Hoster had not yet fallen ill, and Edmure was currently living a life of leisure, taking little part in managing family affairs.
He completely failed to notice the tension between Harrenhal and Riverrun, instead excitedly pulling Roman aside to chat.
Edmure spoke only of the food, drink, and entertainment of his daily life, as well as various rumors he had overheard.
"I heard you took out Roose Bolton's bastard, and that fellow was even fined a hefty sum?"
"Lord Edmure, that is indeed the case, but the bastard's crimes were undeniable, and he was even preparing to attack me."
Edmure showed a look of understanding; he also utterly detested Rams's acts of abuse and flaying.
At that moment, however, another of the riverlands nobles raised a question: "Ser Roman, I heard that Roose Bolton had a conflict with you on the plains and was even knocked off his horse by you. He later went missing on the road to the Dreadfort—does this have anything to do with you?"
Roman put on an innocent expression: "My lord, the soldiers and laborers were all present at the time. Roose insulted Helaena of House Hoare first, so I made him dismount and apologize. Afterward, I let him leave as promised; everyone there can testify to it!"
The nobles chatted idly until Hoster announced the start of the banquet, at which point the crowd dispersed.
With the assistance of Harrenhal, this banquet was much more lavish than those in the past, yet every noble harbored their own thoughts.
Originally, House Tully was not recognized by the old guard of the Riverlands; everyone felt they only had what they did today because they had successfully picked the winning side twice.
While they might not necessarily look up to the Hean Family either, the Hean Family were now vassals just like them, so they could be brought over to help deal with House Tully.
The nobles led by those from the Riverlands gathered on Harrenhal's side, while those loyal to House Tully gathered on the other, intending to form their own faction against the nobles of Riverrun. There were also the centrists, who wanted nothing to do with anyone and simply enjoyed the food.
It appeared that everyone was celebrating the harvest and congratulating Tully, but in reality, each one was considering which side to take in the future.
This was even more true when it came time for the ball; despite their fear of the dragon horns on Roman's head, families still had their eligible young women muster the courage to invite him.
Edmure simply envied Roman for stealing the spotlight on such an occasion, while simultaneously feeling smug about Roman's inability to dance.
"Roman, I say, you really ought to learn some dancing. I hear that in your territory, you're either handling administrative affairs or out on inspections—can you really handle such an exhausting pace?"
Roman's expression remained unchanged, but he couldn't stop complaining in his heart: "If I were to slack off, the Hean Family would be finished."
Roman offered a casual excuse, and the entire banquet concluded in such a strange atmosphere.
Hoster had originally intended to gather his vassals to discuss the future of the Riverlands, but it ended up becoming Harrenhal's stage.
Having completed his duty of attending the banquet, Roman quickly returned to Harrenhal. He had more important matters to attend to and no time to waste on the fish house.
Crabs Claw Peninsula.
This was the northeast of The Crownlands, filled with swamps and pine forests; barren and desolate seemed a description tailor-made for it.
After Aegon conquered Harrenhal, the people of the Crabs Claw Peninsula, fearing they would suffer the same fate, one after another bowed their heads in submission and were later taken as direct vassals by the Queen.
For this reason, the Crabs Claw Peninsula remained fiercely loyal to the dragon house. They fought alongside Rhaegar until the very end of the War of the Usurper, and the locals called themselves the model subjects of the dragon house.
And now, Roman intended to use his identity to open a path, connecting the Crabs Claw Peninsula with Harrenhal.
The Crabs Claw Peninsula was filled with dark valleys. Natural geographical factors made it impossible for the various nobles to unite, and these people would even kill each other when there were no external enemies.
Roman first sent letters, but when his people arrived, they were actually attacked by the peninsula's residents.
Here, the reconnaissance role of ravens was greatly diminished, relying mainly on scouts and Roman's White Flame Vision.
When he saw a group of suspicious people hiding to the side with weapons, he immediately shouted: "I am Roman Rivers, invited by your lords. Lay down your weapons to avoid a misunderstanding."
The other side didn't listen at all and charged straight at them.
But how could ordinary people compete with professional soldiers? These thugs crashed directly into the infantry phalanx.
