WILOW-Ch.455: Veritaserum
Red Keep, King’s Landing
POV of Doric Pendragon
After giving his verdict on Catelyn, King Eddard turned to King Aegon and said, "I hope this decision is also acceptable to you, King Aegon."
King Aegon nodded and said, "Kingdom of Ashborn approves your decision and will do his part to ensure this punishnt is carried out, King Eddard."
In all of Westeros, Catelyn was probably one of the people Aegon disliked most. Therefore, he didn’t seem particularly sorry for her.
The only one in the crowd who seed truly saddened and shocked was probably Robb.
"High Septon, please annul this marriage in front of everyone," King Eddard said.
Then the High Septon ca and announced to everyone that Catelyn’s marriage to King Eddard had been annulled due to the cris she had committed.
Normally, a Northerner’s marriage could not be annulled by the High Septon. Because Northerners would not marry according to the Faith of Seven, and a septon did not register their marriages.
But Eddard Stark and Catelyn Tully had married in Riverrun in front of a septon according to the Faith of Seven. Therefore, their marriage had to be annulled and erased from the records by the High Septon.
Normally, sending a woman to the Silent Sisters automatically annulled her marriage as well.
But while she was pregnant, Catelyn Tully was to remain in the Tully House until she gave birth to the child in her belly, and apparently King Eddard did not wish to remain married to her during that ti.
After the marriage was annulled, King Eddard said, "n, deliver Catelyn Tully to the mbers of the House Tully. From now on, she has no further connection with the Royal House of Stark."
Then the n escorted Catelyn to the Tullys. Catelyn kept her head bowed the entire way.
The Tullys’ faces didn’t look happy. After all, a husband sending his wife back to her father’s house for adultery was a disgrace to that house.
But there was nothing they could do. After Catelyn Tully had said those words in front of everyone, there was nothing left for them to say.
Perhaps later, they could try speaking privately with King Eddard or Doric, at least to try to prevent Catelyn from being sent to the Silent Sisters.
But now he knew that anything they said would be rejected.
Edmure Tully and Blackfish quickly had Catelyn removed from the Great Hall and sent to one of the Tullys’ rooms in the Red Keep.
Staying there any longer would bring more sha to both herself and the Tully house.
"As for Petyr Baelish’s judgnt..." said King Eddard after Catelyn Tully left the Great Hall, "I need to examine the evidence before I can make a verdict on him. Vincent Page, give the docunts you ntioned."
Vincent Page was about to present the docunts his n had brought him to King Eddard when Doric interrupted, speaking.
"There is a way we can quickly end this trial without needing these docunts, King Eddard. I think we’ve wasted enough ti."
"Oh. What thod do you have in mind, Your Majesty?" King Eddard asked, and King Aegon looked at him curiously.
Doric reached into his robe pocket, pulled out a finely crafted glass vial, and showed it to the two kings.
"This elixir is called Veritaserum. It’s also known as the truth serum. It’s sothing I created under the guidance of the Old Gods. It’s quite difficult to make, which is why it’s so valuable. If Petyr Baelish had quietly confessed his cris, I wouldn’t have had to use it. But I don’t want this to drag on any longer. Normally, today should be a coronation and a celebration day," Doric said.
"So, you can make the person speak the truth with this, Your Majesty?" King Aegon asked.
"Yes. Anyone who drinks three drops of this will reveal even their deepest secrets, secrets they wouldn’t want anyone to know," Doric said.
After saying this, he could see the people in the Great Hall looking at him with admiration and a little fear.
Doric especially wanted people to know about this potion. If he didn’t use it on Petyr today, he planned to use it on soone else another ti.
As long as people knew he possessed such a potion, they would think twice, or even thrice, before lying to him or plotting behind his back. And that was exactly what Doric wanted.
He didn’t want to spend the early years of his Empire dealing with intrigues behind his back.
Of course, he couldn’t completely prevent them.
But he thought that after today’s demonstration, he would prevent a large part of them, and the remaining ones, serving as a lesson to everyone, would bring peace to the Realm for a while.
Then Doric handed the vial to Varko, telling him to give Petyr Baelish three drops.
As Varko approached, Petyr Baelish struggled, but the n beside him held him tightly.
Varko ordered his n to lift Petyr’s head and open his mouth. He then dripped three drops of the potion, closing his mouth and pinching his nose. Only after Petyr swallowed a few tis did he release the man.
Once free, Petyr Baelish coughed a few tis, but then the light in his eyes faded, and he stared at them motionless, like a dead fish.
"Your Majesty, is this normal?" King Eddard asked.
"Completely normal," said Doric, then, turning to Vincent, he added, "Vincent, take over from here. I want Petyr Baelish to tell us everything about the accusations against him in his own words, and I want everyone here to hear it."
"As you command, Your Majesty," Vincent said, and then, approaching Petyr Baelish, began to question him one by one about the accusations.
And Petyr Baelish, under the influence of Veritaserum, began to recount all his deeds, one by one.
Petyr’s account had an even greater impact on those in the Great Hall than Vincent’s. This was primarily because these confessions ca directly from Petyr Baelish’s own mouth.
Secondly, Petyr Baelish narrated the events from his own perspective, allowing people better to understand his hateful, treacherous, and shaless character.
For a while, only Petyr Baelish’s voice could be heard in the Great Hall, and all his cris poured out one by one.
But towards the end of his accusations, sothing Petyr said caused King Eddard and King Aegon to rise and roar at him.
What they heard was that Petyr, having overco his obsession with Catelyn, had now set his sights on Sansa Stark.
Although Doric managed to calm them and seat them on their thrones, both of them glared at Petyr with fiery eyes for the rest of his speech.
When Petyr had nothing left to say, Doric told Varko to give Petyr the antidote to remove him from the effects of Veritaserum.
Petyr turned deathly pale after recovering from the potion’s effects, now fully aware of what he had just said.
Because Doric had erased his mory after their initial interrogation, he knew nothing about Veritaserum or its effects. But now Petyr rembered exactly what he had said.
Then King Eddard began to speak. "Everyone has heard your confessions regarding the accusations, Petyr Baelish. If you have nothing more to say in your defence, I will give you your verdict."
"I didn’t say those things. It’s all because of what they gave to drink..." Petyr tried to defend himself, but no one in the Great Hall believed him. The things he had just said certainly contained information known only to himself or a very few others.
If the potion hadn’t been making him tell the truth, Petyr wouldn’t have said those things.
"It seems you have nothing more to say, then..." King Eddard began, but Petyr’s shout interrupted him.
"I DEMAND A TRIAL BY COMBAT!"
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Ch.456: Do You Have a Champion?
Ch.457: Calot – Ho Sweet Ho
Ch.458: Side Effects of Soul Bond
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