Suleiman Stepping into the Lord's Hall of Deddings Castle, an invisible pressure rushes towards you.
Lady Roslin was sitting in the lord's high-backed chair. His once bright face was now as pale as paper, and his eyes were staring blankly ahead.
It was as if the soul had been separated from the body. Below, old Maester Walder and other courtiers lowered their heads, like a group of eggplants beaten by frost.
Old Walder raised his head and saw Suleiman, a trace of panic flashed in his cloudy eyes.
He raised his hand tremblingly, opened a letter, cleared his throat, and began to read. Every word was like a heavy stone hitting the dead water.
Ironborn The main force of the fleet appears, Seaguard...Seaguard is surrounded...
Before she finished speaking, Lady Roslin, who was sitting on the high-backed chair, let out a short exclamation. Her body suddenly softened, and she fell straight from the chair like a flower broken by the strong wind.
The screams of the maids broke the oppressive silence, and the hall instantly became chaotic.
"Madam!"
"Someone come quickly!"
"Quick! Wake up Madam!"
Maester Walder didn't care about the letter anymore. He dropped the letter and rushed over in a hurry to rescue his wife.
In the center of this chaotic whirlpool, only Suleiman stood still. He quickly stepped forward, bent down, and picked up the forgotten parchment letter from the cold floor.
His eyes quickly swept over it, taking in the scrawled and urgent handwriting behind it.
Amid the gentle pats and calls of the maids, Lady Roslin's eyelids trembled and she woke up slowly. Her pale lips moved. Her consciousness had not yet completely returned, but the instinct of fear had already taken over her.
"Balon... My dear husband...:" She murmured to herself, her husband's name squeezing out of her throat with a cry.
But as soon as the woman opened her eyes, the bad news that Seaguard was surrounded flooded into her mind again like a tide. Her body trembled violently, and she was about to fall into darkness again.
"Sir Balon is okay, madam." At this moment, a voice sounded in her ears, unusually calm, but with undoubted power, it was the voice of Suleiman.
Lady Roslin turned her head sharply, her absent-minded eyes fixed on Suleiman, hope flashed through the depths of her desperate pupils like a faint light.
Suleiman knew that he had to give her a fulcrum as quickly as possible, strode up the steps, handed the parchment to her, and pointed at one section.
"The letter said that before the Ironborn fleet appeared, Seaguard had already detached an army of four thousand people and entered the interior to pursue those Ironborn."
"Master Balon, you are in this team."
Lady Roslin's eyes lit up instantly, and the light dispelled the shadow of death. She struggled, snatched the letter from Suleiman's hand, ignored anyone, and read it greedily word by word.
When her eyes confirmed that her husband was indeed not in the city, her tense body suddenly relaxed, she exhaled a long breath, her whole body went limp, and she chanted repeatedly.
"It's fine if you're not in the castle, it's fine if you're not in the castle...:..:
1
The crowd in the hall also breathed a sigh of relief, and the chaos gradually subsided. Suleiman looked at the relieved Lady Roslin, but his brain was running rapidly.
A crisis has just been resolved, and a new, more hidden dilemma has quietly emerged. Through observing the behavior of Master Balon. Deddings, we can see that he is a man who values loyalty and honor more than life.
When his territory Deddings Castle was attacked, he did not leave his post without permission, but stuck to Seaguard. Now, knowing that Seaguard is heavily surrounded, what will he do? The answer is self-evident. He will lead his troops to break away from the army of four thousand people without hesitation.
Turn around and go back to solve the siege of Seaguard.
As for myself, as the most "loyal" vassal of House Deddings, once Master Balon's recruitment order arrives, what should I do? Follow him to Seaguard and fill that solid city wall with my own flesh and blood.
This is impossible, he won't do this, logically, he can refuse, he has done enough for House Deddings, even if it is false,
He has given enough and can refuse to be called up.
But once he refuses, the "loyalty" persona he has worked so hard to build will instantly collapse, and all his efforts will be wasted. People rely on their persona to walk in the world, especially in Westeros. On the surface, there must be a positive persona that can be praised by others.