After a barrage of arrows, spear thrusts, and the hacking of swords and axes, the vast majority of the rioters were wiped out.
Roman had his men protect Fili, then drew his bow and used a horse bow to take out several sentries in the woods.
Under the White Flame Vision, no one could hide. The Harrenhal soldiers soon terrified the group into submission, and they knelt to surrender.
A soldier punched one of them in the face and shouted, "Speak! Who ordered you to attack?"
Roman said nothing; he dismounted and walked to the front of the crowd, instantly releasing White Flame and lightning.
Seeing these flames along with Roman's dragon tail and dragon horns, the resentment in the peninsula residents' eyes vanished immediately, replaced by terror.
"M-My lord! We thought it was the lackeys of the iron throne who had come to the peninsula; we didn't know it was you who had arrived here!"
"Forgive us, we have always been loyal to the Targaryen family! We can lead you to our settlement right now!"
Roman stared silently into their eyes. Just as the residents of the Crabs Claw Peninsula felt they were about to be executed for offending a dragon king, Roman waved his hand.
"I will give you one chance, but this is already rebellion. Your fallen comrades have paid for your sins. If there is a next time, you know what will happen."
The people on the ground immediately thanked Roman for his mercy and then hurried to assist the Harrenhal soldiers in burying the corpses.
Then, led by this group, Roman turned left and right until he finally arrived at the local lord's fortress.
It was called a fortress, but it was actually just a series of towers; one couldn't expect them to build any grand structures in a wretched place like the Crabs Claw Peninsula.
The original work said House Brune and House Crabbe were "semi-savages," but Roman felt the entire Crabs Claw Peninsula was.
Aside from a few major families, the remaining residents lived in harsh environments, struggling against the stranger every day; as for more civilized matters, they were out of the question.
The local nobles were still angry at their subjects for the commotion, but they were stunned when they emerged from their family castles.
Roman stood alone at the front of the party on a white horse, wearing the emblem of the Hean Family, and he seemed not to shy away from displaying his dragonflame and dragon-like features.
"Th-this? Are you Lord Roman? The Hean Family has brought dragons back to Westeros?!"
The lords and subjects of the Crabs Claw Peninsula trusted no outsiders. There was no other way—even the iron throne's intelligence network could not penetrate the peninsula—so Roman had no choice but to resort to this tactic.
However, the effect of this plan was unexpectedly good; the major families were already alienated from the iron throne.
Now, a dragon had appeared in the Hean Family, who were also Royalists. Although Roman seemed far too young to them, he was still a dragon!
Rumors that Roman was a dragon spread like wildfire across the Crabs Claw Peninsula. He himself made no response; there was no need to answer at such a time, because whether he admitted it or denied it, people would only add fuel to the fire.
He let them talk, waiting for the topic to turn into legend. The more such things were passed around, the more fantastical they became, until eventually, people would only listen to them as stories.
The content of Roman's discussions with the nobles of the Crabs Claw Peninsula was also very simple, nothing more than cooperation in trade and infrastructure.
The Crabs Claw Peninsula would provide timber, reeds, and herbs, while also sending unwanted mountain savages to Harrenhal.
In return, Harrenhal promised to build a main road leading to Maidenpool to facilitate communication between the peninsula's residents and the outside world.
Furthermore, the internal struggles within the Crabs Claw Peninsula must not harm Harrenhal's interests; otherwise, it would be considered a breach of contract, and other nobles could then receive a share of the violator's profits from Harrenhal.
The Crabs Claw Peninsula could not be taken by force—this was a consensus throughout history. Roman intended to gradually assimilate the residents here through development.
The Crabs Claw Peninsula had become savage due to low development; ultimately, it could also be turned into a source of talent through development.
When news of Roman's friendly relations with the Crabs Claw Peninsula reached Maidenpool, the Mooton Family became even more determined in their resolve to cooperate with Harrenhal.
Roman's series of actions also caused other nobles to grow restless, as some of the ambitions deep within their hearts were gradually stirred.
more chapter available in p@tréøñ(Atoki_29)
50% offer available soon claim it limited only