"Ed, I've always seen you as a true brother!"

In the cold and deep crypt of Winterfell, King Robert spoke.

A gruff voice echoed through the silent passages.

"Your Majesty......"

"What bullshit Your Majesty, call me Robert!" Duke Ed had just started when he was interrupted by the king.

"Robert." A warmth rose in Duke Ed's heart, and the strangeness and estrangement that he hadn't seen for more than ten years seemed to disappear at this moment.

The man in front of him is still the lawless Robert Baratheon.

Duke Ed is no longer inhibited: "Back then, we drank together, fought together, and accepted together...... Jon's teachings. ”

Speaking of Jon Arryn's name, his tone was filled with sadness: "I have never forgotten our friendship, so whatever you ask, I will say yes." ”

"Alright, then come with me to King's Landing, be my King's Hand, and help me run this damned country!"

Duke Ed only hesitated slightly, then nodded:

"Okay."

"Hahaha......" Robert laughed, his loud voice echoing through the darkness, "Great! Trust me, you won't regret it! Compared to the bitterly cold north, the south is much warmer! Especially now that it is summer, the fields are full of flowers and green grass, the fruit is sweet enough to burst in your mouth, and the wine, oh yes, there is a new wine called brandy that has been circulating in the river bend recently! That taste is really exciting! You must try it! ”

Duke Ed smiled slightly, and did not answer.

He was not a pleasure-minded man, but the king next to him was the opposite.

And Duke Ed couldn't help but notice the price Robert had paid for his sensuality.

When they came to the depths of the tomb, the Crown Stag, which had once dominated the battlefield and was invincible, was already panting and sweating.

"Robert, right here." Duke Ed stands in front of three sarcophagi lined side by side.

The closed sarcophagus carved the faces of the deceased before their deaths, a huge statue of a roaring icewolf curled up at their feet, and on top of the stone statue, a steel sword was placed.

It is said that this is to ensure that the spirits are sealed in the mausoleum and do not wreak havoc in the outside world.

The sarcophagus in the middle is carved with the face of Duke Eddard's father, the last Duke of the North, Rickard Stark.

To his right, resting his eldest son, Brandon Stark, rests peacefully.

Both father and son died at the hands of the Mad King Aerys Targaryen before the Reeler War.

And Robert's eyes were staring at the statue on the third sarcophagus.

"She's so much prettier than this statue." After a suppressed silence, the king spoke.

His gaze was full of nostalgia and pain, as if he could bring his former fiancée back to life.

Robert rebelled in anger for Miss Lyanna Stark, and although he had now removed the Targaryen royal family from the Iron Throne and avenged his wife, he would rather trade the cold and twisted throne for her awakening if he could.

"She shouldn't sleep here." Robert shouted, "Don't be in the company of cold and gloom! She should be buried in a scenic hill, with the sun and white clouds as company! ”

"She's Stark, and she belongs here." Duke Ed retorted calmly.

"She was meant to marry me! She also belongs to Baratheon! ”

"I was there for her before she died." "She told me she just wanted to go home, back to Winterfell. ”

Robert stopped talking.

Duke Ed also fell into the memory.

He will never forget the scene before his sister's death.

In that bloody room, she pleaded and pleaded until Ed nodded, and she smiled and closed her eyes.

In keeping with his promise to his sister, Duke Ed brought her and Rhaegar Targaryen's child back to the North, claiming that it was his own illegitimate child.

Take the name, Jon Snow.

It was the child of his enemy, but it was also the child of his sister.

Thinking of the name of this bastard son, Duke Ed became more and more sad: "Jon, he ...... How the hell did he die? ”

"I don't know." Robert suddenly became irritable, "Ed, I really don't know. Damn it! I'm surrounded by liars and fools, only Jon Arryn, and only him I can fully trust, but now that he's dead, I wouldn't have come to Winterfell to find you if I had any other way. Help me, Ed, I need you to help me! ”

"I will." Duke Ed said solemnly, "I will definitely find out the truth about Jon's death. ”

"I have ordered the 'Red Viper' to come to King's Landing, and when we return, he should be there. When the time comes, you can interrogate him properly! ”

"Okay." Duke Ed paused for a moment, "Lysa, and the kid, are they all okay?" ”

Robert shook his head bitterly: "Frankly, it doesn't seem very good. Frightened by her husband's death, Lysa fled back to Eagle's Nest with her son. But Jon had no brothers, and only such a son, how could I let them be left in the valley alone. She also believed that the Red Viper had poisoned Jon and wrote to me asking for revenge. ”

"How did I hear that Jon said before he died that his death had nothing to do with the Red Viper?"

