(3rd update, please add to your favorites, recommend, and reward! ^_^)
*
Cliffrock, located on the western coastline at the northern end of the Westerlands, is the castle of House Westerling. Due to lack of funds, the castle has not been repaired for many years and appears from the outside as a ruin on the cliff.
Early morning. Main castle within the city. Study.
Earl Gavin sat listlessly at a desk.
He spent the night in the study, where there is a small bed, but he couldn't sleep and didn't get any rest.
The count looked worried, his hair was disheveled, and his long black beard was also messy and had not been combed. The long beard on his chin was curled in small curls.
The paint on the desk in front of me was peeling, and on it lay an ancestral map depicting the territory of Cliff Rock City.
The map has three colors: red for the outermost area, blue for the middle area, and black for the innermost area near Cliff City.
The dozen or so small red dots on the map are the marks left by Earl Gavin and his deceased father for selling out the ancestral lands.
Every time a piece of land was sold to supplement the family income, the Earl of Gavin and his father, who was still alive at the time, would use a red pen to cross out that location on the ancestral map.
Looking at the dozen or so red blocks of varying sizes, Earl Gavin hoped that one day he could revive his family's fortunes and buy back the land he had sold at a high price.
Behind the red tofu block are nine blue squares, which are marks used as collateral to nearby nobles because of a lack of funds. If these nine places are not redeemed within the stipulated time, the blue marks on them will soon turn red.
Gavin wasn't old, just around thirty, in the prime of his life, but crow's feet already appeared at the corners of his eyes, and forehead wrinkles were also present. Although the family burden was heavy, and money was becoming increasingly difficult to earn, in order to maintain the family's grandeur and the honor of the ancient nobility, he didn't reduce the number of servants in his household. Whenever family members went out, their clothes and accessories remained extremely high-end and exquisite.
The count looked at the map in front of him, holding a quill pen in his hand, with a small red bottle of paint in front of him. His quill pen hovered over the map, moving slowly back and forth.
Because his family urgently needed money, Earl Gavin planned to sell another small piece of land to the Marbran family in Branded City, about a hundred miles to the south.
Lord Marble's younger sister married Tygate Lannister, Tywin Lannister's younger brother. Tygate was a renowned warrior of the Seven Kingdoms, the best fighter among Tywin's four brothers, but he unfortunately died of smallpox a few years earlier. He had a very good relationship with Tyrion Lannister, the Imp.
Earl Gavin looked at the ancestral map and sighed deeply, deciding to sell another piece of land at a bargain price. Just as he was about to fill in the blanks with his pen, a very polite knock sounded at the door.
The Westerling family was very particular about etiquette, and their servants were trained to be very well-mannered.
"Wait a moment!" said Earl Gavin.
"Yes, sir!" A soft female voice came from the doorway.
Earl Gavin rose and went to the dressing mirror. After a while, he finished changing his clothes and tidied his hair and beard, making him look completely different from his previous listless and dejected appearance.
"Come in!" Count Gavin sat down again at his desk, the map already rolled up and gently placed into the desk drawer.
A neatly dressed and dignified maid entered quietly, her voice elegant: "My lord, a letter from Lord Tywin Lannister of Casterly Rock."
"Give me the letter!" Earl Gavin said with a smile.
Even with his own servants, the Earl of Gavin displayed the true manners of a nobleman.
"Yes, sir." The maid handed a parchment scroll to Earl Gavin.
Lord Gavin did not unfold the letter. He watched the maid leave the study and saw her gently close the door before slowly unfolding the letter from Duke Tywin.
His gaze fell on the letter, and he froze, somewhat in disbelief. He closed his eyes slightly, then slowly opened them again, and read the letter once more. As his gaze moved, a smile slowly bloomed on Earl Gavin's face—a long-lost, radiant smile.
*
After breakfast, eight guards and two servants rode on horseback and escorted a carriage with curtains made of fine silk as it drove away from Cliff Rock City.
The carriage was spacious and luxurious, pulled by four fine horses, with two well-dressed coachmen sitting in the driver's seat.
Two people were sitting in the carriage: Earl Gavin and Jenny Westerling, a stunningly beautiful woman with bright eyes and white teeth.
Jenny was slender with a classic S-curve figure. According to Gregor's assessment of her in his mind after his transmigration, Jenny was beautiful and charming, and her figure hidden under her dress was sexy and alluring. She met the definition of beauty in this world and also met Gregor's standard of beauty.
The latest novels are first published on 69shuba!
She had long, naturally curly chestnut hair, a very beautiful heart-shaped face, and amber eyes. What the nobles of this world admired even more was Jenny's ample hips—a sign of fertility and a desirable trait for young, unmarried women, helping them gain an advantage in competition with the opposite sex. But in Gregor's eyes, it was called a pert bottom, having little to do with fertility; it was primarily about sex appeal.
Jenny looked elegant and beautiful in her knitted silk dress from across the Narrow Sea, her figure captivating. But men can always see beyond a woman's flowing dress, discerning the more precious beauty of her body hidden beneath.
"Father, I always feel uneasy," Jenny said softly, her delicate brows furrowing slightly.
"Don't worry, countless girls in the Seven Kingdoms dream of becoming Tywin Lannister's adopted daughter," Lord Gavin said, beaming. Becoming related to the Lannisters was a long-cherished dream of Lord Gavin's.
"...Father, why did Duke Tywin suddenly want to take me as his goddaughter? Is there something else we don't know about...?"
Earl Gavin looked at his radiant daughter with affection: "My child, even if Duke Tywin has something to hide, you're now his daughter, what do you have to fear? The Duke's willingness to adopt you is a blessing we could never have imagined. Furthermore, the adoption ceremony will be held in the Seven Saints' Church in Casterly Rock, attended by the priests, nuns, Grand Maester Potter, and the knights of Casterly Rock. This is an honor for our family, and a sign that our family is about to rise."
"Father, I don't understand!"
"Haha, my good daughter, think about it. After the ceremony, you will be the youngest daughter of Duke Tywin Lannister. Who is Duke Tywin Lannister? He is the richest man in the Seven Kingdoms. Even the royal treasury of King's Landing owes him millions of gold dragons. As his daughter, who will be worthy of you if not a noble family like the Duke's? Which ordinary noble would dare to propose? Since you are now his daughter, he won't stand by and watch you remain unmarried. Haha, hahaha, my dear daughter, the prosperity of our family in the future depends entirely on you."