"Mating fluids?"
Garon's eyes flickered slightly as he watched Cersei and Jai's expressions instantly change after Robert's words.
After being reminded by the king, Ned also stepped forward and bent down to sll the strange odor coming from the box. His expression imdiately darkened.
"That's right," Ned said coldly. "These are indeed bodily fluids left behind after intimacy."
Anger instantly surfaced in his eyes.
"Who was coupling inside the Broken Tower?"
"And why would they try to harm Bran?"
Ned looked sharply toward Garon.
"Garon, what else did you and Jon discover?"
Before Garon could answer, Jon suddenly blurted out angrily, "What more is there to investigate?"
"Bran must have climbed the tower and witnessed soone coupling!"
"To stop Bran from talking, they pushed him from the tower!"
Bang!
The mont Jon finished speaking, Robb slamd his fist heavily against the table.
Ned's expression turned icy once more.
"Theon," he ordered coldly, "go summon Ser Rodrik."
"I want to know where everyone in Winterfell was during the day and what they were doing."
Theon, who had only barely recovered his composure, instantly stiffened.
He absolutely did not dare to leave.
If Ser Rodrik truly began investigating carefully, there was no way he would survive.
Fortunately for him, Tyrion stepped forward at that mont and offered a different perspective.
"That explanation still leaves one problem unresolved."
Tyrion pointed casually toward the wooden box.
"How do you explain the bloodstains?"
"Your Majesty, Lord Ned, surely blood cannot appear simply from two people coupling?"
He clicked his tongue exaggeratedly and made an amused expression.
"How intense would that have to be?"
Robb was already furious to begin with, and Tyrion's expression only irritated him further.
"What exactly are you trying to say?" Robb asked coldly.
Tyrion glanced subtly toward Jai and Cersei before turning his gaze toward Garon.
"You ntioned earlier that there were many bloodstains at the top of the Broken Tower?"
Garon's eyes flashed faintly.
He instantly understood what Tyrion was trying to do and chose to cooperate.
"That's correct," Garon answered calmly. "Most of the blood droplets were concentrated near the window at the top of the tower."
"But there were no signs of a violent struggle."
Tyrion smiled imdiately.
"That's exactly the point!"
Facing the puzzled gazes of Robert and Ned, Tyrion explained leisurely, "This proves one thing."
"Bran knew the man and woman inside the tower."
"And he was extrely familiar with them."
A strange smile appeared briefly on Garon's lips as he smoothly continued the reasoning.
"Lord Tyrion ans that because Bran trusted the other party completely, he never lowered his guard."
"So when they suddenly attacked him, he instinctively fought back with his hands or mouth, leaving behind the bloodstains?"
Tyrion glanced at Garon in slight surprise, unable to understand why Garon was helping him push the matter in this direction.
Still, Tyrion imdiately nodded.
"That's exactly what I an."
"I suspect Bran overheard so secret conversation he was never ant to hear."
"And because of that, soone tried to silence him permanently."
Tyrion slowly swept his gaze across the hall.
"I believe Lord Ned only needs to check whose body bears scratches or bite marks today."
"The culprit will naturally reveal themselves."
After saying that, Tyrion intentionally glanced once more toward Jai and Cersei.
Unexpectedly, both siblings instinctively turned to look toward Theon at nearly the exact sa mont.
Garon noticed this clearly.
The smile at the corner of his mouth deepened.
Since things had already progressed this far, there was no reason to continue pretending.
He directly shifted the spear toward Theon.
"Speaking of which," Garon said thoughtfully, "I'm rather curious about sothing."
"Theon, what happened to your wrist?"
"Why is it bandaged?"
Instantly, every gaze in the hall focused upon Theon's right wrist.
Theon froze stiffly in place.
"At yesterday's banquet your hand was perfectly fine," Garon continued calmly. "So why are you suddenly injured today?"
"You wouldn't happen to tell His Majesty and Lord Ned that you accidentally cut your own wrist, would you?"
Cold sweat instantly covered Theon's forehead.
"I... I..."
Robb originally had very little suspicion toward Theon.
But seeing him stamr so badly imdiately made doubt appear in his heart.
"Theon…" Robb asked slowly, "did you really go to the Broken Tower today?"
"I didn't!" Theon shouted desperately. "Robb, I've lived with you for years!"
"Don't you trust ?"
"You're suspecting over nothing but wild guesses?"
Robb fell silent imdiately.
After all, the evidence so far truly could not directly prove Theon was responsible.
Theon quickly pressed his advantage.
"I considered Bran my brother too!"
"Why would I ever hurt him?"
"And didn't you all just say the culprit should have bite marks or scratches?"
"Then look carefully at my wound!"
With that, Theon suddenly tore the bandage from his wrist.
A bloody mangled wound imdiately appeared before everyone.
