Because of its abundance of gold and silver mines, the Westerlands see a large number of wagons and oxcarts transporting gold and silver to the mint in King's Landing every month via the Golden Road. To facilitate the smooth passage of these wagons and oxcarts through the mountainous regions of the Westerlands, the Westerlands has the most and best-maintained roads of all the Seven Kingdoms.
In addition to the coastal road leading to Highgarden, the golden road leading to King's Landing, and the river road leading to the Riverlands, the roads throughout the Westerlands were also very smooth and wide. Even the country lanes were passable by horse-drawn carriages and oxcarts, and several cavalrymen could travel side by side in the fields without any hindrance.
*
Alek sowed rice seeds in the field.
Sir Gregor's order to cut down the poppies and plant rice was issued not long ago, and her fields had only recently been cleared of poppies. Alec and her neighbors drew water from the irrigation canal, plowed the fields, leveled the seedbeds, bought new rice seeds, soaked them until they sprouted, and then sowed the sprouted seeds into the seedbeds.
It's already a bit late for the first season of planting.
In the fields of other noble territories, the first crop of rice has already sprouted ears of grain.
However, because it is summer all year round and the climate is suitable, rice seedlings can be planted and harvested at any time.
In the North, it's a rather cold March; in Dorne, it's already a hot March; and in the Riverlands and the Westerlands, it's the perfect time of year with neither too hot nor too cold.
Alek, who was engrossed in her work, heard the sound of horses' hooves coming from the country path.
Although it's called a small path, it's actually a main road that can accommodate horse-drawn carriages and oxcarts.
The country lanes are passable by horse-drawn carriages and are paved with smooth and durable gravel, a feature unique to the Western Regions among the Seven Kingdoms.
Alek glanced up and then continued working.
Alek judged that the person coming up the path was a knight of high status.
She saw warhorses, helmets, armor, and longswords.
These are things that ordinary soldiers and mercenaries rarely possess all of.
Many of these noble knights were beasts; they would dismount their horses whenever they saw a pretty commoner woman in the fields.
Alec's heart pounded.
This is the Mountain's territory, and she is one of its subjects. However, all the nobles, large and small, know that the Mountain never protects its subjects and has never cared about their lives, honor, or disgrace. To a single woman working in the fields, being raped by a passing knight is nothing more than a trivial matter in the eyes of the nobles.
Alec kept her head down and worked away from the roadside, hoping the knight would pass by quickly.
The thing that Alec feared happened: the sound of hooves stopped, and the horses ceased their advance.
"Hey, woman, come here!" a rough voice called out.
It was a knight on horseback, shouting at Alec.
In the nearby farmland, only Alek was busy.
Alek's first instinct was to flee, but she knew she couldn't outrun a horse. If she set out on the road, the knight would quickly catch up. The country lanes were interconnected, and the warhorse could easily overtake her.
Alec's heart pounded, but she pretended not to hear and continued working. She hoped to wear down the knight's patience; she prayed he would leave soon—the muddy field was now her only protection. Surely the knight couldn't just get off his horse and grab her? But she was still worried that he might get angry, or that he might patiently wait for her on horseback.
Although the Mountain fought a brutal battle with the Salomon family for Thomas Mann's youngest daughter, Julie, killing dozens of cavalrymen, this did not mean that the Mountain valued the protection of his people. The Mountain was merely doing what he wanted, and it had nothing to do with any sense of responsibility for protecting his subjects.
"Woman, do you want me to come down and grab you? Come up here obediently, and I won't kill you, nor will I spare your family," the knight said lazily.
Alek's house was not far away. It was mealtime, and her children—an eleven-year-old boy and a four-year-old girl—had gone home to cook. Standing at the edge of the field, one could see the smoke rising from the roof of her thatched house.
With two clanging sounds, the knight drew his dagger from his waist and struck the armor on his arm.
Alec felt her blood rush to her head, she struggled to breathe, and her limbs felt weak and powerless. She felt herself lift her head, and she heard her own voice speaking: "Knight, I am a subject of Lord Mountain."
"I am not a knight," said the 'knight' on horseback. "I am a soldier, a miner. Woman, you are quite beautiful. Come here, let's go to the bushes ahead, we'll be done quickly. I will not hurt you, nor will I kill your family."
Not a knight.
Alex breathed a huge sigh of relief.
If he's just an ordinary soldier, then this guy is just an ordinary civilian like her, so there's no need to be particularly afraid of him.
"Soldier, get out of here! Haven't you heard of Lord Mountain? Sir Alva Saloth, the seventh son of the Saloth family, kidnapped little Julie and took her to the mines. When Lord Mountain found out, he went to the mines and killed Sir Alva. I am under Lord Mountain's protection."
Ma Shan, the miner, chuckled: "Woman, when has Lord Demon Mountain ever protected his people? Don't keep me waiting any longer, or you'll regret it." The knight pointed to the thatched house in front of him, "That's your home, isn't it? Someone's cooking. If you don't come up soon, I'll wait for you at your house."
Alec was scared; she had two children at home.
"Soldier, swear in the name of the Seven Gods that you will leave after this is over, that you will not beat me, go to my house, or harm my children."
"I swear in the name of the Seven Gods!" the cavalryman on horseback raised his hands. "I swear I will not beat you, go to your house, or harm your children."
"…Thank you, soldier…" Alex felt a warmth on her face, and when she touched it, she realized she was crying. Two streams of tears flowed uncontrollably.
"Get on, Alek!" the mounted rider said, jumping off his horse.
Alek couldn't understand why the cavalry knew her name. She felt her mind was blank and she couldn't figure it out. Her head was spinning. She mechanically walked out of the rice paddy, put down the winnowing basket containing the rice seeds, and washed the mud off her legs. She heard her own voice saying, "Soldier, hurry up!" She was worried that the child would come out and see her.
The cavalryman suddenly hugged her tightly and said, "Alex." His voice sounded strange, yet somewhat familiar.
"Not here," Alec said. "Let's go into the bushes. We'll be easily spotted on the way. Your armor is hurting me."
The cavalryman lifted his helmet with one hand, revealing a dark face—the face Alex had longed for.
"A stone!" Alec exclaimed in astonishment.
My husband suddenly returned, dressed in knight's armor with a long sword at his waist, looking incredibly imposing!
"Alec, I'm sorry," Blackstone said, his voice returning to normal. "I was just trying to play a joke on you."
Snap!
A resounding slap.
Black Stone's face turned red instantly.
Blackstone chuckled, picked up Alek around the waist, and quickly ran towards the bushes.
Snap!
An even louder slap.
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