After Roman Rivers acquired the Riverlands territory, he found it somewhat difficult to digest; Harrenhal's current military and bureaucratic resources couldn't support Harrenhal's further expansion.
That was why Roman stopped sending out troops after repelling the Lannister army and turned to managing his own lands instead.
Building materials and tools from Harlen Town flowed into the newly occupied lands like water, and supporting laborers worked day and night to build Strongholds and repair villages.
Tywin received reports of Roman building castles every day, and the Lannisters were horrified to find that the efficiency of Harrenhal's residents was so high that the walls of the Strongholds grew visibly almost every day.
The Lannisters could only watch Roman's construction without daring to make a move; several previous probing attacks had been crushed by Harrenhal cavalry that suddenly rushed out.
They knew Roman would continue his offensive once the defensive lines were completed, so the Lannister army began to attack Riverrun even more frantically.
But Riverrun was surrounded by water on two sides and had a wide man-made moat, leaving them with no options in the short term.
To prevent anyone from escaping Riverrun, Jaime divided the army into three parts, stationed in the three areas separated by The Trident and the Red Fork, to besiege Riverrun.
But no matter how the Lannister army attacked, Riverrun always managed to hold them off with ease, even managing to transport grain into the city via small boats at night.
Jaime not only failed to achieve any decent results but also lost nearly 1,000 men in a siege battle; this blow taught the arrogant Jaime to be cautious.
Roman was puzzled; Edmure had been captured, so who else could organize the defense so perfectly?
"No, even Edmure couldn't do it so perfectly. Could it be...?"
A thought suddenly flashed through Roman's mind, and he quickly asked, "Fili, use a raven to check Lord Hoster's current physical condition in Riverrun, quickly!"
Seeing Roman so serious, Fili immediately released a raven to scout Riverrun and easily discovered an active Hoster.
"Lord Roman, Lord Hoster is in good health. Although he has become thinner compared to a few years ago, he is in good spirits and still inspects various parts of Riverrun's defenses daily."
This information left Roman stunned; Hoster was completely different from what he had expected.
"Fili, wasn't Lord Hoster seriously ill? How could he possibly be managing Riverrun's affairs?"
Hearing Roman's words, the young girl's face was full of confusion.
"Lord Roman, Lord Hoster has been buying potions from us since he fell ill and recovered several months ago. Didn't you know about this?"
Fili suddenly clapped her hands, showing an expression of realization.
"Lord Roman, you must have been working too hard lately! You should rest well now. I'll go stew some soup for you; don't overwork yourself these days."
The girl pushed Roman into a chair and turned to head cheerfully toward the kitchen. For Fili, this was a good opportunity to pull Roman away from his heavy work to rest.
Meanwhile, Roman was considering the future relationship between Harrenhal and Riverrun. Since Hoster hadn't fallen seriously ill as Roman had predicted, Harrenhal would now face a difficult liege lord.
"The Riverlands are truly a mess now; both good and bad things are coming. There's much to endure ahead."
However, Roman wasn't too worried. In any case, Roman's ambitions had already spread among the Westeros nobility. Hoster surely knew what he was doing, and the fact that he hadn't moved against him yet meant House Tully wouldn't target Harrenhal in the short term.
Having figured this out, Roman immediately relaxed. He looked at the construction teams working fervently outside and decided to take a break as well.
"Fili, you wash the vegetables, I'll handle the meat. We'll make this soup together."
"Eh? But Lord Roman, you should be resting now..."
Roman: "Who says you can't do things while resting? Don't overthink it; if we wait any longer, the water will boil!"
————
Roman was conquering territory, Tywin was plundering, and only the other Riverlands nobles were getting beaten.
Hoster stood on the walls of Riverrun. He usually loved gazing at The Trident and the Red Fork from here, but now his heart held none of the joy he'd felt when he brought Catelyn here. The plains that were once lush with water grass were now occupied by the Lannister army.
A soldier came to report: "Lord Hoster, the kingslayer has captured Lord Edmure and is preparing to come to Riverrun's gates. What should we do?"
"Ignore him. As long as the lions aren't mad, they will never harm Edmure. Tywin always keeps a contingency plan; there's no need to worry about my son's safety."
The soldier asked again: "Then do we need to send a letter to Harrenhal asking them to come and support us?"
Hoster wasn't worried about the siege of Riverrun. He had already learned through ravens that Robbwas on his way south and would soon be able to deal with Jaime.
What he truly worried about was Roman. That human-shaped demonic dragon of Harrenhal had already bared its fangs and was greedily devouring the lands of Westeros amidst the chaos.
Hoster lamented: "Compared to Aegon the Conqueror, Roman is too cruel; he confiscates the territories of nobles without explanation. But compared to those tyrants, Roman is very merciful; as long as they haven't done evil and surrender to him, they can at least live without worry."
The Lord of the Riverlands gazed quietly at the flowing river water, finally sighed, and his furrowed brows smoothed out.
"Don't contact Harrenhal for now. Just let them keep the Lannisters in check in the east."
When the letter from Riverrun reached Roman's hands, he knew things were secure. Hoster hadn't blamed him, which seemed to be a tacit approval of Roman's actions, as long as things remained acceptable on the surface.
A weight was lifted from Roman's heart, and he drank the soup with satisfaction.
"Lord Roman, did something happy happen?"
Fili saw Roman laughing for no apparent reason and couldn't help but ask curiously.
"It's intelligence from Riverrun. Lord Hoster doesn't intend to blame us."
As Roman spoke, he dipped bread into the soup, tasting Fili's cooking. Before, at Antler Keep and Sows Corner, he had eaten simple compressed military rations; now he finally had something good.
Next, Roman intended to bring the entire Gods Eye under his control. Now, except for the Iron Islands, all the major participants of the War of the Five Kings in Westeros had entered the fray; what followed would be the real melee.
In the North, Eddard survived, so the possibility of Robb fighting to the death with the Lannisters was extremely low. He would likely leave after resolving the crisis in the Riverlands, but it couldn't be ruled out that Eddard might lead troops south to support the claim of Stannis after recovering.
The cause of Elia's death was known throughout the Seven Kingdoms, so it was impossible for the Lannisters to win over Dorne; they might even raise troops to attack King's Landing at a critical moment.
Because Littlefinger was gone in the Vale, Lysa would likely resent the North and Harrenhal even more. She isn't moving now, but we still need to be on guard.
As for the south, let them be for now. It's best not to intervene until those fellows decide a winner.
...
"Lord Roman! You're thinking about government affairs again!"
"No, I'm not! I'm just thinking about what to eat for dinner."
Fili: "I've been serving by your side, and I see your every move. You can't fool me!"
Roman could only scratch his head helplessly. Fili usually seemed a bit airheaded, but she was exceptionally sharp regarding matters concerning him.
"Alright, alright! I'll listen to you. I'll do whatever you say next, okay?"
Seeing Roman give in, the girl's serious face instantly brightened. The next second, Fili hugged Roman, happily nuzzling against him.
Now Get The FULL AVAILABLE NOVEL at Once!
Get 40% OFF for limited time only.
@patreon.com/Authorizz/shop