Chapter 116: Rumors Across Westeros
Val was beginning to hate Ygritte's smile.
Not because the red-haired wildling smiled often.
But because Jon smiled back now.
That was the problem.
Val stood quietly near one of the enormous windows inside the Hall of Governance while snow fell softly outside across the glowing streets of Winter's Heaven.
The kingdom looked beautiful at night.
Electric lights illuminated entire districts while trains roared across the city in the distance. Steam drifted upward from heated buildings into the freezing northern sky.
It looked alive.
Modern.
Powerful.
And somehow...
Jon still looked more exhausting than the entire kingdom combined.
He sat behind his enormous desk surrounded by endless stacks of paperwork while Ygritte casually perched on the edge beside him again.
Again.
Val narrowed her eyes slightly.
Gods, that woman practically lived on that desk now.
Jon continued writing calmly across several reports while Ygritte leaned beside him, pretending to examine one upside down.
"You've been reading the same paper for fifteen minutes," she said.
Jon didn't even look up.
"That's because unlike you, I can actually understand it."
Ygritte grinned proudly.
"You insult me every day now."
"You make it easy."
"Aye."
Val watched the interaction silently.
Too natural.
Too comfortable.
That was what irritated her most.
Jon rarely relaxed around anyone.
Even during feasts or celebrations, part of him always remained distant. Careful.
But around Ygritte...
He looked normal.
Ygritte suddenly stole the pen from Jon's hand.
Val expected him to sigh.
Instead, Jon calmly reached out, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her slightly closer before taking the pen back.
The movement lasted barely seconds.
Yet somehow felt strangely intimate.
Val accidentally snapped the pencil in her hand.
Crack.
The sharp sound echoed loudly through the hall.
Several officers instantly pretended not to hear it.
Cowards.
Jon looked upward immediately.
Ygritte slowly turned toward Val.
Val smiled calmly.
Too calmly.
Jon immediately sensed danger.
"Something wrong?" he asked carefully.
Val crossed her arms.
"Nothing at all."
Tormund entered the hall carrying food at that exact moment.
His eyes moved between:
• Val,
• Jon,
• and Ygritte.
Then he groaned dramatically.
"Oh no."
Jon rubbed his forehead tiredly.
"What now?"
Tormund pointed directly toward Val.
"She has the quiet angry look."
Val smiled sweetly at him.
Tormund immediately stepped backward.
"Aye. That one."
Ygritte burst into laughter while Jon seriously considered throwing Tormund out of the hall personally.
________________________________________
Several days had passed since the Winter's Titan returned from Westeros.
And during those several days...
The Seven Kingdoms had exploded with rumors.
________________________________________
White Harbor no longer spoke about anything else.
Inside taverns, docks, merchant halls, and noble gatherings, every conversation eventually returned to the same topic.
Winter's Heaven.
The Kingdom Beyond Winter.
Inside The Frozen Whale tavern, dozens of sailors and merchants crowded around wooden tables while northern knights drank heavily near the massive fireplace.
At the center stood Ser Marlon.
One of the knights personally escorted through Winter's Heaven itself.
The knight looked exhausted.
Not physically.
Mentally.
As if his mind still struggled understanding what he had witnessed.
One sailor slammed his mug loudly onto the table.
"I still say half these stories are bullshit."
Several nearby men laughed nervously.
Ser Marlon slowly looked toward him.
"I wish they were."
That shut the room up quickly.
The knight drank deeply before speaking again.
"You fools think Winter's Heaven is merely some rich northern city."
He shook his head slowly.
"No."
"That place..." his voice lowered slightly, "feels like another age entirely."
Several merchants leaned closer immediately.
One younger sailor frowned.
"What was truly so frightening?"
Ser Marlon stared into the fire briefly.
Then answered quietly.
"The scale."
Silence spread slowly through the tavern.
"The city stretches endlessly."
"They have massive cement roads wider than castle courtyards."
"And the trains…" he exhaled slowly. "Gods."
Several men exchanged glances.
Here we go again.
But Ser Marlon ignored them.
"They are gigantic iron monsters."
One sailor scoffed.
"Wagons."
The knight pointed directly at him.
"No."
The room quieted again.
"They scream across metal tracks faster than cavalry."
"They carry hundreds of people at once."
"And the sound alone terrifies horses."
Several witnesses visibly nodded.
One older captain muttered quietly:
"The first time one passed beside us, half our men reached for their swords."
Several sailors laughed nervously.
Not because it was funny.
