After some pleasantries, Lynd introduced his son to Gals, who in turn presented Augustus with a personal dagger as a gift, and their relationship transitioned from unfamiliarity to warmth.
Subsequently, Gals led Lynd to his designated residence, a place Lynd was familiar with: Golden Rose Garden.
It was unclear whether it was by accident or design, but the people sent by Dorne to attend the wedding were accommodated in the manor next to Golden Rose Garden, and even more interestingly, the envoy sent by Dorne this time was Princess Arianne.
"Lord Linde, I heard that when he left Highgarden, he went to see you." As soon as Lynd settled into Golden Rose Garden, Princess Arianne eagerly came to see him, and her first words upon meeting him were to inquire about Velas.
Looking at Princess Arianne, whom he hadn't seen for several years, Lynd couldn't help but marvel at her beauty. As she matured, she exuded a sophisticated charm, and her appearance and figure became even more enchanting and alluring, as if she possessed a magical allure. Even though Lynd had no romantic intentions towards Princess Arianne, upon seeing her for the first time, he couldn't help but experience a physiological reaction.
"Yes." Lynd nodded, stating truthfully, "He entrusted me to look after you if you ever ran into trouble."
"Look after me, hmph! He's still that self-righteous coward, not even daring to see me. He fled after he knew I was coming. Coward! A disgusting coward!" Princess Arianne cursed angrily and repeatedly, but from her words, it was clear that she still held deep affection for Velas, even though she now had several lovers.
"Did you come to see me just to curse Velas in front of me?" Lynd looked at Princess Arianne, sighed, and with a hint of teasing, said, "If that's the case, I suggest you immediately follow Rose Road and Kings Road north. He's in a wheelchair and can't move fast, so you should be able to catch him before he reaches the North. Then you can just tie him up and take him to Dorne to do with as you please. Anyway, he's already taken the black, so he's no longer the heir to Highgarden. You'll only have to face questions from the Wall, and I imagine the Wall's inquiries won't affect you at all."
Upon hearing Lynd's suggestion, Princess Arianne was stunned, and a thoughtful expression appeared on her face, as if she had taken Lynd's teasing words seriously and was considering their feasibility.
This made Lynd feel somewhat helpless, but he couldn't explicitly say he was joking, so he could only let Arianne figure it out for herself.
Soon, Arianne recovered from her contemplation and sighed, saying, "It's useless. He won't change his decisions, just like back then. All that talk about considering my well-being and having his own mission, it's all just excuses!" As she spoke, perhaps feeling that her current behavior resembled that of a resentful woman, she immediately stopped, said nothing more, and instead adjusted her expression before saying to Lynd, "Let's not talk about that coward anymore. The main reason I came to see you now, Lord Linde, is that I hope you can support me..."
"I will not support you." Before Arianne could finish speaking, Lynd immediately gave his answer.
Arianne frowned, looking at Lynd with slight displeasure, and said in a deep voice, "Is it because I'm a woman?"
"Of course not." Lynd shook his head and said, "If you truly understood me, you would know that I don't object to women holding power. In fact, when it comes to the affairs of Summerhall, my wife Nameria is the true decision-maker. I usually defer to her decisions."
"If that's the case, why can't you support me?" Arianne asked, puzzled.
"Because your abilities and personality indicate that you are not a qualified lord or prince." Lynd said very directly, "Do you know? Although you are Doran Martell's daughter, you are more like your uncle Prince Oberyn. Not only is your personality similar, but your way of dealing with people is also very similar. You are simply a female Red Viper. If Prince Oberyn is incapable of governing Dorne, how could you, his imitator, possibly govern Dorne well? And do you know what the biggest difference between you and Prince Oberyn is?"
Arianne's face darkened as she listened to Lynd's words, but she couldn't help but ask, "What's the difference?"
"It's that you lack self-awareness." Lynd said bluntly, "Prince Oberyn has a very clear self-perception of his abilities, knowing what he can and cannot do. That's why he can perfectly cooperate with Doran Martell to suppress the many lords of Dorne. But you lack this self-awareness. Not only do you lack self-awareness, but you also think too highly of yourself, believing that you..."
