"Westerosi chess?"
Sansa repeated the unfamiliar name softly, confusion visible in her eyes. She had played cyvasse-like tile games before with Jeyne Poole and her handmaidens, but she had never heard of anything called Westerosi chess.
Garon smiled calmly and nodded. "Yes. Westerosi chess."
Naturally, he knew no one present had ever heard the name before, because it was something he had improvised himself only moments earlier.
Carrying the wooden box, Garon walked toward the table opposite Sansa and said politely, "Lady Sansa, if you permit me, I would like to demonstrate it personally."
After Sansa gave a small nod of agreement, Garon carefully removed the carved pieces from the wooden box one by one. Then he turned the box over and unfolded it flat across the table, revealing that the box itself was also the game board.
Under the curious gazes of everyone in the room, Garon began arranging the pieces methodically into orderly rows.
Soon, a complete chessboard appeared before them.
That was right.
The gift Garon had prepared for Sansa Stark was none other than chess from his previous life.
Robb, who had originally remained leaning near the doorway watching the excitement, could not help stepping closer. Looking down at the board with obvious confusion, he frowned slightly.
"This is the unheard-of gift you mentioned earlier?"
He pointed toward the board.
"It looks no different from ordinary tile chess."
Garon merely smiled patiently.
"In a sense, it is inspired by tile chess," he explained. "But the rules are completely different."
He gestured toward the opposing rows of pieces.
"Two players. One commands black, the other white."
"The objective is simple. Whoever traps and checkmates the enemy king first wins."
Although Robb admired Garon's creativity in inventing an entirely new game, he still could not help shaking his head slightly.
Truthfully, he had very little interest in such things.
"To be honest," Robb muttered quietly, "I thought you'd bring jewelry, gemstones, or some southern trinket girls actually like."
"Not… this."
His eyes shifted toward Sansa before he lowered his voice further.
"If I had known your gift was a game board, I would've stopped you earlier."
"Forget Sansa. Even Beth and Jeyne don't look interested."
Robb sighed softly, already imagining the northern lords laughing about the heir of Deepwood Motte bringing carved wood as a betrothal gift during the next harvest feast.
Behind him, Beth Cassel and Jeyne Poole indeed appeared only mildly curious at best.
Even Septa Mordane's expression subtly stiffened.
In her eyes, Sansa Stark was the daughter of the Warden of the North. Yet Garon Glover had arrived at Winterfell bearing little more than carved wood as a gift.
To the septa, this almost seemed disrespectful.
Secretly, she had already decided to mention the matter to Lady Catelyn later.
Meanwhile, Garon naturally noticed everyone's reactions.
Inwardly, he could only sigh helplessly.
"If I could afford jewels and treasures, I would gladly bring them."
"Unfortunately, Deepwood Motte is poor."
And not merely ordinary poor.
It was truly poor by the standards of great noble houses.
Earlier, Theon Greyjoy had mockingly called Deepwood Motte a wooden chamber pot hidden within the wilderness. Though insulting, part of that statement was undeniably true.
On a map of the North, the lands controlled by House Glover stretched enormously across the Wolfswood west of Winterfell, extending toward Sea Dragon Point and beyond Torrhen's Square.
Logically, such a vast territory should have made House Glover one of the wealthiest noble families in the North.
Reality, however, was the complete opposite.
Most of House Glover's lands were dense forest and harsh wilderness unsuitable for farming. Truly fertile fields were rare, and the region's population remained sparse even after thousands of years.
Generation after generation, the Glovers had chosen to preserve the Wolfswood rather than clear it.
There were even ancient rumors claiming that House Glover once formed agreements with the Children of the Forest during the Age of Heroes when the First Men first came north.
Some northern clans still whispered that traces of the Children's blood flowed through House Glover itself.
Naturally, the Glovers neither confirmed nor denied such stories.
Most of the clans sworn to Deepwood Motte lived by hunting and trapping within the Wolfswood. Their greatest contribution came from animal pelts and furs traded throughout the North.
The gold earned from those trades was usually spent almost immediately.
Some went toward food and necessities.
The rest became weapons, armor, and supplies needed to defend the western coast from Ironborn raids.
By the time Garon inherited control over the treasury, there was little wealth left beyond military equipment and basic reserves.
