Chapter 32
On top of a vast hill stood a great castle surrounded by three rings of walls.
Among flowers and fruit trees, birds flew from one side to the other, giving the place a dreamlike appearance.
In one of the many gardens, a small elderly woman looked at a letter in her hand bearing the seal of a fierce direwolf pressed into the wax.
Olenna looked at the letter, lost in thought. House Tyrell and House Stark had little contact with one another.
Their most significant encounter had probably taken place during the war, when they had been on opposing sides, although their armies had never actually met in battle.
Because of that, she could think of only one reason for receiving that letter.
Marriage.
Without wasting any more time, she broke the seal and took out the letter.
In the end, it turned out to be exactly as she had expected.
The letter was from Catelyn Stark, who, essentially invited her to Winterfell to discuss a possible marriage.
Her first thought was to refuse, but after considering it carefully, she realized there were not many marriage options for either the Starks or the Tyrells.
If she wasn't mistaken, the Starks could only have been considering her granddaughter and Arianne Martell, but the latter was the heir to Dorne, so she would hardly agree to become the future Lady of Winterfell.
She had no doubt that if she refused the proposal, the Starks would most likely seek a marriage within the North.
As for House Tyrell, they were not in a better position.
Even if her foolish son hoped to marry his daughter to Joffrey and make her queen, she had repeatedly told him that the Lannisters would never consider it unless they found themselves in serious trouble.
The Tyrells' powerful army and immense wealth already made the Lannisters wary. There was no way they would also grant them political power by allowing the queen to be a Tyrell.
They already controlled the court. Why would they allow another rival in without gaining anything in return?
The Lannisters' best strategy would most likely be to marry Joffrey to a powerful family that had no ambitions at court and was also favored by the king.
The Starks met every one of those conditions, so they would never consider House Tyrell.
For her part, Olenna also couldn't imagine whom to marry her granddaughter to. They were surrounded by Houses Baratheon, Lannister, and Martell.
The only possible option in her mind was Renly. It was just that the rumors surrounding him did not make him a good candidate, not to mention that his age was far from ideal for her young granddaughter.
Looking at the letter again and thinking about the long journey to the North, she couldn't help but hesitate.
It was then that Olenna looked at her wrinkled hand holding the letter. It would be a shame to die without seeing more of the world.
They said the Wall stood two hundred meters tall and stretched for hundreds of kilometers. Olenna didn't know whether it was true, but she would like to see it with her own eyes.
Not to mention that it was a good opportunity to learn about the changes everyone kept talking about in the North.
In any case, it was a journey of a little over a month. If she traveled to King's Landing first and took a ship from there, it would take less time.
Taking a deep breath, Olenna looked at the beautiful garden around her before making a decision.
"Tell Margaery and Loras to come see me," Olenna said, looking at a servant who was waiting for her orders.
...
Two weeks passed in the blink of an eye.
And Harry still knew nothing about his mother's schemes to find him a wife.
Over the past few weeks, he had been paying attention to the development of the North's infrastructure, and he realized it was not in the best condition.
The roads turned to mud, the wooden bridges suffered several accidents every few years, and the houses in Winter Town also looked old.
Even Winterfell Castle itself became a muddy trap during days of heavy rain.
He had been thinking about how to solve it.
Fortunately, he actually had something to rely on. Back at Hogwarts, during the boring History class, there had been something that caught his attention at the time.
Enough to keep him awake.
The book spoke of a wizard in ancient Rome who, upon request, created a hydraulic mortar that, after adding aggregates, resulted in concrete. In later generations, it would become known as Roman cement.
The main ingredients were clearly written in the book: volcanic ash and limestone.
Limestone was not much of a problem. The problem was the volcanic ash. As far as he knew, the only volcanoes were on Dragonstone. Importing it would be ridiculously expensive, not to mention that it would raise far too many questions.
On the other hand, he decided to investigate whether there had been volcanic activity in the North in the past.
After spending several days researching with Maester Luwin through various ancient books about the North, they found records describing something similar to a volcanic eruption in the northern mountains.
Curiously, it had been near the Wall, which explained why obsidian, or dragonglass, was occasionally found in the area.
Now he only had to find the volcano, which Harry suspected had gone extinct. If it hadn't erupted in thousands of years, it had to be completely solidified.
But the surrounding area should still contain plenty of volcanic rock, which could be used to make the cement.
Harry was proceeding by trial and error because he really didn't know how to identify the material needed to make cement.
So he could only travel north personally while using Hedwig's eyes to search the area.
After several days, he finally found something matching the description: a porous, misshapen stone that was supposedly very light despite its size.
The bad news was that it was deep within the mountains. Flying around, he found a clan a few kilometers away.
Looking at a map, he quickly calculated the location before leaving the job to Philip. Construction of the railway had stabilized, and Philip could now spare the time.
They only had to send people to speak with the clan. If they agreed, they could hire them to extract the stone and transport it to the city.
To make the cement, the limestone had to be fired and ground into powder before being mixed with ground volcanic rock and a little crushed gravel.
Adding water to that mixture created a workable paste that hardened as it dried.
That paste was what was used for construction.
