Queen of Thorns' Eye for Things

Now, almost all of Westeros is focused on Jon's war in the Westerlands, and Highgarden, as a direct stakeholder, is no exception.

Discussions about Jon were almost ubiquitous in Highgarden.

No one in Highgarden cared more about Jon than Margaery, and even more so about Jon's battle situation Lya Margaery.

Almost as soon as Lya opened her eyes, she asked her maid if there was any news from the front lines.

"Not yet, Miss. That bastard has been waiting beneath Casterly Rock for over half a month. I heard he recently launched an attack, but it didn't succeed."

"Phew, got it."

Hearing her maid say this, Lya breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that Jon's ability to breach Golden Tooth was mainly due to luck, and he was now helpless against Casterly Rock.

She never expected that Margaery would be the one to marry Jon again. When she learned of this, Lya felt a sense of relief, as if she had escaped a catastrophe.

She was quite startled when she heard that Jon had recently captured Golden Tooth in one fell swoop.

If Jon really did breach Casterly Rock, Lya thought of her provocation at the banquet, and if that happened—

"Casterly Rock will never fall," Lya whispered to herself, as if hypnotizing herself.

After getting ready, she began her work—accompanying Margaery.

Soon, Lya arrived at their usual meeting place, where a group of girls surrounded Margaery and began discussing the war at the front.

"Jon was able to reach Golden Tooth in just one or two months; my brother says he really has a talent for military strategy."

"Yes, if that Young Wolf hadn't found a small path into the Westerlands, he might have been blocked by Golden Tooth."

Faced with her female companions' praise, Margaery nodded and smiled, knowing that many of them were waiting to see her make a fool of herself.

The legitimate daughter of a duke was married to a duke who had no real fiefdom and no illegitimate children; it was somewhat disgraceful of her.

As the daughter of a duke, she naturally received an excellent education, and she knew the geography of the Seven Kingdoms and their famous castles like the back of her hand.

For example, they know that Winterfell in the North is far away and cold, and the terrible logistical pressure would overwhelm all the Knights.

Riverrun is surrounded by two rivers, making it impossible for even a thousand troops to cross.

The Red Keep in King's Landing was originally protected by dragons, and no one dared to even think of attacking it.

The Eyrie Casterly Rock only those mythical figures from the Age of Heroes could conquer.

The Lannister ' ancestor, the clever Lann, slept with all the women of the House Casterly, the original owners of Casterly Rock, and conquered the Casterly Rock through his second son.

Margaery knew the truth was definitely not like that, and there must be a complicated scheme involved, but she was very curious and wanted to know how Jon would conquer Casterly Rock.

A few days ago, Garlan sent a message saying that Jon wanted to borrow the House Redwyne fleet. Everyone was puzzled; could they really take Casterly Rock with just that fleet?

Everyone was baffled as to what Jon intended to do with the fleet, but Mace still summoned Earl Redwyne of Arbor and ordered him to lead the fleet to support Jon.

When faced with compliments from her female companions, Margaery remained remarkably modest. "Alas, Casterly Rock isn't so easy to conquer. I heard it just launched an attack not long ago. I just hope he's careful not to get hurt."

"You really treat that illegitimate child like a treasure?" Lya thought to herself. She used to admire Margaery quite a bit, but she never expected her to be so love-struck.

Lya simply couldn't understand who this Jon was, or what kind of magic he had used to bewitch Margaery like this.

Despite her thoughts, Lya still said, "I still think highly of Jon. After all, he seems invincible so far. Perhaps he has some other plans."

"Perhaps." Margaery straightened her skirt, but she knew perfectly well what Lya meant.

Just then, a maid ran over and called Margaery over, saying that Earl Redwyne Paxter had arrived.

The House Redwyne was Olenna's family, and Margaery needed to treat Paxter elder, so she temporarily bid farewell to her female companion and went over.

At this moment, Olenna is talking to Paxter about the grapes of Arbor.

The Arbor is located at the southern end of Westeros, with a pleasant climate and is famous for its various grape varieties and wines.

The wines from Arbor, made using a special brewing method, can even turn golden in color, and they are very popular even in the Free Cities.

But even the best goods need transportation and sales channels. Therefore, Arbor possesses a large number of ships and warships, which serve as the foundation of House Redwyne and are also one of the three major fleets of Westeros. Now that Stannis's Royal Fleet has been severely damaged, the three major fleets of Westeros have become two major fleets, with the last one being the Iron Islands Fleet.

Therefore Paxter cherished his own fleet very much.

After receiving the summons from Lord Mace, he faithfully fulfilled his duty, but he couldn't help but wonder—what exactly did Jon intend to do with his ship?

Unfortunately, Mace did not explicitly state this in his letter, so while the fleet was resupplying, he went to Highgarden to find out the details.

Before he could get any results from his inquiries, Margaery arrived first.

Her appearance seemed to brighten the entire room, especially her silky brown hair, which shone brighter than any jewel.

Seeing Margaery like this, Paxter's twin sons were practically drooling.

Margaery even smiled at them, a bright smile that practically froze them in place, making them forget to return the smile.