Because they believed him.
Another merchant leaned forward.
"And the city lights?"
At that question, several men exchanged uneasy glances.
One knight answered softly:
"The city glows at night."
Silence spread again.
"No torches," another added.
"No wildfire."
"Just endless light."
One sailor whispered almost nervously:
"Like stars."
Ser Marlon nodded slowly.
"Aye."
Another sailor leaned closer.
"And the Titan?"
That changed the atmosphere immediately.
Even mentioning the Winter's Titan felt heavy now.
Ser Marlon looked unconsciously toward the tavern windows.
"As it emerged through the fog…"
His voice slowed.
"I genuinely believed some ancient god had risen from the sea."
Nobody laughed.
Because too many witnesses described the same feeling.
"It's too large," another knight muttered.
"It should not float."
"It carries cannons larger than wagons."
"And steel walls thicker than castle gates."
One merchant suddenly muttered:
"The harbor of Winter's Heaven alone rivals White Harbor."
That caused immediate murmurs.
But nobody denied it.
Because every single witness returned describing the same impossible kingdom.
One sailor finally asked the question lingering in every mind.
"What about Jon Snow?"
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
Ser Marlon became strangely thoughtful.
"He doesn't feel like other kings."
"How?"
The knight exhaled slowly.
"He walks among workers."
"He speaks with soldiers directly."
"He remembers names."
"And his people…"
He paused briefly.
"His people genuinely love him."
That silence returned once more.
Because in Westeros...
People obeyed kings.
They feared kings.
But loving kings?
That was rare.
Another knight finally muttered quietly:
"Lord Wyman asked us whether Winter's Heaven could conquer Westeros."
The tavern became completely silent.
"And what did you answer?" someone whispered.
Ser Marlon stared into the fire.
Then answered honestly.
"If they truly wanted war…"
His eyes slowly lifted.
"…I don't know who could stop them."
Nobody argued.
Not one man.
________________________________________
Inside New Castle, Lord Wyman Manderly listened silently while report after report arrived before him.
Knights.
Captains.
Merchants.
Sailors.
Every witness described the same impossible kingdom.
Factories larger than castles.
Heated homes during winter.
Food abundance beyond imagination.
Weapons capable of slaughtering armored knights from impossible distances.
Railways stretching endlessly across frozen lands.
Industry powerful enough to rival entire kingdoms.
And above all of it...
Jon Snow.
Wyman slowly rubbed his beard while listening carefully.
No matter how many reports arrived...
One realization became clearer and clearer.
Winter's Heaven no longer needed Westeros.
But eventually...
Westeros might desperately need Winter's Heaven.
One younger northern lord finally spoke quietly.
"If half these rumors are true…"
He hesitated.
"…then Jon Snow already rules the strongest kingdom in the world."
No one answered.
Because nobody truly disagreed anymore.
Wyman slowly looked toward the harbor where ships unloaded Winter's Heaven cargo even now.
Steel.
Coal.
Machines.
Endless resources.
The North had changed forever.
Finally, Wyman spoke softly.
"Jon Snow is not building a kingdom."
The hall remained silent.
"He is building the future itself."
No man argued.
Because deep down…
Every single one of them knew it was true.
________________________________________
Far south, the rumors spread like wildfire.
In taverns across the Riverlands, travelers spoke of:
• glowing cities,
• steel ships,
• giant trains,
• thunder weapons,
• and the kingdom beyond winter.
In King's Landing, many nobles initially laughed at the stories.
Until merchants confirmed them.
Then slowly...
The laughter stopped.
Some called Winter's Heaven:
• The Iron Kingdom.
• The City of Light.
• The Kingdom Beyond Winter.
Others simply called it impossible.
But the rumors continued spreading anyway.
Faster than ravens.
Faster than trade ships.
Faster than fear itself.
________________________________________
Meanwhile...
Back in Winter's Heaven...
Jon Snow remained completely unaware that all Westeros now discussed him endlessly.
He simply continued working through paperwork while:
• Ygritte sat on his desk,
• Val watched both of them carefully,
• and Tormund observed everything with growing amusement.
Outside the glowing windows of the Hall of Governance, snow continued falling softly across the greatest kingdom Westeros had ever seen.
And far away...
The world had finally begun realizing just how powerful Jon Snow truly was.
End Chapter 116
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Author's Note:
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📖 Reborn as Jon Snow with God System:
Available up to Chapter 147
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• Chapter 117 - Rumors Across Westeros
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