After leaving Velas's tent, Linde's expression was somewhat gloomy, and he seemed preoccupied. Jon was puzzled by this and very curious about what Velas and Linde had discussed inside the tent.
Linde didn't tell Jon, only asking him to pack his belongings, as Velas should be setting off for Highgarden in the next two days.
Afterward, he didn't immediately return to his own tent but instead went to a temporary stable opened for him in Godgrace, where he checked on the two Wild Horse Kings and the wild horse herd. He also spent some time playing with Glory, who was guarding them there.
The person in charge of looking after the horses was Rosso. He didn't hire people from The Reach or Dorne to care for the herd; instead, he employed some Greenblood River Orphans.
Although he had some selfish motives for doing so, Linde didn't care, as long as the horses were well-cared for. He could also see that the Greenblood River Orphans and Rosso had an unusual relationship, and it seemed Rosso intended to bring these people with him.
Many Dornish people also gathered around the stable to see the Wild Horse King. When they saw Linde, they all bowed respectfully to him. Many of them were Dornish knights and warriors whom Linde had defeated recently. Although they had lost to Linde, they held him in great reverence, but due to their status and other reasons, they had not followed him.
Linde stayed at the stable for a while before walking towards his tent in The Reach's camp. However, halfway there, the Red Viper stopped him and suggested they find a place to talk.
So, the two came to the Greenblood River, walking and talking like two friends who had known each other for many years.
"It's been so many days, and I still haven't thanked you for taking care of Nameria," the Red Viper said abruptly, thanking Linde.
Linde replied indifferently, "That's what I should do."
The Red Viper continued, "My current fief originally belonged to Prince Lewyn. If she returns..."
Linde interrupted the Red Viper, saying, "Lord Oberyn, you should be very clear about Nameria's thoughts."
The Red Viper said in a deep voice, "If you have a good relationship with Nameria, you should persuade her to return to Dorne to inherit her property, instead of letting her stay there..."
"Prince, if what you want to talk to me about today concerns Nameria, then I don't think there's any need to continue this discussion," Linde interrupted the Red Viper again, his tone becoming somewhat impolite.
The Red Viper frowned, was silent for a moment, and then said, "What do you think about the marriage alliance between House Martell and House Tyrell?"
Linde calmly said, "Lord Oberyn, you think too highly of me. I am just one of many knights of House Tyrell and have no right to meddle in such matters. You should ask Maester Beck this question; he is the maester advisor sent by the Duke to Lord Velas."
"You underestimate your position in House Tyrell," the Red Viper looked at Linde, was silent for a moment, and then said, "This time, I should go to Highgarden with Arianne."
Linde was stunned, but no surprise showed on his face, because from some of Velas's actions just now, he had already anticipated that Dorne also hoped to accelerate the marriage alliance with The Reach.
"Are you coming with us?" Linde asked.
"Yes," the Red Viper nodded, adding, "But not by water, but by land, through Prince's Pass."
Linde immediately understood that Sunspear's action was likely to show its attitude to the Dornish lords in the Red Mountains. After all, they were among all the Dornish lords who opposed signing a peace treaty with The Reach, and they should also be sending a signal to the Stormlands lords in the Dorne March.
"Do you really want to marry into House Tyrell?" Linde asked the Red Viper very seriously.
If Sunspear truly wanted to marry into House Tyrell, it should be done in secret. After everything was settled, it could be made public, catching the Iron Throne off guard, and by then, it would be impossible to stop.
Obviously, if the team were to pass through Prince's Pass as the Red Viper said, King's Landing would soon know about the marriage alliance between Highgarden and Sunspear, and it would inevitably be disrupted from within, which would clearly be detrimental to the alliance between the two.
The Red Viper retaliated by using Linde's words, answering, "You are just a knight of House Tyrell and have no right to meddle in such matters."
Linde stopped, looking at the Red Viper with a serious expression, and said nothing.
The Red Viper did not continue speaking and turned to leave directly.
Linde looked at the Red Viper's back, his mind filled with doubts. He didn't quite understand the Red Viper's intention in specifically seeking him out to talk about these things; the entire conversation felt inexplicable.