It sounded simple, but Harry had no idea about the principles behind it.
Perhaps the wizard who created it hadn't known either.
Even so, eager to experiment, Harry had Hedwig bring him a stone the size of a fist that she had found, while several pieces of limestone were also brought to him.
He began the experiment by grinding the volcanic rock into a fine powder before setting it aside.
Using magic, he easily heated the limestone before also using magic to grind it.
He combined both powders before adding crushed gravel, creating a fine mixture with small fragments of stone.
Nodding slightly, he picked up a container of water before pouring it over the mixture.
The stream of water hit the mixture, which immediately reacted violently, splashing in every direction.
Harry let out a quiet groan as he quickly wiped away the small droplets that had landed on his face, although a few red marks remained.
"Wow, that looks painful," Val said lazily from her seat as she stretched her feet over another chair.
Her gaze was amused as she watched him work.
Harry only glanced at her in annoyance before turning his attention back to the container.
He really had made quite a mess. His clothes and the worktable were covered with splashes here and there.
Casting a spell, he gathered all the splatters before returning the splattered mixture to the container.
This time, he poured the water in slowly, watching in amazement as the mixture stirred. He didn't remember the book mentioning anything like this, but the water seemed to create an incredibly intense reaction.
His expression was somewhat puzzled as he couldn't help remembering Hermione mentioning something about chemistry.
After a while, the mixture calmed down.
A creamy, sticky mass remained. Harry looked thoughtfully at the container before shaping the mixture into a miniature version of the Arc de Triomphe in France.
He remembered going to see it once while escaping from the Death Eaters. Thinking about that, the image of a beautiful blonde girl appeared in his mind.
"Does that tower exist?" Val asked doubtfully as she stood up and approached curiously.
"No..." Harry said with a conflicted look.
Sighing, Harry shook his head, unwilling to think about the romantic tragedies of his life.
The beautiful Arc de Triomphe immediately began collapsing inward because the mixture had not dried.
Changing shape, the cement began transforming in detail until a miniature version of Hogwarts Castle appeared.
"Winterfell? It doesn't look like it," Val said, leaning lazily against the table.
"No, it's a different castle. Isn't it beautiful?" Harry said, looking at the miniature version with a touch of nostalgia.
"Not when it's sinking like that," Val said, noticing how the towers were beginning to collapse inward.
Harry pursed his lips into a grimace. It seemed cement wasn't magical after all.
He supposed that to build with this material, molds would be needed while the cement hardened a little.
For this sort of thing, potion-making spells were truly useful.
Restoring it to its perfect shape, Harry murmured the spell, and the entire castle seemed to release steam as the creamy consistency gradually disappeared.
The miniature castle turned a rather attractive beige color as its structure became solid.
"Pretty," Val said as her slender fingers curiously tested the sharp edges of the castle's towers.
Harry looked at the castle and reflected. Although he had accelerated the drying process, that didn't mean it had reached its maximum strength yet, so he decided to wait a few more days before conducting some tests.
Even so, his experiment could already be considered a success, so he immediately ordered Philip to prepare everything to begin producing cement on a large scale.
With nothing to do for the moment, he returned to Winterfell with Val and spent time with his friends, who dragged him off to fish, ride horses, or hunt.
Although they also tried to drag him to a brothel, he really couldn't find the motivation to go to a place like that with Dacey by his side, not to mention Val, who constantly tempted him.
Val also gradually became part of the group, becoming even closer to Dacey than to the others.
Their daily sparring matches meant he often ended up treating their wounds.
Smalljon also seemed to be gradually relaxing about the matter of the wildlings, especially after realizing that Val was not very different from the women of the North.
If he had met her under different circumstances, he would never have thought she was from beyond the Wall.
Harry remained in constant contact with Philip regarding the progress of the cement factory.
The factory took a week to prepare before Harry had to return to build another kiln. This time it was easier since the limestone didn't need to be heated as much.
Between the trips back and forth, a month had passed since Wyman and his family had returned to White Harbor.
That was when his mother's conspiracy finally came to light.
...
"I really don't know what to do with you two," Harry said with a sigh as he placed his hand on Dacey's abdomen.
A horrible bruise had formed, creating a line that almost stretched from one side to the other.
"Be grateful it was a blunt sword," Val said from the side with a mocking smile.
"Have you even looked in a mirror yet?" Dacey said, looking at the blonde with disdain.
Her eye was bruised, and dried blood covered part of her forehead.
"I won't die from a punch. On the other hand, your intestines might have been hanging out by now," Val said as she leaned back lazily in her chair.
The proud curve on her lips was truly irritating to Dacey, but she had to admit that this time, that bitch had won.
"Am I interrupting something?" Catelyn asked, suddenly appearing in the doorway.
Her breathing was slightly hurried after climbing so many stairs at once. Even so, her expression was uncertain as she saw Dacey with her upper body uncovered.
"No, come in," Harry said, glancing at her briefly before taking a potion from inside his robes and spreading it over his hand.
"Dear, I need to talk to you about something, preferably in private," Catelyn said as her gaze shifted to both women.
Her expression clearly reflected her discomfort, as Dacey appeared to be naked.
