These reassurances wouldn't ease Lady Catelyn's worries unless she saw her husband drive Jon out of Winterfell, never to return, or perhaps if Jon died outside one day...
Even though the thought of letting Jon die made Catelyn feel guilty, she was truly tired of the pain she felt every time she saw him.
Because of Lady Catelyn's behavior, the servants in Winterfell, who are always watchful of their lady, treated Jon even worse.
Eddard Stark, despite being Jon's father, couldn't do much about it. He would often sigh, feeling powerless.
There was little he could do to protect Jon.
At the same time, he began to think about Jon's future.
How should he arrange things for Jon?
Sitting behind his large desk, Eddard got lost in thought for a moment.
Occasionally, his gaze would fall on the gel pen on his desk, a better alternative to the quill pen Bernard had bought from Jason Liu, who came from the distant East.
Eddard liked the gel pen, as it didn't need constant dipping in ink, making his work faster and more efficient.
Not only the pen, but the smooth white paper was also easy to use.
And the soap—cleaning not just the body but leaving a light fragrance—was well-liked, too.
He heard that even the servants in the castle had started using the soap.
As for laundry, Bernard said it worked wonders.
At that moment, Eddard remembered that Robb had told him earlier that Jon seemed to have become close friends with the young lord. At the lord's request, Jon had started helping train the guards in swordsmanship.
At the time, Eddard had simply laughed. After all, Jon was still young, and his sword skills, while good, couldn't be advanced enough to teach others.
But today, as Eddard thought about it more, he realized that Lord Jason and Jon had a very close relationship. According to Robb, the nobleman seemed to value Jon highly.
Could this be the solution for Jon's future?
Leaning back in his chair with his hands clasped, Eddard mulled over the possibility.
Meanwhile, in her chambers, Lady Catelyn, fresh from a bath using the new soap, let her long auburn hair fall over her shoulders. At 34, her face was still smooth and beautiful.
Speaking of which, the casting in the Game of Thrones series didn't do justice to some of the characters. Many actors appeared older and less attractive than their book descriptions.
For instance, Catelyn Stark was meant to be a beautiful woman, yet the actress chosen was older and less fitting for the role.
Similarly, 'Little Rose' Margaery Tyrell was supposed to be young and beautiful, but the casting didn't match her portrayal. Even Daenerys, the dragon queen with silver hair and violet eyes, was meant to be the most beautiful woman in the book, but the actress cast didn't capture that beauty.
However, Jon, Robb, Sansa, Arya, and the others Jason Liu met were all younger and better looking than the show's actors.
Bran, at least, was cast well. He was handsome and adorable as a child, just like in the books.
Lady Catelyn was also thinking about Jon. Even though Eddard had assured her that Jon would never inherit any property, she wasn't entirely convinced.
Robb had told her that the foreign nobleman valued Jon highly. Despite Jon's young age, he was entrusted with training the guards, which only showed how important Jon was becoming.
Hearing that made Catelyn uneasy, but after considering it, she realized it could be a solution—Jason Liu could take Jon as his subordinate, and then Jon could be sent away from Winterfell!
The more Catelyn thought about it, the more she liked the idea. Maybe Eddard would agree.
Meanwhile, Jason Liu had no idea that his support for Jon had caught the attention of Eddard and Catelyn.
At the moment, he was busy discussing a new plan with his employees—to buy natural gold nuggets at the same price as pure gold. He wanted the merchants of Westeros to bring the nuggets to sell to him.
Lena, Martha, Susan, the Barlow brothers, and McCann were all confused when they heard about Jason's strange plan.
Though they weren't well-educated, they knew the difference between natural gold and pure gold.
Natural gold nuggets contain impurities—other metals and stones—making their actual gold content much less than pure gold of the same weight.
Yet, Jason was willing to pay the same price for them!
This business decision seemed so foolish that if they didn't respect Jason so much, they might have secretly thought him an idiot.
Jason had done other puzzling things as well—like hiring more workers to build houses, giving them three meals a day, and paying unusually high wages.
While everyone publicly praised his kindness, some privately laughed at how generous and naive he was.
"Lord, did I understand correctly?" Budd, the smartest of the Barlow brothers, asked with wide eyes. "You plan to pay the price of pure gold for natural gold that's full of impurities?"
Seeing the shocked expressions of his employees, Jason scratched his head. What they didn't realize was that he had a bigger plan.
"You don't see it now, but this will make us a profit," Jason explained, smiling. "Back home, natural gold nuggets are highly valued and fetch a great price."
"I'll sell these gold nuggets there, and not only will I not lose money, but I'll make a fortune!"
He then instructed his employees to spread the word in Winterfell's market that he was buying natural gold nuggets.
Jason turned to his employees with a thoughtful look. "Do you think merchants will bring gold nuggets to sell to me? And how many are even available in Westeros?"
"Of course they will, my lord!"
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