The Loyalty of Reason

While King Robert the Rough kept Queen Cersei under his thumb, Gryn Crabb needed to find a stepping-stone to advance himself.

If he sought an audience directly, the proud Cersei Lannister would most likely look down on House Crabb, which was known as "Half-Wildlings."

The raven was only a prelude. The key was to seize an opportunity to demonstrate his abilities and strength.

Most of the land on Crackclaw Point was barren and infertile, consisting mainly of swamps, woods, and valleys.

Every shadowy valley on Crackclaw Point had its own lord, and neither the lords nor their people trusted outsiders.

Most of the people on Crackclaw Point were descendants of the First Men. When the Andals had tried to seize the peninsula, they had met with resistance at every turn.

When the people of Crackclaw Point weren't fighting foreign invaders, they were slaughtering one another. Family feuds ran as black and deep as the swamps in the hills.

Now and then, a hero brought temporary peace to Crackclaw Point, such as Clarence Crab, the legendary hero of House Crabb. But once he died, everything returned to the way it had been.

During the War of Conquest, Aegon sent his sister Visenya Targaryen to Crackclaw Point to bring its people to heel and make them his direct vassals. Ever since, Crackclaw Point had remained steadfastly loyal to House Targaryen.

Gryn Crabb handed the letter he had written to Herschel, the steward.

After a moment of silence, Gryn Crabb rubbed his long, slender fingers through his dark, medium-length curls.

About a hundred miles east of Whispers, a little to the north, lay a large stretch of land that was relatively suitable for farming by Crackclaw Point's standards.

That land had once belonged to the domain of Crabb's ancestral keep, the Whispers. According to Herschel, the steward, that land had once enabled House Crabb to field a thousand elite kinsmen and maintain absolute control over the surrounding region.

After the Usurper's War, under pressure from within and without, Gryn Crabb's mother had led the remaining household retainers to a military stronghold that was relatively safe at the time, and renamed it Whispers.

More than a decade had passed. The ancestral home, the Whispers, had become a ruin, and House Crabb had long since lost control of the land.

"Surana, my mother must have had a hard time back then."

"My young lord, even now, thinking back on it still makes my heart race. At first, your mother had to sleep with two swords under her head. The longsword was for the Mountain Wildlings who might attack at any moment; she kept the shortsword for herself."

Gryn Crabb chuckled softly. "She really was remarkable."

A hint of a smile appeared on Surana's face, usually kept stern. "Your mother passed away at peace, my lord. You were her greatest pride."

After chatting for a while with Surana, the housekeeper, Gryn Crabb thought back on the veiled remarks she had made before leaving.

The harvest season was approaching, and the nearby Mountain Wildling lords had tacitly set their sights on House Crabb, which had just lost Lady Crabb.

Everyone was poor, but compared with the rest, House Crabb's farms had always been an eyesore.

This was the perfect opportunity.

The lord of Crabb Territory was now just a young boy who had long been sheltered under his mother's wing. The Mountain Wildlings had rarely managed to unite like this. If they didn't rob him, who would they rob? The advantage was ours!

Surana wasn't worried about the fighting in Crabb Territory.

House Crabb had two hereditary household knights, Pell Piri and Mason Baker.

They were the most reliable retainers in the world, forged over the hundreds of years since House Crabb's founding.

In the perilous environment of Crackclaw Point, House Crabb kept more than two hundred standing soldiers, all of them battle-hardened.

Twenty of them wore full plate armor. Against unarmored Mountain Wildlings, each could take on ten.

Surana had taken part in many campaigns alongside Gryn's mother. She was nimble, and it was said that few could best her with a shortsword.

What Surana was really worried about was that Gryn was young and hot-blooded. It was his first time leading troops on his own. He might get carried away, charge at the front, and end up dead out there.

House Crabb had only one heir left. If anything happened to Gryn, everything sheltered under the Crabb banner would collapse in a short time, and House Crabb would become history.

Gryn really wanted to tell Surana outright, I'm very cautious. I won't do anything reckless.

But a lord had to show his courage at all times to maintain his dignity. So he couldn't say it.

Since completing his fusion with his new body, Gryn had felt his physical abilities noticeably improve in every way each time he woke up.

Gryn's sword had been thirsting for action for ages.

With the maturity of his mental age, Gryn kept reminding himself that this was just one of the ten illusions caused by his body growing stronger.

You're a lord. You have soldiers. Stay steady and don't get reckless!

Aside from a cousin three years older than him, who had been married for four years, Gryn was House Crabb's only heir. That was extremely dangerous for a noble house with such a long history.

Crabb Territory was no peaceful place. Its lord had to lead his men into battle often.

Lady Crabb was gone. As lord of Crackclaw Point, Gryn Crabb's life from now on would be like that of his ancestors: battle after battle after battle.

Being a lord on Crackclaw Point was a high-risk occupation.

What if the last Crabb met with an accident?

Anyone with even a little sense would feel the danger, and people's hearts would waver.

House Crabb's title was hereditary baron.

In keeping with House Crabb's awkward position in the kingdom, finding a match for Gryn was indeed a problem. He was too low-ranking for the great houses and too high-ranking for the lesser ones.

Under normal circumstances, fifteen-year-old Gryn should at least have been betrothed.

Surana understood that a lord's marriage was about more than a man and woman falling in love. The causes and consequences of the Usurper's War were a constant warning to nobles not to let love cloud their judgment.

So Surana felt that even a bastard would do. Gryn needed an heir, even if it meant setting aside noble tradition and the law.

It wasn't that she was cursing Gryn. It was to reassure the people and keep them loyal.

Once he had an heir, the lord would have more freedom in his marriage.

Surana had a son and a daughter. Her eldest, sixteen years old, was married and currently learning from Herschel, the steward.

Her younger daughter, Kalaia, was thirteen. She had had her first period the previous month.

She was healthy, beautiful, and, most importantly, trustworthy.

Surana had watched Gryn grow up and knew he wasn't a cruel or ungrateful person.

Although bearing a bastard wouldn't be very honorable, for Crabb Territory at the moment, it would be a meritorious deed.

The child couldn't inherit the Crabb name and would have to use the bastard surname Waters, but would still carry Crabb blood.

For now, bearing a child with Crabb blood would earn her at least a farm, and she would want for nothing for the rest of her life.

She would live better than most women. That was enough for a lifetime.

Everyone would be better off.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Gryn was simply grateful that he had inherited the original owner's memories.

With those memories, Gryn's words and actions wouldn't be too out of the ordinary. He could change gradually, naturally.

As a former loyal servant of the Dragon House, he couldn't leave behind any conspicuous evidence.

Under the Faith of the Seven, acting too strangely could easily get you branded a heretic. The Seven's followers were everywhere in Westeros.

Thirteen years old... Gryn leaned back in his chair and stared up at the ceiling for a long while.

The conflict with his own beliefs was too great. He'd think about it later.

After quietly counting for several days, Gryn found that he had about two thousand direct subjects, who made their living mainly through farming and hunting.

About a thousand people lived near Whispers, while the rest were scattered across ten villages of various sizes.

One of the villages lay south of Whispers, by the sea. It had a population of about two hundred, and its people made their living by fishing.

It was called Fishing Village. The name wasn't good. It needed to be changed.

At the very least, "Village" needed to become "Harbor."

Once he was done with this flurry of work, he would have to go there himself, inspect the place, and make plans.

The lord was poor. He needed lots of Gold Dragons.

Mason Baker, the household knight who had set out three days ago, was following Gryn's orders to inspect and count all the blacksmiths, carpenters, and other skilled craftsmen in the territory.

Herschel, the steward, had already begun arranging for people to tidy up the empty rooms.

He would gather all the territory's strength, focus on production, divide the work, and train skilled craftsmen in preparation for establishing a cold weapons factory.

Crabb Territory had many fine yew forests. If he could train everyone to use a longbow soon, they would have the advantage.

An elite longbowman needed more than skill with a bow. He also needed strong discipline. Gryn understood that all of this would take time to build.

The first thing Gryn had to do was make the most of the territory's current strength, mobilize everyone, and gather all their strength to raise an army. First, he would crush the nearby Mountain Wildlings and give the territory a relatively peaceful environment in which to develop.

Above all, they were simply too poor. Gryn planned to temporarily change the family motto to "Strong Taking Over Bitter Tilling."

He'd change it back once they had money.