Red and black

Nightsong stood on high ground.

The forty-odd riders in helmets and armor came charging from the west, and naturally the guards on lookout spotted them early.

Standing beneath the castle gates, at the head of the guards, was an extremely tall armored knight.

The knight had long limbs and a well-proportioned figure without a trace of excess flesh, with a red cloak draped down his back.

Because of his great height, he always seemed to be looking down on people.

His gaze beneath his drooping eyelids slowly swept over the twenty retainers behind Titus, lingering repeatedly on the Peake soldiers' leather armor, the extra-long spears in their hands, the fighting swords at their waists, and the warhorses they led.

Only then did he step forward, spread his arms toward Titus for an embrace, and laugh loudly.

"I wondered who it was! Hahaha... Titus, long time no see!"

Seeing that Titus showed no intention of embracing him, he smoothly lowered his frighteningly long arms.

Seemingly unembarrassed by the lack of response, he curled his lips, raised a thumb, and pointed at the castle behind him.

His manner was utterly casual, as though he were the castle's master.

With sleepy eyes, the red-cloaked knight grinned in feigned enthusiasm.

"Welcome to Nightsong, rookie..."

His words offered welcome, but his tone was full of provocation.

This time, not only Parker but even the gloomy Bowen showed clear anger in his eyes.

The local knight was far too rude!

Titus stopped the restless pair.

That was the term the man habitually used for "trainees" or newcomers when Titus had served here as a squire.

He had been called that a few times himself.

Titus smiled. The same familiar manner-Ser Maddy's affected airs.

Half a year had passed.

He was no longer a squire now.

Yet Ser Maddy, nicknamed "Big Sleep," remained just as arrogant.

That was good.

If everyone were like that earlier Run... Alston, wouldn't things be rather dull?

Titus liked seeing people look wild and defiant.

"Ser Maddy, you are certainly my senior. But when it comes to knowing Nightsong, I doubt I fall short of you... Speaking of welcomes, where is Earl Bryce?"

At the title "Earl," Maddy hid his white teeth, pressed his thick lips together, and spoke with a touch of deliberate aloofness.

"I haven't informed the Earl yet... By the way, Titus... Earl." His smile was playful. "You've come all this way with this elite guard for a sudden visit to Nightsong. May I ask what brings you here?"

As Nightsong's master-at-arms, he did have the standing to ask that question.

"Of course, I heard that Lord Baylan had sadly died of illness, and came especially to visit Earl Bryce, his successor."

Titus now mentioned "Earl Bryce" in every sentence. The less the man wanted him to meet the boy, the sooner he wanted to see him.

That maester could go to the Others! How dare he send word in secret!

Maddy had guessed correctly. His own side had given the game away.

Cursing Maester Van Gandy inwardly, he nevertheless had no grounds to stop Titus from meeting the other earl.

The corner of Maddy's mouth twitched, and the wariness in his eyes deepened.

"Send someone to inform Earl Bryce that Lord Titus Peake of Starpike has come to visit."

A guard behind him lowered his head at the order and hurried back into the castle.

Maddy took it in stride. After exchanging a glance with Alston, he led Titus and his party straight inside.

During his time as a squire, Titus had gotten along well with Ser Iomine, Lord Baylan's captain of guards, but had had little contact with Maddy, the castle's master-at-arms.

The man thought highly of himself, always acted as though he were the greatest man alive, and looked down on every newcomer.

Titus also knew that Baylan had repeatedly praised the man's swordsmanship. Once, he had even boasted to Titus that Maddy's opening strike was the fastest in all the Dornish Marches.

That suggested his conceit was not entirely unfounded.

Titus had seen Nightsong in spring, but had never seen the man practice his swordsmanship. With that weary face of his, which always looked overindulged and severely sleep-deprived, Titus had honestly doubted Maddy's true worth.

Yet he did not believe the former Earl of Nightsong had merely been talking big.

House Caron was renowned for producing warriors and singers, and claimed that its nightingale sigil had appeared in a thousand battles.

Byron Caron himself had been known among the Stormlands' nobles for his swordsmanship, so his judgment could hardly have been poor.

Ser "Big Sleep" was certainly no fraud.

Today, Titus observed Maddy's build and gait at close range once again. He truly could be called exceptionally gifted.

With such height and such long arms, if he also had explosive strength, quick reactions, and decent technique, he would be a very difficult opponent indeed.

As Titus followed, Ser Maddy strode straight inside with his unusually long steps, his boot soles making almost no sound on the thickly carpeted floor.

With a clang, the castle gates shut behind them. The castle grew quieter still, and the howling outside could no longer be heard.

They made their way to the reception hall, where several rusty iron lamps hung from the vaulted ceiling, their flames already flickering.

The atmosphere in the hall was oppressive.

After a while, Titus finally saw Bryce Caron, who was a year younger than him.

Flanking him were two tall, powerfully built guards in cloaks, both familiar faces: Dikembe and Hayes. They had guarded the old earl while he lived, and now apparently continued to protect his son.

There was also Ser Iomine, "the Wall," whom Titus knew even better, clad in iron armor and a black cloak. When he stood straight, he was taller even than Ser Maddy, who was already very tall by ordinary standards.

Titus had never seen the Mountain. Iomine was the tallest man he had ever met.

Upon meeting Titus Peake again, the "senior fellow pupil" who had once thrashed him mercilessly, Bryce Caron actually showed a little excitement.

Had the long, square-faced Ser Iomine not discreetly held him back, he would already have run over. Instead, he obediently took the seat of honor in the center of the reception hall.

Maddy gave the young earl in the seat of honor a slight, perfunctory bow, then sat down brazenly in the first seat to Bryce's left. Alston stood behind his chair.

Titus made a point of looking at the black cloaks behind the tense, square-faced Iomine and the solemn-faced Dikembe and Hayes.

His eyes shifted, and he immediately went to sit on the right, directly opposite Ser Maddy.

Parker instructed the Peake soldiers to wait outside the hall, then joined Bowen in copying Alston, standing behind Titus, one on either side.

As soon as the young Earl of Starpike sat down, Maddy's expression turned slightly sour. Ser Iomine, by contrast, finally lost that faint hostility and gave Titus a slight nod.

That settled it, then.

The old earl had only just died, and his successor was young. Within this isolated cliffside castle, two factions had already formed in secret.

From the look of things, Maddy's side had gained the upper hand. Nightsong's master-at-arms wanted to retain real power over the castle; Iomine was most likely loyal to Bryce and was currently at a disadvantage.

That was only natural.

The Dornish Marches had their own peculiar rules. Violence counted for far more than titles or wealth.

The castle guards were all under Maddy's command, and they far outnumbered the earl's personal guard.

"Earl Titus, the journey here must have been tiring. Have a cup of hot ale to warm yourself first, and enjoy a performance by a singer of Nightsong."

Seated opposite Titus, Maddy seemed intent on regaining his momentum. Without mentioning any business, he clapped his large hands loudly and had someone summon a bard carrying a seven-stringed harp.

Titus quietly enjoyed his performance.

Was he perhaps trying to show that he now ruled the castle, rather than the underage Bryce Caron?

The singer's introduction, however, caught his attention.

The middle-aged poet, who also worked as a singer, called himself "Tom."

His age was about right, and with that instrument, wasn't he "Seven-String Tom"?

Ser Maddy: