Cat Aunt Catelyn

Old Walder intended to marry one of his legitimate daughters to Robb.

But who knew what sort of thing he would give Jon.

The Walder family had many children, but quite a few of them could not even tell who their parents were.

Naturally, Lord Walder would not think highly of Jon.

Even if Jon's martial skill truly did not lose to the Sword of the Morning.

Damn it, sooner or later I'll become my own boss!

This was Jon's strongest desire after delivering a whole string of self-deprecating, humble words.

He could recognize that he was a bastard and accept the fact that his status was low.

But if someone kept that mentality forever, sooner or later they would develop problems.

Those who fawned upward were bound to bully those below.

That was something Jon had learned from doing things in his previous life.

A person's emotional energy was limited. Once it accumulated to a certain point, it had to be vented.

That was the logic behind the so-called "kicking the cat effect."

But regardless, those words had indeed pleased Old Walder.

First, they had saved his face, and Jon, the legendary man who could fight, had also said he would serve him.

That was enough. If he continued provoking him, it would make him seem too narrow-minded.

The reason he had said those things earlier was actually to test who that "Winterfell expert" was.

But it seemed that the "expert" had not come along.

Old Walder laughed heartily.

"Interesting little fellow. Look at him, I only gave him a scare and he took it seriously. Since our alliance has been reached, House Frey will not withdraw. Our alliance is unbreakable!"

As he spoke, Old Walder raised his cup, and everyone else raised theirs in salute.

The northern lords, meanwhile, were greatly surprised by Jon's performance.

They had always thought Jon was merely a "reckless brute" under Robb's command.

His martial skill was formidable, but they assumed he must be lacking in strategy.

They had always believed that the person making plans behind the scenes was either Robb or Luwin.

As for Jon, they had never considered him in that light at all.

But now, it was hard to say.

Especially Roose Bolton, whose gaze upon Jon carried more scrutiny and investigation.

It seemed Robb had done more than simply place a pair of eyes at his side.

If Jon had been the "mastermind" behind all the previous operations, then he would need to be far more careful.

Greatjon, on the other hand, watched Jon with a cheerful smile.

After all, they shared the same name, Jon was a capable fighter, and he resembled Eddard, so Greatjon naturally felt some goodwill toward him.

Rickard's gaze toward Jon had changed as well. He saw in Jon the bearing Brandon Stark had possessed in those days.

Brandon had been eloquent and exceptionally skilled in battle.

The entire North had regarded him as the future lord of Winterfell.

Or, in a sense, Brandon had been the North's equivalent of Rhaegar.

Brandon was Eddard's elder brother. Winterfell should originally have been his, and he should have married Catelyn.

But he had been killed by the Mad King.

Jon did not know that the others' opinions of him had changed considerably. He merely smiled and said nothing.

In this world, what alliance was truly unbreakable?

After putting Jon through a show of force, Old Walder had Robb explain his strategy for marching south.

Robb believed the most urgent matter was relieving Riverrun. He said they would divide their forces into two: one force would gather most of the cavalry for a surprise attack, while the other would draw the attention of Tywin's army still at the Green Fork.

"Ser Roose Bolton, you and Jon will be responsible for drawing Tywin's army's attention."

"At your command, my lord."

Roose Bolton rose to respond, his tone calm.

In his heart, he had raised Jon's "danger level" by another rank.

Robb then made several more arrangements. Old Walder, seated at the head, nodded slightly, seeming pleased with Robb once more.

At least when it came to military thinking, Robb's ideas were both bold and rigorous.

Just then, a servant came to whisper a few words into Old Walder's ear. Old Walder immediately turned to Robb and said:

"Robb, your mother, Lady Catelyn, has arrived at the Twins."

"Mother?"

Delight flashed through Robb's eyes, and he unconsciously looked toward the doorway.

Half an hour earlier, Catelyn had learned on the road that her son Robb had already led his army south.

After leaving her sister Lysa at the Eyrie in the Vale, she had hurried toward the Twins.

At the same time, she had sent Rodrik ahead to investigate.

Rodrik's family was a "household vassal" of House Stark.

Household vassals were closer and more trustworthy than ordinary bannermen.

For example, when Eddard went south, the captain of the guards he took with him was named Jory Cassel. Jory was also from House Cassel.

It could be said that House Stark entrusted its safety to this "household vassal" family.

After Rodrik briefly learned what had happened, he returned to fetch Catelyn, who was still on the road. The moment he saw her, he lavishly praised Robb.

Catelyn sat in the carriage while Rodrik rode beside it, leaning slightly toward the window as he told her:

"Robb combined authority with kindness and swiftly brought the northern lords under his command.

"And now the North has formed an alliance with House Frey.

"Robb is currently assigning the troops and determining their objectives. The army can set out at any time."

When she heard that her own son had accomplished all this, Catelyn felt immense comfort in her heart.

Especially the terms of Robb's agreement with House Frey—she believed that even if she had been there herself, she might not have done any better.

To be honest, Catelyn had also felt deeply remorseful along the way.

She already knew that she had caused the Riverlands to suffer such a disaster.

Even her husband in King's Landing had been implicated by her.

Ever since Robert's visit, she had watched her son become crippled and her husband fall into captivity.

On top of that, it seemed she had been deceived again.

All the rushing back and forth had left her exhausted in both body and mind.

Now, seeing her son display such outstanding qualities seemed to drive away her exhaustion in an instant.

Thinking of how her tall, heroic son was also so resourceful, Catelyn's steps became much lighter, and she soon arrived at the hall.

"Lady Catelyn Stark has arrived—"

At the announcement, all the northern lords rose. When Catelyn entered the great hall of the Twins, the first person she saw was almost certainly Robb.

The corners of her lips lifted slightly, and the smile in her eyes could not be hidden.

Then, the second person she saw was Jon.

Jon saw her as well.

Cat Aunt.

Jon softly spoke her nickname in his heart.

Catelyn was only thirty-four or thirty-five. Despite having borne five children, she had maintained herself remarkably well.

She looked barely thirty.

More importantly, the noblewoman's air she carried was impossible to conceal. Otherwise, people might even believe she was twenty-eight or twenty-nine.

Catelyn possessed the distinctive auburn hair of House Tully.

Her green eyes were still lively. No wonder Littlefinger, the man who saw "chaos as a ladder," could never forget her.

He had even thought of using Sansa as Catelyn's substitute.

While Jon respectfully saluted Catelyn upon seeing her, Catelyn merely gave Jon a glance before choosing to ignore him.

Ever since Eddard had brought Jon before her, she had never liked this child of unknown origins.

Considering that Jon had marched south this time to rescue Eddard, she said nothing.

But that was all.

She could never have imagined that Jon had been planning everything behind Robb's establishment of authority.

The moment she entered the hall, she became the new center of attention.

Old Walder's gaze lingered briefly over Catelyn before he withdrew it.

As the daughter of a great lord, Catelyn had stirred a trace of "interest" in Old Walder.

But the old man concealed it well.

Catelyn went to Robb's side and spoke to Old Walder at the head of the hall.

"Honored Lord Frey, on behalf of House Stark, I thank you for your assistance. With your support, we will certainly be able to seek justice for my husband more swiftly, and all Westeros will regain order because of it."

Hearing Catelyn's words, Jon felt admiration for her as well.

Cat Aunt only lost her head when it involved her children. When her mind was clear, she was quite a qualified diplomat.

If the Red Woman had not used a shadow assassin to kill Renly, perhaps House Stark and Renly really might have formed an alliance.

One flattering compliment after another was placed upon Old Walder's head. In truth, it was exactly the same line of thought Jon had used to excuse himself earlier.

After a pleasant conversation, both sides settled on the following night as the time to dispatch their forces.

At the same time, Old Walder used House Frey's power to ensure there was not the slightest possibility of news about the northern army's march south leaking out.

After the formal meeting ended, Catelyn returned to the northern army's camp, bringing Jon and Theon with her. Together, they discussed the coming war.

The tent in the camp was filled with northern nobles.

Everyone who could attend the meeting was an earl.

Jon Umber of Hearth's Home, Rickard Karstark of Karhold—these were all House Stark's staunch supporters.

Roose Bolton went without saying. There was also Earl Severen of Severen, and Lord Manderly of White Harbor. Right, this Lord Manderly was actually a representative.

And Old Walder's son, Stevron.

But he represented House Frey as well.

Although Jon was present, he was indeed standing. By etiquette, he had no right to speak.

Jon knew that the battle Robb was about to fight was called the Battle of the Whispering Wood.

In the Battle of the Whispering Wood, Robb would not only relieve Riverrun but also capture the Kingslayer, Jaime Lannister—Tywin's eldest and favorite son.

It could be called an absolute, complete victory!

But on the other side, Roose Bolton's infantry-heavy army would suffer a crushing defeat in the Battle of the Green Fork.

Although it retained a portion of its strength and tied down Tywin's forces.

Of the more than eighteen thousand men, he squandered them until only a little over ten thousand remained.

This greatly depleted the North's military strength.

And that old bastard preserved his own direct troops remarkably well, with almost no losses at all.

Before the battle, the Dreadfort's force of more than four thousand men had made up one-fifth of the entire army.

After the Battle of the Green Fork, it would directly become nearly half!

The battle was lost, yet Roose Bolton's influence rose instead.

So Jon could not simply stand by and watch that happen.

Therefore, even if it violated etiquette somewhat, he had to find an opportunity to speak!