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Robb and Margaery's intimate conversation in the study lasted until the midday meal.
At last Robb, looking refreshed and satisfied, supported Margaery as they walked toward Cornfield's feast hall. Her face was flushed as if she had been drinking, and her steps were unsteady.
Will and the other Wolfguard followed without looking aside, as if they had heard nothing while standing guard outside the door.
Cornfield's feast hall did not have many luxurious decorations. Its style was plain, but it was unusually broad. This had once been the castle of House Crakehall, whose members were famous for their large, tough bodies. Like the boar on their sigil, the Crakehalls valued food and liked holding feasts.
Crey had already invited Lord Mace, Garlan, and Loras to sit in the hall. Since Margaery had told them of Highgarden's crisis, the three of them had been anxiously discussing ways to respond.
When they saw Robb enter from the inner keep supporting Margaery, Lord Mace's furrowed brow gradually smoothed. With his experience, how could he fail to see what state the two of them were in?
Much of Margaery's stubborn dream of becoming queen came from Lord Mace's teaching as she grew up.
Lacking political sense of his own, Mace had seen Cersei Lannister become Robert I's queen and watched House Lannister's political influence rise day by day. Since then, he had always wanted his own daughter to become queen as well.
After Margaery came of age, he and Renly, who had served as master of laws in King's Landing, had plotted in secret to make Margaery another queen for Robert I. Mace wanted to expand House Tyrell's political influence, while Renly wanted to weaken House Lannister's indirect control over Robert.
But Westeros had changed too quickly. Their plan had died before it could even be carried out.
After so many twists, Lord Mace now felt unexpectedly comforted. Having seen the young king's supernatural power, he believed Margaery's place as queen of the Seven Kingdoms was secure.
Robb led Margaery to the principal seats in the hall, then nodded to Crey. Servants began carrying to the long tables many dishes he had developed in Winterfell.
Robb lifted a fork in his left hand and tapped the wine cup in his right. The clear ring quieted the hall, which had been buzzing since he entered with Margaery.
"My lords, I imagine you have all guessed something already, so I will announce the most important matter first.
"Margaery Tyrell, representing House Tyrell, which rules the Reach, has sworn fealty to me. From this day forward, the Reach is under my rule."
Robb looked around the hall, then raised his cup and spoke in a ringing voice.
The hall fell silent for a heartbeat. Then it erupted.
"The North, the Iron Islands, the Riverlands, the Westerlands, and now the Reach. We already hold most of Westeros!"
"I fought in Robert I's rebellion. His Grace is stronger now than Lord Eddard and Robert were together!"
"Long live the king!"
Northern nobles and ironborn captains alike were excited. They were all on the same side now. They had followed Robb through many wars and knew he rewarded loyalty openly, punished betrayal without hesitation, and gave generously. If he truly sat the Iron Throne, he would not treat them poorly.
Lord Mace felt deep envy as he sensed Robb's authority among his bannermen. Why did Mace long for political status and visible military credit? Because though he had been born into a great house, no one, not even his own mother, had ever truly acknowledged him. He craved recognition for himself, not merely for the name he carried.
"Enough. The second matter is this. I will be betrothed to Margaery Tyrell.
"House Tyrell's soldiers will be released unconditionally, and I will personally help them defeat Tywin Lannister's vile scheme."
When the cheers had quieted a little, Robb drank a mouthful of wine and pressed his free hand downward.
Compared with the storm of discussion caused by the first announcement, the second left the hall strangely still.
Most northern nobles were silent because they supported Robb's decision without question and waited for him to explain further.
A smaller number of northern nobles and ironborn captains, however, felt that Robb had been dazzled by a beauty and was far too eager to enter Highgarden's war.
To their minds, since House Tyrell had sworn fealty, releasing their soldiers was reasonable. But House Tyrell had only recently been allied with House Lannister. Now they had suddenly changed sides and entered House Stark's service.
Leaving aside the depth of their loyalty, Robb at least ought to consider whether this was a trap arranged by Tywin.