It truly did not resemble either a scratch or a bite.
The suspicions in Robb and Jon's eyes weakened slightly.
Theon also suddenly realized sothing at that mont.
Garon had been deliberately trying to force suspicion onto him from the beginning.
Hatred instantly surged through his heart.
"This Garon has only been in Winterfell a few days," Theon shouted angrily, "yet trouble keeps following him everywhere!"
"And now he's deliberately trying to fra !"
"If you ask , Bran's accident was caused by him instead!"
Naturally, Ned did not believe such nonsense at all.
Garon had been with the hunting party throughout the entire day.
Ned frowned deeply and shouted coldly, "Enough!"
If the argunt continued any longer, the entire court would beco a joke before the king and queen.
But Garon had no intention of stopping halfway.
He carefully examined the wound on Theon's wrist before speaking coldly once more.
"You've explained many things."
"But you still haven't explained how that injury happened."
Theon instantly went speechless.
Garon stepped forward slowly.
"That wound is indeed neither a bite nor a scratch."
"But it also doesn't resemble an ordinary cut from a sword or dagger."
"It looks far more like soone intentionally sliced apart the flesh afterward to conceal the original wound."
Robert and Ned were both veterans of countless battles.
At a glance, they could naturally tell the difference between fresh injuries and deliberately altered wounds.
The two n exchanged a glance instinctively.
Their suspicion toward Theon imdiately deepened.
Robert suddenly slamd the table furiously.
"Theon!"
"Where were you during the day?"
"Speak!"
"Did you harm Bran?"
"I didn't!" Theon defended himself frantically. "I truly didn't, Your Majesty!"
But Garon gave him no chance to recover.
"Then why treat the wound on your hand imdiately afterward?"
"I didn't treat a bite mark!"
Garon suddenly laughed coldly.
"Oh?"
"How do you know we're discussing a bite mark specifically and not scratches?"
"I don't…"
"You don't know?"
"Then why were you so certain just now that it wasn't a bite mark?"
"I… I…"
Garon's voice suddenly rose sharply.
"As I see it, you attacked Bran with a dagger first, then pushed him from the tower afterward to disguise it as an accident!"
Then Garon stepped closer and shouted fiercely.
"Look into my eyes and answer !"
The rapid questioning completely shattered Theon's already fragile composure.
His thoughts beca chaotic instantly.
Under Garon's pressure, Theon subconsciously looked directly at him and blurted out instinctively,
"Nonsense! I only pushed him down, I didn't stab him with a knife!"
Instantly, the entire Great Hall fell silent.
Everyone stared at Theon with completely different expressions.
Garon smiled faintly.
"Your Majesty. Lord Ned."
"He has already confessed."
Pain imdiately surfaced across Ned's face.
For nine years he had treated Theon like a son.
Never had he imagined that one day Theon would betray him and harm Bran.
At that exact mont, the words Garon spoke on the day he first arrived at Winterfell suddenly resurfaced in Ned's mind.
Ironborn are Ironborn. Their nature is difficult to change.
Robert understood Ned's character very well.
Knowing Ned would struggle to act decisively against soone he had raised himself, Robert simply made the decision for him.
"Jai," Robert ordered coldly, "seize Theon and interrogate him thoroughly."
"I want to know who gave him the courage to murder the son of the Warden of the North!"
The killing intent in Jai's eyes could no longer be concealed.
He knew perfectly well that if Theon survived long enough for proper interrogation, everything about himself and Cersei would eventually be exposed.
Jai strode forward instantly and drew the longsword from his waist.
"Theon Greyjoy," Jai declared coldly, "you murdered the son of the Warden of the North, violated the laws of the realm, and defied the will of the gods."
"Your cri is unforgivable."
Theon saw the terrifying killing intent within Jai's eyes and imdiately stumbled backward in terror.
"Jai… Ser Jai…"
"You… you can't do this…"
"You promised…"
Jai suddenly swung his sword, deliberately cutting off Theon's words.
Seeing Theon dodge instinctively, Jai feigned anger and shouted,
"You dare resist the king's command?"
"Theon, in the na of the Kingsguard, I order you to surrender imdiately!"
But after seeing the murderous intent in Jai's eyes, how could Theon possibly stop moving?
As he desperately retreated, Theon shouted frantically,
"Jai, you clearly"
Before the sentence could finish, a sharp flash suddenly appeared in Jai's eyes.
He stepped forward with terrifying speed and slit Theon's throat cleanly with a single strike.
Pfft!
Blood sprayed through the air instantly.
Gasp
Theon clutched desperately at his throat as blood bubbled continuously from his mouth.
"You promised …"
He glared venomously at Jai one final ti before collapsing heavily onto the floor, dying with unwillingness still frozen in his eyes.
User Comments
0 comments from readers