As Fili's hands roamed over him, Roman finally noticed his own abnormality.
Two small horns protruded from his hair.
Though they were small, they had indeed grown out.
To be honest, Roman was a bit speechless; in the original story, as long as a dragon was alive and well-fed, it would grow.
But he seemingly had to experience special events to grow. At first, it was being ignited by Balerion's dragonflame when contacting Heren's ghost, which led to learning the White Flame.
Now, in a place of large-scale magical convergence like The Wall, he had grown dragon horns, which also came with lightning abilities.
Roman extended his five fingers, and white electrical currents danced in his hand, causing Fili to retreat repeatedly.
"Lord Roman, is this your magic?"
"Yes, but I'm not proficient yet. I'll study the specifics later."
After speaking, Roman retracted the lightning and handed the written letter along with the oral message to the raven on night duty.
The raven ate a few grains of millet, then hopped onto the windowsill, asking before leaving:
"Lady Fili, are you staying by Roman's side because you want to spend the night here?"
These words turned Fili's face bright red. The raven didn't wait for her to speak and quickly slipped away.
"So you're determined to sleep with me?" Roman joked.
Fili blushed, but she gathered her courage and looked at Roman, saying: "Lady Helaena said that after my menarche, I am a mature woman and can attend to your bed!"
Roman frowned upon hearing this. Lady Helaena sent Fili? Was she no longer considering a marriage alliance?
As Harrenhal's strength continued to grow, Roman believed his value would increase. When the red comet arrived, the Hean Family would be even more powerful than House Tully.
Roman did like Fili and would certainly make her his wife in the future, but not now.
Harrenhal's current strength was in a transitional phase; it had power, but not enough to ignore the nobility of Westeros.
Thus, Roman needed to use all resources to arm Harrenhal, including his unmarried status.
Roman then looked at Fili.
The girl was already graceful and elegant, with a fiery figure but a pure personality.
But! She was underage!
Precocious development was common in Westeros, or rather, it was a necessity in a place with low food production and backward medical standards.
There weren't enough resources here to support a person's development into their 20s; without having children early, the family was very likely to go extinct.
However, living in Harrenhal, Fili certainly didn't have to worry about that.
Roman held Fili and pinched her lip with one hand:
"Sleeping is fine, but nothing else. You're too young; those things are harmful to your body."
"My menarche has already come. I'm not young!"
"I say you're young, so you're young! I won't hurt you. Do you not even trust me?"
Seeing Roman's firm attitude, Fili could only let her face fall. She wondered if it was her lack of charm that made Roman not want to touch her.
Roman didn't bother saying more and simply went to sleep holding Fili.
The next day.
As soon as Roman woke up, he saw Fili with a silly grin, likely having a sweet dream.
The girl leaned tightly against Roman's chest, her hand still clutching his tail.
Feeling Roman move, Fili opened her eyes dizzily.
"Mm, Lord Roman, good morning. Thank you for last night."
"You little rascal, you were so downcast yesterday, yet you've recovered today."
Fili quickly explained: "I just felt I lacked charm; I didn't blame Lord Roman!"
Roman rubbed the girl's blonde hair vigorously, telling her not to worry about it.
After the group rested at Black Castle for a while, they immediately headed south. Staying longer would consume the food reserves, and then it wouldn't be aid anymore.
Before leaving, Roman bid farewell to the Old Bear.
"Lord Commander Jeor, the Hean Family will always be a friend to the Nights Watch. If there's any trouble at The Wall in the future, you can write to inform us."
"Thank you for the Hean Family's aid. Please give my regards to Lady Helaena."
When Harrenhal's army headed south without supplies to transport, their speed was much faster than before.
However, there was an interlude. Roman wanted to go to Winterfell to restock supplies, but on the wilderness, he encountered Roose Bolton returning from Winterfell.
The Old Flayer's smooth face appeared incredibly pale now. It seemed Eddard's punishment was severe enough; though it wouldn't cause serious harm, it likely wasn't pleasant.
Roose Bolton also noticed Roman. He looked at him with a gloomy expression and said in an icy tone:
"The North never forgets, Roman Rivers. You should use more appropriate means instead of insulting a noble so directly. Your relatives will suffer for this."
Roman was somewhat surprised. The Old Flayer's personality should be to pretend not to care, then scheme behind the scenes and attack at the right moment.
This guy was calculating and very shrewd, yet now he was threatening Roman so bluntly. Had Eddard's punishment been so severe that it made the Old Flayer this angry?
"So, Lord Bolton wants to oppose me for the sake of a wicked and cruel bastard? He has violated many laws."
Hearing Roman's reply, Roose Bolton's tone remained calm:
"They are but servants, while Rams is my son."
Quite a son! Roman sneered in his heart. If the Old Flayer were good enough to his bastard, he wouldn't have given Rams a 'Reek'."
But Roman decided to play the part fully: "Lord Bolton, I am upholding the laws of the iron throne. Lord Eddard, as Warden of the North, has always strictly followed the law. Do you intend to ignore even the laws of the kingdom?"
Roose Bolton didn't answer but instead reminded Roman: "The Hean Family has been too high-profile lately. Lady Helaena should teach her child how to behave, or the old lady will eventually meet a bad end."
Originally, Roman only intended to play along and let the matter pass, as he didn't want to make things difficult for Eddard. But now that this old thing was being ungrateful, it was necessary to move the plan forward.
Roman's face darkened. Fili understood and leaned in to whisper in Roman's ear:
"The ravens have checked; there's no one around."
That was enough.
Roman blew a short whistle. The surrounding Ironmen heavy cavalry immediately surrounded Roose Bolton's group, their lances pointed directly at the Lord of the Dreadfort.
Harrenhal's heavy cavalry was as cold as silver towers, their lances like a forest. Under this pressure, Roose Bolton's normally calm face finally turned grim.
"Roman Rivers, do you wish to make an enemy of the North?"
"What the North is, is for Lord Eddard to decide. Those who trample on the law are not fit to represent the North."
Roman pointed his right finger at the ground: "Now, dismount and apologize to Lady Helaena, or I will kill you."
Roose Bolton didn't move, still watching coldly.
Roman didn't waste words. With a wave of his right hand, White Flame erupted, blasted in the faces of Bolton's men and horses.
The Dreadfort's warhorses were instantly startled, jumping up and down and throwing Roose off his horse, drawing laughter from the onlookers.
Roose cursed Roman as a madman in his heart, looking at the giant hammer in the other's hand, the White Flame on his body, and that unmistakable killing intent.
The Old Flayer understood that this boy Roman was serious. In the end, he could only apologize to Lady Helaena with an extremely sour expression.
Roman also fulfilled his promise and let the Dreadfort's people leave.
Along the way, various captains asked Roman why he let Roose go, as anyone with a bit of knowledge knew of that man's cruelty and vengefulness.
Roman just smiled and said Eddard would handle it. Finally, the others stopped asking; at most, they would just fight a war with the Dreadfort in the future.
The others didn't know, but Fili knew Roman's thoughts.
She whispered in Roman's ear: "The raven sent word. The Dreadfort's party has reached the wilderness. Aside from weeds, there's no trace of life around."
Roman smiled and pinched Fili's small face: "Thank you, Fili."
Subsequently, Roman snapped his fingers.
In the distance, the White Flame sparks on the clothes of the Old Flayer's party instantly erupted, and fierce dragonflame violently engulfed Roose Bolton's body.
They couldn't even let out a scream before they were burned into broken skeletons.
Then lightning emerged from the White Flame, blowing the skeletons into a sky full of stars.