Rational Loyalty

While King Robert, in his boorish manner, keeps Queen Cersei under his thumb, Gryn Crabb must find a ladder to climb.

If he were to seek an audience directly, the haughty Cersei Lannister would likely look down upon the Crabb family, who are dismissed as "half-wildlings."

The raven is merely a prelude; the key is to seize the opportunity to demonstrate his capability and strength.

The lands of Crackclaw Point are mostly barren and desolate, consisting primarily of swamps, forests, and valleys.

Every dark valley on Crackclaw Point has its own lord, and both these lords and their smallfolk distrust all outsiders.

Most of the inhabitants of Crackclaw Point are descendants of the First Men. When the Andals once attempted to conquer the peninsula, they met with resistance at every turn.

When the people of Crackclaw Point are not fighting foreign enemies, they slaughter one another; their blood feuds are as dark and deep as the mountain swamps.

Sometimes a hero brings temporary peace to Crackclaw Point, such as the legendary hero of House Crabb, Clarence Crabb, but once he dies, everything returns to its original state.

During the Conquest, Aegon sent his sister Visenya Targaryen to Crackclaw Point to accept their submission and make them direct vassals. Since then, Crackclaw Point has remained fiercely loyal to House Targaryen.

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

After a moment of silence, Gryn Crabb ran his long, slender fingers through his ink-black, medium-length wavy hair.

About 100 miles east of Whispers, slightly to the north, lies a vast expanse of land that is, by the standards of Crackclaw Point, suitable for farming.

This land once belonged to the sphere of influence of the Crabb ancestral seat, The Whispers. According to the head steward Herschel, relying on that land, the House Crabb of the past once supplied a thousand elite soldiers and maintained absolute rule over the surrounding region.

After the War of the Usurper, under both internal and external pressures, Gryn Crabb's mother took the remaining household retainers and migrated to a then-relatively safe military fortress, renaming it—Whispers.

More than a decade has passed; the ancestral seat of The Whispers has become a ruin, and House Crabb has long since lost its dominion over those lands.

"Surana, my mother, it certainly couldn't have been easy for her back then."

"My young master, even now, when I look back, I still feel a chill in my heart. In the beginning, my Lady had to sleep with two swords by her pillow: the longsword was for the mountain wildlings who might attack at any moment, and the dagger was kept for herself."

Gryn Crabb chuckled softly: "She was truly formidable."

Surana, who was accustomed to maintaining a cold expression, allowed a trace of a smile to appear on her face: "My Lady passed away in peace; my master, you are her greatest pride."

After chatting with the household steward Surana for a while, and once she had departed, Gryn Crabb reflected on her final, cryptic words.

The harvest season for the farms is approaching, and the neighboring mountain wildling lords have tacitly set their sights on House Crabb, which has just lost Lady Crabb.

Everyone is poor, but by comparison, the Crabb family farms have always been an eyesore to others.

The opportunity is perfect.

At this moment, the master of the Crabb territory is merely a young boy who has long been sheltered under his mother's wings. The mountain wildlings have, for once, united; if they don't rob him, who would they rob? The advantage is theirs!

Surana is not worried about the fighting in the Crabb territory.

House Crabb has two hereditary sworn knights, Pell Piri and Mason Baker.

They are the most reliable retainers in this world, cultivated over the hundreds of years since the birth of House Crabb.

Under the perilous and unique environment of Crackclaw Point, the Crabb standing army consists of over two hundred men, each one a veteran of many battles.

Among them, twenty are clad in full plate armor; against unarmored mountain wildlings, one of them is worth ten.

Surana followed Gryn's mother through many campaigns; she is agile, and it is rumored that few can match her with a dagger.

What Surana truly fears is that Gryn, young and impulsive, might lead troops into battle for the first time, get carried away by the heat of the moment, charge to the front, and accidentally lose his life.

House Crabb has only one lone seedling left. If an accident happens to Gryn, everything sheltered under the Crabb banner will collapse in a short time, and House Crabb will become history.

Gryn actually wanted to tell Surana directly: I am very cautious; I won't be reckless.

But for the sake of a lord's dignity, one must always display courage, so it could not be said.

Since his transmigration and the completion of his integration, every time Gryn wakes up from sleep, he can feel his physical fitness improving significantly in every aspect.