An idea flashed through his mind like lightning. There was a good errand that could be postponed at the moment. He looked at Lady Roslin who was still in shock. In her doubtful eyes, he told him what Norbert. Vance called him to pursue Ironborn for Riverlands.
Lady Roslin sat upright from the chair suddenly, his cheeks that had just regained some color turned red with anger. "What?!!!"
"Why do House Vance people recruit my family's vassals! They don't have this power!"
She was like a lioness whose territory had been violated, with a sharp and angry voice.
"Our own territory is still in danger! Come here! Go to Vance's camp immediately! Tell him! Deddings Castle refuses his unreasonable request!"
Suleiman showed just the right amount of embarrassment, bowed slightly, and said in a tone full of respect and helplessness, "But Madam."
"Master Vance called me in the name of Riverrun. I am just a small lord. It is really difficult to refuse House Tully's call in person...
Lady Roslin's anger was extinguished by these words. Although House Vance was powerful, the other party did not have any right to call on his vassals to do things. Riverrun's House Tully also had no right to do so, but...
Yes, he could refuse by himself. She looked at Suleiman with a trace of hope in her eyes, hoping that he could refuse by himself and save House Deddings's face.
Suleiman lowered his eyes and silently expressed his low status, hoping that his wife could reject this obligation-free call for him in the name of the lord. Their eyes silently pulled and collided in the air. Neither one wanted to be the "evil person", and each wanted to push this hot potato to the other.
Early the next morning, the Norbert. Vance camp was busy. The knights were checking the harness and the soldiers were dismantling the tents and preparing to break camp.
He was going to chase the Ironborn that was still wandering inland. At the same time, he was also waiting for Suleiman's reply. Through observation, he found that Suleiman's army was comparable to an ordinary army. The most important thing was that his army had four thousand people in name, but only one thousand of them could be called soldiers, of which only five hundred were his own family soldiers.
With a Ironborn of 1,200 people, he had absolutely no confidence in taking down the opponent, and he also wanted to reduce the casualties of his family's soldiers, so the more people, the better.
At this time, a knight came to report, pointed in one direction and said, "Sir, Suleiman is here."
Norbert. Vance turned around and saw Suleiman riding a war horse, slowly coming to the front of him, turning over and dismounting, and his movements were clean and neat.
Suleiman walked up to Norbert, and under the other's slightly scrutinizing eyes, he pulled out his sword and stuck it on the ground. "I, Suleiman, am willing to respond to Riverrun's call, lead my subjects, follow you, and hunt down Ironborn."
"My personal interests! Nothing!"
"All for Riverlands!"
His voice was so loud, respectful and firm, that it resounded throughout the camp, and everyone turned their eyes to look over. This was exactly the effect Suleiman wanted.
Norbert. Vance looked at the young man in front of him who was "aware of current affairs", with a satisfied smile on his face. This was exactly the result he wanted.
He personally stepped forward and helped Suleiman up with both hands:
"Very well, child, your loyalty will be remembered by Riverrun.
He patted Suleiman's shoulder affectionately, but suddenly changed the topic and pointed to the northern sky, his expression becoming serious.
"You must also know about Seaguard's situation."
"We must find this group of Ironborn immediately, eliminate them, stabilize the situation, and never let Ironborn's conspiracy succeed."
He turned around and pointed to the flags House Bracken and House Lychester on the other side of the camp.
"Now, I need you to complete another important task."
"I need you to cooperate with the troops of House Bracken and House Lychester. How about dividing your troops with me to hunt down those Ironborn who are still running inland?"
Norbert was thinking about another thing. The House Bracken and Blackwood family members had disputes every day in his team. They disliked each other. They were like two tinderboxes. He had to find a reason to send one of them out.
No matter who it is, send out an army quickly to separate them.
He said to Suleiman in an authoritative tone, "Your mission is to work with me to ensure that your Lord Riverlands's castle is safe and sound."
"As for those outside the city.
. You don't need to worry about the inexplicable smile in Suleiman's eyes. These words sounded like orders, but in fact they gave Suleiman great freedom. He successfully escaped from the fate of going to Seaguard to fight a tough battle and was able to survive the whole game.
Wait for the situation to change.