From a hired knight to a master of Game of Thrones

Chapter 104 The Lady of Old Stone Fortress

Two knights from the Great Wind Territory spurred their horses across a vast wilderness and a hill covered with pine trees.

A considerable amount of time has passed.

A tiny village came into view of the two knights.

Outside the village, late summer snowflakes were falling from the sky onto the unharvested rye fields, melting instantly onto the rye stalks.

Summers are short and winters are long in the North.

Even in summer, there are occasional snowfalls, and sometimes frost forms at night.

After urging their horses onward for a while, the two knights from Dafengling went straight into the village.

It was a very ordinary northern village.

A dozen or so round stone and wood houses, their roofs covered with weeds, look like straw mounds from a distance.

Soon, a wooden tower appeared that could accommodate archers.

The two knights of the Great Wind Territory looked up but did not see any patrol personnel.

Beyond the wooden tower lies a low stone castle.

The gate of the low castle is made of heavy oak and iron.

But the iron was already rusted and almost falling off.

In addition, a wooden pole was placed next to the gate.

A gray-white skull was nailed to the wooden pole, seemingly as a warning to uninvited guests.

The castle gate was half-open, and an old man in old leather armor was sitting outside, dozing off.

The sound of horses' hooves startled the old man awake.

The old man looked up and gazed in confusion at the two strangers dressed as knights in front of him.

After a moment, the old man asked, "Who are you? This is Old Stone Castle, Sir Nigel's territory."

The two knights from Great Wind Territory exchanged a glance, then one of them, Leon, called out loudly, "We come from Great Wind Territory. Our lord, Lord Don Quixote, sent us. Is your lord in your territory?"

"No, Sir Nigel has been gone to White Harbor for over a month and hasn't returned yet," the old man said slowly. "By the way, where is Great Wind Ridge? I've never heard of it."

Another Knight from Great Wind, Ryan, said, "We from Great Wind are right next to you. Since your lord is not here, are your lord's retainers or family members here? We have something important to tell them."

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The old man slowly rose and said, "Sir Nigel's wife and daughter are in the territory, and his son has gone hunting."

"Butler Seth is also in the castle."

"What do you want?"

Ryan shook his head and said, "This matter needs to be discussed personally with your lord's retainers or family! Go and inform them quickly."

Old Stone Castle, Sir Nigel's room.

(from)

"Ugh... Ah, whew."

The young butler Seth let go of his hands and slumped onto the rough oak plank bed. He gasped for breath and said weakly, "Madam, when will the master return?"

Sweating profusely, Sir Ethel Carter's wife slumped onto the thick woolen mattress, thought for a moment, and frowned, saying, "He should be back soon. With his measly golden dragon, he won't be able to enjoy himself in White Harbor for long."

"Heh, maybe he's been kicked out by some prostitute right now because he's broke, and he's in a hurry to come back."

"Ha, what's wrong, my young head butler? Are you worried about that good-for-nothing?"

After resting for a while, I regained some of my strength.

Butler Seth couldn't help but reach out and wring out the damp white sheet, laughing, "Of course I'm worried. If we get caught, we're finished."

Lady Ethel grabbed Butler Seth's fingers, pinning them firmly before scoffing, "You're a useless fellow too."

Just then, footsteps came from outside the door.

Immediately afterward, a knock sounded at the door, and an old voice came in: "Madam, there are two knights from the Great Wind Territory outside the castle. They have something important to tell you."

Upon hearing the sound, the young butler Seth panicked.

Lady Ethel frowned, unable to recall which territory Great Windhold was.

Without thinking much about it, he shouted, "Old Evan, tell those two knights to wait a moment."

After saying that, Mrs. Ethel took a few deep breaths, then got up and put on her somewhat wrinkled and torn clothes. She glanced down at the still flustered butler Seth, lowered her head and snorted coldly, "Get out of the way and hide. Your mistress is going out."

Mrs. Ethel walked out of the room, closed the door behind her, yawned, and went downstairs.

Stepping out of the low castle gate, Lady Ethel looked around and her eyes quickly lit up.

Not far away, two knights dressed in black plate armor were chatting and laughing as they led their warhorses.

They stood upright, as if it were a habit.

With his imposing full plate armor and the tall, powerful warhorse beside him, he did appear quite handsome for a moment.

Lady Ethel deliberately raised her voice, "Old Evan, you're really getting old! You have guests and you just leave them standing outside the castle like this? Don't you know how to invite them into the drawing room first?"

Old man Evan quickly bowed and said, "I'm sorry, madam."

Lady Ethel approached the two knights of Great Windhold with small steps and said slowly with a smile, "Gentlemen, I am Ethel Carter, wife of the Lord of Old Stonehold."

The two knights from Great Wind Territory looked at Lady Ethel and immediately said, "Greetings, Madam. We are guards from Great Wind Territory. Our lord, Lord Don Quixote, has sent us to tell you something important."

—If such a person is merely a guard, what kind of vast territory is Great Wind Territory?

Lady Ethel thought of the guards at the old stone castle.

They're either too old or too young.

There were very few strong and healthy people in the entire territory.

After thinking it over, Mrs. Ethel became a little more polite and hurriedly said, "Gentlemen, please come to the drawing room so that I can properly entertain our two guests who have come from afar."

Lady Ethel didn't know everything about the area around Old Stone Castle, but she knew quite a bit.

These were all dilapidated villages and poor propertied knight territories.

Small territories like Old Stone Castle.

In the more distant areas, and throughout the entire White Harbor region, she had not heard of any Great Wind Ridge.

Therefore, Lady Ethel subconsciously assumed that Great Windhold was some large territory in the distance.

The first floor of the stone fortress.

One wall of the reception room was entirely made of cold stone fireplaces.

However, by this time, some pine wood had already been lit in the stone fireplace.

In the center of the room stood a long, unpainted oak table, surrounded by several hardwood benches, their surfaces worn smooth and shiny.

On the wall hung the knight's old sword and shield, as well as several dried deer and wolf skins.

After the maidservants had poured tea for the two knights, Lady Ethel asked, "Gentlemen, may I ask where Great Windhold is located? I have never heard of your territory, and our Old Stone Castle does not seem to have any dealings with Great Windhold."

Knight Leon of the Great Wind Territory explained, "Madam, our Great Wind Territory is right next to the Old Stone Castle. Our lord, Lord Don Quixote, was recently granted a territory by Earl Weyman of White Harbor."

Upon hearing this, Lady Ethel asked in surprise, "That territory is right next to the Old Stone Castle? And your lord, Lord Don Quixote, was just appointed?"