The proper choice would be to release the Tyrell soldiers, let them fight Tywin's army to mutual exhaustion, and then have the northern army enter at the end to finish the matter.
"Ah, yes," Robb said suddenly, as if he had just remembered. "When Margaery came to Cornfield, she brought Lady Olenna's gifts to us. Gold bars and coins worth six hundred thousand gold dragons.
"Since they are gifts for everyone, not only every lord seated here, but every soldier under you will receive a share."
Robb understood exactly what the hall's silence meant. He began speaking of the rich payment from House Tyrell.
"Beyond these gifts, if we successfully relieve Highgarden, Lady Olenna will prepare a further reward worth one million gold dragons."
Gods. One million six hundred thousand gold dragons.
Those words set the hall ablaze. The people seated there knew they would not receive all of it, yet the number alone stirred every heart.
When Greatjon had seen the gold bars beneath Casterly Rock, he had admitted that Last Hearth could not produce even a few hundred gold dragons. That showed how poor the northern nobles had been in the past, White Harbor excepted.
As for the ironborn captains, raiding had brought money quickly, but they had spent it even faster. Now they were more excited than the northern nobles who had gradually grown rich through the southern war.
"Support House Tyrell! Kill the Lannister bastards!"
"We follow His Grace's steps and protect Highgarden!"
"Long live Queen Margaery!"
The charm of money was indeed enormous. In only a few minutes, the atmosphere in the hall had changed from stillness to wild excitement. Those same silent nobles now wished they could fly to Highgarden at once.
Watching the scene, Robb thought of an old lesson from his previous life: in the end, men still moved for profit.
"Very good. Since you are all so eager to protect Highgarden, the third matter is our plan to relieve its crisis."
"Your Grace, allow me to lead House Tyrell's soldiers back to Highgarden as quickly as possible!"
Lord Mace, who had been unable to get a word in, finally found the moment. As soon as Robb finished, he stood and spoke loudly.
"Lord Mace, you are the supreme lord of the Reach and Warden of the South. How could you personally go to such a dangerous battlefield? If something truly happens to Highgarden, the Reach will still need you to command it.
"Therefore, I must refuse your request. You will remain at Cornfield."
Robb refused without even thinking.
What kind of joke was that? Letting Mace lead an army to Highgarden would be sending heads to the enemy.
Mace was not angry. He even agreed with Robb's words, because Robb had recognized his importance and seemed to care deeply for his safety.
"I have decided," Robb continued. "House Tyrell's infantry will still be commanded by Ser Garlan. The cavalry will be commanded by Ser Loras."
"Yes, Your Grace!"
Garlan and Loras rose to accept the order. The gentle smile Loras gave him made Robb feel a chill of discomfort.
He immediately turned to Crey, seated near the front. "Crey, where are Lord Rickard's infantry?"
"They reached Lannisport yesterday, Your Grace."
"Good. Tell them they do not need to keep marching toward Cornfield. I will take the northern army north and join them."
Margaery, who had been sitting obediently like a beautiful vase, could not hold back any longer. She asked in the sweetest, gentlest tone she could manage, "Your Grace is going north? But Highgarden is to the south."
"I know. But Highgarden is now a massive trap. Tywin must have considered the possibility that Lord Mace's army would return to save it.
"So he must already be prepared to surround Highgarden and then destroy the reinforcements when an opportunity comes.
"This time, Ser Garlan and Ser Loras will lead the army back toward Highgarden only to draw the enemy's eyes. They are not to fight the enemy head-on.
"I will lead troops north through Deep Den and take the Goldroad toward King's Landing. Once I do, Tywin will have no choice but to send an army back to defend the capital, and Highgarden's crisis will be relieved by itself.
"At that point, we will no longer be the side being calculated against. We will hold the initiative."
Robb explained loudly while looking at Margaery's lovely face.
Lord Mace stood and clapped at once, excited. To him, Robb's plan was almost exactly the same as the one forming in his own mind.
"Crey, choose several intelligence men to follow Ser Garlan and Ser Loras. Keep ravens moving between us at all times.
"Good. Tonight, every soldier receives double rations. At dawn tomorrow, we all depart."
