Chapter 76 Surrender
"Mother? Where are you going?"
Watching her mother walk towards the Dornish people, Natalie panicked.
The little girl doesn't know what happened yet, but she has a bad premonition.
As if my mother suddenly became very strange, and even left me forever.
Samwell pulled her back and comforted her: "Don't worry, your mother just returned to where she came from."
"Where did you come from? What do you mean?"
"Your mother is from Starfall City. She is the young lady of the Dane family." Samwell rubbed Natalie's soft hair, "And you too."
Natalie's purple eyes widened, completely stunned by the news.
Countless thoughts whirled in her mind, making her completely at a loss for what to say, and she just stood there for a while without moving.
On the other side, Ashara had already walked up to the Dornishmen, and asked an elderly knight, "Sir Muta, do you still remember me?"
"Miss Ashara...it's really you!" The old knight couldn't believe his eyes, "But, but haven't you already..."
"Back then I did jump into the sea of summer and tried to commit suicide because of some things, but the gods obviously had arrangements for me and didn't let me die in the sea."
"Praise the Seven Gods!" The old knight excitedly drew a seven-pointed star on his chest.
He immediately realized that Ashara's return also meant that the title of Starfall City would no longer be an unresolved problem, let alone attract the coveted eyes of ambitious people.
Because Ashara Dayne is the undisputed first heir to the Earl of Starfall City at this time!
Ashara smiled slightly, then turned to look at the rest of the Dane family knights, called out their names one by one, and greeted them.
Even some veterans of the Dane family, Ashara, can name them.
This made everyone no longer doubt her identity.
And at such a delicate time now, the appearance of Ashara seemed to be a ray of light, giving these Dornish people in the dark great hope.
So, led by several knights, the Dornishman knelt down in front of Ashara, raised his sword above his head with both hands, and said loudly:
"Dear Miss Ashara Dayne, we swear allegiance to you, from now on,..."
But facing this scene, Ashara shook her head lightly, interrupting the allegiance of the Dornish people.
Everyone became anxious immediately: "Miss Ashara, why do you refuse to accept our allegiance? Do you know that the blood of the Dane family in Starfall City is withered, and you need to go back to inherit the title!"
"No. When I jumped down from the White Stone Sword Tower, Ashara Dayne was already dead. Now I am serving the old **** Nora and the patriarch of the Raven Tribe, so I cannot Go back and inherit Starfall City."
After finishing speaking, without waiting for the Dornishmen to persuade, Ashara said again: "However, my daughter can go back with you."
"Do you still have a daughter?" The Dornish people only felt that the situation had changed, and hope was raised again.
"Yes." Ashara turned her head and waved to her daughter.
Natalie trotted over quickly.
Samwell watched this scene thoughtfully.
"Mother!" Natalie hugged her mother's hand, standing behind her a little timidly.
Ashara pushed her daughter in front of her, and said to Dorn:
"She is my daughter, Natalie Dayne."
"I don't know Miss Natalie's father is..."
"Of course it's my husband, the previous patriarch of the Roaring Crow Tribe, Loen."
The Dorne knights frowned.
Although Ashara emphasized the "husband", she wanted to clearly tell everyone that Natalie was born out of wedlock and was Dane, not the lowly "Shad".
But it is undeniable that the blood of wildlings does flow in her body.
In a sense, she may not be as noble as some illegitimate children in Starfall City.
Facing the silence of the crowd, Natalie seemed a little flustered, and her petite body began to tremble.
At this time, Samwell stepped forward and said to the young attendant just now:
"Hughes, your original master has died in battle. Now, the gods have given you a chance to choose again. You should take good care of it."
"Dear Miss Natalie Dane, I, Hughes Dane, hereby swear allegiance to you. From now on, my long sword will only be brandished for you!"
Natalie was a little overwhelmed, until Samwell pushed her, she woke up like a dream, said:
"I accept your allegiance."
