Winterfell, the Great Hall.
Robb sat absentmindedly beside Ned, staring blankly at the pan-fried fish on his plate without the slightest appetite.
After separating from Garon earlier, he had questioned every person involved in discovering Bran one by one.
But all of their statents were nearly identical.
They all claid they had rely heard Hodor shouting and rushed over to help, noticing nothing suspicious at all.
As for Hodor himself, the first person to discover Bran after the fall, his mind was far too simple.
The giant stableboy could only repeatedly say, "Hodor, Hodor."
No matter how Robb questioned him, there was simply no aningful communication possible.
Robb tried every thod he could think of, even asking Hodor to use gestures while having his great-grandmother attempt to interpret for him.
Yet in the end, he still failed to uncover anything useful.
Helpless, Robb finally returned to the Great Hall, intending to see whether Garon and Jon had discovered anything during their own investigation.
But upon entering the hall, he found neither of them had returned yet.
Robb scanned the crowded Great Hall.
Ned was dining together with King Robert and Queen Cersei at the high table.
At another long table nearby, Theon Greyjoy and Tyrion Lannister sat eating dinner.
Jai Lannister, clad in gleaming golden armor with a longsword hanging at his waist, stood silently behind Cersei like a watchful lion, his sharp eyes fixed upon Robb the mont he entered.
Robb had just stepped through the doors when Ned beckoned him over to join the king.
Having no choice, Robb sat down beside him.
Robert noticed his gloomy expression and complete lack of appetite imdiately.
Naturally understanding that Robb was still worried about Bran, Robert set down his knife and fork and asked directly, "Robb, how goes the investigation?"
"Have you discovered who hard Bran?"
The mont those words sounded through the hall, Theon suddenly shivered violently at the nearby table, as if soone had stabbed ice into his spine.
The wine cup in his hand slipped free and smashed heavily against the stone floor.
Bang!
The sharp sound instantly drew everyone's attention.
Cersei's heart jumped violently the mont she heard it.
Her eyes imdiately turned cold as she glared toward Theon in displeasure.
Theon grew even more nervous beneath her gaze and hurriedly stamred, "S... sorry…"
Before finishing his apology, he quickly bent down to pick up the shattered cup with his bandaged right hand.
Across from him, Tyrion quietly observed the entire scene with narrowed eyes.
Jai frowned slightly as well, silently cursing Theon for his stupidity before calmly stepping in to redirect attention.
"A culprit?" Jai said casually. "Didn't Bran simply fall from the tower himself?"
Robb looked toward the Kingslayer and explained seriously, "Bran is extrely skilled at climbing walls. He's climbed the Broken Tower many tis before without incident."
"But this ti sothing happened."
"So I believe soone may have hard him."
Hearing that explanation, the tension inside Cersei finally eased slightly.
"That child is only ten years old," she replied calmly. "Even adults make mistakes while climbing."
"Children even more so."
"Rather than chasing so imaginary culprit, perhaps you should focus on praying the boy survives."
"Poor child still hasn't awakened."
Robert imdiately turned toward her impatiently.
"If you've got nothing useful to say, then shut up."
Seeing Cersei fall silent, Robert looked back toward Robb.
"Where are the Great Bear Slayer and your bastard brother?"
"Why aren't they here?"
Ever since Garon slew the giant bear during the hunt earlier that day, the title "Bear Slayer" had spread rapidly throughout Winterfell.
Jai and Tyrion had naturally already heard from their own n how Garon single-handedly hunted the monstrous bear and rescued Prince Joffrey in the Wolfswood.
The story had shocked both of them greatly.
Robb answered honestly, "After leaving Bran's room, we split into two groups."
"Garon and Jon went to investigate the Broken Tower directly."
"I questioned everyone connected to Bran's fall to search for suspicious clues."
"But the first person who found Bran was Hodor, and… he isn't capable of explaining what he saw."
"So I found nothing."
Jai and Cersei exchanged a subtle glance.
Both of them relaxed inwardly.
