Innocent Little Virgin

The mountain ranges in the Westerlands run north-south, resembling a reclining lion to the south and a galloping herd of horses to the north.

With such rugged natural borders, the Westerlands is arguably second only to the Vale in terms of its defensibility.

When Loras led the Tyrell army south, there were many scouts sent out to scout the western mountains.

Fortunately, the mountain range wasn't that long. After four or five days, they left the area where the mountain range extended. About a week later, Loras arrived at Riverrun.

After nearly half a month of long marching, the Knight of Flowers was covered in soreness and odor, his once-proud brown curly hair was no longer smooth, and there were even black and gray oil stains near his collar.

A brown ring had grown around his mouth, and his youthful charm had long since been worn away during the long march.

Seeing the white towers of Riverrun and the abundant moisture from the the Riverlands, Loras felt unbearably itchy and wanted nothing more than to jump into a bathtub and take a nice bath.

Not long after they arrived, Jon ordered him to lead the remaining Tyrell army along the same route again.

Despite the bet already made between the two, it still greatly displeased him.

Loras had barely caught his breath upon arriving in Riverrun when he was forced to set off again, making him wish he could see a hole in Robert Frey's face with his brown eyes.

"I refuse to believe this foolish plan will work! If Daven really does move his troops away from Golden Tooth, I'll let my horse ride me from now on!" In the hall of Riverrun, Loras, having hastily changed his clothes, swore a solemn oath before Edmure.

"Ser Loras, perhaps Jon has some other ideas." Not only Loras, who had intended to mock Jon from the start, but others also didn't have much faith in Jon's plan, such as Edmure, who liked to claim that he had defeated Tywin.

"What could he possibly be thinking? He's never fought fair and square even once. The White Wolf Knight? If you ask me, this guy doesn't deserve that title at all, and he's certainly not worthy of my sister!"

"Well, luck is a tricky thing," Edmure said with a half-smile. After all, he was the one who defeated Tywin!

Edmure was trying to comfort Loras, or rather, trying to get closer to Loras.

Now, at just over twenty years old, he has taken over Riverrun. Although he is still nominally the Riverlands Guardian, the family's power has been greatly weakened compared to before.

First, the House Frey has become dukes and is no longer subordinate to Riverrun, so the House Tully's control over the land immediately decreased by a third.

Stannis did not stop there. Although no formal award has been given yet, according to news from King's Landing, if Jon can achieve certain results in the Westerlands and conquer a large enough territory, then Harrenhal will belong to Vargo Hoat, the captain of the Brave Companions.

This further worsened the House Tully's external situation and caused their power to decline further.

Brynden's advice was to cultivate Reach and seek an alliance with the south. He specifically suggested that Edmure and Loras should strengthen their ties.

"No, this guy isn't Eddard Stark's bastard son at all!" Loras exclaimed suddenly, as if he had just realized something.

"What?!" Edmure asked, his eyes wide, as he leaned closer.

Loras turned to Edmure and said, "This guy isn't Eddard Stark's bastard son. I think he's the bastard son of some god, otherwise he couldn't possibly be this lucky!"

Edmure: "----"

Edmure sighed and said, "We'll soon find out if he's lucky or not. I've sent him suggestions about attacking Golden Tooth more than once, but he's never replied. Perhaps he really is very confident in his 'plan'."

"His plan is absolutely doomed to fail!" Loras said again.

"I heard you have a bet with Jon. I think if you were to be the commander of the army, you would surely achieve great things very quickly," Edmure said, somewhat insincerely.

Loras, however, seemed to accept it. He looked at Edmure and said, "Edmure, although you are not tall, your martial arts are mediocre, and your Archery is terrible, I feel you are much better Jon."

Edmure's lips twitched. He wasn't sure if the other person was praising him, so he didn't know how to respond.

"It's a pity Margaery is already betrothed to Jon, but our family has many other beautiful girls. If you don't mind that they are from a collateral branch, I can talk to my family about it," Loras said earnestly.

"Well, Ser Loras." Edmure completely forgot Loras's peculiar way of praising him.

Even though he eventually married a member of a branch of the Tyrell family, the Tyrell ' wealth was common knowledge, especially given their demonstrated strength in this war.

That would provide them with considerable assistance.

The situation in the Seven Kingdoms is now clear: Edmure has become the Duke of Riverrun, but he is still unmarried.

