The death of Earl Hylan Veil caused quite a stir in the Borderlands, spreading throughout the nearby territories in just two days and even reaching Sunspear, located on the other side of Dorne, via raven.
Many people found it unbelievable that Earl Hylan Veil had died at the hands of Savages. It was well known that in the various conflicts in the Borderlands, it was rare for noble lords to die in battle, let alone at the hands of Savages. This made many curious about where these fierce Savages came from.
While many were studying the movements of the Savage Tribes, Earl Hylan Veil's funeral was smoothly held in Weil City on the seventh day after his death.
Almost everyone with inheritance rights from the collateral branches of House Veil rushed to the castle, because according to local custom, the new lord would succeed during the funeral. It was well known that Hylan Veil had no heir, so the ultimate ownership of the lordship could only be chosen from among those with inheritance rights in the collateral branches of House Veil.
In addition to these collateral branches of House Veil, a large number of lords from around the Bone Road also came to attend the funeral and witness the emergence of Weil City's new lord.
Among these lords, House Yronwood was the most distinguished. It was the leader of the lords around the Bone Road, possessing strength sufficient to contend with Sunspear. Next were House Manwoody of King's Grave City and House Fowler of Skyreach, with the rest being lesser, lower-tier lords.
House Yronwood was led by Cletus Yronwood, the eldest son and heir of the current Earl Anders Yronwood of Yronwood. Skyreach was led by the famous twin beauties of House Fowler, Jayne Fowler and Jennelyn Fowler. Other lesser lords also sent their family's eldest sons, which indicated that Hylan Veil's relationship with the surrounding lords was quite ordinary.
Only King's Grave City was led by Earl Dagor Manwoody of King's Grave City. This not only greatly surprised the new steward of Weil City responsible for receiving guests, but also astonished the other nobles attending the ceremony.
"That old fellow is a man who wouldn't get up early without profit. Why would he personally come here to attend the Viper's funeral?" In the great hall of Weil City, Jayne Fowler looked disdainfully at the Earl of King's Grave City standing not far away, whispering to her twin sister beside her.
"Maybe he had a very good relationship with the Viper?" Jennelyn Fowler shrugged, indifferent.
"A vulture becoming friends with a viper?" Jayne Fowler looked at her sister and said, "You just wait! There's definitely going to be a good show later. The carrion vulture followed the stench of the dead snake; how could he possibly leave without a full meal?"
As the twin sisters spoke, Cletus Yronwood, not far away, also overheard their conversation. He then whispered a few instructions to his guards beside him. Although he would not intervene in the dispute over the title and territory of Weil City, he would certainly not stand by and watch King's Grave City profit. Checks and balances had always been an effective method for House Yronwood to govern the lords around the Bone Road.
Hylan Veil's body was placed in the center of the great hall, his shattered half-head covered with an iron mask. Following the tradition of House Veil, a dozen specially treated venomous snakes were placed beside him. Silent Sisters, holding censers with strong incense, rotated and walked around the body, performing the final ritual.
At this point, some of the impatient collateral branches of House Veil began loudly proclaiming their inheritance rights to Weil City, and others also successively declared their claims to be superior.
For a time, the entire hall was as noisy as a marketplace.
Looking at these disgraceful collateral noblemen of House Veil, Cletus couldn't help but step forward and shout loudly, "Silence, silence! This is before Earl Hylan Veil's coffin, not your bedrooms. A group of people quarreling like shrewish women, do you have no aristocratic demeanor left at all!"
Although Cletus was very young, his status determined that his words carried significant weight. The quarreling collateral branches of House Veil gradually fell silent, looking at the heir of House Yronwood with considerable resentment.
"The inheritance rights to the lord's title and territory are written in House Veil's genealogy book; there's no need to quarrel to know," Cletus turned to Maester Edwin, the advisor who had served three Earls of Weil City, and said, "Maester Edwin, please bring out Earl Veil's genealogy book."
The Maester bowed to Cletus upon hearing this, then took a thick parchment book from his assistant's hand, and tremblingly followed to Hylan Veil's coffin. He placed the book on a pre-prepared stand there, opened it in front of everyone, and quickly found Hylan Veil's page, then checked the previous generation's branch for Hylan Veil.
"Ser Phyllis Veil, at the bloodline level, Phyllis Veil, son of Mors Veil, is the member of House Veil with the highest inheritance right," the Maester quickly clarified the lineage and then announced loudly.
At this moment, a cheer erupted from a group among the collateral branches of House Veil. In this group, a middle-aged man with a pointed nose, gaunt cheeks, and a pale complexion was seen waving triumphantly to the crowd.
Although there was a result, there were certainly those who opposed it, but facing the genealogy book, they had no way to change this outcome.
"Chosen of the Seven, Summerhall, Redsoil Watch, Red Guard River Lord, Earl Linde Terra has arrived!" At this moment, the usher at the door suddenly announced a visitor's identity in a loud voice. Although the hall was noisy, his voice was still loud enough for everyone to hear, and the hall immediately fell silent.
A question popped into everyone's mind simultaneously: What is Linde Terra doing here?
Everyone present was very familiar with the animosity between Linde Terra and Earl Hylan Veil. Before his death, Earl Hylan Veil had suffered considerable losses at the hands of this Godsworn, first losing over a thousand Weil City garrison soldiers, and then even surrendering the Bone Bridge along with the Snake Tooth Tower on the other side because of a single word from him, making Hylan Veil a laughingstock among the Dornish lords for a time.
Some even suspected that Hylan Veil's death was Lynd's doing, because just a few days after Hylan Veil died in the Wildling King's attack, Lynd announced that he had completely subdued all the Savage Tribes in the northeastern section of the Red Mountains.
These two facts were too coincidental, making it hard not to suspect that Lynd had instructed the Savage Tribes to attack Hylan Veil. Unfortunately, all of this was merely suspicion, with no evidence to prove it.
Moreover, those familiar with the Savage Tribes also knew very well that the Wildling King who killed Hylan Veil came from the Stone Mountain Tribe, and at that time, they were enemies with the Savage Tribes subdued by Lynd, making cooperation impossible.
Unlike the vast majority of people present who feared Lynd, Cletus, on the contrary, held great respect for him. He had participated in the martial arts tournament at Godgrace and also participated in the wager with Lynd, where he was easily defeated by Lynd. Afterward, Lynd also guided him on some swordsmanship techniques and corrected his flaws in swordsmanship, with extremely obvious results, which also led him to develop a sense of reverence for Lynd.
When Lynd walked into the hall from the doorway, Cletus was the first to step forward and salute Lynd, saying, "Earl Lynd, long time no see."
"Long time no see, Ser Cletus," Lynd also had a deep impression of Cletus. He was one of the few who had taken Lynd's attack without having his weapon knocked away. Afterward, he learned that this person was the heir of House Yronwood, and thus he remembered him.
"Obara? You're alive." Just as the two were greeting each other, someone from House Yronwood's retinue suddenly gasped. The person who gasped looked surprised at the woman in black veil following behind Lynd, and gasps of surprise followed one after another from the crowd.
Cletus looked at the woman upon hearing this, also showing a surprised expression, and said, "Sister Obara!"
"Cletus, it's been two years, you've grown quite a bit!" Obara smiled as she looked at Cletus.
The reaction of these members of House Yronwood surprised Lynd a little. He hadn't expected Obara to know so many young nobles from House Yronwood, and for their relationship to be extraordinary.
Obara seemed to guess what Lynd was thinking and explained, "When I was very young, my father often took me to play in the castle. I lived in the castle for a long time and knew everyone from House Yronwood."
"Sister Obara, you and Lord Linde are..." Cletus looked at Obara in surprise, questioning.
"Lord Linde is my husband's liege lord," Obara introduced Rossos, saying, "This is my husband, Rossos Terra, Captain of Lord Linde's independent company."
"Husband?" Cletus looked at Rossos, surprised, "Sister Obara, what happened to you these past two years?"