Ned, anwhile, shook his head heavily.
"That tower has already been trampled over countless tis since Bran's accident."
"Even if there had been clues, they would likely have been destroyed already."
"They're probably wasting their efforts…"
"That may not necessarily be true!"
At that exact mont, Garon and Jon suddenly entered the Great Hall from outside.
"Lord Ned!" Garon called out loudly. "Jon and I discovered sothing inside the Broken Tower!"
Instantly, the entire Great Hall stirred.
Ned and Robert both rose to their feet almost simultaneously.
"What did you find?"
Garon stepped forward calmly and motioned for Jon to bring over the wooden box they carried.
Jon placed it carefully upon the long table.
Everyone nearby instinctively gathered closer.
"Jon and I first inspected the area below the Broken Tower," Garon explained steadily.
"But the ground there had already been trampled beyond recognition."
"Fortunately, however, we discovered sothing else upon the tower steps."
"Your Majesty. Lord Ned. Please look carefully."
As every gaze focused upon the wooden box, Garon slowly lifted the lid.
Inside rested several clumps of moss stained with dried blood alongside milky-white solids that emitted a faint unpleasant odor.
"This is…"
Ned frowned deeply, still uncertain what it all ant.
Garon pointed toward the bloodstained moss and continued calmly, "Jon and I discovered clear footprints upon the moss-covered stone steps inside the Broken Tower."
"After examining more closely, we found bloodstains scattered repeatedly along the staircase from the bottom of the tower all the way to the top."
"And inside the room at the top of the tower, we discovered even more blood."
Garon slowly swept his gaze across everyone in the hall before speaking aningfully.
"So I can now confirm with certainty…"
"Bran's fall was absolutely not an accident."
"Soone intentionally caused it."
The mont those words echoed through the Great Hall, Cersei's composure instantly shattered.
Her eyes widened with panic as she looked toward Jai.
Even Jai himself beca tense for a brief instant.
Fortunately, his expression recovered almost imdiately.
eting Cersei's gaze, Jai subtly shook his head, silently signaling her to remain calm.
At the sa ti, his eyes shifted briefly toward the pale and trembling Theon nearby.
Inwardly, Jai cursed him again as a useless fool.
A trace of killing intent flashed through Jai's eyes as his hand slowly drifted toward the hilt of the sword at his waist.
If necessary, he looked prepared to silence Theon at any mont.
But Jai's subtle movent did not escape Tyrion's notice.
The Imp instantly realized that Jai and Cersei must sohow be connected to Bran's accident.
"My dear brother…"
"You've truly handed a troubleso ss this ti."
Tyrion's expression gradually beca serious.
He casually picked up a goblet from the table and drained a large mouthful of wine while rapidly considering how best to respond.
Suddenly, Tyrion's eyes shifted toward the strange white substance inside the wooden box.
He stepped forward and pointed at it curiously.
"Garon, what exactly is this?"
Garon glanced at Tyrion before calmly shaking his head.
"I'm not entirely certain."
"These substances were discovered alongside the bloodstains."
"However, they were distributed differently."
"I intend to have Maester Luwin examine them."
"Lord Ned, what do you think?"
Ned nodded imdiately and turned toward Theon.
"Theon, go fetch Maester Luwin."
But Theon remained frozen in place.
His eyes stared fixedly at the bloodstained moss within the wooden box, terror filling his heart completely.
"Theon?"
Ned called again in confusion.
Garon's gaze also shifted toward Theon.
The mont he noticed the bandages wrapped around Theon's right wrist, sothing clicked inside his mind instantly.
"So the bloodstains belonged to you…"
anwhile, Robert ignored Ned's questioning entirely.
Instead, the king leaned over the wooden box curiously, sniffing at the strange odor coming from within.
A familiar scent drifted into his nose.
"Hm?"
"That sll seems strangely familiar…"
"It's like…"
Suddenly, Robert slapped his thigh loudly as realization struck him.
"Isn't this the stuff left behind after bedding a woman?"
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