After Coppergate fell, peace quickly returned to the Stormlands, which had endured half a month of war. This war was very different from those before it, too. It truly was a game of thrones played among the noble lords, without making the common people pay the price.
The allied Stormlands army led by Lord Swann sustained itself on the spoils of war, so it had no need to draw supplies from its own territories. Naturally, this spared the people in their respective lands any additional burden.
After taking each castle, they carried off all the weapons, valuables, and money the nobles had amassed, but left half the supplies to be distributed among the local residents. As a result, even the people whose castles had fallen suffered little from the war.
Apart from the professional soldiers, Lord Swann and the others released all the captured militia who had been hastily conscripted by the various castles. Thus, few ordinary families were torn apart in this war. Even those who lost someone received additional compensation.
After Lord Swann and the other earls finished tallying the Buckler family's assets in Coppergate, all the valuables were packed up and sent to Storm's End. Half the food, livestock, and other necessities were left behind to be distributed among Coppergate's people.
Earl Mertyns of Mistwood oversaw the distribution this time. Although he did not quite understand why Princess Danyla had given Lord Swann such orders, he still followed Coppergate's household register meticulously, distributing the supplies fairly to every household.
Lord Swann and the others had done this at every castle they captured during this campaign. Word had already spread throughout the Stormlands, so the distributions went more smoothly as they progressed.
At first, the people had been skeptical, thinking the nobles were playing some trick. But once