Edmure once had a crush on a noblewoman, but unfortunately, she was seduced into bed by a bard, which infuriated Edmure.

He ordered the expulsion of all bards and singers from his territory.

But now he needs to find himself a wife, and for someone in his early twenties like himself, Margaery is a pretty good candidate.

Unfortunately, the House Tully made a wrong choice before; neither Stannis nor the Tyrell would have chosen them.

Otherwise— Edmure ended the fantasy period and personally escorted Loras away from Riverrun once again.

The news that Jon had led his army to the Golden Tooth for over half a month without launching an attack naturally reached Highgarden, who were most concerned about the battle situation.

Although Mace had not won many battles, he still did not approve of Jon's plan. He even complained to others that the roses of Highgarden could be planted on a mountaintop like Casterly Rock, but never in an ominous place like Harrenhal.

He'll have to pay for Jon to build a castle; he's practically the biggest sucker in the Seven Kingdoms.

Margaery wasn't particularly knowledgeable about military matters, but she was interested in something else entirely—her fiancé's romantic history.

"When Jon first went to the Twins, Old Walder planned for Jon to marry his daughter?" Margaery was clearly very surprised by this information.

"Yes, Miss Margaery." The speaker was Garth's illegitimate son, Galleott Flowers.

As a top family in the Seven Kingdoms, an intelligence network is naturally indispensable. Even if it's not as timely and pervasive as Varys', they can still find out what they want to know in a high probability.

"But it might not be a daughter," said Willas, who was also responsible for vetting his sister and investigating Jon. He stroked the head of the hound beside him, which lay obediently beside him.

Since losing a leg in a tournament, Willas has turned to academics and has become quite adept at training hunting dogs, Raven, and horses.

"At that time, Jon was practically penniless, how could Old Walder possibly marry his daughter to a bastard—" Willas realized halfway through his sentence that this was inappropriate.

Old Walder didn't marry off his daughter, but Tyrell did. Doesn't this mean Tyrell is less classy than the House Frey?

But Margaery smiled nonchalantly and said, "It's alright, Willas. Jon is a duke now, isn't he? Besides, I think Old Walder is probably regretting his decision. If he had married his most beautiful daughter to Jon sooner, we wouldn't be in this mess now."

"Sigh," Willas sighed, looking at his little sister whom he had doted on for over a decade, "I'd rather we didn't have to do anything."

"My brother, don't say that," Margaery comforted him. "Jon is still a good person."

She recalled the day Jon first made eye contact in King's Landing, how he led her through the Red Keep, dodging the patrolling soldiers, and the words they exchanged in the garden—all of which filled her with a deep sense of nostalgia.

So much so that now, when she hears those ballads about knights and princes, all she can think of is Jon.

Even if Joffrey or Renly were resurrected now, she wouldn't be interested.

Willas looked at Margaery and his expression suddenly changed. "Oh? I wasn't talking about Jon. I meant if Stannis hadn't won, we wouldn't need to do all this."

"Huh?" Margaery realized that she had subconsciously defended Jon, and that her older Willas had noticed it, and she couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.

Joking aside, it's time to get down to business. Willas's expression changed as he spoke, "Actually, the Tyrell don't want Jon to be so fixated on Casterly Rock. His army's logistics are entirely dependent on Highgarden. We can support him for a year or two, but we can't support him indefinitely. Like this hound, if you keep feeding it, it will forget who its master is. I've heard that dogs were actually domesticated from wolves. Stannis wants to use Jon, this Direwolf, to intimidate us Tyrell. Perhaps we Tyrell can tame him into a fierce guard dog."

Seeing her older brother's serious expression, Margaery cleared her mind.

What's wrong with me? My marriage to Jon was forced by circumstances. Unless the dragons resurrect, Casterly Rock is impossible to take. Why am I suddenly speaking up for him?

Margaery thought to herself, realizing that Willas's words were also a reminder to her, but—

"For people like you and me, the most important thing in marriage is to help each other succeed." She thought back to what Jon had said to her in the garden that day.

He stood shoulder to shoulder with himself on the city wall, overlooking the myriad lights of King's Landing, watching the Blackwater flow eastward, as if the entire earth were prostrate at his feet.

Margaery eventually calmed herself down. Although she understood what situation would be most beneficial for the family, she still hoped that Jon could conquer Golden Tooth and Casterly Rock.

Because that was their promise to help each other succeed.