Gryn's sword has long been hungry and impatient.

Gryn, with his mature psychological age, constantly warns himself that this is just one of the "ten great illusions" caused by physical enhancement.

You are the lord, you have soldiers, stay steady and don't be reckless!

Aside from a cousin three years his senior who has been married for four years, House Crabb has only him as the sole heir, which is extremely dangerous for a long-standing noble house.

Crabb Territory is not a peaceful place; the lord must frequently lead his men in battles both large and small.

With Lady Crabb gone, Gryn Crabb, as the lord of Crackclaw Point, faces a future life much like his ancestors: fighting, fighting, and more fighting.

Being a lord in Crackclaw Point is a high-risk profession.

What would happen if the last of the Crabbs met with an accident?

Anyone with a modicum of sense would feel the crisis, and the hearts of the people would be restless.

The title of House Crabb is a hereditary barony.

Consistent with the awkward position of House Crabb within the kingdom, Gryn's marriage is indeed a problem—he is too high-ranking for some, yet too low for others.

Normally, a fifteen-year-old Gryn should at least have a fiancée.

Surana understands that a lord's marriage is not merely about romance; the causes and consequences of the War of the Usurper serve as a constant warning to nobles not to let their hearts rule their heads.

Therefore, Surana believes that even if it is a bastard, Gryn needs to leave an heir, regardless of noble traditions or laws.

It is not to curse Gryn, but to soothe the hearts of the subjects and ensure their loyalty.

Only with an heir can a lord's marriage be handled with ease.

Surana has one son and one daughter; her eldest son is sixteen, already married, and currently learning from the steward, Herschel.

Her youngest daughter, Kalaia, is thirteen and had her first menses a month ago.

She is healthy, beautiful, and most importantly, reliable.

Surana watched Gryn grow up and knows that he is not a cruel or ungrateful man.

Although bearing a bastard is not glorious, for the current Crabb Territory, it would be a meritorious service.

They would be unable to inherit the Crabb name and would have to use the bastard surname "Waters," but they would carry the blood of the Crabbs.

As things stand, giving birth to a child with Crabb blood would at least secure a farmstead, ensuring a life free from want.

It would be a better life than most women could hope for—enough for a lifetime.

Everyone would be better off.

Since he has arrived in this land, he must follow its customs; Gryn is only grateful that he has integrated the memories of his predecessor.

Having merged those memories, Gryn's usual words and actions will not be too out of place, allowing for a gradual, natural transition.

As a former loyal subject of the Dragon House, he must not leave behind any glaring evidence.

Under the Faith of the Seven, being too eccentric makes one an easy target for the label of heretic, and followers of the Seven are everywhere in Westeros.

Thirteen... Gryn leaned back in his chair, eyes lifted, staring at the ceiling for a long while.

The conflict with his inner values is too great; he will discuss it later.

After a few days of quiet counting, Gryn's direct subjects total about two thousand people, whose primary means of production are farming and hunting.

About a thousand people are gathered near the Whispers, with the rest distributed among ten villages of varying sizes.

Among them is a village located south of the Whispers, by the sea, with a population of over 200, who make their living by fishing.

It is called Fishing Village—a poor name that must be changed.

At the very least, the word "village" must be changed to "port."

Once this busy period is over, he must go there himself to conduct a field inspection and make plans.

The lord is very poor and needs many Gold Dragons.

Mason Baker, a household knight who departed three days ago, is following Gryn's orders to inspect and count all the blacksmiths, carpenters, and other craftsmen within the territory.

The steward, Herschel, has already begun arranging for people to clear out empty rooms.

By concentrating all the territory's power, centralizing production, dividing labor, and training technicians, they are preparing to establish a cold-weapon factory.

Crabb Territory has many fine yew forests; if he can train a force of longbowmen from the entire population soon, the advantage will be his.

Elite longbowmen require more than just archery; they require strong discipline, and Gryn understands that these things take time to accumulate.

What Gryn must do first is to mobilize the entire territory to the maximum extent based on its current strength, gathering all forces to expand his military, and first wipe out the nearby Mountain Wildlings to create a relatively stable environment for the territory's development.

Mostly, it is because he is too poor; Gryn intends to temporarily change the family motto to "Taking by force is better than bitter toil."

He will change it back once he has money.