"These are all the messages we have gathered this time." On Lion Hill outside King's Landing, Linde stood in the main tent and reported all the information collected in King's Landing to Garlan, who was seated in the main position.
Inside the tent, besides Garlan and Fotimo, there was also an old man dressed as a Scholar and a slightly plump middle-aged knight. The moment Linde entered, these two kept looking at Linde with curious eyes, as if they were looking at a rare item.
And as Linde reported the gains from his mission, his gaze subtly swept over the two of them.
The identities of these two were easy to discern. The old Scholar wore a Scholar's chain around his neck with eight links made of different materials. Among the Scholar advisors of House Tyrell, there was only one person with such academic achievements. He should be Scholar Moras, the most knowledgeable Scholar of House Tyrell, and also the Duke's chief advisor. Ceric Scholar, who previously assisted Garlan, was his student.
And this middle-aged knight was Ser Roger Redwyne, the Commander of the Guards for House Tyrell. He was the Thorn Queen's nephew, whose parents had died early. He was not valued in the Redwyne Family and had come to House Tyrell with the Thorn Queen from a young age. Later, he became a retainer of Mace Tyrell, and after Mace Tyrell became the Duke of Highgarden, he was appointed Commander of the Guards for Highgarden.
Although both were Commanders of the Guards, Janos Slynt's power was much less than Roger Redwyne's, and his status could not be compared to him.
However, although Roger Redwyne possessed great power, he rarely used it. He even decentralized his command authority, handing it over to the various commanding knights of the guard army, while he himself acted completely as an idler who only knew how to eat, drink, and play.
Because he knew very well that his talent and Mace Tyrell's were equally matched; letting him do things would only be counterproductive. For example, during the Usurper War, he completely handed over the command of his army to Randyll Tarly, the Earl of Horn Hill, while he, the Commander of the Guards, acted as a quartermaster. This self-awareness was also where he was stronger than Mace Tyrell.
Perhaps it was precisely because of this that he was able to gain the trust of House Tyrell and had always served as the Commander of the Guards.
After the Usurper War, these two stayed in King's Landing with Duke Mace Tyrell. It was a pity that neither of them was a person skilled in social maneuvering, and their specialties were mostly in assistance and advisory roles, so they could not play much of a role in King's Landing.
So after Garlan met the Duke of Highgarden, the two of them voluntarily offered to come here to help. After all, compared to Duke Mace Tyrell, who already had his own ideas, little Garlan obviously needed them more.
Because the relationship between the two and Garlan was not ordinary, one was Garlan's teacher and the other was Garlan's uncle, their conversations on the way back to the camp from King's Landing were more casual than usual. Garlan also recounted his experiences on the road, especially mentioning Linde, the Bear Hunter with a legendary touch, which undoubtedly attracted the attention of the two important ministers of Highgarden.
Upon seeing Linde, who came to report the results of the mission, neither of them felt that Linde was special. The only noteworthy thing was Linde's extremely tall and robust physique. After entering the tent, his head was almost touching the tent's ceiling. The whole person was like a standing mountain bear. They found it hard to imagine that Linde could move like dancing and use splendid and exquisite swordsmanship in battle, as Garlan and Fotimo had described.
It was precisely because the first impression was too strong that both of them subconsciously categorized Linde into the ranks of warriors who preferred action over thought.
But this view quickly changed, because during Linde's report of the mission results, he clearly articulated every piece of intelligence he had gathered according to its priority, which made them realize that Linde must have organized this information beforehand. This kind of intelligence organization ability requires very meticulous thought, which was completely inconsistent with his rough appearance.
The rough impression given by his appearance and the delicate mind revealed by his actual ability immediately created a strong sense of disparity. This disparity, in turn, magnified the psychological impact generated when Linde displayed his abilities by several times. Not to mention the two important ministers who met Linde for the first time, even Garlan and Fotimo showed surprised expressions.
After Linde finished reporting all the intelligence, Scholar Moras couldn't wait to laugh, saying, "Just now, I almost thought the person reporting the intelligence to us was Lord Varys, the Master of Whisperers of the Iron Throne."
"You feel that way too? I thought I was the only one," Ser Roger Redwyne also said with a surprised expression.
Scholar Moras turned to Garlan and said, "Garlan, it seems your biggest gain from this trip to King's Landing is this Bear Hunter."
Hearing the praise, Garlan's face also showed an uncontrollable proud smile.
For House Tyrell, the more outstanding their subordinates' abilities were, the happier they became, because they clearly understood that for the family to prosper enduringly, relying solely on its own members was not enough. They also needed to continuously attract capable outsiders to join the family to ensure the family's continued prosperity.
Especially now, House Tyrell, after experiencing the Usurper War and the subsequent civil strife in The Reach, suffered a massive loss of talent. Even Garlan, who had just turned ten, had to step up and take action, which shows how severe the talent drain was for House Tyrell.
House Tyrell now needed talent replenishment more than ever, which was why Garlan so abruptly transferred Linde from House Crane to House Tyrell in New Barrel City.
However, among the Seven Kingdoms, not many noble lords valued outside talents as much as House Tyrell. Bloodline supremacy was their core ideology. Even House Lannister, which also valued outside talents like House Tyrell, was not as tolerant in its attitude towards talent as House Tyrell.
"Since you have already organized the intelligence in advance, then you must have also analyzed it," Scholar Moras looked at Linde with great appreciation and said, "Tell us your thoughts first, and let's see if they have any reference value."
Upon hearing this, Linde turned to look at Fotimo. After seeing Fotimo nod slightly in indication, he began to describe his analysis and thoughts on the intelligence, especially his conjectures regarding the relationship between King Robert and Duke Eddard of the North, the rumors about the relationship between the three Baratheon brothers, and the current importance of Renly Baratheon to House Tyrell, all of which he explained seriously.
Besides that, Linde also spoke about some thoughts he had just had due to other intelligence, saying, "I think now is also a good opportunity to build ties with the Stark Family of the North. According to the information we have gathered, Lord Benjen Stark, who is leading the North's delegation this time, came to King's Landing not only to attend the Prince's birth feast on behalf of Lord Eddard, but he is also tasked with recruiting for the Night's Watch."
"However, our King Robert seems to be complaining that Lord Eddard did not come to King's Landing, so he has been difficult with Lord Benjen Stark in every way, not agreeing to any of his requests."
Saying this, Linde paused slightly, looked at everyone in the tent, and said, "We can actually approach Lord Benjen Stark now and express our willingness to send the prisoners from Highgarden's dungeons to the Wall in the North. I think Lord Benjen Stark would be very happy to accept our goodwill. Then, we can propose to Lord Benjen Stark that we wish to improve relations with the Stark Family, asking Lord Benjen Stark to act as an intermediary. At that time, I believe that given the brotherly bond between Lord Eddard Stark and Lord Benjen Stark, they should not refuse our proposal to improve relations. This would also indirectly improve our relationship with King Robert, as the close relationship between the Warden of the North and our King is evident to all. What do you gentlemen think?"
Linde did not get a response, because for a long time after he finished speaking, there was no sound in the tent. Everyone was looking at him with a strange gaze, especially Fotimo and Garlan, whose eyes seemed to be looking at a stranger.