The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Chapter 30: The Different Mountain

Ten gold dragons, an absolute fortune for a miner.

Gregor knew that most commoners in this world never used a gold dragon in their entire lives.

It was always the case that those who built houses had no house to live in, and those who mined gold had no gold to spend—this was the same even in this agrarian civilization.

Ten gold dragons, equivalent to three hundred silver stags and two thousand one hundred copper stars, were distributed to his subjects, and even Maester Hallis couldn't believe it was true!

But it was true!

Since leaving Casterly Rock and returning to Clegane's Keep, Lord Gregor had become very different from before, but Maester Hallis couldn't quite put his finger on what exactly had changed.

Maester Hallis was Tywin's eyes on Ser Gregor, and now those eyes clearly indicated that he understood him less and less.

Only the Starks of the North would be so generous and magnanimous to the common people. The Lannister family, whose wealth far exceeded that of the entire kingdom, would never do such a thing for the commoners. Duke Tywin would only punish and whip disobedient subjects, and for disobedient nobles, the song 'The Rains of Castamere' would echo in their halls.

Maester Hallis recalled Gregor's promise, made several days ago, to compensate each of his subjects with one gold dragon per year. At the time, Maester Hallis, Sweetmouth Raff, and the others thought it was a completely unfunny joke. It was not excessive for a lord to joke with his subjects, especially not the Mountain.

Watching the eleven new miners ride out of Clegane's Keep on warhorses, wearing armor, carrying swords, and with salt in their bags, Maester Hallis felt like he was dreaming. As an ordinary subject, there was no lord more generous than Gregor. Gregor was a nouveau riche who had just extorted a great noble, but he was inherently poor. Maester Hallis couldn't understand why he was giving so many gold dragons to his subjects.

Nobles had never treated the people in their territories like this before.

However, the Mountain could do anything he pleased, without needing a reason. Although Maester Hallis was similar to a strategist, he didn't dare to give the Mountain any advice.

The Mountain could give ten gold dragons to his subjects just like that, or he could kick Hallis to death if he didn't like him.

That was the Mountain!

The Mountain had always been synonymous with terror and brutality. Maester Hallis envied Sweetmouth Raff and the others who had been following the Mountain all along. How had they survived? And how were they living so well? Maester Hallis felt that their loyalty to the Mountain was unshakeable. Everyone feared the Mountain and considered him a ferocious beast, but why did he have the absolute loyalty of these murderers?

Maester Hallis was a wise young man, but his life experience was still shallow. The more he thought about it, the more confused he became. He was also experiencing the process of recording the Mountain's change from fear, terror, and hatred to submission, catering, gratitude, love, worship, and finally, brain-dead loyalty. To use a phenomenon from Earth's civilization as an analogy: it fit the condition of Stockholm syndrome.

"Notepad!" Gregor ordered, "Take out forty gold dragons."

So Notepad counted out another forty gold dragons.

"Give Thomasman ten gold dragons."

Notepad counted ten gold dragons to Thomasman.

Thomasman took the gold dragons, his hands trembling.

"Thomasman, take the day off today and take the coins back home. This is compensation for your losses from planting poppies in the fields for the past ten years."

"Yes, my lord."

Thomasman's gratitude to Lord Gregor was particularly different. The little girl Julie was by his side.

Maester Hallis watched as Thomasman was about to kneel down to Gregor. The old soldier was very grateful to the Mountain, so grateful that he couldn't speak. He could only look at the Mountain, as if he were looking at—the statue of the Seven Gods, so devoutly. His face twitched slightly, as if he had a convulsion.

Maester Hallis could see that if Gregor wanted Thomasman to do anything in the future, the old man would do it without hesitation.

Hallis's heart suddenly stirred: the Mountain's ability to subdue people's hearts—was a bit terrifying, he had never noticed it before. He had to secretly write a letter to tell Duke Tywin.

In the Seven Kingdoms, the maester was the only person who controlled the lord's ravens. Gregor's family was shallow, and he did not raise ravens himself. The ravens at Clegane's Keep were brought by Maester Hallis from Casterly Rock. The ravens belonged to Duke Tywin, in order to facilitate the connection between Lord Gregor and Duke Tywin.

"Take Julie back too... Who else is at home?"

As a lord, Gregor knew very little about the situation of his eleven subjects. He had never cared about the life or death of his subjects before.

"My mother is at home, and my older sisters were all married off early, they were all afraid of being raped by you. My two older brothers both died in the mines," the little girl Julie said, jumping and skipping.

Gregor looked at this adopted daughter. Julie spoke of her dead brothers as if she were talking about dead kittens and puppies, without any sadness at all.

Why didn't she show any of the... grief or sadness that she should have?

Was Julie naturally cold or lacking in humanity?

Gregor didn't want to think too much about it. He knew that things like grilling souls were not easy to figure out.

Although he felt a little—unnatural about Julie's indifference, he found that he liked the girl's... straightforwardness and ruthlessness.

It was obvious that the little girl had no feelings for her two brothers. They were a family, but there was no warmth between siblings, at least Gregor couldn't see it at all from Julie.

"Julie, take the salt. I'll allow you to take an extra bag of salt," Gregor said, "Go back and see your mother. Starting tomorrow, I will fill your training sword with lead. Your arms are too thin and you don't have enough strength."

"Yes, Father!"

Julie ran up, opened her arms, and wanted to hug the Mountain.

But the Mountain stared at her, looking like he would crush Julie's head in the next second, which made Maester Hallis's heart suddenly tighten.

However, Julie climbed onto the Mountain's arm as nimbly as a monkey climbing a large tree. In the shocked gazes of everyone, in the suffocating oppression of the entire scene, facing the Mountain's glaring bull's eyes, she put her arms around the Mountain's neck and kissed him on the face with a "啵".

"Plop!"

Thomasman was so frightened that he knelt on the ground, opened his mouth, and wanted to beg for Lord Mountain's forgiveness, but the old man's mouth opened, but he couldn't say a word.

Fear blocked his throat!

Julie jumped off the Mountain, playfully winked her right eye at the Mountain, and giggled. Everyone else couldn't believe their eyes, including the Mountain himself.

Maester Hallis closed his eyes tremblingly. In the next second, the Mountain would definitely crush the little girl's head.

The Mountain was an absolute demon, not a good person.

"Don't do that, this is the last time," the Mountain said in a very stern tone.

"Got it! Father!" The little girl's drawn-out voice showed that she didn't take Lord Gregor's warning to heart at all.