"Madam, you are beautiful; I would love for you to stay with me tonight," Gregor said.
"...As you wish, my lord...it is my honor to serve you..." Mrs. Allen's cheeks flushed slightly, making her even more beautiful.
Gregor never considered himself a noble person; good people and noble people are far apart. On the contrary, he considered himself quite cunning. After transmigrating, he acquired the Mountain's demonic attributes. He was no longer the science and engineering student he once was, but he was no longer the pure Mountain either.
"Madam, you only arrived today and suffered at the hands of Salomon in the Silver Hall… I suggest you get a good night's sleep with Andy Salomon tonight!"
Andy Salot – Mrs. Allen's beloved son, seven years old.
Mrs. Allen looked up, staring incredulously at Gregor's sincere expression.
Gregor understood that in Mrs. Allen's mind, in her previous perception, he was a heartless beast, especially towards women.
Gregor was insatiable and raped many common women, as well as tarnishing the reputations of some noblewomen; he was notorious.
No dog would pass up a bone that's already in its mouth, especially a nice, fragrant one. Mrs. Allen was young and pretty, her most beautiful feature being her large eyes. Besides, he felt more accomplished with the previous knight's wife than Gregor with the rough-skinned, big-handed peasant woman from the Riverlands.
But Gregor politely declined Mrs. Allen's offer of herself.
Mrs. Allen walked out of Gregor's room and into the second-floor apprentices' quarters. When she held her seven-year-old son in her arms, she was in a daze and could hardly believe it was real.
Mrs. Allen had trouble sleeping that night.
Her son, with his mother by his side, slept soundly and peacefully, but she herself tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.
Gregor was very 'understanding' and his respectful attitude towards women was something she had never heard of before.
This Lord Gregor was not the same as the rumored, vulgar, and ruthless Mountain. Lady Ellen, who had escaped unscathed, felt a strange unease; her intuition told her that this Gregor wasn't as bloodthirsty and terrifying as the rumors suggested. He wasn't as beastly as she was with women.
What surprised Mrs. Allen even more was that Gregor was also very clever; he had come up with a wonderful way to filter mineral salt. From the structure of the cross, the filtration of mineral salt residue, and the removal of bitterness by boiling water, Mrs. Allen felt that Lord Gregor possessed the wisdom of a scholar.
As she left Lord Gregor's room, Mrs. Ellen couldn't help but turn back. She saw the desire in Gregor's eyes. He admired Mrs. Ellen's beauty and maturity and didn't mind her being his mistress. However, he first considered Mrs. Ellen's abused body and severely traumatized mind. For a woman who had been in Clegane Castle for less than a day in a prison van, the physical and mental pain and exhaustion were inevitable.
The trauma of losing her husband, the injustice of being falsely accused of guilt by Salomon in the Silver Hall, and the pain of losing her home and personal freedom—these are all marks that pierce the soul.
However, since they were released from the prison van, none of Mrs. Allen's family members have suffered inhumane treatment, which is completely different from the torture and forced confessions they received at the Silver Hall.
Silver Hall's Saloth's behavior, compared to Sir Gregor's demeanor, was more like that of a devil.
*
Night. Casterly Rock. Lannister's main castle.
The bald Duke Tywin had a small personal hobby: he liked to comb his golden beard over and over again in front of the mirror.
Cocoa!
There was a knock on the door.
"Enter!" said Duke Tywin.
The bedroom door was pushed open, and Sir Potter entered, carrying a parchment letter.
"read!"
"Sir, this letter is a bit unusual."
"oh!"
The scholar unfolded the letter on his desk, pressing down the top two corners of the letter with a ruler.
This is a long letter, with pictures and text.
Lord Tywin Lannister remained expressionless, his pale green eyes, adorned with golden light, gleaming. He saw in the first picture a clay jar filled with salt, captioned "Clay Jar Mineral Salt"; the second picture showed a man carrying a wooden bucket filled with salt, scooping it into a large pot filled with water, a fire burning in the hearth…
The third picture shows a strange cross with a bib-like object hanging from it, and a large wooden barrel beneath it. The caption below the picture reads "Snow Salt Filter." The text details how to use and make a snow salt filter.
The last picture shows the filtered salt water being put back into a large pot and boiled over low heat until all the water in the pot evaporates, leaving only salt.
As Lord Tywin read the letter, Maester Potter secretly observed the Duke's reaction. Lord Tywin's facial expression remained unchanged, but his eyes flickered.
"Harry's drawing skills are alright, but his handwriting is terrible."
"Yes, sir."
"Tell Maester Harry to be careful not to get killed by the Mountain."
"Your Grace, this letter was written to you by Sir Gregor at the request of Maester Harry."
Duke Tywin Lannister stopped what he was doing, looked up, and his eyes held a strange expression.
"A letter that Gregor asked Maester Harry to write to me?"
"Yes, sir."
"Is he still Gregor? He couldn't have come up with these things! None of us did."
"Yes, sir. It looks simple, but none of us thought of such a simple method. The simple process of producing snow salt is actually full of wisdom."
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Lord Tywin's gaze sharpened: "Maester, do you believe this was created by Gregor? Gregor has suddenly become so wise?"
"By the Seven Gods, I don't believe it at all!"
"I don't believe it either!"
Grand Squire Potter paused for a moment, then said, "Sir, Gregor's letter mentions another new invention."
"oh!"
Grand Maester Potter unfolded the bottom half of the letter, on which was drawn something that Lord Tywin had never seen before, which looked like the number 6.
"What's this?"
Lord Gregor named it the Sentinel.
"Military sentry?"
This was the first time Duke Tywin had heard the name and seen the object.
His gaze fell on the written description: "Military whistle, two concave iron plates joined together, with a small iron bead in the center of the body. It has a flat opening in the mouth; when inhaled and blown, airflow enters through the flat opening, filling the whistle's body and causing the small iron bead to tumble, increasing air resistance. The airflow is then forcefully expelled from the narrow hole in the whistle shell, producing a sharp, piercing sound. With training, the whistle's tone can be varied in length and pitch, with astonishing penetrating power; the high-pitched sound is piercing to the eardrums, making it extremely advantageous for issuing commands in large-scale battles."
The Duke of Tywin looked at the text and the illustrations over and over again.
"The two narrow holes are too small; how can an iron bead be put into an iron whistle?"
"Sir, first put the iron ball into the whistle shell, then put the two whistle shells together."
In this world, the level of wrought iron craftsmanship is already quite high. Many decorations are made of iron in various shapes and forms, such as flowers, grass, figures, or fierce beasts.
"This military whistle was also invented by Gregor?" Duke Tywin's eyes changed, and so did his voice.
"That's what Maester Harry said in his letter." Maester Potter himself couldn't believe his own words. "Maester Harry also said that the soldiers of Clegane have been using military whistles for training, and they are very effective."
"Write a letter immediately, ordering Gregor to return to Casterly Rock tomorrow with his sentries and his men."
"Yes, sir!" Maester Potter replied respectfully. "Sir, Sir Gregor also invented something called chopsticks. Maester Harry said he used chopsticks instead of knives, forks, and spoons to eat."
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