Lyanna’s pupils dilated sharply.
She stared at Green’s calm eyes for a moment before turning her gaze to Surana.
Surana seemed to understand Lyanna’s anxiety, giving her a gentle smile and a reassuring nod.
Steward Hershel also stepped forward.
“Lady Lyanna, do not worry overmuch.
The Lord will seek justice for the unfair treatment you suffered.
Those who harmed you will pay the price.” Only then did Lyanna give a clear answer.
“Green, thank you.
I have never hated anyone so much in my life.
I wasn’t mistaken—because I firmly refused to sign the divorce, I could feel that he meant to kill me.
Otherwise, I wouldn’t have fled in such a hurry.
If you can, please eliminate him!” As she spoke, Lyanna remained uneasy.
“If we kill him, will it bring trouble to the family?
After all, the nobles of the Vale have always held hostility toward us.” Green gently patted the back of Lyanna’s hand and sat back in his chair.
“If we do nothing, they will only laugh at House Crabb for being cowardly.
Everyone knows in their hearts that as a noble house, House Crabb will certainly retaliate.” Green let out a cold scoff and continued, “Did someone truly believe House Crabb would at most file a complaint with the Red Keep?
That against a weak House Crabb disfavored by the Hand of the King, the Red Keep would simply appease the sensitive tempers of the nobility by having Usor pay a few Gold Dragons to settle the matter?” “Aren’t we supposed to be ‘half-wildling’ nobles?
This is a fine chance to prove them right.
When a lady of our house is wronged, we get angry.
Distance will not stop us from riding over to wipe out his entire household.
That is indeed very wildling.” Lyanna could not help but gasp.
“Won’t the fallout be too immense?
Aside from the handmaids I brought with me, there isn’t a single person there I care about, but…
won’t that old dog Jon Arryn make trouble for us?” “By then, it will depend on the methods of Her Royal Grace, our noble Queen.” On the surface, the event could be summarized as a noble lady who had married down to a merchant, suffered humiliation after the marriage, and her noble house retaliated against the merchant’s family in anger.
The method of retaliation might be somewhat extreme, but logically, it was not incomprehensible.
After all, across the continent of Westeros, a noble’s honor was inviolable.
From Cersei’s perspective, compared to her father Tywin Lannister’s “The Rains of Castamere,” Green’s level of retaliation might even be considered far too gentle.
Green was merely going with the flow, occasionally stoking minor troubles so that Queen Cersei would feel even more assured about House Crabb’s proactive allegiance.
In his heart, Green had already quietly formulated a plan: the men sent to execute the deed would not actively reveal their identities as House Crabb, nor would they leave behind obvious evidence.
Afterward, those in the know would understand this was House Crabb’s revenge, but so long as no clear evidence remained, Queen Cersei could easily suppress any investigations by interested parties at the Red Keep without compromising her impartiality as Queen.
As for King Robert, he could be ignored entirely.
Interrupting the King’s debauchery over such trivial matters was a quick way to get one’s head smashed open with a wine flagon.
…
Thinking up to this point, Green, who had returned to his study, tapped his fingers against the desk, his brow furrowing slightly.
According to the customs of Westeros, carrying out stealthy revenge—even if the methods were fierce enough—might still be mocked as cowardly for failing to fly their own banners, damaging their honor.
The rules of the game here gave Green a headache from time to time.
After a moment, his brow smoothed out.
He could always learn from Tywin Lannister!
Green personally selected a group of men from House Crabb’s guards, then arranged for several silver-tongued singers from the domain to accompany them.
…
…
Having finished lunch with Lyanna, Green remained as busy as ever.
After consulting with Steward Hershel and Stewardess Surana, he arranged for Surana’s eldest son, Layton, to lead a group of men ahead toward King’s Landing.
Trainee Steward Layton’s mission was to purchase an estate outside King’s Landing.
Steward Hershel had previously inquired with traveling merchants about prices: an estate outside King’s Landing generally cost between 80 to 200 Gold Dragons.
The impoverished Lord Green, aching with heartache, allocated 300 Gold Dragons to Layton.
The core of Green’s order was simple: the estate’s location should be as close to King’s Landing as possible, and the larger the area, the better.
With a limited supply of Gold Dragons, Layton’s pressure would not be light.
The future “Crabb Estate” outside King’s Landing was intended for Green to station troops.
In the original host’s memory, he had never left the domain.
Green was unsure how many guards a typical estate outside King’s Landing was allowed to keep, or what threshold would trigger the Red Keep’s sensitive nerves.
In Green’s view, as long as it remained within the Red Keep’s limit of tolerance, the more troops garrisoned in the estate, the better.
It would greatly enhance his sense of security at King’s Landing.
…
Mermaid Harbor, bright and clear.
Green rode his horse, leading his guards on a sweep of the area.
Thanks to the addition of over 200 free captive laborers, Phase One of Mermaid Harbor was basically complete, possessing the fundamental functions of a port.
Phase One construction was meant to get Mermaid Harbor operational in a short timeframe.
The primary building materials used were timber, making them transitional structures.
Phase Two would span a period of six months, using stone as the primary material to replicate the various shops from Phase One on the other side.
Once completed, it would directly take over the functions of the Phase One structures.
Immediately following that would be Phase Three.
Phase Three had two primary objectives, planned on a yearly timeline.
The first objective was to construct new harbor facilities according to specific demands, continuing to expand and refine Mermaid Harbor.
The second objective was the beautification of the completed structures, inside and out, focusing primarily on delicate stone carvings.
Green attached great importance to Mermaid Harbor’s defensive capabilities.
He did not want all their hard work destroyed in an instant by a few waves of visiting pirates.
A formidable defense force would allow Mermaid Harbor to attract even more visitors.
The garrison force temporarily responsible for Mermaid Harbor’s defense consisted of over 100 men, primarily former villagers from Fishing Village, trained and commanded by two veterans selected from House Crabb’s guards.
Green did not overlook sanitation management either.
He did not want his charming Mermaid Harbor reeking to high heaven, so dedicated personnel were assigned to supervise public health and hygiene.
Standing by the shore and gazing out at the boundless expanse of blue, Green was in no mood to appreciate the scenery.
House Crabb’s long-range ballistas had not yet been built; Mermaid Harbor still lacked shore-based, long-range defensive weapons to defend against attacks coming from the sea.
At present, Mermaid Harbor’s naval defense consisted merely of several modified small fishing boats from Fishing Village.
Engaging in open-sea combat was entirely out of the question; a slightly larger wave could capsize them, and they dared not even venture out in poor weather.
As for grand warships capable of navigating the open ocean, Green’s domain lacked the technology to build them.
Purchasing them from outside, with starting prices of 1,000 Gold Dragons and up, instantly daunted the impoverished Lord Green.
Green’s dream of becoming a naval warlord had to be temporarily set aside.
He decided to play it safe for now, obediently and properly paying to ride aboard merchant vessels whenever he needed to take to the sea.