Alerie's Disappearance

In the garden, hundreds of candles were lit at once, their flickering flames resembling stars in the sky, while maids wearing white hairnets and headscarves moved about like drifting clouds.

Mace cleverly chose to hold her wedding banquet outdoors instead of indoors.

Highgarden has a warm climate, so it's not cold even outdoors, and the servants even use incense to repel mosquitoes.

The guests who came to offer their congratulations were seated early, and Tyrell set up three bands in three different locations to play the same song simultaneously, ensuring that most people could hear it clearly.

The banquet featured rare ingredients from almost all of the Seven Kingdoms, which were not only precious but also extremely fresh.

Sansa not only got to eat her favorite lemon cake, but also fresh lemons. Arya also tried a bite, and the sourness made her face contort into a grimace.

Her appearance also made Oberyn, who was standing next to her, burst into laughter.

Meanwhile, Jon sat among Mace and his sons, talking to them about Euron.

Euron was actually a stand-in at the wedding; he had a sailor who looked very much like him take his place.

It's normal that no one noticed him since everyone's attention was focused on Jon and Margaery at the wedding.

This situation was unexpected for Jon. It seemed that despite having the initial advantage, Euron was clearly more cautious.

As for Euron's mute sailors, Willas also tried to capture them alive, and some were successful, but they soon died inexplicably.

As soon as the wedding ended, Willas ordered a city-wide manhunt, with his ship naturally being the primary target. However, unexpectedly, as the soldiers leaving Highgarden were searching for him, a sudden easterly wind blew through the harbor. Euron's ship, riding the easterly wind, managed to ram aside the merchant ships that had trapped him and escaped.

This further alarmed Jon; the gust of wind was clearly not a coincidence, and might be related to Euron's magic.

Although we still don't know what this guy is up to, his mute sailors' intention to set fires and poison the ship is all too clear.

Upon learning of this, Mace was furious and immediately ordered all those claiming to be adventurers to be expelled from the Reach.

What interests Willas is how Jon knew all this, and why he seemed to have shown a considerable degree of wariness from the beginning.

"As for the source of this information, it 'Greyjoy a bit complicated to explain. The so-called Aeron is very likely Euron Euron, the younger brother of King Balon. This guy was a complete scoundrel from childhood. It's said that he raped his own brother when he was young and also slept with another brother's concubine, which is why he was driven out of the Iron Islands. I heard all this on the Wall."

"Seven Hells! How could there be such a person?" Mace's face looked extremely ugly, as if the thought of inviting such a person to his daughter's wedding made him feel as uncomfortable as if he had swallowed a Fly.

"Jon, thanks to you, otherwise you would have disrupted the wedding or even kidnapped Margaery— " Willas said sincerely, personally pouring wine for Jon.

Mace, growing increasingly angry, turned and summoned the maester, "Loga, Loga! Write to the Iron Islands and tell them that Euron plotted against me at my daughter's wedding. Demand that they hand Euron over to me."

"Yes, sir."

Listening to Mace's instructions, Jon realized a problem: now that Euron had shown up, his next step would definitely be to go to the Iron Islands to seize power.

This would mean Balon is pretty much dead. In the original timeline, Balon dies one day and Euron returns the next.

Therefore, he must have had a secret code with the Faceless Men he hired, stipulating that they must kill at a time he chose.

Moreover, for such an elusive individual, infiltrating the Iron Islands to gather intelligence would not be difficult.

His ability to control Raven might be just as good as mine.

Jon had another concern: Theon. Theon hadn't shown up at his wedding at all.

Jon first ruled out the possibility of a shipwreck. The only possibility was that Theon, or rather Balon, was wary of him potentially detaining Theon, and therefore did not send him.

In other words, Theon is most likely still on the Iron Islands. Euron originally only needed to kill King Balon to seize power, but now he will probably have to deal with Theon as well, since Theon is the first in line to the throne after Balon's death.

This made Jon somewhat worried about Theon's safety. After all, he had been raised by Eddard as his adopted son since childhood, and he wasn't a bad person at heart. His mind was no longer aligned with the Ironborn's ideology.

Moreover, Jon intends to annex the Iron Islands, House Greyjoy's territory is Great Pyke. If he could submit to him, the process of annexing the Iron Islands would be much smoother.

But he was currently unable to spare the time to go to the Iron Islands to rescue Theon, and could only hope for the best.

At this moment, Willas whispered to Mace, "Father, this is still too dangerous. Our family is in Highgarden. You're letting so many strangers in all at once—"

"What does it matter? Everything's fine, isn't it?" Despite Willas's reminder, Mace remained defiant, the knife slicing the steak making a smacking sound.

"And you two too." Mace popped a piece of meat into his mouth, chewing as he pointed at Jon and Willas. "Does what I say about Highgarden still count? You killed people in the castle without my permission! Huh?"

He took a sip of his drink and continued, "And you, Jon, if I were to go to Casterly Rock and kill someone without your permission, only telling you afterward, could you accept that?"

"It's alright, Father-in-law. Even if you came to my and Margaery's bedroom with a sword, I would just assume an assassin had broken in and that you were here to protect us," Jon said with a smile, winking at Willas. No one would bother with an old tsundere like Mace.

"You're spouting sweet talk again. You're nothing like your father!" Mace muttered, though a hint of a smile crept across his face.

It feels great to be trusted unconditionally.

Seeing his father like this, Willas shrugged helplessly at Jon.

Fortunately, Olenna stepped in to mediate. "Alright, alright, the children are all grown up now, and some things should be left to them. Besides, you soaked three handkerchiefs with Tears at the wedding; are you sure you can make the right decisions?"