However, even though he didn't know the Red Viper's purpose, he still gleaned from some of the information the Red Viper deliberately revealed that Sunspear's attitude towards this marriage alliance was not as serious as Velas believed. Instead, it seemed more like Sunspear was using the opportunity of a marriage alliance with The Reach to test the Iron Throne.
If the Iron Throne intervened to stop it, they could use this to sow discord between The Reach and the Iron Throne. If the Iron Throne did not intervene, they could formalize the marriage alliance and pull The Reach onto Dorne's war chariot.
Compared to Sunspear's attitude, Velas seemed to take the marriage alliance more seriously, even considering potential problems before and after the alliance and their solutions.
Just now, Velas had clearly indicated to Linde that once The Reach and Sunspear were formally allied by marriage, he would expand Linde's manpower and increase investment in Tengshi Town, building Tengshi Town into a sufficiently strong military fortress, as one of the important forces to contain the northern powers.
For Linde, this was neither bad news nor good news.
Undoubtedly, if Velas's decision were truly implemented, it would disrupt his original plans. But correspondingly, House Tyrell's emphasis would also bring him greater power, and Tengshi Town would grow rapidly with Highgarden's full support.
"Has the future changed because of my involvement?" Linde couldn't help but wonder.
In Linde's memory, Velas Tyrell had never had a marriage alliance with Princess Arianne Martell. It was highly likely that he would break his leg and become crippled during this trip to Godgrace by participating in the martial arts tournament.
The heir to Highgarden becoming crippled would be a heavy blow to the entire House Tyrell, and the relationship between House Tyrell and House Martell would worsen. For the next decade or so, disputes between the two regions never ceased, so there was no possibility of an alliance.
But now the situation was somewhat different. Even if Sunspear's attitude had some issues, it was undeniable that as long as there was no overly emphasized external interference, the marriage alliance between Highgarden and Sunspear would largely have no problems, and the alliance between The Reach and Dorne would naturally form. This would completely derail the situation on the entire continent of Westeros from Linde's understanding, moving into an unknown direction.
"Is losing the advantage of foresight beneficial or detrimental to me?" Linde couldn't help but feel a hint of doubt.
Just as Linde was feeling a headache from the current chaotic situation, he suddenly heard the cry of a raven.
Ravens were not common in Godgrace. Although Godgrace kept messenger ravens, their ravenry was not very large and was located in the castle. All messenger ravens were usually locked in cages and not released at will.
So, the moment he heard the raven's cry, Linde couldn't help but think of someone, and at the same time, he looked towards the source of the raven's call.
Not far from him, on a weirwood tree, stood seven or eight ravens. Without exception, these ravens all had blood-red eyes like rubies, and Linde could also see a trace of black mist-like magic emanating from their bodies. This black mist-like magic gathered on the ravens' foreheads, making them look as if they had a third eye.
Linde was now certain that the Three-Eyed Raven was using his Green Prophet abilities to observe him through the weirwood tree. He just didn't know which Three-Eyed Raven this was—the current one, a future one, or a past one—and whether Bran Stark was also nearby.
Undoubtedly, the marriage alliance between House Tyrell and House Martell, and Velas Tyrell not becoming crippled, should have a significant impact on the future. Otherwise, it would not have disturbed the Three-Eyed Raven to come and understand the situation.
Linde did not show too much surprise at the Three-Eyed Raven's appearance, nor did he reveal that he knew of the Three-Eyed Raven's existence. He simply looked at the ravens and then turned and left.
After Linde left, the ravens cried a few times and then flew away, and everything returned to peace.
Because of the temporary change in the route back to Highgarden, The Reach's contingent did not return to Sunspear. Instead, they crossed the Greenblood River from Godgrace's bridge, headed south to the Salt Shore of House Gargalen, and waited there for the people from Sunspear to arrive by boat.
House Gargalen could be said to be a staunch ally of House Martell. When Doran Martell was young, he served as a squire to the former Lord Gargalen and lived there for several years. The current Lord Gargalen, Tremond Gargalen, and the Red Viper were as close as brothers. Therefore, when the contingent arrived at the Salt Shore, they naturally received the best hospitality.
During this time, the Red Viper also used ravens to notify the lords of some Dornish territories that would be passed through on the way to Highgarden, especially those near the Red Mountains.