"Now is not the time to talk about these things. I'll explain it to you later," Obara shook her head slightly and said to the other young nobles from House Yronwood who had gathered around.
Lynd didn't waste any more words. Under everyone's gaze, he walked directly to the center of the great hall, in front of Hylan Veil's coffin, and said to the crowd, "You don't need to guess why a nobleman from The Reach like me would come here. I'll tell you directly: this Lady Obena Weir is Hylan Veil's only daughter and the sole heir to Weil City. My purpose is to ensure she receives everything that rightfully belongs to her."
As soon as Lynd uttered these words, the great hall instantly fell silent. Everyone was stunned, but soon a clamor filled the entire hall. Almost everyone from the collateral branches of House Veil was shouting at Lynd, while the other nobles present to observe the ceremony loudly discussed among themselves, looking as if they were enjoying a good show.
"Silence! Silence!" Lynd shouted at the crowd, simultaneously placing his hand on the Lost Knight's Greatsword. A bolt of lightning shot forth from him, sweeping across all the windows around the hall, shattering them all. Traces of scorching appeared on the surrounding walls, as if they had been burned.
Everyone immediately fell silent, all staring at Lynd, their eyes filled with either fear or shock, but more often with awe and excitement.
Rumors about the miraculous power Lynd displayed in Lannisport had already spread throughout Dorne. Even though the miracle had been acknowledged by the Seven Gods Church, not many people in Dorne still believed these rumors. They simply thought it was just some petty tricks performed by Lynd, and that the lords from the north were too foolish to see through it, thus believing it to be a miracle.
However, now they personally experienced what the rumored miracle was like. At this moment, no one doubted the truth of the rumors; they even felt that those rumors were insufficient to describe even a thousandth of this miracle.
Among the crowd, some followers of the Seven Gods Church had already knelt on the ground, beginning to recite prayers, while other heretic followers also couldn't help but chant something, as if only this could calm their agitated hearts.
Obara and Rossos, who were also seeing this sight for the first time, stared at Lynd in awe, their admiration evident.
Seeing that the hall had quieted down, Lynd beckoned to Rossos, took the documents that could prove Obara's identity, placed them on the genealogy book, and said, "These are the proofs that can verify Obara's identity. Inside, there are communications between Earl Hylan Veil and Obara's adoptive father, inheritance documents personally signed by Hylan Veil and stamped with the lord's seal, and also a birth certificate written by a Maester from the Citadel. I believe this Maester should be able to verify the authenticity of these documents."
"No need to verify, these are all real, because apart from the letters, the other documents here were all drafted by my own hand," As soon as Lynd finished speaking, the Maester nearby immediately announced the result, then beckoned to Obara and said, "Come here, child, let me see you."
Obara paused upon hearing this, turned to look at her husband, then at Lynd, and then stepped forward. The people around remained silent, looking at her with various expressions: envy, jealousy, resentment, and so on.
The Maester carefully looked at Obara who had walked closer, and with a slightly emotional expression, said, "Very much alike, you are very much like your mother. I delivered you when you were born, I wrote your birth certificate, and I personally handed you over to Hamman Shade. I originally thought you were dead, but I didn't expect you to still be alive. House Veil can finally return to its rightful hands."
Upon hearing this, the faces of the collateral branches of House Veil turned incredibly grim. They knew very well that unless Obara could be proven a fake, there was no chance of turning the tables.
Meanwhile, in the King's Grave City viewing party, a red-haired, pale young man showed an anxious expression. He took out some parchment documents from his pocket, preparing to step out of the group.
However, several people simultaneously stepped out in front, behind, and to his sides. These people instantly restrained him, and then a series of short daggers were plunged into his body, precisely piercing through his bones and into his heart and lungs. At the same time, a hand covered his mouth, preventing him from making a sound.
He looked in terror at Earl Dagor, the King's Grave City lord in front of him, but the other party had no intention of looking back.
After struggling a few times, he finally lost his strength, and the tightly clutched parchment scrolls in his hand fell to the ground.
Then, several people quietly carried his body out of the hall from behind the crowd, without alarming anyone, except Lynd.
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