In Highgarden, Olenna wields absolute authority. Whenever Mace acts like an elder in front of her children, someone immediately steps in to suppress him.

To Jon's surprise, Mace seemed quite content with it and didn't seem to care.

At this moment Olenna turned to Jon and said, "Jon, you are no longer alone. We are entrusting Margaery to your care. You will have children in the future, so it's good to be careful."

"Yes, Grandmother," Jon said with a smile.

In reality, Jon knew that this Queen of Thorns was ruthless when she took action. In the original timeline, she thought Joffrey was useless and that his tyrannical nature might harm her granddaughter, so she acted decisively and even managed to remain uninvolved.

But it seems that he has gained Olenna's approval, because she mentioned his and Margaery's child. This indicates that the Queen of Thorns herself is somewhat looking forward to their future and will definitely offer help in some matters in the future.

Since that's the case, Jon was happy to call her "Grandmother".

Such a harmonious scene is truly rare; everyone clinked glasses, and laughter filled the air, making the place feel like paradise on earth.

At this moment, Jon suddenly noticed that Alerie had left early, and out of politeness, he asked her about it. Mace explained that Alerie had been working too hard these past few days and needed to rest.

Considering that this was Highgarden and Euron had already fled, Jon didn't pay any attention.

"The bride has arrived!"

Soon, the banquet reached its climax. Margaery changed into a light blue dress and appeared surrounded by a group of maids.

Her arrival seemed to intensify the lighting at the banquet, brightening the eyes of almost everyone present. Even the painter in the corner couldn't help but widen his eyes, his hands moving even faster as if he wanted to capture this rare and beautiful sight.

Sansa intertwined her fingers, pressed her hands to her chest, and stared intently at Margaery.

This was the wedding of her dreams.

"I wonder what my wedding will be like?" Sansa whispered, resting her head on Jeyne's shoulder.

"Your two older brothers, one a prince and the other a duke, are certainly not lacking in ability," Jeyne Poole said softly.

Although Jeyne's father died in King's Landing, it brought the House Poole and the House Stark closer together and earned them more trust.

Winterfell will also make a gesture regarding Jeyne's future wedding.

Arya, who was playfully fighting with Lyman, didn't have such complicated thoughts. Seeing the beautifully dressed and elegant Margaery, she exclaimed, "Wow!"

Hearing this simple yet sincere praise, Margaery was naturally quite pleased, and she gave Sansa and Arya a friendly look.

From this day forward, she is Margaery Stark.

Margaery's gaze swept across the crowd: her grandmother Olenna, her father Mace, her three brothers, before finally settling on Jon's eyes, Jon was looking at her with a smile.

A smile played on her lips; she seemed fairly satisfied with Jon's reaction.

only----

I will tell you every detail, but now is not the time.

Margaery recalled what Jon had told her not long ago. She had learned about Roslin's situation and thought Jon was indeed very restrained. She just felt that fate was playing tricks on him and wished that she had been the one he met first.

But it doesn't matter, Jon's future belongs to him, and the promise he made to himself is solid.

Thinking of this, Margaery returned Jon's smile.

"Jon, hurry!" Willas urged.

Jon approached Margaery, and everyone erupted in perfectly timed cheers.

And just then, the music around them stopped.

At that moment Margaery's companion, Elo Tyrell, approached Jon with a harp and said, "Your Grace, according to the custom of Highgarden, you should sing a song for the bride."

I can't play the harp.

Hearing him say that makes one feel a little disappointed.

"It's alright, Jon. I'm content just to spend the rest of my life with you," Margaery comforted him, snuggling closer into Jon arms.

"But I can sing," Jon said, looking into Margaery's bright eyes. Regardless of her true feelings about not being able to play the piano, the fact that she said this showed she was a smart girl.

Jon cleared his throat, and all the sounds around him quieted down, leaving only the rustling of the breeze through the flowers and the soft clinking of glasses and plates.

Soon, a lively and novel melody began to play in his mouth. "City of Roses."

Do you bloom only for me?

"The City of Roses."

There are so many corners of the world I don't know.

"And who knows?"

"Our dream has finally come true."

Jon sang a heavily modified version of a song, and at first everyone thought he was just singing nonsense, but they found that the more they listened, the better it sounded.

The singers that Mace invited were indeed highly skilled; they were able to come up with how to accompany the piece after only listening to half of it.

With the music enhancing the atmosphere, the banquet reached a new level, and Oberyn actually hugged his Ellaria and kissed her directly.

Jon, on a whim, added another song.

"Should I stop thinking like this? Should I stop thinking like this?"

"I want you, I want your beauty~"

The second song was even more upbeat, with Jon holding Margaery's hand as she spun around on the spot, using her hand as a pivot, which brought the atmosphere of the banquet to another climax.

Soon after, the atmosphere calmed down, and it was time to go to the bridal chamber.

With the Tyrell watching them go, Jon led Margaery to their pre-arranged bridal chamber.

Surrounded by maids and servants, the two walked along the path, seemingly enveloped in pink bubbles.

Just as they could see the small building not far away, a group of guys who had been lying in ambush suddenly swarmed forward.

Martin jumped out first, but Arya was smaller and more agile, followed by Robert Frey, Lyman, and a whole bunch of others. Their target was Margaery's trailing skirt.

Jon reacted swiftly, scooping Margaery up in his arms and rushing towards their bridal chamber.

To maintain the atmosphere, Jon didn't run too fast, but deliberately let Arya and the others think they were just a hair's breadth away from tearing the skirt before he distanced himself.

Just as everyone was tearing at Margaery's trailing dress, Loras suddenly cried out at the top of his lungs, "Jon! My mother, my mother is gone!"