Deddings castle rose ahead of them, its high stone walls finally in sight.
Now this was a real castle.
Solomon’s tower back at Stinkfort was a three-story joke.
Even a dog wouldn’t want to live there.
The banners of House Deddings snapped in the wind atop walls a full five meters high.
Because it was wartime and Lord Balon Deddings was still away holding the line at Seagard, the guards on the walls were fully armed and armored.
Their vigilance was sharp.
The main gates were shut tight.
When the three riders in armor and carrying weapons approached, the soldiers on the battlements immediately sounded the alarm horns.
Solomon reined in the white horse Lord Raymond had given him.
Luden and Rosslyn pulled up behind him, visibly tense.
“Who goes there!” four guards on the wall shouted down, bows drawn and arrows nocked.
Solomon was genuinely worried one of them might have shaky hands and turn the three of them into hedgehogs.
He urged his horse forward quickly, pulling out his seal and the Stinkfort family token from inside his robe.
“Ser Solomon of Stinkfort, here to see the lady of the castle!” he called up.
The guard captain at the front studied the three of them with open suspicion.
Solomon cut an impressive figure in his new black noble robe and short cloak, the fine Myrish sword at his hip, riding a strong horse.
Behind him, Luden and Rosslyn might only be wearing light armor, but they sat their horses straight-backed, longswords at their sides, eyes watchful.
They looked like proper soldiers.
Murmurs ran along the wall.
“Stinkfort?” “I heard they’re so poor they don’t even have a horse between them.
Not a single guard either.” “These three don’t look like that at all.” “Wasn’t the whole Stinkfort family supposed to be dead?
The ironborn killed the father and two sons, and the youngest got his head smashed in and was sent home to die?” A guard was lowered from the wall in a basket.
He approached warily, took Solomon’s seal and token, examined them closely, then looked up at Solomon’s face.
His expression shifted from suspicion to surprise, then to confusion.
“Ser Solomon of Stinkfort?” he asked.
“That’s right.” The guard handed the items back, his tone noticeably friendlier.
“Please wait.
I need to report this.” He climbed back into the basket and was hauled up the wall.
The wait was not long.
Soon the great gates swung open and more than a dozen knights came riding out at speed.
They quickly surrounded Solomon and his two men.
The lead knight spoke with careful politeness, though his hand never left his sword hilt and his eyes kept moving over the three of them.
“Ser Solomon.
Lady Roslyn will see you.” Solomon nodded and urged his horse forward into the castle.
Luden and Rosslyn followed close behind, doing their best to look calm even though their faces were stiff with tension.
Being ringed by armed knights the entire way in was not exactly relaxing.
Once inside Deddings castle, Luden and Rosslyn couldn’t help but stare.
The roads were paved with proper stone.
On either side stood solid two- and three-story houses built of the same stone.
Armed patrols moved openly through the streets.
No wonder Lord Solomon called our place a refugee camp, they thought.
The knights separated them again, asked more questions to confirm their identities, and finally seemed satisfied.
They were taken to a small side hall, ordered to remove their weapons and armor, and searched.
“Ser Solomon, please wait here,” one of the knights said.
The side hall was small and simply furnished, but clean and neat.
Solomon found a chair and sat down to rest, closing his eyes.
Luden and Rosslyn looked awkward and uncomfortable.
“My lord, riding a horse… it really isn’t meant for people,” Rosslyn muttered, rubbing the inside of his thighs with both hands and grimacing.
Luden nodded miserably.
“My ass feels like it doesn’t belong to me anymore.” “Watching knights ride always looked so dashing and impressive,” Rosslyn continued complaining.
“Didn’t know it hurt this much.” Luden quickly hushed him.
“What are you saying?
Lord Solomon gave us horses to ride.
That means he thinks highly of us.” Solomon opened his eyes and smiled faintly.
“You’ll get used to it,” he said calmly.
“There will be plenty more riding in the days ahead.” Both men’s faces grew even more pained at the thought.
Before long, soft footsteps approached.
A brown-haired woman in a plain dress entered, accompanied by two maids.
She looked to be around forty, her face tired and drawn, her hair simply pinned back.
She clearly hadn’t rested properly in a long time.
Yet she still carried herself with the quiet authority of a lord’s wife, and her eyes were calm and steady.
This was Lady Roslyn of House Deddings.
Solomon stood and bowed.
“Good day, Lady Roslyn.” Luden and Rosslyn quickly followed his example, their movements a little clumsy.
“No need for such formality, young Solomon,” Lady Roslyn said.
