King Robb slowly nodded and said, "Jeyne and I will hold our wedding in Riverrun, Ser Brynden."
Although he already knew the answer, Ser Brynden still sighed inwardly.
… … … …
"Your Majesty."
Edmure first bowed, then sat down in the chair next to Ser Brynden, excitedly saying, "Uncle, I was at the Red Fork River…"
Edmure, smelling of wine, boasted about his military achievements to his Uncle like a child.
At King Robb's signal, after the servants in the hall had left, Ser Brynden frowned and said, "Stop, we've heard enough of your showing off, Edmure."
Edmure paused, then asked confusedly, "What showing off, Uncle?"
Ser Brynden looked at his nephew and said, "My point is that you should thank King Robb for his leniency. He put on a show for you at the city gates to spare you embarrassment in front of your own vassals."
His tone became stern: "If it were me, I would mercilessly reprimand your foolishness and never praise your meager achievements!"
Edmure said incredulously, "In that battle at the Red Fork River crossing, countless brave warriors sacrificed their lives to repel Lannister. You should respect them, Uncle."
Then, his gaze shifted to King Robb, and he said angrily, "What's wrong, besides the Young Wolf, no one else deserves victory? Did I steal your glory, Robb?"
Robb took off his crown and placed it on a nearby table, correcting him coolly, "It's Your Majesty, my Uncle."
Edmure huffily turned his face away, looking neither at his nephew nor his Uncle.
After a pause, Ser Brynden's deep, hoarse voice rang out: "Edmure, I heard that King Robb's order to you was to remain in Riverrun (Chapter 236), and nothing more."
Edmure turned his head to explain: "Uncle, I defended Riverrun, and I even repelled Duke Tywin's army…"
Robb interrupted, his face slightly grim, "Repelling does not equal victory, Edmure."
He continued, "Have you considered why the combined forces of the North and Riverlands stayed in the Westerlands for so long? You know I don't have enough troops to break through Lannisport or Casterly Rock."
"Why?" Edmure was taken aback.
He tried to guess the answer, opened his mouth, and said, "For… other castles? For gold? For cattle and sheep? Is it… for beauties?!"
Robb said with a dark face, "Do you think we went to the Westerlands to be bandits?"
He paused, then continued, "Uncle, I stayed in the Westerlands to draw Duke Tywin out."
Ser Brynden explained to a still confused Edmure: "The main force King Robb took to the Westerlands was cavalry, while the Lannister Army was mostly infantry.
I think… his original plan was to have Duke Tywin pursue him to the coast of the Westerlands, then use the cavalry's speed to slip past, cross the Gold Road, and take up a strategically advantageous defensive position.
Attacking there would have cost Lannister dearly… If Duke Tywin didn't attack, he would be trapped in the Westerlands, constantly depleting the Westerlands' resources instead of plundering the Riverlands."
King Robb nodded, interjecting, "At the same time, Stannis would directly break through the isolated King's Landing. But the Lannister reinforcements led to his crushing defeat outside King's Landing. Duke Tywin's only enemy left is us, my Uncle."
Edmure finally understood. He looked at his Uncle, then at his nephew, and finally… weakly defended himself: "I never heard of this plan…"
King Robb said somewhat wearily, "I told you to hold Riverrun… Is there anything about that order you couldn't understand, Edmure?"
Ser Brynden shook his head and said, "Edmure, you stopped Duke Tywin at the Red Fork River, and you held him for so long… just long enough for the Lannister Army, forced to retreat, to combine forces with the House Tyrell Army and attack Stannis from behind at the right moment."
Edmure deflated. He murmured, "I really didn't think… I didn't want to…"
Suddenly raising his voice, he urgently said, "Robb, believe me, I will make it up to you. Next time we go to war, I'll lead the vanguard for you!"
"This is compensation?"
Ser Brynden reminded him, "Being appointed to the vanguard is an honor, my nephew."
When Edmure didn't know what to say, King Robb stared at the crown on the table and said, "Uncle Edmure, the next war will come very soon. After Joffrey's marriage to House House Tyrell, Lannister will go to war again, I have no doubt. This time, they have House House Tyrell's support… and perhaps I'll also have to deal with House Frey…"
Hearing Robb mention dealing with House Frey, Edmure said in surprise, "How could House Frey be our enemy? You two have an engagement, have you forgotten?"
After a pause, King Robb replied, "I will marry Miss Janei of House Westerling, Uncle."
Edmure couldn't help but widen his eyes and blurt out, "Westerling? That ruined house from the Westerlands? You're joking with me, right?"
After speaking, he thought about it again and was quite sure Robb was teasing him.
"Haha!" Edmure laughed loudly; although it wasn't very funny, his serious nephew rarely joked with him, and as an Uncle… he was very willing to play along.
Then, under the gaze of his Uncle and nephew, his face flushed with embarrassment as he reined in his laughter.
Edmure tentatively asked, "It's not a joke?"
Seeing his Uncle nod, Edmure looked at Robb incredulously and said, "This, this, why? Robb, are you going to break your engagement? That's a broken oath!"
Ser Brynden patted Edmure, signaling him to be quiet: "We'll discuss the reason for this later. Let's first talk about how to compensate Lord Frey; that's very important."
Edmure of House Tully was very confused: "Uncle, stop joking. Lord Frey is a notoriously stingy man; how can he be compensated for this?"
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 70 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
[patreon.com/TripleCrown07]
Thank you so much for your support!!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"