Game of Thrones: From a deserter to a high-ranking official

Chapter 33 Inspection of the Estate and the Right of the First Night

"Tsk, so this is what it feels like to be a lord? Not bad at all!" Vito smacked his lips, savoring the feeling of those slaves kneeling before him. "Tsk, I've heard that some regions in Westeros still retain the right of the first night. If they were grand dukes and great lords, wouldn't they be grooms every day?"

"Vito, how could you have such an idea?" Tiberius couldn't help but ask curiously.

"Kid, your Uncle Vito comes from Oldtown. You know Oldtown? It lacks everything. Every day, countless ships and carriages come and go, bringing almost a massive amount of supplies. But Oldtown has no shortage of two things: one is fully-fledged maesters wearing necklaces, and the other is even more—as numerous as cockroaches—maester apprentices and down-on-their-luck maesters draped in black robes who will never get their necklaces! And among them are many old geezers who were sent back to the Citadel by the new lord under some pretext. Their bellies are filled with nothing but ink, dirty secrets of various noble territories, and loathing for their former masters! I heard the 'wonderful' story of the right of the first night from those grumbling old men while squatting in a cheap tavern in Oldtown, sipping salted fish soup! Tsk tsk, that's the lord's 'legal right'... Damn, that was really awesome!"

"You're overthinking it, Vito." Jules, riding his horse, mercilessly shattered Vito's fantasy. "A groom every night? Hmph, for those grand dukes and lords, spending a night of pleasure with those stinking serf wives and daughters who were harvesting wheat in the muddy fields in the morning is far more convenient than finding a popular, skilled prostitute, or simply keeping a charming, seductive mistress!"

"But boss..."

"I know what you're trying to say, but remember one thing: in the history of Westeros, it wasn't uncommon for lords to be killed by their own captives—with pitchforks and sickles—in their homes, barns, or even choked to death by excrement in the latrines, due to their excessive cruelty and greed towards serfs and free men! When oppression reaches its limit, even peasants will fight to the death!" Jules solemnly reminded him. "Furthermore, Queen Alyssan and His Majesty Jaehaerys have already abolished the right of the first night in the Seven Kingdoms! This is an imperial decree! Vitor, more important than the so-called 'right of the first night' is how you govern this land and fulfill your responsibilities as a lord!"

"After all, this estate is not merely my personal property, Jules's property, but the property of the entire White Legion! From now on, all the brothers in our legion can obtain food and stable wealth through this land! In the future, just as you said, our legion can also use this land to attract more and more skilled individuals who want a peaceful life; it can also provide a reliable source of wealth for our married, wounded, and retired brothers in the legion! Therefore, we must manage it well, not treat it harshly!"

"Tsk, but boss, we're slave owners..." Vito said sullenly. "I think those slave owners, aren't they all... uh, forcing them to work with whips and usurious loans?"

"Then we should govern them even better. They have become slaves, while we are masters, free men. This shows that the gods have carefully chosen us, making us more moral and learned to rule over these people who have been forced to grovel because of the capriciousness of fate. The gods have made us lords, which is also giving us responsibility. They require us to use the wisdom and strength they have been given to manage and guide them, so that they can work in an orderly manner."

"Besides, simply using whips and usury is the work of fools and shortsighted people!" Jules rebuked. "If you drive slaves to their deaths or cripple them, who will work for you? Buying new slaves and treating their illnesses—doesn't that cost money? Making them obey our commands instead of resisting will only benefit us, not harm us!"

"But boss, has it really been abolished throughout the seven kingdoms?" Vito's concern wasn't about governing the territories at all; he was still somewhat unwilling to give up on the right of the first night, a rather amorous right.

As a seasoned veteran, he knew very well that such wonderful power was absolutely addictive, so how could it be abolished just because of a word from His Majesty the King or a decree?

"Ahem..." Jules coughed somewhat guiltily at this point, his eyes darting around as if he were carefully choosing his words.

"Hey, don't go around telling everyone! Well, actually, this power is secretly retained in many places! For example, in the North: apart from Winterfell, where the Stark family is relatively strict, other places, such as the Bolton family in Dreadfort and the Umber family in Hearthglen, even within these large families, mostly still retain this power, especially when the tenant farmers' and peasants' wives are very beautiful! On this point, the people of the North completely ignore the calls of their lords and King's Landing, after all, it's a 'tradition,' even the Manderley family of White Harbor is no exception! And some remote valley areas—like the Five Fingers Peninsula, a place where there are nothing but goats and rocks, what do those lords know! A peasant woman is better than a goat, right? And some riverlands near the Neck... yeah, like our Moorland..." Just as Tiberius was straining his ears to listen carefully, Jules suddenly changed the subject.

"Right near the old Frey family, yes, that stretch of riverlands near the Neck, that barren salt flats—who can reach it? Who can control it? And those lords on the Dornish border, they also have the right of first night. But what can you do? These places are far from the reach of the emperor; who cares?"

"Especially the borderlands of Dorne. If the Targaryens want to attack Dorne in the future, won't they be relying on these people to contribute money and manpower as the vanguard? Dragonfire can't illuminate these places!"

"Hey boss, what's so hard about this?" Vito listened with great interest, thinking it was just another sordid affair among nobles, something that was never uncommon.

Jules lowered his voice again.

"...Actually, the place that has the most powerful system for exercising the right of virginity is Dragonstone!"

"Holy crap!" Vito grinned. "That's explosive!"

"Don't talk nonsense!" Jules warned Vito sternly. "Sigh, Targaryens, they are, after all, of dragon blood. They dare to engage in incestuous marriage, let alone the right of the first night?"

"Alright, boss!" Vito said. "I swear, my mouth is sealed tighter than the Rogar family's treasury when it comes to this!"

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"Well, that's about it." After making his rounds, Vito picked up a parchment and reported the details of the estate to all the senior officers of the White Legion.

"First of all, it's about the location. Ah, brothers, don't even think about the estates on the Rees Islands, or those neighboring islands crammed with villas! In those places, even a pile of pebbles on the beach is priceless! After all, those fat, bloated rich men have already been snapped up by the governors! So, the idea of ​​honing your martial arts skills on your territory during the day and then coming to the Rees's brothel to hone your 'martial arts' skills with your sweethearts at night won't work!"

"Where exactly is Navito?" "Redhead" Calvin couldn't help but ask. "The disputed Ries colony. The brothers can certainly accept that, but they can't possibly give us a broken island without even fresh water, can they? If they do, the brothers will truly have to curse Lord Lisandro's mother!"

"Not really, but as everyone knows, Reis is a city-state located on an island, but they also have territory in the disputed lands, so our manor is naturally located in those lands as well." Vito shrugged, then added, "The distance... from the manor dock to the Reis dock, if the wind and current are favorable and there are no obstacles, the sailing distance is about a day and a half."

"And then, the population, ha! I know, that's probably what you bastards are most interested in!" Vito deliberately dragged out his words, a lewd smile that any man would understand.

He watched the crowd's reaction with satisfaction and began to read the record on the parchment: