What Is Dead May Never Die

The vast, verdant plains met the azure sky, and the Mander flowed swiftly in the distance. The Queen's carriage was ready and waiting to depart.

The long-planned grand wedding has finally come to an end. Although there were some minor hiccups along the way, everything turned out alright in the end.

Jon married a satisfactory wife, the House Tyrell gained a satisfactory son-in-law, and both sides gained a steadfast ally.

Even the royal family received an unexpected bonus: Tyrell and Jon have made their firm stance clear, vowing to seek justice for Alerie.

This means that the Iron Throne will soon quell the rebellion without firing a single shot. A few days ago, Selyse almost impatiently sent someone to tell Stannis this news.

Now, she is even more eager to return to King's King's Landing as soon as possible to curry favor with her king husband.

Respectfully seeing off Her Majesty the Queen.

As everyone saw her off, Selyse boarded the Royal Carriage that had once belonged to Cersei.

Cersei once rode in this Royal Carriage with Robert to Winterfell to invite Eddard to become the Hand of the King.

On Eddard and Robert's journey from Winterfell to King's Landing, Sansa also boarded this Royal Carriage, but not long Royal Carriage, her Wolf Lady was forced to commit suicide by Cersei.

Sansa now dislikes the Royal Carriage she once longed for, and only feels somewhat relieved when Selyse is finally about to leave.

The massive Royal Carriage, pulled by nearly thirty horses, creaked and groaned as it started, leaving deep ruts on the green earth.

Fortunately, it wasn't long before the cumbersome Royal Carriage finally entered the Rose Road, which was built during the reign of King Jaehaerys I Targaryen, allowing it to Royal Carriage a little faster.

Taking advantage of the fact that there were few people around Jon, Aleken approached him and whispered, "Your Grace, are you really unwilling to part with even a single stone? Don't forget who bestowed Casterly Rock upon you. Her Majesty the Queen is not leaving anytime soon; you have ample time to present the Dragon Egg to her."

Jon glanced sideways at Aleken; the guy's self-righteous act was nauseating.

"Don't be so shameless, okay?" After saying that, Jon turned around and walked straight towards Catelyn.

Seeing that Jon didn't give him any face at all, Aleken's thin face seemed to melt away like mud.

"Hmph! So what if he's a duke? A bastard dares to talk to me like that. I'll be a duke someday!"

Although the title of Lord of Brightwater Keep was only Earl in the past, the House Florent did contribute significantly to Stannis's attack on King's King's Landing.

Despite his reluctance, and despite Alester's offense to Stannis, Stannis was forced to grant the House Florent the title of Duke.

Of course, the most important purpose was also to counterbalance the House Tyrell.

This is where Aleken's claim that he would become a duke in the future actually comes from.

He simply didn't have to pay taxes to Highgarden; his territory didn't increase by an inch, nor did his army grow by a single man. He could only watch helplessly as Jon and Margaery walked toward Catelyn.

"Lady Catelyn," Jon greeted her, and Margaery bowed slightly in return.

"Jon, Margaery, your union must be the will of the gods. I have never seen a more perfect couple than you two." Catelyn smiled at Margaery and reached out to tidy a strand of hair from her forehead.

"Mother, I want to go to Casterly Rock with Jon," Arya said, tugging at Catelyn's clothes.

Seeing her like this, Jon reached out and ruffled her hair. "Little sister, the next time we meet will probably be at your wedding." Jon said, glancing quickly at Lyman beside him.

Lyman looked at Arya with sparkling eyes, appearing extremely shy.

"I'm not getting married! I'm going to go on adventures and travel all over the Free Cities!" Arya declared confidently.

Upon hearing this, Lyman quickly replied, "I, I, I also want to go to the Free Cities."

"You seem like Free Cities to me," Jon teased. "Now that you're the Earl of Darry Castle, you bear the responsibility of caring for your people and protecting your territory!"

Listening to Jon's " brother's" teachings, Lyman felt somewhat disappointed. However, Monde, standing to the side, cast a grateful glance at Jon.

After all, as Lyman grew older, he, as her illegitimate cousin, could no longer control him as he used to.

Although Stannis legitimized him, transforming him from Monde Rivers into Monde Darry, this actually made some things more sensitive, such as whether he was thinking of seizing his cousin's inheritance.

At this moment, Oberyn suddenly stepped forward and added fuel to the fire, saying, "Lyman, if you want to go to the Free Cities, then go. To be honest, I really don't understand why people want to stay in one place their whole lives. The outside world is truly wonderful!"

Hearing that someone was supporting them, Lyman and Arya's eyes lit up.

"That's right! Lyman! Let's go together then."

"Okay!"

Upon receiving Arya's invitation, Lyman nodded excitedly, while Oberyn looked at Jon with a smug expression. Catelyn and Monde were left rolling their eyes.

Jon didn't continue trying to persuade Lyman, but looked into Oberyn's eyes and said, "Your Highness, most people spend their entire lives in one place because none of them are princes. I've heard that to travel a hundred miles, it takes a whole night to prepare food; to travel a thousand miles, it takes three months; and to travel ten thousand miles overseas, it takes even more."

Jon gave Oberyn a well-timed rebuttal, then looked at Lyman.

"Lyman, you are now a lord of a region. Your job as a lord is to find ways to manage your territory better so that people from further afield will come to see you." Listening to Jon's teachings, Lyman nodded as if he understood.

Hearing Jon's words, Catelyn thought of the House Tully motto—family, honor, duty.

The thought that Jon possessed some of the House Tully's traits even filled her with a sense of pride.

Finally, Jon gave Catelyn a suit of old armor and clothes that he had worn before sending the family on their way.

Both Casterly Rock and Winterfell require traveling north, but unfortunately, they are not on the same route. Jon will have to take the sea route, while Catelyn will need to travel along the Kingsroad, first to the Twins, and then to Winterfell.

However, Linman was going the same way as them. Before leaving, Linman asked Jon what kind of boy Arya liked. Jon said he didn't know, maybe the kind who was skilled in martial arts.

Lyman made up her mind to intensify her martial arts training.

Soon, the guests left one after another: Selyse, representing the Iron Throne; Catelyn, representing Winterfell; and Oberyn, representing Sunspear.

In reality, Oberyn was also going to King's Landing. Stannis was using a seat in the King's Court to win over the House Martell, and he would not actually return to Sunspear.

Oberyn clearly disliked Selyse, so he decided to take a ship and travel by sea to King's Landing.

After most of the guests had left, Jon and Margaery also had to say goodbye to the Tyrell.

"When you get to Casterly Rock, please write to me often—it would be best if you could come back once a month—but never mind, it's not safe to always be by ship. I'll come to see you whenever I have time, my dearest daughter, waaaaah—"

I thought Alerie would be the most reluctant to part, but it turned out that Mace was the one who was even more unable to control herself.

Alerie approached Jon and thanked him again.

"Jon, thank you. If it weren't for you, I might have been kidnapped by that villain too. I believe you are capable of protecting Margaery as well," Alerie said sincerely, making her three sons feel a little embarrassed.

"Don't worry, Mother-in-law, if anyone tries to harm Margaery, they'll have to step over my dead body first." It might sound a bit cheesy, but that's the kind of thing people from the Southern Territory like.

It's estimated that it won't be long before those wandering poets incorporate it into their songs.

"Look! Someone has fallen into the water!"

"Damn it, how could someone fall into the water here! Quick, save them!"

Under the captain's command, the sailors lowered the ropes and quickly rescued a man and a woman who had fallen into the water.

The man appeared thin and haggard, with an eye patch over one eye, while the woman was soaked to the bone, her clothes clinging to her body and revealing the curves of her female form.

The beautiful scenery before them made the sailors swallow hard, as life on board was incredibly boring.

However, the captain clearly sensed the restlessness among the sailors, so he turned around and shouted, "What are you looking at! Get back to work! Are you pirates?!"

The ship's captain had a broad face and a steel-brush-like brown beard, which was quite intimidating. Reprimanded by the captain, the sailors quickly suppressed their inappropriate thoughts; they would soon be ashore, where they could find more respectable ways to have fun.

"Thank you for saving me," the blindfolded man said gratefully.

"Hey, it's nothing. But how did you guys fall into the water?"

"Your Excellency, our ship has been stolen."

Did we encounter pirates?

"More or less," the blindfolded man replied.

"I heard that something terrible has happened in Highgarden. The Lord of Highgarden has even ordered the expulsion of all adventurers from the Southern Territory. Are you aware of this?" As a captain and a businessman, he needed to gather as much intelligence as possible.

"I've heard that the Duchess narrowly escaped death."

"Duchess!" the captain exclaimed, sounding quite shocked. "Explain in detail."

The man smiled apologetically and said, "Captain, how could someone like me possibly know the specifics?"

"Oh, sorry, we're going to Seagard. You can come with us and leave after we get ashore."

"Thank you, Captain." The man bowed again, his manners impeccable, and even took out a ring from his hand as a token of his gratitude.

Night fell quickly, and one by one, dark figures climbed onto the merchant ship using ropes. The sailors on lookout duty felt a chill run down their spines, their life force rapidly draining away, before being thrown overboard.

With a series of splashes as they fell into the water, the dark figures rapidly approached the captain's cabin.

Soon, the moonlight dimmed, as if shrouded in blood, and the large merchant ship had changed hands.