Suddenly, she noticed the large bruise around Val's eye, making her almost gasp.
"Dacey isn't naked, Mom. I'm just treating her injuries. Come in and sit down," Harry said with a sigh.
Catelyn looked at Dacey doubtfully before noticing that there really was some kind of white band across her back. She had been trying to avoid staring at her, so she hadn't noticed it before.
"Then I'll sit down," Catelyn said as her gaze wandered around. It had been a long time since she had come up here, but the place seemed almost unchanged from the last time.
Clean and orderly.
Sitting down nearby, she then noticed that Harry seemed to be spreading an ointment over Dacey's abdomen. Seeing Val's bruised eye, it wasn't difficult for her to understand what had happened.
She would never understand how two women could fight as though they wanted to kill each other, and then take a bath together afterward.
Not to mention that, in her opinion, how strong could they really be? They were supposed to be Harry's guards, but could they truly protect him? She was skeptical.
"That's all. Don't do anything until tomorrow," Harry said, wiping his hands with a cloth as he gestured for her to leave.
Dacey simply took Harry's chin and kissed him on the cheek before giving him a wink.
Catelyn's eyebrow twitched at the sight, especially when Dacey turned around, revealing that what she wore over her chest was not exactly a bandage.
"Come here, it's your turn," Harry said, looking at Val, who stood up and sat beside him.
"Do I have to take off my clothes too?" Val asked innocently.
"No," Harry said speechlessly as he pressed lightly on the bruise on her forehead.
Val's lips twisted in pain. Out of the corner of her eye, she couldn't help noticing Catelyn's exasperated expression, causing her grimace to turn into a faint smile.
"Mom, if you have something to say, just say it. Unless it's something about your privacy," Harry said, noticing that his mother was beginning to lose her patience.
Catelyn glanced at Dacey, who had finished getting dressed and had taken Val's seat, before looking at Harry, who was applying ointment to Val's face.
Pressing her lips together, she decided to simply say it in front of them. After all, it concerned both of them as well.
"I wrote to House Tyrell to invite them to Winterfell with a betrothal in mind. They've accepted the invitation," Catelyn said, causing everyone in the room to freeze.
To her surprise, instead of hearing Harry's voice filled with disbelief or annoyance, she heard two bursts of laughter.
"I'm not joking," Catelyn said, unconsciously frowning.
"We don't think you are," Harry said with a sigh.
"They're really coming all the way here just for a possible betrothal?" Harry asked, somewhat incredulously. The journey was quite long, and normally they would have been the ones expected to travel since they were making the proposal.
"I was worried about that as well, but they decided to come. The Tyrells aren't in a very good political position either. They don't have the same ancient royal lineage we do, and their name doesn't carry the same weight as ours," Catelyn said with a shrewd gleam in her eyes.
"Mom," Harry said in an exasperated voice.
"And is she pretty? How old is she?" Val asked with a laugh, ending in a grimace as Harry's thumb pressed against her bruise once again.
"They say she's a beautiful girl. She's fourteen, the same age as you," Catelyn said, looking at Harry, who, as expected, didn't like the matter.
"When are they arriving?" Harry asked, rubbing his face in frustration.
"In two months. I ask that you at least try. Promise me, alright?" Catelyn said, looking at Harry with an almost pleading expression.
Harry silently looked into his mother's pleading blue eyes.
"I promise," Harry said through clenched teeth.
"Oh, and it would be best if there weren't any public displays of affection between you while they're here," Catelyn said gently.
"Yes, ma'am," Harry said, making a small gesture with his hand.
Catelyn caressed his cheek with a smile before walking toward the door.
As she walked down the stairs, she let out a relieved sigh, seeing that everything had gone well.
She had truly feared Harry would refuse outright. In that case, she wouldn't have known how to explain it to House Tyrell.
"I really don't see what's so funny," Harry said, looking angrily at the two of them, who were still laughing.
"You should see your face. It's probably the same expression your fiancée has, though it's not the one you should have," Dacey said with a smile.
"Don't be discouraged. If she's ugly, you can always say no," Val said with a smile as she patted his head, comforting him as if he were a child.
"Out," Harry said irritably, pushing her hand away.
The two of them let out a quiet laugh before walking toward the door. Without a doubt, they were on their way to raid the kitchen after training.
Sitting by the window, Harry looked into the distance with a thoughtful expression.
He quickly reviewed everything he knew about House Tyrell. He remembered that they possessed great military and economic power.
During the war, they had firmly supported the Targaryens. Even so, because of their power, Robert had left them untouched. They had simply ended up somewhat politically isolated from the royal court.
Even so, he couldn't help wondering why his mother had chosen the Tyrells. It was quite an ambitious decision.
He was still irritated that his mother had gone this far without discussing it with him first. He supposed she had been afraid he would refuse outright. After all, it was easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.
Letting out a sigh, he decided he would go along with his mother's plan. If he liked the girl and they weren't planning to use her House, he wouldn't mind giving her a chance.
It wouldn't hurt to have someone who could help him manage the territory. He had no doubt that Lady Tyrell had received the proper education.
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