"Enough!" Arianne interrupted Lynd from continuing, then glared fiercely at Lynd, and turned to leave Golden Rose Garden. It seemed Lynd's words had truly wounded her pride.
Jon stood by silently, not speaking until Arianne had left. Then he whispered to Lynd, "Lord Linde, weren't you a bit too harsh? After all, Princess Arianne, she..."
Lynd interrupted Jon, then smiled and said, "I'm going to describe exactly how you looked at Princess Arianne just now to Lady Victoria. Also, wipe the drool from your mouth!"
Jon's face flushed with embarrassment, and he turned around to wipe his mouth.
With the arrival of Princess Arianne, a 'reception' button was pressed, and subsequently, lords and nobles attending Garlan's wedding came one after another to Golden Rose Garden to meet Lynd. Some discussed trade matters, while others simply sought to foster connections with Lynd. This wave of visitors only ended after nightfall.
After all, it was not usually so easy to meet Lynd, this legendary figure. Lynd, when at Summerhall, would either stay in the castle or at Miracle Port, Red Guard City, or he would go to Black Hollow or Redemption Sanctuary. It was difficult for ordinary matters or ordinary people to see him.
After dinner that evening, Lynd took the two little ones to the courtyard to accompany the Chosen of God in training the Longwing Dragon.
At this moment, a scout from his subordinate returned to Golden Rose Garden with news that had just arrived from Highgarden, reporting to Lynd, "My Lord, the forces from King's Landing and the Westerlands have entered the city and have been accommodated in the inner city."
Lynd nodded and asked, "Who is representing His Majesty at Highgarden? Stannis?"
"No." The scout shook his head and said, "His Majesty himself has come."
Lynd was stunned. He knew very well that King Robert disliked Duke Mace Tyrell, and by extension, disliked House Tyrell. Although the wedding of Garlan Tyrell, the Warden of the South heir, was very important, it depended on who was attending. Someone of King Robert's status didn't need to attend in person; simply sending Stannis would have been enough to show House Tyrell respect.
Now, King Robert had personally come to Highgarden, a place he greatly disliked, which surely wasn't just for Garlan's wedding; there had to be something else.
At this point, he suddenly thought of the Westerlands' contingent, so he asked, "What about the Westerlands? Who came from the Westerlands? Kevan Lannister?"
"No, Duke Tywin himself has come," the scout replied.
"Something's not right, really not right!" Lynd quickly sensed that this matter was indeed somewhat amiss.
Under normal circumstances, Dorne's reaction was correct: sending a high-ranking noble of direct lineage to attend the wedding, which both showed respect for House Tyrell and avoided overemphasizing the event. The Riverlands, the Vale, and even the North would do the same. Only Renly of the Stormlands, whose relationship with House Tyrell was unusual, would choose to attend in person.
But now, for the King and the Duke to also come to Garlan Tyrell's wedding was clearly excessive, and such behavior was uncharacteristic of either of them.
"Could it be for a marriage alliance with House Tyrell?" At this moment, Lady Victoria, who had been quietly listening to the scout's report, suddenly spoke.
"Marriage alliance?" Lynd looked at Lady Victoria in confusion, motioning for her to continue.
Lady Victoria explained, "Some time ago, when I attended some ladies' banquets at Miracle Port, I heard some rumors from King's Landing. The rumors said that Queen Cersei proposed a marriage alliance between King's Landing and Highgarden, to betroth Prince Joffrey to Miss Margaery, and for them to marry when they reached a suitable age."
Lynd and Jon exchanged glances, both feeling that this rumor was likely true, and it was very possible that it originated from King's Landing itself, intended to gauge Highgarden's reaction. Now that King Robert and Duke Tywin had both come in person, it was probable that this matter had already received the tacit approval of House Tyrell of Highgarden, and they were just waiting for a suitable moment to make it public.
After understanding the situation, Lynd did not dwell on it further. Although this matter differed from what he had known in his previous life, it was not a major problem, as many things had already changed, and this was just one more.
A marriage alliance between King's Landing and Highgarden had no impact on him. He only needed to manage his own territory well, as for him now, not causing trouble for others was already quite good, so why would he worry about the effects of such an alliance?
After a night's rest, Lynd took Augustus to Highgarden early in the morning to pay his respects to Duke Mace.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Duke Mace affectionately patted Augustus's head and said to Margaery, who was standing nearby, "He's a very spirited little fellow, Margaery, why don't you take him to the garden to play!"
Whether it was Margaery's own charm or the affinity generated by the power of Garth the Gardener within her, Augustus, who usually disliked strangers, obediently allowed Margaery to lead him out of the room, not even turning back to look at his father, Lynd.
Watching Margaery walk away, Lynd realized that Velas had probably prepared to leave Highgarden and go to the Wall long ago, because from Margaery's situation, it was clear that Velas had been preparing her for several years, and now she was the new incarnation of Garth the Gardener.
As for whether the power of Garth the Gardener in Velas would weaken because he was far from Highgarden, Lynd was not sure, but Lynd knew that with Velas's intelligence, he must have thought of a countermeasure, otherwise he would not have left so decisively.
After Margaery left, Duke Mace's amiable expression faded, and he gestured for the other superfluous people in the room to leave, leaving only Garlan and Gals. Then, with a complex expression, he looked at Lynd and said, "I never thought that one day my heir would want to take the black. What use would it be for him to take the black? Fighting wildlings and Others from a wheelchair?"
Garlan sighed and said, "Father, there are maesters at the Wall, and Velas, he..."
"Silence!" Duke Mace glared fiercely at Garlan, then looked at Lynd and said, "Linde Terra, Velas has always corresponded with you. When he left, he didn't see anyone else, only went to Summerhall to see you alone. You must know something. Now, as your liege, Duke of Highgarden and Warden of the South, I command you to tell me everything you know."
Lynd looked at Duke Mace. Although he had been somewhat disguised and looked normal, Lynd could still see traces of age on his face and feel his sadness. Clearly, Velas's voluntary decision to take the black and go to the Wall had caused him considerable pain, so much so that he was now using such a forceful method to try and uncover the entire truth from Lynd.
Lynd was silent for a moment, considered it carefully, and then slowly said, "Velas is the incarnation of Garth the Gardener."
As Lynd's words fell, the atmosphere in the room seemed to solidify. Everyone was stunned, and even Duke Mace didn't know how to react.
"Lynd, you're not joking, are you?" Garlan said with some disbelief.
"I'm not joking." Lynd shook his head and said, "Velas has the potential to become a Green Seer. When he went to Dorne back then, he was unintentionally noticed by the Three-Eyed Raven, who wanted him to become his successor."
"Wait a moment, who is the Three-Eyed Raven?" Duke Mace asked, puzzled.
"He is an extremely powerful Green Seer. In specific times and circumstances, his power is comparable to that of a god. He has always been Beyond the Wall in Eternal Winter Land, guarding there through the power of the Old Gods, preventing the Others from invading the south." Lynd explained with a serious expression, "I'm not entirely sure what the Three-Eyed Raven truly is. According to my and Moroa's analysis, it could be a Green Seer from the era of the First Men, who has continuously lived on by reawakening in different people. The current Three-Eyed Raven is Brynden Rivers, the Bloodraven, who shot and killed Daemon Blackfyre and quelled the Blackfyre Rebellion over a hundred years ago."
Listening to Lynd's words, Duke Mace, Garlan, and Gals were all stunned by what Lynd said, and remained speechless for a long time.
Although they all felt that these matters sounded as unreliable as the ancient First Men legends sung in taverns, these things depended on who spoke them. From a tavern bard, they were unreliable legends, but when spoken by Linde Terra, the world-renowned legendary hero, then even the most absurd things could very well be true.
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 40 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!"