The tranquility of the garden acted like an invisible wall, completely isolating the music and noise of the banquet. What was left behind at this moment was not only the clamor of voices, but also the exhausting hypocrisy, scheming, and testing.
The two walked on either side of the gray path, with a distance of three or four feet between them. This meant that when they occasionally encountered outstretched branches, they had to bend down, turn to the side, or reach out to block them.
The road ahead was winding and twisting, and no one knew where the path beneath their feet would eventually lead them.
Jon looked at the girl beside him, knowing that Dao had to speak up to break the deadlock.
"Ahem." Jon cleared his throat to get her attention. " Miss Margaery, I have a question for you."
" Lord Stark, please speak."
Would you marry someone like me?
Margaery was slightly taken aback, not expecting Jon to be so direct. She quickly glanced at Jon, then looked at the road beneath her feet, then at the sky and the surrounding vegetation.
" Is Lord Stark proposing?" Margaery asked with a hint of playfulness.
"Yes and no." Jon slowed his pace and turned to look at Margaery. " His Majesty Stannis hopes that we can unite, so that Highgarden will provide more resources to help me take the West. In this way, Your Majesty can cleanse a traitor, weaken Highgarden's power, reward his subjects, and punish your House Tyrell's previous opportunistic behavior. It's a win-win situation."
"So this marriage was entirely your Majesty's idea?" Margaery's voice turned cold.
"It would be hypocritical of me to say that. If I could marry you, I would also gain many benefits, and you are very beautiful. I have no reason to refuse."
"Your Grace is truly sincere." Margaery smiled, his voice as gentle as tea cooled by the evening breeze.
So what are you waiting for?
"What?"
Margaery let out a very faint chuckle. "You raped me, right here, so my father would have no choice?" His famous brown eyes shone brightly in the twilight, like two cold flames. "Just like how you dragged Lia into the banquet with your arms."
Jon looked at Margaery's serious face and realized that he had underestimated her, but he was also excited. Only someone like her was worthy of working with him.
"Then you still dare to come out with me?" Jon retorted to Dao in his mind. He explained to Dao, "I didn't want to do that, because I'm a rather greedy person. I want both your body and your heart, which is why I asked you if you would marry me."
Jon's answer also surprised Margaery.
"What if I say I don't want to?" Margaery pressed.
"Then I will conquer the Western Territory on my own, but it may require several battles and many deaths."
"Does that mean with Tyrell's help, we'll be able to take over the West and Casterly Rock much faster?"
"That's right." Jon readily admitted that with Highgarden's help, he wouldn't have to worry about the army's logistics, and with Tyrell's army to the south keeping them occupied, he could find an opportunity for a decisive battle more quickly.
"But Casterly Rock never falls." Margaery raised a very practical and objective question.
"The strongest fortresses are often breached from within," Jon replied crisply and confidently.
Margaery remained silent, and the two continued walking forward, but they had already stepped onto the cobblestone path, and the distance between them had shortened slightly.
After a long pause, Margaery asked Dao, " Lord Stark, what do you think is the most important thing in marriage?"
Jon pondered for a moment, then spoke up: "Trovators and musicians love to preach about love, but from what I've observed, for ordinary people, bread and gold, land and houses are the most important things for marriage. But for people like you and me, I think mutual support is the most important thing."
"Mutual support." Margaery repeated softly, as if savoring the immense weight of those four words. The scrutiny in her eyes melted away like ice and snow, transforming into a clear and sharp approval. "I think you are quite right, Lord Stark."
A gentle evening breeze swept through the courtyard, ruffling Margaery's curly hair. The two fell silent for a moment, the only sounds being each other's breathing and the faint strains of music in the distance.
The invisible distance of three or four feet that had separated the two of them vanished in the silence. They still stood on either side of the path, but a certain solid barrier had been broken.
The two seemed to have closed the distance between them a little more, and they walked together into the depths of the garden. At this point, there was no sound to be heard, except for the chirping of crickets in the flowers.
Seeing that Margaery agreed with his values, Jon instinctively prepared to paint a picture of the future for her: "If you're willing to marry me, then—"
" Lord Stark." Margaery interrupted Jon, which was unusual for him. "You don't need to make any promises. Promises from others don't count. What you earn yourself is what you have. That's the principle my grandmother taught me."
" Lady Olenna is a truly wise person," Jon nodded.
"Actually, my willingness to come out with you was probably at my grandmother's behest. Lord Renly and Joffrey are dead, and Tommen's background has become unbearable. She allowed me to choose my own future."
As they chatted and walked, they unknowingly passed through a low archway, and the view before them suddenly opened up—they had climbed a section of the Red Keep wall.
The entire King's Landing unfolded beneath their feet, with countless lights scattered like stars. The darkness of the slums and the brilliance of Red Keep intertwined to create a vast and realistic picture.
They stood side by side, looking down upon the city they were about to stir up. At this moment, there was no more testing; a solid and new Alliance, based on understanding and shared interests, was quietly forged in silence.
Just then, out of the corner of Jon's eye, he caught a glimpse of a barely perceptible figure moving slightly in the shadows around the corner of the city wall.
But soon he sensed someone approaching them.
"Your family has come to see you."
"Huh?" Margaery looked around in confusion, but didn't see anyone.
But soon she heard a familiar call: " Miss Margaery!"
" Miss Margaery, where are you?!"
" Miss Margaery ————"
Jon and Margaery's first date didn't end well.