Margaery, however, paid no heed and walked straight to Paxter. "Uncle Paxter ~" Margaery said to the reddish-brown-haired Earl Redwyne in a coquettish tone, taking Paxter's arm and saying, "Uncle, although I don't know anything about warfare, Casterly Rock in all of Westeros. You must help him!"

Seeing this, Mace's face turned as long as a donkey's, and she said helplessly to Paxter, "Sigh~ I knew I couldn't keep a girl."

Paxter simply smiled at this, then asked, "My lord, how exactly does Jon want me to help him conquer the city? Casterly Rock is carved out of a rocky mountain; there's no need for a fleet."

During Robert's Rebellion, Paxter's fleet played a significant role, but he only used his fleet to blockade Storm's End. Using a naval fleet to attack a land fortress was simply not feasible.

"I don't know either, but Jon never fights according to any rules, and he didn't say it explicitly in his letter—"

Before Mace could finish speaking, Margaery interjected, "Uncle, rest assured, Jon cherishes the lives of his soldiers. Even those Dreadfort soldiers he took with him weren't used as cannon fodder or shields. Your fleet is so precious; he certainly won't misuse it."

Seeing that Mace was about to get annoyed by her interruption, Margaery quickly ran behind her father and started massaging his shoulders.

"Hmph! I really don't know what's so good about this brat." Mace snorted coldly.

"Oh, Father, Jon isn't some brat at all. I believe he'll definitely become a powerful lord. If he becomes the true Lord of Casterly Rock, it will be good for Highgarden, won't it?" Margaery apologized and pleaded, finally calming Mace down.

With the Tyrell in such a state, Paxter naturally had nothing more to say, stating that his fleet would certainly obey Jon's orders.

Just two days after Paxter left, Randyll Tarly, the most formidable nobleman in the Reach, arrived at Highgarden.

In a marble-themed hall adorned with green vines and red flowers, Mace summoned his trusted lieutenant.

Randyll Tarly still looked every bit the part of a meticulous soldier, wearing a brown, tight-fitting shirt with arm guards on the cuffs and the House Tarly's ancestral sword, Heartsbane, at his waist. He stood before Mace with his son, Dickon.

It is indeed unusual for someone to be summoned by the lord again after only a few months.

Looking at this top general of the South, Mace felt a deep sense of envy and even jealousy. During Robert's Rebellion, Randyll Tarly had defeated Robert with fewer troops at the Golden Tree River.

He himself led tens of thousands of troops but failed to capture Storm's End, and not long ago he even relived his old dream in King's Landing, which plunged Mace into serious mental exhaustion.

The only thing that could console him was that his hair was much thicker than Randyll Tarly's.

"Ser Randyll Tarly, I have summoned you here to entrust you with an army of twenty thousand men to assist Jon in his conquest of the Westerlands. Your objective is to begin with Cornfield and conquer as much land and castle as possible. Of course, the most important task is to keep Tywin's army at bay in the south." Mace said, and Maester Loga handed Randyll Tarly a warrant.

Randyll Tarly accepted the warrant, bowed to Mace, and said, "I will not fail your trust!"

Go forth, we await your triumphant return.

"Yes, sir!"

As soon as Mace finished speaking, Randyll Tarly turned and left, his cloak billowing high behind him.

Randyll Tarly was a lord with the most military bearing; he received orders, carried them out, and said nothing more.

Watching Randyll Tarly and his son leave, Mace turned to Loga and said, "Write me a letter for Jon."

Upon hearing Mace speak, Loga immediately took out a notebook to take notes.

"You brat----"

"Huh?" Loga looked somewhat bewildered.

"Write it, you brat!"

"Oh." Loga then realized that Mace wasn't talking about him.

"You brat, this is an army of 20,000! You better do your best and stop attacking Casterly Rock. Take over more of the surrounding castles, fortresses, and land—"

Highgarden's sudden and massive action was entirely due to Olenna's foresight.

She also didn't believe Jon could conquer Casterly Rock. Although the Queen of Thorns King's Landing n't have any spies in King's Landing, she still deduced that Tywin was very likely to reach an agreement with Stannis to divide the Westerlands in two.

Olenna also believed that they should take advantage of this opportunity to seize more land in the Westerlands and gain more benefits for Jon.

Of course, the real motive wasn't just Jon. The Westerlands ' mineral deposits were the most valuable thing, and conquering more gold mines would make House Tyrell even richer.

After all, no one ever thinks they have too much gold, and the shrewd "Queen of Thorns" would never work for someone else for nothing.

As for Jon's request for the fleet, it was because of his granddaughter Margaery and the fact that the war against Casterly Rock was unlikely to escalate into a large-scale naval battle.

It was just a one-time trip, and Olenna decided to give Jon the courtesy he deserved.

Mace continued dictating her instructions to Loga: "Also, try not to charge into battle. As the commander, watch your own life! If you hurt Margaery, I'll give you a good beating!"

Loga lowered his head, biting his lip, trying hard not to laugh out loud.

"That's all," Mace said, scratching his stomach as if there was nothing else to say.

"Oh, right, send him the armor I wore when I was young."

"Yes, sir."

"Forget it, that one's too conspicuous. Let's go to the warehouse and pick out a sturdier one for him."

"Yes, sir."