Chapter 32 The Lion in White Harbor

On the third day after Clay convinced his old man, White Harbor received a raven flying from Winterfell.

Although Clay, who was looking for Maester Thiomer to learn about some of the material reserves at the time, was the first to see the letter tied to the raven's feet, he did not open the letter himself, but took Maester Thiomer with him. , handed the letter to Count Wyman.

After stepping on the stone steps that rotated upward in the tower, the light spots from the archery port hit them one after another. Clay found that he had never looked carefully at this building that had not been established for a long time. Family castle.

The old man's study is on the main castle tower twenty meters above the ground. This white tower, which is the thickest, most obvious, and the most ornately decorated and carved among the entire group of towers, also has a very resounding name - Poseidon Tower.

Clay looked at the bachelor beside him who was staggering. There were two necklaces made of metal buckles made of various metals hung around the bachelor's neck.

Black iron, red copper, gold, silver, fine steel, etc., each represents a different kind of knowledge. For example, black iron represents raven science, red copper represents history, silver represents medicine, etc. .

He was a little surprised. A bachelor should occupy a very important position in a noble family, but after returning home for such a long time, Clay, who was standing by and observing, discovered that this bachelor, Xiomer, had been excluded from the family intentionally or unintentionally. core affairs.

The bachelor is a bit old, and it is very difficult for him to go up the stairs. Clay has no choice but to slow down his pace and follow the pace of the old bachelor.

"Maester, have you been to Harrenhal? How does our new castle in White Harbor compare to it?"

It was awkward not to speak, so Clay picked up a topic.

The old bachelor took a few breaths, glanced at Clay with two green eyes under his sparse pale golden eyebrows, and replied in a low voice:

"If you're asking me about the scale, the outline of Harrenhal can only be seen with seven or eight new castles, but it is a ruin after all."

This answer surprised Clay. He had never been to Harrenhal, and he had never even left the North after returning to Westeros. In his opinion, this new castle was already an over-standard building. Seven or eight A person can only be as big as Harrenhal, so how big should Harrenhal be?

"The Black-Hearted Harron squeezed the Riverlands for decades before he built the largest fortress in the Seven Kingdoms. If it weren't for Aegon Targaryen's Dragon Flame, it would still be the most spectacular castle in the Seven Kingdoms. ”

I don’t know whether it was because the old bachelor didn’t want to talk more about this topic, or because he didn’t like talking to himself. After a few simple sentences, he shut up, and the quiet staircase fell into silence again.

Clay shrugged, confused, and followed Academician Siomer to Earl Wyman's study. Two Manderly family guards in armor at the door were quite surprised when they saw Clay and Academician Siomer coming together. Somewhat unexpected.

What surprised and puzzled Clay was that he actually read a hint of vigilance in the eyes of the two guards looking at Maester Xiomer. Why was the family wary of their maester?

It seemed that Academician Xiomer had long been accustomed to this. He took out a letter in his hand and handed it to one of the guards.

"Please forward the letter from Winterfell to your Lordship."

After saying these words very calmly, Bachelor Xiomer nodded slightly to Clay, turned around and left here, leaving neatly and neatly, without any sloppiness at all.

As soon as he left, the attitudes of the two guards immediately changed. The guard who had just received the letter immediately bent down and opened the oak door with a mermaid pattern for Clay.

Stepping into the room, Clay immediately saw the old man drinking from a bottle of wine. Using the sunlight coming from the balcony, Clay observed the color of the wine. It was probably Dorne's summer red.

"Grandpa, a letter from Winterfell." After receiving the letter from the guard who was standing at the door but not coming in, Clay called out to the old man. The guard smiled at him and closed the door consciously.

"Huh? It's you, Clay, the letter from Winterfell? What did it say?"

The old man muttered, threw the wine bottle in his hand on the table, stood up from the large soft chair that could accommodate two Clays, and looked at Clay.

Shaking his head, Clay walked into the room. While looking at the decoration style full of golden dragon flavor in this very spacious room, he walked towards the old man's desk.

"No, I haven't read the letter yet."

After receiving the letter, Earl Weiman unexpectedly did not open it and read it immediately. Instead, he asked:

"Thiomo came with you?"

How could the old man know? Clay was a little confused, but after thinking about it, it was right. The bachelor was responsible for delivering messages, so it was understandable that the old man would ask this.

"Yes, but he didn't come in, so there must be something wrong." Clay said, but to his surprise, the old man sneered:

"He has a shitty business!"

It was very rare that Clay saw undisguised contempt and disgust on the old man's good-natured face, which made him baffled.

"Don't have any contact with him from now on." Earl Wyman said dully, picking up the wine bottle with his big hand and taking another swig.

"Why, grandpa, aren't bachelors very useful to nobles?"

"Do you know his last name?"

This rhetorical question made Clay stunned. In his mind, the oath of a bachelor required them to give up their surname and become a servant of the entire Westeros, so Clay only knew that his name was Siomer, but he did not know him. surname.

"Lannister, remember, he is a Lannister. Don't believe in the bullshit oaths of the maester. No matter how many metal chains are hung around his neck, I can smell the disgusting lion stench from him. taste."

At this time, Clay finally understood why Earl Wyman and even the entire family had such an attitude towards Maester Xiomer. With his Lannister background, it would be a fool's errand to gain trust in this place in the North.

Clay didn't know why a Lannister came to White Harbor to become a bachelor, but as a member of the nobles of the North, although White Harbor hated Lannister, he couldn't kill the bachelor Xiomer just because of this. .

Although poisoning and other methods can be used to kill him, it is not honorable after all, or there may be some reasons that Clay does not know. In short, the family's method for treating Maester Theodore is to treat it coldly, except for sending and receiving official documents with Winterfell. Besides, let him do nothing.

But knowing this situation also made Clay more careful about the people around him. Who knows what is going on behind everyone who calls him Master in this castle. Fortunately, today he asked about the Swallow Potion. There is no loss in the stock of ingredients.

"Now, let me see what the letter from Winterfell says."

Count Wyman ignored Clay, who had a strange look on his face, unfolded the letter, and slowly read out the contents of the letter...

If the typo is posted first and then corrected, the dog's head will save his life!

I didn’t make up this Maester Xiomer. There really is such a person, and the old man is wary of him. I’m not talking nonsense. Don’t accuse me wrongly. It’s pitiful...