Chapter 89

"That… That Tully bitch…" his aunt hissed as he face contorted in rage. "How dare she think that she could just… just… take your hand in marriage without even consulting us."

"The Starks can do it." He told her bluntly. "Well… they technically can't force the marriage on me. But as things stand, if Lord Stark decided to betrothed his daughter to me and I refused, then all relation and trust that I've built with the Starks over the years will crumble down to dust. Something that create huge civil unrest in the North and eventually lead to a civil war. Something that I have no intention of causing."

"This… that… doesn't make what they're doing right." She told him and he smiled helplessly at her.

"They're desperate. He might not show it but I could see the worry and fear hidden deeply in Lord Stark's eyes whenever he looks at how much more richer our lands are and how well disciplined and trained our men are. Plus, I might not like Sansa Stark but that doesn't mean that I can't make use of her."

"And how are you going to make use of her?" his aunt asked.

"By getting bethrothed to her of course." He said with a cheerful smile and his aunt gazed at him in shock before she shook her head and gave him an annoyed look.

"Explain." She said.

"Well. After I met Lord Stark and found out about this plan of his, I went to Winterfell and spied on Sansa to see what kind of girl she was."

"And what kind of she was she?" his aunt asked.

"Well…" he grimaced as he wondered to explain this without insulting Sansa "Do you remember how I met her all those years ago during the Greyjoy Rebellion?" he asked.

His aunt nodded.

"A 4 year old child who clung to her mother and hid behind her skirt."

"Well, I suppose she has grown taller since all those years ago. But aside from that, she is still the naive immature child living in a fairy tail world of her own in which knights are chivalrous, maidens are kind hearted and people marry and then live happily after." He grimaced once again, not really wanting to bash the girl's personality in front of his aunt but he had been really unimpressed by her.

His aunt gestured him to go on, seemingly too curious at the peace of gossip he was giving her.

"It's not that there's something wrong with the girl. It's just that… Lord Stark sheltered the girl too much from the reality of the world. And the septa brought from the South is not helping in any real manner. The girl really has no outstanding abilities that stand out. She doesn't know how to administer. She doesn't know how to rule. She doesn't know how to lead. She doesn't… well, I guess I could go on and on about the things that she doesn't know about. But the point is that I'm not going to marry the girl."

His aunt frowned "But you just said that you're going to be betrothed to the girl."

"That I am." He said "The betrothal with the daughter of Lord Stark will bring peace to my lands. And give me 7 more years to bring more progress to my lands and gain more strength. At that point, I'll have grown too strong that even a war against the entirety of North won't put a dent on us. At that point, I'll find some way to break my betrothal with the girl."

"And take the North from the Starks." His aunt added and he would have done a spit take if he was drinking something. As it was, he merely gaped at her.

"What? No. I'm not going to take the North from the Starks. Why would you even think that?"

"Why not. If you become strong enough to defeat the armies of all the other houses in North, then I don't see why you wouldn't just take the North from the Starks." She said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Three reasons why I won't be taking over the North." He explained to her.

"1st. King Robert Baratheon loves Ned Stark like a brother. So if I rebel against Ned Stark then I won't only have to fight the forces of the North but also the men of the other kingdoms that King Robert would rally against me. And even if I'm sure about my victory, I would rather not fight against such a large force."

"2nd. Even if won against them and became the King of the North, the other houses won't follow me willingly. And I have really no interest in leading a realm in which most of the people hate me."

"And 3rd. I don't want to rule the North. As simple as that. I have my own ambitions, goals and plans for the future and none of them involve me ruling the North. Simply said, being the King of the North is not a burden that I want to pick up on my shoulder. Is that enough explanation for you."

His aunt gave him a scrutinizing gaze for a long moment before her shoulders dropped and she let out a sigh "I suppose. It seems like you've put a lot of thought into this and have already made up your mind in this matter so I'll not ask you to kick the Starks from their seats just because I don't like them."

He gave her a grateful smile and wondered when Ned Stark was going to ask him about the betrothal with Sansa.

Ned had certainly been thinking about it whenever the two of them talked.

He just wished that this farce would be over as quickly as possible.