Just as Margaery wanted to learn more about the Great Wall, Garlan suddenly led a group to look for her. Using the excuse that Olena wasn't feeling well, he took her back.
No sooner had Margaery and Garlan left than Davos approached Jon to ask how the battle went.
Jon naturally couldn't tell Davos the truth about their conversation, so he just smiled and said, " Sir, you know me. I—actually, this is the first time I've spoken to a girl alone. I've never been in contact with a woman before."
Davos patted Jon on the shoulder, expressing his understanding. " Jon, this is indeed not an easy thing, but even if you don't end up marrying Margaery, Your Majesty will try to get you a better dowry."
"Yes, please thank Your Majesty for me."
Seeing Jon agree, Davos still said to Dao with some unease, " Jon, I had no contact with nobles when I was young. I came from the Flea Bottom. Thanks to the guidance of the gods, I am able to serve Your Majesty. Although you grew up in Winterfell, the difference in your Bastard status must have caused you a lot of pain. We are where we are today thanks to Your Majesty's grace. Your Majesty's trust is the greatest honor for us."
"I understand what you mean, Ser Davos."
Jon knows Davos was worried that Jon, having acquired the Stark surname and become a duke, would have a much higher threshold for vision and desire, and might harbor other thoughts in the future.
However, Jon did not entirely agree with Davos's statement.
Although the long-distance raid on King's Landing was also to take advantage of Stannis's claim to achieve his own goals, and Stannis was the biggest beneficiary of his attack on King's Landing, fundamentally, he did not owe Stannis anything.
Now he can occupy both Crownlands and Stormlands at the same time, while in another timeline, he had to flee north in panic with his men.
Jon has been playing a younger version of Eddard all this time, and now he has gotten everything he wanted—the claim to the West and the marriage to Tyrell.
It's time to leave this castle and conquer wider lands.
When Margaery returned to Olena and Mace, Mace examined her daughter from head to toe many times until she was sure that not a single hair on her head was injured before she was relieved.
"Father, I'm not hurt. Jon didn't do anything wrong to me." Margaery reassured Mace, and also put his grandmother and brother at ease.
"Hmm, this kid is quite well-behaved." Olenna breathed a sigh of relief, but she could sense something else in her granddaughter's tone.
" Margaery, tell me what you all talked about?"
Margaery looked into her grandmother's wise eyes and knew she couldn't hide anything from her, so she carefully spoke, "This Jon is definitely not what he appears to be. He is an ambitious man, and he has clearly told me his aspirations."
Margaery's answer piqued the interest of " the queen of thorns," who then pressed for further details.
When Olenna learned that Jon had so openly expressed his ambitions during their conversation, her opinion of him improved considerably.
"So he's made up his mind to attack the Western Territory? " Olenna asked.
But Mace, standing nearby, offered a contrasting opinion: "You're just a big talker. If you want to attack the West, you have to attack Casterly Rock. If you want to attack Casterly Rock, you have to attack Casterly Rock first. Tywin has probably already made the Casterly Rock defenses incredibly strong. No wonder he can't take it!"
Mace simply couldn't believe that Jon could conquer the West, let alone Casterly Rock.
The saying "Casterly Rock will never fall" is not just a slogan.
However, Mace wasn't satisfied with just saying that, and continued, " Margaery, you mustn't be fooled by that kid. I promise I'll find you a better husband in the future!"
Mace still harbors resentment over Jon's insults from the city wall that day.
"Better? Then think of something even better! That kid could at least become a duke!"
Olenna reminded Dao.
"But Harrenhal is an ominous place!"
"Then we'll pay for another one for him!" Olenna waved her hand, as if rebuilding a castle was as easy as planting a flower.
"But this guy insulted me! He insulted me and now he wants to marry my daughter? What kind of nonsense is this?!"
Mace finally revealed what she found most unacceptable.
Olenna wanted to say something more, but putting herself in Mace's shoes, she realized that this was something Mace couldn't accept.
He is not only his own son, but also the father of Margaery, Lord of Highgarden, and Warden of the South!
So Olena softened her tone and began, " Mace, that child is just trying to survive. If you never see him again, you'll never have the chance to collect your debt."
Olenna knows her son well, and sometimes she has to soothe him. Sure enough, after receiving comfort from his mother, Mace's anger subsided considerably.
"And if Jon conquers the West, with so much Gold Mine and Silver Mine there, will House Tyrell really lose out?" Olenna's eyes gleamed with shrewdness.
"Well—okay, but if he wants to marry Margaery, he has to take down Casterly Rock. If he can take down Casterly Rock, then I have no objection." Mace stated his final condition with a hint of smugness.
"That's a bit much. How about this?" Olenna thought for a moment and then said, "If Jon can take Casterly Rock, then his wedding with Margaery will be held at Casterly Rock. If he can't take Casterly Rock, then it has to be held in Highgarden!"
In Olena's view, Jon's worst outcome would be conquering half of the West, but for Tyrell, it would be the best possible result.
Although Stannis wanted to use Highgarden's strength to attack the West, how much effort Highgarden put in was beyond his control.
Jon has conquered half of the Westerlands, so he needs to rely on the support of Highgarden and fight against Lannister. Tyrell could use food and wealth to bring Jon under his control, and at the same time use him as an excellent tool to extract Gold Mine from the Westerlands.
Mace thought about it and agreed. However, he didn't think as far ahead as Olena.
He just wanted Jon to come to Highgarden when he got married to Margaery. Once there, he'd show that brat what Tyrell was all about, what the majesty of the first noble family in the South was all about!