Sansa's arrival successfully disrupted the atmosphere Galon had created.
What's worse, there was definitely some flirtatious atmosphere at the scene.
At this moment, Asha's hair was disheveled, with a few strands of black hair sticking to her sweaty forehead. Her once arrogant eyes still held lingering excitement and a strange look of being conquered.
She squeezed her legs together and pressed them against the cold wall.
The distance between them and Galon was also far beyond the proper boundaries between prisoners and guards.
No matter how Sansa looked at it, she felt that something indescribable must have just happened between the two of them.
Fortunately, Galon regained his composure in time.
He stepped to the side, cleverly blocking Sansa's gaze from scrutinizing Asha, and said nonchalantly.
Sansa, what brings you here?
Seeing Galon retreat, Asha, for some reason, had a look of loss on her face.
Sansa noticed this and felt a pang of jealousy, so she snorted coldly.
"Hmph, the whole of Winterfell is my home, why can't I come?"
"Or perhaps I've come at the wrong time?"
"No, no," Galon said, pretending not to understand Sansa's meaning, and shamelessly added, "You've come at just the right time!"
He paused, then explained, "Just now, Miss Asha agreed to cooperate with us."
Sansa's blue eyes, like two frozen lakes, slowly moved back to Galon's face.
"Cooperation?" Her voice was soft, yet chilling. "It seems Lord Galon's persuasive methods are quite... effective."
She deliberately emphasized the word "persuade," her gaze sweeping over Asha's slightly flushed face, the meaning of which was self-evident.
Galon offered no explanation, and besides, now was not the time to explain.
"Sansa, where is Maester Luwin?"
"The situation is urgent. Euron's target is the dragon; we must act quickly."
"This is not the place to talk!"
Sansa bit her lip, glanced at Galon, and her eyes revealed a hint of dissatisfaction, as well as an instinctive displeasure as if her territory had been invaded.
"Follow me!"
She coldly uttered a sentence, turned around, her skirt tracing a chilling arc, and led the way into the main hall of Winterfell.
Galon gestured for Asha to follow, and Asha's lips curled into an enigmatic smile, seemingly feeling a strange sense of pleasure at the subtle conflict that had just occurred.
She stepped lightly out of the cell where she had been imprisoned for many days.
Galon followed closely behind.
A moment later.
Inside the hall, the fire roared, yet it couldn't dispel the invisible tension between the four people.
Maester Luwin was arranging accommodations for the Skaggs in the winter town when he heard the news from the Galon messenger and hurriedly returned to the Winterfell hall.
As soon as he entered, he saw Sansa clinging tightly to Galon, staring displeasedly at Asha across the long table. A map was spread out on the long table between the three of them.
"Asha Greyjoy... Lord Galon, why did you let her out?"
Maester Luwin instantly sensed the unusual atmosphere in the hall. A knowing glint flashed in his wise eyes, before he calmly looked at Galon.
Galon nodded slightly, ignoring Sansa's bad mood, and explained, "Miss Asha has agreed to cooperate with us, on the condition that we help her reclaim the Seastone."
As soon as he finished speaking, Scholar Luwen was greatly surprised.
"Reclaim the Seastone's position?"
How do we seize it?
He strode to Sansa's right and said in a low voice, "Now that Euron has become king, it means the Iron Islands are under his control."
"The war in the south has not yet ended. We are barely able to defend the city, so how can we help Miss Asha... reclaim the Seastone throne?"
Galon shook his head. "Sir, this isn't just for Miss Asha, it's for ourselves!"
Without wasting any time, he directly revealed Euron's true objective—to use the Northern Road to travel to Skaggs Island to control the dragons—along with his analysis results.
"Euron has only two paths to take if he wants to seize the dragon."
"Either cross the Northern Border."
"Or, sail around Westeros."
He pointed to the route on the map and explained it to Maester Ruwen.
"The reason the Iron Islands launched a full-scale attack was because they took the first route."
"Although Raveneye failed, his return to the Iron Islands and killing Baron means he can organize more people to invade the North at any time..."
Galon's logic is clear and his words are sharp, vividly depicting Euron's madness and the potential devastating threat facing the North.
"According to Miss Asha, the various captains in the Iron Islands have complex and intertwined power structures, and Raveneye, having seized power through patricide, will inevitably need time to reorganize his forces. This gives us the time to intervene!"
"Sir, waiting passively is suicidal. We must take the initiative and thwart Euron's plans before he can integrate the fleet!"
Galon concluded, glancing at Sansa and Maester Luwin.
Scholar Luwen frowned.
"Even if what you say is true, we can't spare many troops at the moment, while the Iron Islands have a large population. How do you expect us to launch a preemptive strike?"
"Do we have to cross the sea?"
"Leaving aside the question of whether we can win, Lord Galon, we don't have that many ships!"
Galon seemed to have anticipated Maester Luwin's question and smiled, "Maester, I previously seized some ships on the Rocky Coast. With a little repair, we'll have enough to cross the sea!"
Scholar Erwen was speechless for a moment, unsure of how to respond.
Just as he had organized his thoughts and was about to voice his questions, Asha suddenly stepped forward.
She seems to have fully embraced the role of collaborator.
Or rather, she was enjoying the feeling of demonstrating her value in front of Sansa.
"Miss Stark, Maester Luwin!"
Once she calmed down, Asha's voice was hoarse, but her tone was confident.
"Euron murdered his own father and defied the will of the gods. Not everyone in the Iron Islands submits to him!"
"My father and I have many loyal followers, such as my uncle Rodrik Harlow." She paused, trying to demonstrate her worth.
"As long as I appear and openly oppose Euron, the vast majority of the Iron Islands will follow me and oppose Euron's rule!"
Then, Asha pointed to the map and traced the sea route with her finger.
"I also know a few secret routes that can bypass Euron's perimeter and go straight to the heart of Pyke Island!"
"And these are the foundations upon which our cooperation can lead to victory." Most importantly, if you don't attack Euron, do you think he won't attack you?
When Euron the Raven was mentioned, her eyes flashed with hatred.
"For the sake of the dragons on Skags Island, Euron obtained a kind of magic from some witch that supposedly can control dragons. Asha maintained her composure and concealed the existence of the Dragon Horn without making a sound."
"He believed he could control the dragon and saw the North as an obstacle, a stepping stone, that had to be kicked away!"
A strange look flashed in Galon's eyes as he learned that Asha had kept the Dragon Horn a secret.
But he didn't immediately point it out; instead, he spoke to Sansa, who had remained silent.
"Sansa!"
His tone became extremely earnest, "If Euron launches a full-scale attack, even if we manage to withstand it, we will inevitably suffer heavy losses, which will only drag Robb down with us."
"But if we ally with the Iron Islands, we can not only defeat Euron, but also gain a fleet to threaten the Lannisters from the sea and relieve Robb of some of the pressure!"
Sansa remained silent, acknowledging that Galon's analysis made sense.
But the image of the dungeon entrance kept replaying in her mind, making her feel as if a block of ice was stuck in her heart.
However, when Galon mentioned Robb, the name acted like a key, gently unlocking the strongest defenses in Sansa's heart.
Sansa's concern for her brother and her sense of responsibility to her family ultimately outweighed her personal unhappiness.
Maester Kruven remained somewhat hesitant, "This plan is too risky..."
"Sir, trust me, I'm confident!"
Galon stared intently at the maester and said confidently, "Since the start of the war, my judgment has not been wrong. You must believe me!"
Maester Luwin glanced at Sansa, finally sighed, and nodded in agreement.
"In that case, we'll need to make a detailed plan later..."
At this moment, Sansa took a deep breath and turned her gaze to Asha. Her gaze was no longer simply cold, but carried a clear, condescending scrutiny and declaration.
"Miss Greyjoy, I hope you will remember the oath of cooperation we made today!"
"The North will help you reclaim everything that rightfully belongs to you, and we hope the Iron Islands will uphold the alliance in the future!"
Asha nodded solemnly in response.
"I swear in the name of the gods!"