While the Northern Allied Forces and the Riverlands were mired in conflict within Riverrun, Tywin, at Duskendale, was also grappTywin's Compromiseling with a difficult decision; he wasn't considering whether to retreat, but how to retreat.
When the great flood submerged the central plains of the Riverlands, Tywin had already abandoned the idea of continuing the standoff at Riverrun and began searching for suitable retreat routes.
Now, his options seemed limited: either wait for the floodwaters to recede and go through Harrenhal, or follow the banks of the Red Fork, detour through Pinkmaiden, and travel along the edge of the Riverlands, or simply head to Highgarden, go directly upstream on the Blackwater River, build rafts, and float down the river straight to King's Landing.
No matter which route he chose, he couldn't avoid one hurdle: the armies of the Riverlands and the North in Riverrun.
If his army was pursued by the forces from Riverrun during their retreat, he might face the danger of a massive rout.
Just as Tywin was agonizing over his choice, and his subordinates could offer no good advice, a letter delivered by a messenger conveniently solved his problem.
"This Robb Stark is as stubborn, rigid, and foolish as his father, throwing away his future for a woman," Tywin said, a scornful smile on his face after reading the entire letter.
He then looked at the messenger and added, "Tell that old man I agree to his terms.
After it's done, the Frey will be the Lord of Riverrun and the Warden of the Riverlands."
"Lord, my great-grandfather requires a more reliable promise," the messenger said, looking up at Tywin.
This messenger was none other than Black Walder, who had recently accompanied Robb Stark in attacking the Westerlands.
Tywin was silent for a moment, then took off a ring with his family crest from his hand and tossed it to Black Walder, saying, "A Lannister always pays his debts.
Guard this family ring of mine well; when I fulfill my promise, you must return it to me exactly as it is."
Black Walder took the ring, then carefully took out a small box from his pocket, poured out all the jewels inside, tore a piece of cloth from his clothes to wrap the ring, placed it in the box, and put it into his inner pocket.
Seeing Black Walder protect the ring so cautiously, Tywin nodded with satisfaction, motioning for him to leave.
After Black Walder left, Tywin summoned his army commanders and ordered them to begin preparing for withdrawal.
He ultimately chose the route through Pinkmaiden.
The Riverlands along that route had been devastated by the Mountain's army, with nine out of ten households empty, and lords either dead or fled, leaving little resistance.
He only needed to be careful of pursuit from Riverrun.
However, from the information Black Walder had just revealed, there were already rifts between the Northern Allied Forces and the Riverlands in Riverrun, making it difficult for them to send a strong army to pursue him.
However, Tywin, in all his calculations, miscalculated the weather.
Just as he began his retreat, a torrential downpour began across the entire Riverlands.
A large amount of rainwater gathered in the Trident River, causing the river to swell.
Massive amounts of water poured down, and combined with the rain, transformed the previously flooded areas from swamps into lakes.
Vast floods spread in all directions; even Harrenhal was submerged, and the area around Pinkmaiden on the Red Fork was naturally also submerged.
Tywin and his Westerlands army were completely blocked on their retreat path.
"Lord, we have searched for all available timber, but we can only build twenty rafts at most.
For the entire army to cross this body of water…" a knight in charge of supervising raft construction reported the newly received news to Tywin.
"No need! Do not build the rafts," Tywin said, his face incredibly grim, sitting in his tent, listening to the sound of the torrential rain hitting the canvas outside.
Everyone else stood silently, heads bowed, not daring to look at Tywin.
Tywin did not give in to impotent rage.
He calmly waved his hand, signaling everyone to leave, then turned and took a letter from a box nearby.
The letter had been sent by Littlefinger several days ago, and its contents were the terms offered by House Tyrell.
When he first saw the letter, he hadn't even considered agreeing to these two conditions.
Leaving aside Cersei's abdication and entry into the Redemption Sanctuary as a nun, merely having Joffrey marry a noblewoman from a collateral branch of House Tyrell was already the greatest insult to House Lannister.
Clearly, this was House Tyrell's retaliation for Cersei unilaterally breaking the engagement.
Times change.
At that time, he had other options, but now his choices were limited, and it was time to seriously consider them.
According to the current situation, he could no longer rescue King's Landing.
Although Kevan had tens of thousands of men, they were all new recruits; the true elites were currently in the Riverlands.
Those men might do well in a victorious battle, but once they faced defeat, or even a slightly stronger army, they would reveal their true nature and crumble.
Therefore, even if Kevan led his troops to rescue King's Landing, it would likely end in failure.
Currently, the only army capable of resisting Stannis was the army of The Reach.
Tywin pondered quietly in his tent for a long time, then finally picked up paper and pen, quickly wrote a series of words, and then personally copied them into more than a dozen copies.
He stamped them with his family seal and immediately ordered them to be sent by raven to the major lords of the Seven Kingdoms, the main Sept, and the Oldtown Citadel.
This letter was the public promise Garlan had requested.
Issuing a proclamation in this manner meant that Tywin would absolutely not alter his promise.
If he reneged, House Lannister's credibility would plummet.
Furthermore, and more importantly, all the letters explicitly stated that the Lord of Summerhall, the Stepstones, and Lynd, Prince of the Narrow Sea, would serve as witnesses.
Now, if Lynd acknowledged the promises in this letter as witnessed, then if Tywin broke his oath, this witness would have the right to wage war on Casterly Rock, and even the local lords of the Westerlands could not stop him.
Tywin's letter reached Summerhall and Lynd the next day.
Upon seeing the letter, Lynd was somewhat surprised, as it could be said to be a humiliation for Tywin, yet Tywin was able to endure such an insult and agree to such harsh terms.
This did not make Lynd look down on Tywin; instead, it made Lynd admire Tywin even more.
"Lord, will you agree to be a witness?" Sansa asked with some concern.
Sansa was no longer a naive noble lady; through extensive document review, she had developed a keen insight.
This allowed her to immediately realize, upon seeing the letter, that if Lynd agreed to become a witness, then the Westerlands and The Reach would have formed an alliance, which would certainly not be good for the North.
"Yes," Lynd replied, giving Sansa a deeply disappointing answer.
Sansa wanted to say more, but she was stopped by Margaery, who was standing nearby.
Although Margaery had only known Lynd for a short time, she had already understood his character: once a decision was made, Lynd would not change it unless there was a very compelling reason, and Sansa clearly had no reason to stop Lynd from becoming a witness to the covenant.
Lynd looked at Sansa and asked, "Are you worried about your brother Robb Stark's safety?"
Sansa nodded.
Lynd took a piece of intelligence from beside him and handed it to Sansa, asking, "Tell me, what do you see in this intelligence?"
Sansa and Margaery both paused.
The intelligence by Lynd's side was not from Raven's Nest but from the castle's Eyrie, which meant it was very important, and neither of them had seen it.
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