Wish Fulfilled

Hahahaha

After Jon left, hearty laughter echoed in the room.

Stannis and Davos looked at each other and smiled; it was a rare moment that brought them both such joy.

Especially considering they had just recently suffered a pyrrhic victory.

Jon has always acted like a saint, showing affection to his brothers and loyalty to the king. When Stannis offered to decide his marriage, Jon even honestly told him about his past relationships.

His romantic history consisted of only a handful of correspondences, and the two parties had only met once!

Both Davos and Stannis could see that Old Walder arranged for Jon to meet Roslin to create a rift between Jon and Robb. This silly boy actually thought he was in love.

But the question he suddenly asked before leaving shows that this young man still has humanity, or rather, that deep down he still has his own desires.

But when Davos realized that Jon's desires were something some people were born with, he felt sorry for him.

"Your Majesty, do you think Jon can do it? Can he get those North to put down their crowns?" Davos asked with some concern. He truly did not want to see such a talented young man walk down a hopeless path.

However, Stannis handed him a letter of intelligence. Davos was about to reach for it when Stannis remembered that he was illiterate, so he simply told him the contents of the letter himself.

"This is intelligence Varys obtained. When Jon sent the message to the entire nation that he had crowned me the rightful king, he also gave Robb Tywin specific escape routes. However, Rickard in the North and Brynden of House Tully disagreed, and Brynden let Tywin go, allowing him to escape back to the Westerlands."

"So—" Davos said with some surprise, but Stannis interrupted him.

"So there's already a rift between the North lords and the Riverlands lords. Jon still has a chance, and the House Frey has already pledged allegiance to me. Without our approval, Robb might not even be able to return to Winterfell," Stannis said casually, even leaning back in his chair.

"Your Majesty, please allow Jon to go with me." Stannis glanced at Davos, who still looked somewhat travel-worn, and nodded.

Just as he was about to leave the study, Stannis suddenly spoke up, "Rest well these next two days. Wait until the House Tyrell arrive before you set off."

Upon hearing the words "get some rest," Davos felt a lump in his throat.

He bowed deeply to Stannis, as if all the hard work had been worthwhile.

"The House Florent have always wanted to be Warden of the West, and they've questioned Jon's loyalty. Now I think they'll have nothing to say," Stannis said in a deep voice.

The Lord of Casterly Rock and the Warden of the West were never necessarily bound together, just as Robert once considered appointing Jaime Lannister as Warden of the Vale.

If it weren't for wanting to control the military of the entire Westerlands, Jon wouldn't have gone through all this trouble.

Jon returned to his mansion near the Old Gate, where Martin was already waiting at the door, and Sansa and Arya had been waiting for quite some time.

"My lord, what is it? What does His Majesty Stannis want with you?" Martin asked, rushing up to Jon.

"Jon, you should call me next time you run away. If you call me, you won't get caught!" Arya suggested, but Sansa interrupted her.

"Jon is a duke now, you're not allowed to mention running away again." She looked at Jon somewhat embarrassed and asked, "You're still a duke, still Stark, right?"

"Yes, I still am," Jon gave her a definite answer, which relieved Sansa. Jon then added, "However, His Majesty has appointed me Lord of Casterly Rock and Warden of the West."

"What!" The House Frey brothers jumped out of nowhere, with Rhaegar Frey asking incredulously, "Casterly Rock — Tywin is still in Casterly Rock!"

Jon told everyone in detail that he needed to persuade Robb to give up the crown first, and then lead his troops to attack the Westerlands. Only after taking Casterly Rock would he become the Lord of Casterly Rock.

"Good! Jon, I believe you can defeat Tywin."

Take me with you! Take me with you!

One sister's motivation stemmed from admiration for Jon, while the other was simply a case of forgetting past mistakes.

Between a son-in-law of the Lord of Casterly Rock and a son-in-law of the Lord of Harrenhal, the House Frey would certainly prefer the former, but the problem is that the former carries too much risk.

So Stevron advised, "Jon, I'm not saying your choice is wrong. I just believe that what you get is what you get. Harrenhal may be dilapidated, but it's large enough, and there's such a big God's Eye next to it. If you manage it well, you'll be one of the top nobles in the Riverlands in less than ten years. The Westerlands— "

Stevron didn't continue, in his opinion that Jon was being far too ambitious.

Jon knew that the House Frey were all driven by self-interest, so he didn't tell them that he still had Harrenhal as a safety net.

Afterwards, Beric Dondarrion and Thoros also expressed their concerns about how to persuade Robb to put the matter aside for now, as the Westerlands was indeed a difficult territory to conquer.

Even with the Iron Islands ' cooperation, Robb didn't set his sights on Casterly Rock; he only wanted to ambush Tywin at the Red Fork.

