As the lord of the Dreadfort and one of the most powerful nobles in the North beneath House Stark, House Bolton had little choice but to follow Eddard eastward.
However, from the very beginning, Roose Bolton had been playing little games with Eddard.
The Bolton lands could raise at least four thousand soldiers.
Yet Lord Roose had brought only three thousand.
Among those three thousand were several hundred old men and two or three hundred children who had not yet come of age.
At first, he had even planned to have his eldest son and heir pretend to be ill so he would not have to come.
But after some consideration, he brought him along.
After all, the allied army had an overwhelming advantage.
There was nothing wrong with letting his heir see what war was like.
Who could have expected Viserys to suddenly produce three dragons the size of monsters?
An army of more than two hundred thousand men had collapsed overnight.
Less than half of them had managed to escape.
In fact, if Viserys had not wished to avoid excessive bloodshed that day and had directed most of the dragonfire toward supplies, that number would have been even smaller.
Roose and his eldest son Domeric initially followed Eddard toward Braavos with more than two thousand Bolton soldiers.
But when Eddard sent people to count their numbers, Roose had his son go in his place.
They claimed that father and son had become separated.
After leaving the family contingent, Roose Bolton took several guards and traveled south.
Unfortunately, for various reasons, they failed to catch up with Mathos and his men while they were rounding up prisoners.
With no choice but to travel on their own, they spent a full half-month on the road before finally reaching Gohor.
When Viserys saw Roose, the already pale lord's cheeks were so sunken that he looked almost skeletal.
With only a slight change of clothing, he could have played a vampire.
"Your Grace, I am Roose Bolton, Lord of the Dreadfort. I have come to swear fealty to you."
The Lord of the Dreadfort was taken directly to Viserys's study.
When he saw Viserys dressed in simple black clothes, he immediately recognized him.
It was not because of the king's distinctive silver hair and purple eyes, nor because he was sitting in an obviously oversized chair.
It was because of the confidence radiating from Viserys.
Roose had seen that same presence in both Rhaegar and Robert.
Rhaegar's presence had been more regal, as though he had been born a king.
Robert's presence had only gradually emerged during the latter stages of the Usurper's War. His was the confidence of a man who believed he could conquer anything.
Viserys possessed both qualities, amplified many times over.
Robert had still suffered moments when he had been beaten into a humiliating retreat.
Since entering the sight of the nobles of the Seven Kingdoms, Viserys had not suffered a single defeat.
Moreover, every victory he had achieved so far was the sort of legendary triumph that would be recorded in history.
He had opened the ruins as a new domain, driven out the Braavosi-Pentoshi alliance, conquered the horselords, annexed Pentos, and, not long ago, achieved two earth-shaking victories in rapid succession.
Such an aura could only be cultivated by victory after victory.
Nothing else could produce it.
"Someone, bring Lord Bolton a chair."
Viserys had no intention of making things difficult for houses beneath the Five Great Houses.
Only after seeing that Viserys had no intention of humiliating him did Roose Bolton finally relax slightly.
He explained his plan to Viserys, saying that if the king intended to attack Braavos, House Bolton's soldiers could serve as inside agents.
"Explain."
Viserys ordered someone to pour Bolton a cup of tea.
Roose accepted the warm tea, sensing something different about the young king.
That keen gaze seemed capable of seeing through everything and keeping every detail under his control.
He suddenly remembered the day he had heard that Davos had killed himself by smashing his head against the gates.
Almost everyone had been shaken by it.
'Only a man like this could inspire someone like Davos to such loyalty. No wonder Domeric has done nothing but praise him since returning from Gohor.'
Roose cleared his throat before speaking carefully.
"My eldest son, Domeric. You have met him before, on the day of your coronation."
"Yes, I remember him. He is a very polite young man."
Hearing Viserys praise his son, Roose smiled as well.
"Your Grace, the truth is that many nobles are hoping for the return of House Targaryen.
If you attack Braavos, they will all be willing to help you.
But they are also worried about your attitude toward them. After all, we only came to the Free Cities because Robert forced us to."
"Put your mind at ease. Aside from the Five Great Houses, I can pardon everyone else. You only need to tell me how best to make my position clear."
Roose explained that he and Domeric had already established a secret signal.
If word reached Domeric that Roose had been beheaded by Viserys, it would mean that he had successfully sworn allegiance to the Targaryens.
This would also further reduce Robert and Eddard's suspicions.
Any misunderstanding could naturally be explained by Domeric afterward.
"But what if I really do kill you?" Viserys asked curiously.
"I know you will not, Your Grace. You would not. I only decided to come to you after observing how you treated the prisoners."
It could only be said that the man who would one day scheme against the Young Wolf had quite a few tricks hidden up his sleeve.
"Very well. We will follow your plan. And the promise I made to Domeric remains in effect."
Viserys's promise to House Bolton was to divide the North in two.
The lands that had originally been carved away from House Bolton and the castle of Karhold, which had been granted to House Stark to keep watch over them, would instead be awarded to House Bolton.
From then on, the North would be divided between east and west.
Hearing this, Roose could barely contain his delight.
He dropped to one knee and said excitedly, "The Dreadfort will remain forever loyal to House Targaryen!"
"Good."
Viserys smiled as well. He stepped forward and personally helped him to his feet.
"I seem to remember that Lord Bolton, you also have a bastard son. Perhaps he could inherit the additional lands."
Rooses bastard was the future Bastard of the Dreadfort, Ramsay Snow.
Hearing Viserys say this, Roose's heart jolted.
He did indeed have a bastard son, but almost no one knew about him. Even Eddard was unaware of his existence.
The boy had been conceived while Roose was drunk, and he had barely seen him more than a handful of times.
Without showing the slightest emotion, Viserys had just demonstrated the strength of his intelligence network.
At the same time, it was a warning to Roose Bolton: work diligently and do not entertain thoughts that you should not have.
Carrot and stick had always been the standard method of bringing a new dog to heel.
Viserys also rather hoped that Ramsay would eventually possess Karhold.
That would create another source of division within House Bolton itself, allowing the family to remain the royal eyes watching the North for a very long time.
House Stark had ruled the North for eight thousand years.
Viserys had no choice but to make more preparations.
___________
Upto 20 chapters ahead on patreon :-
patreon.com/BloodAncestor