Iron ore, visitors from the family

Twenty-five thousand jin of grain was no small amount.

Of course, that was from New Land Village's perspective.

Productivity here was what it was, and the mess his predecessor had left behind was truly difficult to clean up.

Even now, the village ruins still lay there.

Only after the long rainy season passed could Darean send people in to gather the remains of the dead.

His knight's holding was sizable, with fertile, level land.

Without outside interference, simply farming seemed a good enough option.

Yet Darean, who knew what would happen next, understood that only with a sword hilt in his hand could he safeguard his wealth.

Rely on farming alone?

Sorry, that would make him a target for everyone with stronger troops and better horses.

Darean did not want that.

A crack rang out.

Two wooden longswords collided.

Since the first phase of construction had ended, Darean had begun organizing the villagers of New Land Village to practice swordsmanship.

They would train with wooden swords first. As for suitable weapons and armor, Darean would certainly find a way to procure them later.

"Your footwork is wrong. Get that close, and your opponent can easily strike beneath your ribs."

The blade smacked Edmont, the young man who had survived the wild boar's jaws.

Darean ended his attack.

Though he grimaced, the young man did not make a sound.

He knew very well that if he had possessed a sword back then, and known how to use it, he would not have nearly lost his life facing the boar.

Thus, when Darean began sword training, he was the first to sign up.

His dedication to training had already made him the leader of the ten villagers who had persevered.

Darean's requirements for this ten-man squad were simple.

He would still rely on the Hightower Guard under his command on the battlefield.

However, if his strength fell short again, as it had last time, he had to ensure that people within his holding could take up weapons and resist.

"Yes, my lord. I'll pay attention next time!"

Nodding, Darean handed Edmont over to another guard for training and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Turning around, he saw Clyson running toward him with an excited expression.

"My lord, look what I found!"

Taking the blackish object, Darean did not understand why Clyson was giving him a stone.

"My lord, iron! This is iron!"

Clyson's voice was filled with excitement.

The South lacked iron. Everyone throughout the Seven Kingdoms knew that.

The gods had bestowed the most fertile land upon them, only to forget something called iron.

Among the nobles of the South, if any house suddenly announced the discovery of an iron vein on its lands, that house's strength would inevitably rise.

They would no longer need to purchase expensive iron from elsewhere at high prices.

Nobles throughout the Seven Kingdoms shared an understanding: once iron goods were exported to the South, their prices often multiplied several times over.

If the South possessed the largest population in all of Westeros, the highest grain production, and sufficient iron reserves as well...

Then whoever sat upon the throne would feel uneasy.

Darean naturally understood all this. He immediately seized Clyson's shoulders and asked urgently:

"Where did you find it?!"

The captain of the guards pointed northwest and said quietly:

"My lord, over there, beyond several ridges of hills. It's not easy to find. We were covering the entire holding, or we wouldn't have gone there."

"The vein was only recently exposed. The heavy rains a while back brought down a section of the mountainside."

"If one of our cavalrymen hadn't been a blacksmith before, we really would have missed it."

Glancing northwest, Darean understood.

No wonder it had remained undiscovered for so long.

It was true that the South had a large population, but that was a relative concept.

This place had always been a small village. Its population had never grown much, and it was not an area of military importance.

And to the northwest lay a great stretch of cliffs covered in wild grass.

Apart from animals, there was no reason for anyone to go there.

Add to that the scarcity of blacksmiths who could identify iron ore, and it was hardly surprising that it had only been discovered now.

After thinking for a moment, he nodded, his tone serious.

"Understood. Only the few of you know about this. Keep your mouths tightly shut!"

Darean was in no hurry to see it himself.

He knew nothing about such matters, so going would accomplish nothing.

Specialized work should be left to specialists. As long as it was there, that was good news.

The holding currently had no spare hands to mine whatever vein might exist.

This wealth had to be sealed away for now. Only after taking in more people could they begin work.

Hmm... put it in the planning outline later.

As he thought, the sudden sound of hoofbeats came from far behind him.

Turning his head, Darean actually saw House Hightower's White Tower on a Grey Field.

Make no mistake, it was not his own.

"The family sent someone? What's going on?"

Frowning, Darean glanced at Clyson. Taking the hint, Clyson immediately turned to gather Darean's soldiers.

Though they were all Hightowers, what had happened earlier at Oldtown's south gate had made the situation clear enough.

"Tell Maester Marwyn to stop what he's doing and meet me beneath the family banner."

Having given his orders, Darean swung into the saddle.

If the family had sent someone, they could only have come to see him, the man in charge.

His riding crop rose, and the black warhorse began galloping across the emerald fields.

Before long, Darean could make out the visitors beneath the White Tower Banner.

Three men, three horses, gray-and-white armor, shields resting on the horses' rumps-the standard outfit of the family's cavalry.

The leading knight seemed to have met Darean before.

He immediately urged his horse forward, then dismounted and bowed to Darean.

"Lord Darean."

As a legitimate scion of House Hightower, though he had not lived in the Hightower, no one would dare scorn him as long as Earl Leyton remained alive.

"The family sent you. Is there something you need?"

Darean asked.

Nodding, the leading knight took a letter from inside his clothing and handed it over.

"Lord Baelor said you would understand once you read the letter. We won't wait for you."

"His lordship has left you a cage of ravens. You can communicate directly with the Hightower."

With that, the man raised his right fist and struck his breastplate, then headed back the way he had come without looking back.

His mission was to deliver the letter and bring a cage of ravens into Darean's hands.

Whatever happened afterward had nothing to do with him. He had no desire whatsoever to become involved in the struggle among these heirs to the family.

Frowning, Darean opened the letter bearing a wax seal with Baelor Hightower's personal arms.

Only then did the belated hoofbeats sound behind him.

The guards had just arrived.

"My lord, where are the people from the family?"

Clyson drew up beside Darean and looked around, but found no one.

"Gone."

Darean finished reading the letter, but his brow furrowed even more deeply. He slapped it against Clyson's chest and said quietly:

"Take a look. The old man has set us a difficult problem."

He had not expected that the family's gaze had never once left him.

This unexpected gift did not seem so easy to accept.