrifice our daughter's happiness to fulfill his own sense of honor..."

"No matter what, I am firmly against this marriage!"

Garon, being dragged away by Robb, knew nothing of his future mother-in-law's thoughts.

Even if he did, he wouldn't care.

With Ned involved, once the betrothal was settled, there was almost no possibility of going back on it.

Furthermore, Catelyn's vision was too narrow.

Struggling against her would only anger the Starks, with no other benefit to be gained.

At this moment, he followed Robb through the corridor to the training yard, just in time to witness ten-year-old Bran practicing archery.