Ser Mason Baker was of average height but solidly built. After entering the Throne Room, he remained silent aside from the customary greetings, like a statue.
Count Davos Seaworth habitually frowned, and compared to before, his sparse hair had gained much more gray.
Viscount Willas Tyrell's brown eyes shifted slightly, his gaze seeming to casually sweep over Davos and Mason before his eyelids lowered.
His thoughts drifted to another matter. Not long ago, Grandmother Olenna had finally settled on his intended bride—the future lady of Highgarden. She was neither from Grandmother's House Redwyne nor his mother's House Hightower, but Lady Talla Tarly of Horn Hill—Samwell's younger sister.
The famed commander Randyll was dead, and Randyll's eldest adult son had long since "left home." The current Earl of Horn Hill was merely twelve-year-old Dickon Tarly, yet House Tarly was one of the Reach's strongest military noble houses.
Willas had seen her once at a banquet and only vaguely remembered that Talla was a shy young lady—
Whether for himself or for the entire Reach, a marriage alliance between Tyrell and Tarly would be beneficial. Moreover, a daughter bearing both Tyrell and Tarly blood would be worthy of the Queen's crown of the Seven Kingdoms.
Beyond these superficial reasons—
Willas's brown eyes trembled faintly. He thought—Lady Olenna's decision must have stemmed from the same concern as his own. The Tarly brothers were deeply devoted to one another. Samwell, who had renounced his inheritance of Horn Hill, had somehow easily borrowed the Valyrian Steel ancestral sword, Heartsbane, from Dickon.
Willas was highly wary of this. Everyone knew Samwell was one of Gryn's trusted men. This was equivalent to Gryn's hand reaching into the Reach's sphere of influence.
Or rather, the rose dared not assume it was merely an accident. They suspected that Gryn