Thus, when Ned Stark's invitation arrived, Garon had genuinely encountered a difficult problem.
If he had been asked to raise soldiers, he could confidently summon more than two thousand northern warriors from Deepwood Motte and its bannermen.
But if he was asked to prepare elegant gifts suitable for a noble lady, House Glover truly struggled.
The formal engagement gifts could still be managed through the treasury.
However, preparing a personal gift specifically for Sansa Stark had left Garon troubled for days.
Looking around Deepwood Motte's warehouses filled with weapons, armor, and timber, he could hardly present Sansa with a northern greatsword as though she were Arya Stark.
Gifts needed to suit the recipient.
If the recipient had been Arya, then gifting a fine sword might genuinely have earned admiration.
But Sansa was entirely different.
Raised by Catelyn Stark according to traditional southern ideals, Sansa loved embroidery, songs, stories, poetry, and graceful courtly pursuits.
She possessed none of Arya's wild wolf-blood.
For a noble lady like Sansa, crude northern gifts would likely only achieve the opposite effect.
Unfortunately, House Glover simply lacked the wealth to purchase exquisite southern jewels.
It was during this dilemma that inspiration suddenly struck Garon.
Why not create a chess set?
Throughout the original story, Sansa Stark had always seemed the Stark child most suited to political games and court intrigue.
A game emphasizing patience, strategy, deception, and foresight suited her temperament far better than necklaces or bracelets.
Fortunately, Deepwood Motte possessed one advantage above all others.
Wood.
And along with wood came excellent craftsmen.
Under Garon's instructions, Deepwood Motte's carpenters had spent nights carefully carving the entire set according to his descriptions.
Unfortunately, almost no one present currently understood the significance of the gift.
As expected, the debut of Westerosi chess had received an extremely cold reception.
Still, Garon had anticipated this from the start.
Looking calmly around the room, he continued speaking naturally, smoothly picking up from where Robb's doubts had ended.
"To be honest, before coming to Winterfell, I also considered preparing beautiful jewelry or ornaments for Lady Sansa."
"But after much thought, I eventually abandoned the idea."
Arya, as blunt and curious as always, immediately interrupted.
"Why?"
Garon inwardly praised her timing before smiling warmly in response.
"Because I searched for a long time and realized there was no jewel or ornament capable of making Lady Sansa any more beautiful than she already is."
"With all due respect, Lady Sansa's beauty already feels like a blessing from the old gods themselves."
"Any additional decoration would merely become unnecessary."
The straightforward praise instantly caused Sansa's cheeks to flush slightly red.
Meanwhile, Beth and Jeyne exchanged amused looks while Arya made an exaggerated disgusted face.
Completely ignoring Arya's expression, Garon continued calmly.
"So after thinking carefully, I decided it would be better to prepare something unique instead."
"Something capable of expressing genuine thought and sincerity."
"And that eventually led me to create Westerosi chess."
Then he looked directly toward Sansa.
"Lady Sansa, please forgive my presumption."
"Half a year ago, I asked Robb about your interests."
"He told me you preferred more refined and ladylike activities."
"So I began wondering whether I could create a strategy game designed especially for you."
As he spoke, Garon gestured toward the chessboard spread across the table.
"Ordinary tile games rely mostly on chance and simple patterns."
"But Westerosi chess is different."
"The rules themselves are straightforward, yet the strategies hidden within are incredibly complex."
"To defeat your opponent and corner the enemy king requires not only intelligence, but patience, foresight, and the ability to read another person's intentions."
As he explained further, genuine curiosity gradually appeared within Sansa's eyes.
Games involving wit and intelligence had always interested her far more than Arya ever realized.
Seeing her growing interest, Garon continued with another comparison.
"It is much like commanding an army during war."
"A lord must consider not only his own soldiers and supplies, but also the enemy's movements, intentions, and hidden plans."
"One must predict the enemy's strategy while concealing one's own."
As Garon spoke confidently and calmly, his composed demeanor unconsciously drew Sansa's full attention.
She had never imagined that someone would spend so much effort designing an entirely new game simply to please her personally.
At that moment, a thought quietly surfaced within Sansa's heart.
"He must truly care about me."
Her fingers unconsciously tightened slightly around one of the carved chess pieces as her cheeks warmed faintly once more.