"Jon, Casterly Rock is an entire stone mountain! It's over two hundred feet high, three times the height of the Wall! Just imagine how many lives would be lost fighting it!" Beric Dondarrion still hoped that Jon could give up this somewhat unrealistic idea.

In fact, there were many more difficulties he didn't mention. The Lannister had ruled the Westerlands for thousands of years, and countless people bore the Lannister name.

Even if Jon takes Casterly Rock, how will he govern it?

Do you have to put a knife under your pillow every time you sleep?

Stannis's decision quickly became known to more people, and Alester, who was still acting Hand of the King, was replaced by Stannis.

Nys requested that at least five thousand troops be prepared, which would be used to support Jon's campaign in the Westerlands if Jon successfully persuaded Robb.

Varys, as the Minister of Intelligence, naturally already knew about it, so he approached Jon with gifts and his sincerity.

In the evening, Varys once again found Jon when everyone was off guard.

"So you've decided to attack Casterly Rock?"

"The opportunities one encounters in a lifetime are limited. Since I have this opportunity, why shouldn't I give it a try?"

Seeing Jon's candor, Varys didn't say anything on the surface, but he inwardly agreed. He knew that if he attacked the Westerlands, regardless of success or failure, it would take at least three to five years. Even if he succeeded in the short term, Jon, as an outsider, would need to expend considerable effort in a counterinsurgency campaign.

He will face a series of rebellions, raids from the Iron Islands, and even pressure from the Reach.

Regardless, this was in their favor, so Varys decided to act as a go-between and "give Jon a hand."

"Jon, do you remember that friend I told you about?"

"Hmm." Jon nodded, wanting to see how this Spider was going to fool him.

"He's actually the governor of the city-state of Pentos. You've probably heard of Pentos, right? My friend of mine mainly deals in things like keel bones. I thought a young man like you would definitely shine in a foreign land, and he would trust and value you."

Jon deliberately followed up with, "Then it sounds like your friend is more of a businessman, but all I know is warfare. What would a businessman like him need me for?"

Varys chuckled and explained, "He's not just a businessman; he's a governor, and a governor naturally needs his own armed forces."

"Oh, I see."

"But you now have a better option. I've contacted my friend, and he'll invest at least 300,000 Gold Dragon in you, whether it's recruiting mercenaries or developing your territory. All you need to do is give him a title like Earl," Varys added with a smile. "While the Free Cities free, they're more like a jungle where the strong prey on the weak. They yearn for the peace of Westeros."

"He thinks Westeros is a peaceful place? Good heavens, so there's an eighth level of hell." Jon joked.

He naturally accepted the money with a smile.

The Westerlands have more than just gold mines beneath Casterly Rock, Golden Tooth, and Castamere; there are at least a dozen other gold and silver mines as well.

In other words, Jon believed he would soon become rich once he occupied the Westerlands, and no one ever complains about having too much gold.

"Then please thank him for his kindness, but two hundred thousand is enough. Please use the remaining one hundred thousand to purchase various supplies for me and send them to the Wall. The weather here is gradually getting colder, and I'm worried that it will only get colder at the Wall."

"Of course, no problem," Varys assured him with a smile.

In his view, Jon's attack on the Westerlands would weaken Westeros's overall strength, but if he succeeded, he might have a chance to win Jon over to his side.

Varys initially thought Jon was an ambitious man, but he discovered that Snow's concern for the Wall seemed to exceed his expectations.

"An ambitious man with a certain sense of responsibility?" Varys assessed in his mind.

The two had a pleasant conversation, and after drinking a pot of tea Varys left.

The news of Jon being made Lord of Casterly Rock is currently circulating only within the inner circle of power; it is unknown to the general public.

The people of King's Landing only knew that Jon had refused Stannis's offer of a title and even fled overnight to return to the Wall to continue his service.

Some called him a fool, while others hailed him as a true knight.

Even those Stag Men who had been mentored by Jon had begun to sing his praises of the noble name of "Jon."

To be honest, "noble Jon" sounds much better than "villainous Jon."

Soon, news of Jon's acceptance of the reward reached Sandor's ears. He approached Jon again, and although the guards at the gate initially stopped him, he stood there for two whole days before Robert Frey finally brought him before Jon.

As the nearly seven-foot-tall (1.9 meters) burly man explained his purpose, Jon said, "So you don't even plan to return to the Westerlands, but only intend to stay by my side, just because I killed your brother?"

"Yes, my lord," Sandor nodded and assured Jon, "Perhaps my martial skills are not as good as my brother's, but I assure you that there are few in the entire kingdom who can rival me!"

"My lord, please allow me to pledge my loyalty to you."