"As you command, Your Grace!"
"Yes!"
After Robb settled the plan, the hall returned to the pleasant business of food and wine.
Lord Mace praised the new dishes without pause, while his three children wore different expressions and held different thoughts.
The midday feast lasted until it became an evening feast. The rest of Robb's night passed swiftly in a certain very pleasant exercise.
The next day, outside Cornfield, more than ten thousand Tyrell infantry and over thirty thousand Tyrell cavalry departed under Garlan and Loras, heading south along the Ocean Road.
Robb, Crey, and the northern nobles led eight thousand northern cavalry and five thousand mixed northern infantry and ironborn north toward Lannisport.
Margaery and Lord Mace remained at Cornfield under the protection of the remaining five or six hundred northern soldiers.
On the broad Ocean Road, Smalljon and Gendry, mostly recovered from their wounds, led the scouting cavalry in careful reconnaissance.
Several miles behind them, where the northern army had paused for a brief rest, Robb spoke quietly with Crey.
"Crey, you now know what Margaery told me. Do you think anything in it is wrong?"
"Wrong?" Crey frowned and thought for a long while, then shook his head with some shame. "Your Grace, I do not see a problem."
"At first, Tywin tearing up his alliance with House Tyrell so decisively made me feel that something was off.
"Over the past half year of wars against the Westerlands, I have been gathering every scrap of intelligence about him through the northern network.
"Tywin is calculating, cold, and ruthless, but he cherishes his own reputation and the Lannister name. After the battle for Highgarden, word that House Lannister unilaterally tore up an alliance will spread among great and small nobles across Westeros. To Tywin, that is a real blow to his reputation."
Seeing that Crey truly did not understand, Robb, who meant to train him into an independent commander, began to guide him step by step.
"Perhaps because Your Grace displayed overwhelming power at Riverrun, Tywin could no longer care about such things and only wanted to expand his strength quickly?" Crey suggested.
"That is possible. But if he meant to tear up the alliance and offend House Tyrell completely, then he should put everything into destroying them as quickly as possible to remove future trouble.
"Instead, he sent envoys beneath Highgarden, hoping to ally with House Tyrell again and swallow Dorne, the Stormlands, and the rest of the coalition. That is what felt most wrong after Margaery told me."
"Perhaps the envoys were only meant to confuse House Tyrell so Highgarden could be taken more easily? Your Grace, forgive my stupidity. That is roughly all I can think of."
Crey, who had clearly seen the gap between himself and Robb, answered honestly.
"After thinking carefully, I believe Tywin's attempt to ally with House Tyrell again was his true aim.
"If they truly joined again and swallowed Dorne, the Stormlands, and the rest, the benefit he gained would be greater than sharing the Reach with several powers.
"He could also claim that tearing up the alliance was only to set a trap, restoring House Lannister's reputation.
"So I have a bold guess. If parts of this plan do not look like Tywin's hand, could there be another mysterious force influencing him from behind? Perhaps he wants to borrow that force without being controlled by it.
"Of course, these are only guesses. I am not fully certain."
To Crey, whom he could now trust completely after long association, Robb quietly spoke his thoughts.
Crey glanced left and right by instinct, then lowered his voice. "If Your Grace's guess is true, any force that can connect Tywin, the Stormlands, Dorne, and so many powerful men is no minor power.
"So Your Grace did not want to go south with House Tyrell to Highgarden. Then... do we continue north?"
Robb looked confident.
"Of course we continue north. But my target is not King's Landing.
"First, King's Landing is not some small Westerlands town. It cannot be taken with ladders alone. To truly take it would cost much time and many men.
"Second, I can use this chance to test whether House Tyrell truly submits or whether they are hiding bad intentions.
"Third, if House Lannister truly takes Highgarden and gains that vast wealth, Tywin's strength will change beyond anything we have seen before.
"Fourth, if my guess is correct, then the mysterious force helping Tywin from the shadows will never let me seize King's Landing easily."
"Not King's Landing, Your Grace? Then what is our target?"
Robb grinned.
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