Velas was not idle either. He also used ravens to notify Highgarden and also informed the lords of the territories they would pass through along the way, including those from The Reach and the Stormlands.
For example, Nightingale City in the Stormlands was a necessary passage through Prince's Pass. Velas specifically wrote a letter and had someone personally deliver it by horseback to Lord Byren Caron of Nightingale City, to show his seriousness.
After waiting for a few days at the Salt Shore, Sunspear's contingent also arrived.
To ensure the safety of the Red Viper and Princess Arianne, Doran Martell dispatched over two thousand knights and warriors from Sunspear, a force not much smaller in scale than Velas's contingent.
At the same time, he also issued a transit order as the Prince of Dorne, allowing Velas's contingent to pass through Dornish territory, providing a legal basis for those thousands of soldiers to set foot on Dornish soil.
Velas had all the goods purchased in Dorne loaded onto the ships carrying the soldiers, sending these ships from Rose Trading, along with the warships dispatched by Oldtown and Arbor for escort, and Linde's Glory, back to Oldtown.
Originally, Linde had also thought of sending the Wild Horse King and the horse herd by ship to Oldtown, and then having people transport them from Oldtown to Highgarden.
However, the two Wild Horse Kings were somewhat attached to him. If they didn't see him for a day, they would become extremely agitated. In Godgrace, they had kicked over the horse corrals several times and then led the herd to rampage through the villages on the outskirts of Godgrace until Linde arrived and they calmed down.
So Linde ultimately decided to keep the Wild Horse King and the horse herd with him.
During the exchange of personnel and supplies, Princess Arianne, led by the Red Viper, also met with Velas, marking the beginning of the marriage alliance.
When Velas met Doran Martell in the Water Gardens, he did not see Arianne Martell, because she was then residing with her companions in Prince Lewyn's castle.
Arianne and Prince Lemony had a very good relationship, even surpassing that with her father, Doran Martell. She lived in Prince Lemony's castle from a very young age, and after Prince Lemony became a Kingsguard, he handed over the castle to Arianne. For a long time afterward, Arianne resided in that castle.
Arianne originally believed the castle would be hers after Prince Lemony's death, but it was ultimately temporarily entrusted by Doran Martell to the Red Viper, giving the Red Viper the opportunity to hand it over to Prince Lemony's true heir, Na Melilia Fudeli. This made her very dissatisfied.
This time, Arianne was also very reluctant about being used by Doran Martell for a marriage alliance with Highgarden, because in her view, she had the right to inherit Dorne and would be the future Queen of Dorne, but now she was being married off to Highgarden to become someone's wife. This disparity in status was unacceptable to her.
The reason she agreed to go to Highgarden, besides wanting to cause trouble on the way and ruin the marriage, was more because she wanted to visit Tengshi Town to see Prince Lemony's bastard daughter and see why she was qualified to inherit the castle that rightfully belonged to her.
However, what was unexpected was that when she saw Velas Tyrell, she was immediately attracted to this handsome and refined young man; it was love at first sight.
The reason for this might be related to a casual remark the Red Viper made while drunk some time ago: that Velas Tyrell bore a striking resemblance to Prince Lemony. This was also why the Red Viper and Velas hit it off immediately and quickly became good friends.
As for Velas, he also had a very good impression of Arianne. This was not just because Arianne possessed astonishing beauty, but more because Arianne had a passionate and proactive personality, completely different from the noble ladies of The Reach, which gave him an unprecedented feeling.
Their relationship also warmed up rapidly during this time. By the time they left the Salt Shore and arrived at their next stop, Vances City, they had already begun sharing a single horse, and many people saw them secretly kissing. Anyone could tell they had feelings for each other.
At this point, not only the people of The Reach but even the people of Dorne felt that this marriage alliance between Highgarden and Sunspear was nearing success. Even the Red Viper was subtly anticipating the marriage alliance with Highgarden, seeming to be doing more than just testing the Iron Throne.
Only Linde consistently believed that this marriage alliance could not succeed, because he noticed that many ravens were always circling around the contingent, clearly indicating that someone would not allow this marriage alliance to happen.
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