"There's such a saying." Robert became irritated again, "But Eddard, you also know the character of the old man, he is a man who regards glory above everything else all his life, and he does this before he dies, not necessarily because he really believes that the 'Red Viper' did not harm him. ”

"I understand. I'll find out. After a moment of silence, Duke Ed added, "Let's go up, the queen is still waiting." ”

"Let her wait!" Robert exclaimed angrily, "She hasn't given me a good face all this way!" Damn woman, all day long, she thinks about letting the old lion of Castle Rock be the hand of this king. But how is this possible? I have a Lannister in my bed, a Lannister in the Kingsguard, and a Lannister in my squire...... Damn, all I see every day when I wake up is the Lannisters' blonde hair! Do you want me to find another Lannister to run the country? Damn it! Just let me give them the Iron Throne just to the Lannisters! ”

"Your Majesty......"

"It's all said, don't call me Your Majesty again!" Robert screamed, but when he saw the serious face of his old friend next to him, he finally shook his head helplessly, "You Starks are as rigid and boring as the ice of the North. Let's go, old man, let's go up. ”

……

"Quiet!"

Bran Stark in the tree bowed his head to the little wolf below.

It was a small gift that his father, Duke Eddard, brought back to him when he went out hunting a month ago.

There were six newborn wolf cubs, one of the Duke's six children, and even the illegitimate son Jon Snow got one.

The Icewolf is the coat of arms of the Stark family, so the kids are excited, and they have named the little wolves, the eldest son Robb's one is called "Grey Wind", Sansa's is called "Lady", Arya's is called "Nymeria", Rickon's is called "Hairy Dog", Jon's is called "White Spirit", and as for Bran, he hasn't figured out what his wolf cub should be called.

Hearing the master's reprimand, the little wolf lay on the ground aggrievedly and did not dare to bark again.

Bran continued to climb, jumping from the tree to the roof of the arsenal, then to the roof of the guardhouse, and finally to the outer wall of the remnant tower.

The young duke's second son was agile and climbed the steep walls like an ape.

Bran couldn't remember when he had ever started to climb highs, and his mother always said that he could climb before he could walk, and the high walls of the castle became his playground.

They always try to stop this dangerous hobby of Bran.

Unfortunately, as soon as they didn't pay attention, the little one had already disappeared into the high walls of the old castle.

Suspended in mid-air, Bran took a break.

A little higher he could see the crows, and he had brought corn kernels to feed the gluttons.

Just as Bran regained some strength and was ready to continue, he suddenly heard a vague gasp.

There seemed to be a mixture of pain and pleasure in the voice.

Young Bran didn't know what the voice meant, but curiosity drove him to crawl over.

How could there be people in the remnants?

He wondered.

Bran sat down on the gargoyle statue, his legs clamped, and turned his head upside down, and then he saw the scene in the room—

A man and a woman were twisting together, and they were all undressed.

It's Queen Cersei Lannister and her brother Jaime Lannister!

Bran panicked, his brain dizzy, and he quickly hooked the gargoyle statue with all his might, but it still fell down.

"Ahh

He let out a scream, but fortunately he narrowly grabbed the lattice of the window on the way down.

There was also a scream in the room, followed by Queen Cersei's voice:

"Someone's there!"

Bran grabbed the window lattice with one hand and swayed in mid-air, almost out of breath.

Then he saw the faces of two men peeking out of the window.

"He saw us!" Queen Cersei screamed.

"He saw us." Jaime nodded, and seeing the little boy's fingers begin to loosen, he leaned out, reached down, and said, "Boy, grab my hand." ”

Bran hurriedly grabbed the man's hand with all his strength, and the man pulled him up to the windowsill.

"What do you want to do?" Cersei asked, "He saw us!" ”

Jaime grabbed Bran by the collar and asked, "Boy, how old are you?" ”

"Seven years old." Bran shivered.

"He saw us!" Cersei screamed again.

Jaime turned to look at his sister and said in a helpless and flat tone:

"Think about it, what I've done for love."

As soon as the words fell, he pushed hard.

Bran screamed and flew out of the window, the ground crashing towards him at frantic speed.

Bang –

A sad wolf howl could be heard in the distance.

……

"Hasn't he woken up yet?"

Duke Ed looked at Bran lying on the bed and asked sadly.

Caitlyn at the bedside did not respond to her husband, her hair was disheveled, her clothes looked like they hadn't been washed in days, and her eyes were so red and swollen that she looked at her unconscious son without blinking.

"I have to go, Caitlin." Duke Ed said in a low voice, but unfortunately he still didn't get a response from his wife.

"The gods will bless Bran." He leaned over his wife's head and kissed him gently, then turned and walked out of the room.

The long procession sailed out of Winterfell, then split into two groups, the larger one to the south and the smaller one to the north.

"Black goes well with you." Duke Ed looked at his illegitimate son, "I'm so proud of you. ”

Jon Snow stared into his father's eyes, and finally couldn't help but ask the question hidden in his heart:

"Father, I'm going to the Great Wall of Desperation to become a night watchman, can you tell me who my mother is?"

Duke Ed fell silent, and in a trance, he seemed to hear his sister Lyanna's muttering before she died—

Promise me, Ed, promise me......

"I'll tell you the next time we meet." Duke Ed promised.

"Good. Take care father. ”

"Take care."

The two waved goodbye, one to the north and the other to the south.

(End of chapter)