Hughes stood up, then turned to his companions behind him, and said loudly:
"What's the matter with you? Why don't you want to be loyal to the heir of Starfall City? Did you forget your previous oath?"
The Dornishmen looked at each other in blank dismay, but they finally knelt down one by one and swore allegiance to Natalie after seeing Samwell and a group of Riverbend soldiers staring at them.
After all, the situation is stronger than others. If Natalie still clings to the flaws in Natalie's identity at this time, it is estimated that the war hammer of the Knight of Eagle Mouth Islet is about to hit...
Actually, Samwell was a little surprised that Ashara rejected Starfall City and pushed her daughter out.
However, this is a good thing for him.
Because Ashara is mature and experienced after all, after inheriting Starfall City, although she will not be an enemy of Yingzui Island, Samwell will certainly not be able to take too much advantage, and she must discuss everything with her.
But Natalie is different. Facing such an immature little girl, Samwell has a conscience not to empty out Starfall City...
Moreover, Natalie has a flawed background after all, so she has to rely on external forces like Samwell to suppress those forces in Starfall City who do not accept her.
In short, the current arrangement is actually more convenient for Samwell to secretly control Starfall City.
He didn't know if Ashara had thought of this, or if she thought of it, but still chose to trust Samwell.
"Very good!" Samwell applauded with a smile, "Miss Natalie, now you are the owner of Starfall City, so we must talk about war compensation."
Natalie froze for a moment, then looked at her mother as if asking for help, but her mother just smiled at her and said:
"You will have to make up your own mind about this kind of thing in the future."
Natalie had no choice but to turn her head to look at Hughes and the others behind her.
But Samwell just coughed lightly, and the Dornishmen immediately lowered their heads, as if they suddenly became very interested in the rocks on the ground.
Natalie pouted and said:
"Okay, Lord Caesar...Sir Caesar, what kind of compensation do you want?"
Samwell grinned, showing eight white teeth, and said:
"Don't worry, Natalie, I will not take advantage of you, I will only ask for reasonable compensation. You see, those soldiers under my command who were injured or even died in the war, you should compensate them?"
"Hmm. How much compensation?"
"Ten copper coins for a minor injury, five silver stags for a serious injury, and three golden dragons for a death." Samwell quickly reported a series of numbers, and then immediately added without waiting for Natalie to think about it, "There is also a reason You must compensate for the houses destroyed by the war, right?"
"Um…"
"And those brandies, you know how expensive they are, and now they are all ruined in this war, and my heart is bleeding. However, I won't raise the price with you, twenty silver stags a gallon, very reasonable Bar?"
"..."
"And my castle! As you can see, the entire outer wall is on fire, and now I don't know how much it will cost to repair it, especially since it has seriously delayed the construction period. I think Starfall City will not only have to lose money, but also send out Craftsmen come to help me build, isn't that too much to ask?"
"..."
"There are also those old people and children in the orphanage. They have spent a lot of time migrating because of this war. They can't eat well, can't sleep well, and are frightened. Is it reasonable for me to ask for some mental damage for them?"
"..."
Natalie was dizzy from these incomprehensible terms, couldn't help rubbing her head, and said helplessly:
"Okay, okay, Sir Caesar, just give me the final number when the time comes. However, I don't know if I can afford it... Besides, is Starfall City really mine?"
"Of course it belongs to you! You are now the number one heir to the title of the Dane family!" Samwell said with a smile, "As for whether you can afford it or not, you don't have to worry about it. I am a benevolent lord and I am willing to accept payment in installments." .”
"What is installment payment?"
"It means that you owe me money, and you can't pay it back temporarily, but you can pay it back slowly in the future."
"Well, thank you so much, Sir Caesar."
"You're welcome, this is what a gentleman should do."
…
Ashara watched all this from the sidelines, and suddenly began to suspect that it seemed that it was not a wise decision for her to push her daughter to the position of lord of Starfall City...
(end of this chapter)