Her voice was gentle, with a faint hoarseness.
“Please, sit.” She studied him for a moment.
“You’ve come to claim your family’s title?” Solomon took a deep breath.
His expression instantly filled with grief.
Life is a play.
Everything depends on the performance.
His eyes reddened on cue.
He rushed forward, dropped to his knees, and wrapped his arms tightly around Lady Roslyn’s legs.
“Lady!
My lady!” His voice broke.
“My father and both my brothers… they’re all dead!
They died at Seagard!” “My mother thought we were all gone.
In her grief and despair she threw herself from the tower at Stinkfort!” “Lady… my lady…” He lowered his head as if overcome, shoulders shaking with silent sobs.
His hands clutched her skirt even tighter.
Lady Roslyn looked down at him quietly.
A trace of pity and affection crossed her tired face.
She reached out and gently stroked his hair.
Poor boy.
What has he been through?
She sighed.
“I heard about the tragedy at Stinkfort,” she said.
“Your father and brothers were brave men.
House Deddings will remember their loyalty.” “Your mother was a good woman.
She raised three fine sons.” Solomon lifted his head, tears still glistening in his eyes.
“Before my father answered the call he spent almost everything we had on weapons and armor.
Now… now Stinkfort has only me left.
The granary is empty.
The treasury is empty.
My people and I are going to starve!” His voice cracked with desperation.
“Please, my lady—have mercy.
My father and brothers died fighting for Lord Balon.
Help me.
Help us survive this.” Luden and Rosslyn stared at the sight of their young lord kneeling on the floor, hugging Lady Roslyn’s legs and weeping so pitifully.
What’s going on?
they thought.
Has Lord Solomon been hiding how much pain he’s been in this whole time?
Has he been carrying all this grief alone?
They felt a fresh wave of guilt.
We’re so useless.
Lady Roslyn gazed down at the young knight crying at her feet.
Sadness and a gentle affection flickered in her eyes.
She was quiet for a moment, then spoke.
“Young Solomon, your family has shed its blood for House Deddings.
That loyalty will not be forgotten.” Her voice remained soft, but there was a knowing note in it.
“I also heard that after you returned to Stinkfort, the kind and merciful Ser Solomon gave away what little grain and coin remained to the families of the men who died serving your house.” Solomon’s mind raced.
His expression of grief froze for half a second.
Of course she knows, he thought.
A lord who doesn’t know what’s happening with his vassals isn’t much of a lord.
He recovered instantly, tightening his grip on her skirt and letting fresh tears fall.
“Father and my brothers died in battle.
Those farmers died for our house too.
Their families had no one left.
I… I couldn’t just watch them starve.” “You know I’m the youngest son, my lady.
I was never trained to inherit.
I acted on impulse.
I didn’t realize how bad things had already become.” Lady Roslyn looked at him for a long moment.
There was appraisal in her gaze now, and something deeper—something almost moved.
She let out a soft sigh, half pity, half resignation.
“You will make a kind and merciful lord.” She reached down and gently helped him to his feet.
“Rise, young Solomon.” “I will consider sending some grain to help you through this difficult time.” Solomon stood, keeping the right amount of grateful sorrow on his face.
“Thank you, my lady.
Thank you.” Nothing moves a woman faster than genuine-seeming empathy, he thought.
At that moment, hurried footsteps sounded outside.
A guard burst into the hall without waiting to be announced, face pale and panicked.
“My lady!
Urgent military news!” Lady Roslyn’s brows drew together.
“What could be so urgent?” The guard handed her a sealed message.
As Lady Roslyn read it, her expression changed rapidly.
By the time she finished, her face was grave and the exhaustion in her eyes had deepened.
She turned back to Solomon, voice apologetic.
“Young Solomon, I need some time to consider your request.
There are… pressing matters I must attend to first.” “You may stay here in the castle while I deal with this.
I will give you my answer once I can.” Solomon kept his face polite, but inside he was cursing.
Damn it.
Couldn’t this have waited another ten minutes?
She was about to help us.
There was nothing he could do.
“I will await your decision, my lady,” he said respectfully.
Lady Roslyn nodded.
“I will be as quick as I can.” Solomon bowed.
“Then I take my leave.” He led Luden and Rosslyn out of the side hall, mind already turning over what came next.
Lady Roslyn’s attitude had not been bad.
She had seemed genuinely moved and ready to offer aid.
But that urgent message had changed things.
She needed time to think.
And “time to think” always meant uncertainty.
He had no idea what the emergency was—or how it would affect his request.