"Would you like my opinion? I think Doflamingo is a good choice."
The blonde girl named Alicent moved up to the Black Steed, drawing closer to Titus.
Holding the reins in one hand to soothe Black Pearl, whose name had temporarily been changed, Titus quietly rested his other hand on the hilt of Orphan-Maker and said with a soft laugh:
"I agree. It's a good choice and a good name. You have excellent taste, Miss Alicent."
And he began to consider, half seriously, whether to give Black Pearl a new saddle, one made with flamingo feathers.
Captain Parker, who had heard him say, "I don't care what you think. What I think is what matters," just last night, managed to keep his expression from changing, thanks to his growing experience.
Now he noticed that the Peake Soldiers sent out to pursue the bandits were returning empty-handed, though they had brought back a white horse and a formidable-looking man who was not one of the three from before.
The bald captain could not help furrowing his brows as he reminded his lord in a low voice... no, his captain now:
"Captain Don, Jack and the others are back. They've brought someone with them."
Titus and Alicent turned to look at the same time, and the latter cried out:
"Bull! Where's my father? Why are you alone?"
Titus first rested his gaze on the white horse. There was not a trace of another color anywhere on its body, and its looks were every bit as fine as Black Pearl's. It was presumably Alicent's mount.
Judging by Alicent's earlier attitude toward Black Pearl, she was clearly a horse lover too.
And this woman adored white. She wore white from head to toe, and even her horse was white.
The man she called "Bull" caught Titus's attention as he approached. He was truly burly, with sallow skin and an especially thick neck and shoulders. The trapezius muscles on either side were particularly developed, rising slightly from his shoulders like two miniature hills.
His neck had developed entirely sideways, making it wider than his head.
The muscles of his upper body were not to be underestimated either, filling out his suit of mail completely. His entire physique was outrageously powerful, and he looked fierce.
As Titus watched the man approach with steady steps, he actually felt a sense of threat, as though the sharp horns of a bull in its prime were pointed at him from afar.
This made him quickly adjust his stance, his left hand unconsciously tapping his sword hilt.
Someone with this physique was not only extremely resistant to blows but also intimidating in appearance. An ordinary person would be frightened at a glance, yet Titus felt rather intrigued.
He was a completely different type from Ser Maddy of Nightsong.
Parker, who had also dismounted, pulled Jack and the others aside and lowered his voice to explain the earl's new identity while also asking about the outcome of the pursuit.
Those three were evidently more familiar with the area around the woods. By taking paths that horses struggled to cross and using the long spears in their hands to set fires indiscriminately, they had successfully shaken off the Peake Soldiers pursuing them.
On their way back, the guards had discovered the white horse and the burly Bull, who said he was looking for his young lady. Finding his presence intimidating, they had brought him back along with them.
Over on the other side, Alicent and Bull had also finished whispering to each other.
Tears hovered at the corners of Alicent's eyes without falling as she pleaded pitifully with Titus:
"There weren't just three bandits. They had more accomplices, and they've kidnapped my father..."
In her account, her father was a traveling merchant who lived in the Crownlands and traded between the Stormlands and the Reach, while the burly man named Bull was a bodyguard hired by her family.
They had come to the Reach this time to visit relatives living in Oldtown, the second-largest city in Westeros, to the southwest.
They had never expected to catch the attention of the bandits entrenched in the woods while passing through.
She had escaped by luck, while Bull had been outnumbered on the other side and let them carry off her father.
After hearing the whole story, Titus glanced over Alicent and her bodyguard Bull with a faint sense of peculiarity. After a moment's thought, he said:
"Sancho Panza, take this down. Here are my orders..."
Parker looked utterly bewildered, but could only step forward and commit it to memory.
"This forest is too large for us to search it bit by bit. First, distribute dry rations to Jack and the others who pursued the bandits just now. They'll stay behind for now and see whether they can pick up their trail."
Titus pulled Parker over and quietly gave him a few instructions to pass along to Jack and the others shortly.
"We'll return to Starpike first and inform Earl Peake in the city that bandits have appeared in this forest. Only if his lordship authorizes additional men will we have a chance of finding your father. Can you understand that, Miss Alicent?"
Alicent lowered her head slightly, seemingly wiping away tears in silence. When she heard "Captain Don" address her, she bravely raised her head again:
"Of course I understand. We'll follow all your arrangements, Ser Don. If you weren't here, Bull and I truly wouldn't know what to do..."
Titus patted Alicent's shoulder reassuringly. It felt soft yet firm.
This woman had trained for a long time.
He turned to look at Bull beside her. The burly man was somewhat taciturn and gave a broad grin that could have stopped a child crying at night, seemingly expressing goodwill, without offering any opinion.
Alicent had her own white horse to ride. At Titus's instruction, another Highgarden Warhorse was reassigned from the party for Bull to ride.
After leaving three soldiers behind, Titus and his party continued their journey home.
Heading west all the way, they soon reached the edge of the forest.
Titus was already somewhat prepared. Before leaving the woods, he deliberately tilted his head up discreetly and scanned left and right. Sure enough, he spotted that familiar flash of white.
This was getting more and more interesting.
Titus noticed that Miss Alicent, a merchant's daughter, was surprisingly skilled at riding, even surpassing him.
What a talented young lady.
He looked straight ahead again and curled his lips slightly where Alicent, riding a little behind him, could not see.
It was afternoon.
The forest they had left behind was only five leagues from Starpike.
At their pace, they would soon arrive...
The market street before the Golden Bowl Gate.
As evening approached, the markets on either side were beginning to bustle.
An enticing wheaten aroma drifted from the bakery, peddlers pushed carts and hawked clay pots, women crouched before makeshift stalls to choose vegetables, and children chased and played around the sugar-painting stall.
The uneven clatter of hooves came from the distance, drawing closer and gradually drowning out the market's own clamor.
Memories of yesterday morning resurfaced in everyone's minds.
The people beside the market street looked toward the sound and, sure enough, saw a troop of cavalry riding toward them.
Their armor was coated in dust from the journey, the edges of their black cloaks with orange trim had been frayed by the wind, and some riders still had plenty of mud spattered on the soles of their boots. They had clearly just endured a long journey.
Even so, their backs remained straight, their eyes beneath their helmets remained resolute, and their hands gripped the reins firmly. Though the warhorses beneath them puffed white breath, their steps were steady, showing the composure of long training.
Though the riders did not hold the Three Castles Banner aloft, people could still guess that the Earl of Starpike's guards had returned.
"Make way! Make way!"
As the guards at the gate shouted, the crowd lingering on the market street moved aside to either side.
The party raced up to the gate, and the black-armored knight in the lead raised his hand slightly. The soldiers behind him slowly halted at his gesture. Titus Peake and his party had arrived at his faithful Starpike.
To avoid giving himself away, he had Parker go ahead into the city to "announce" his temporary identity.
He was now Don Quixote, captain of Earl Peake's guards, Captain Don for short, and the horse beneath him was Doflamingo.
This was a fine show, Titus thought cheerfully. It couldn't just fall apart halfway through.
He was cooperating so wholeheartedly because he wanted to see just how far this drama could go and where its curtain would fall. He would not allow his own side to give the game away before the performance was over.
The Woman in White and the White Horse:
Before you continue