The Dark Side of the Storm

"Good girl."

Jaqen spoke softly, his voice tinged with a hidden fervor: "Could you come closer so someone can have a good look?"

His tone sounded exactly like that of a creepy uncle who kidnaps children.

Arya wasn't intimidated by his appearance; instead, she actually moved closer.

He picked up a twig and carefully brushed aside the strange red hair.

"It's really true!" Her gray eyes were filled with disbelief.

"Half red, half white, and separated so neatly. How did you do that?"

Joffrey stepped forward without making a sound, landing perfectly between the two.

Jaqen's gaze tried to bypass him and continue searching for the girl.

But Joffrey refused to budge an inch.

"Her name is Arya Stark." His voice echoed in the courtyard. "She is the second daughter of Lord Eddard Stark, the current Hand of the King, the Duke of Winterfell and Warden of the North."

"They are also my guests."

The apprentices stopped whispering, and even the wind seemed to freeze for a moment.

The foreign prisoner chained to the pillar and the prince standing before him began a silent standoff.

Jaqen's gaze finally slowly detached from Arya.

That moment of loss of composure has vanished completely.

He remained silent for a moment, as if weighing some invisible cost.

"Someone..." he spoke again, his voice regaining that exotic rhythm.

But there seemed to be a hint of compromise: "Someone's name is Jaqen Hegar, from Braavos."

"He was an unknown man on his way to Westeros, a lost traveler."

"A traveler?" Joffrey raised an eyebrow, his tone carrying undisguised skepticism.

"What kind of traveler would stray into the deepest courtyard of the Red Keep and wound three fully armed guards?"

"Jakkun Hegar, if you want me to break these chains, you must give me a definite guarantee."

"You won't hurt me or anyone around me."

As he spoke the last few words, Joffrey's gaze was fixed firmly on Jaqen's eyes.

Arya seemed to sense the unusual seriousness in the atmosphere as well.

Her face tightened, and she gripped the branch in her hand tightly.

Jaqen did not answer immediately.

He lowered his eyes, as if struggling with some kind of inner principle.

After a long while, he finally let out a soft breath.

"King's Landing is just a stop on someone's journey."

"Someone has come here seeking some...ancient wisdom." His voice became erratic, as if he were reciting some obscure poetry.

"Someone's true destination is the place where storms and saltwater meet."

He raised his head, his gaze seemingly piercing through Joffrey's body and directed towards some distant shore.

"Someone swore an oath in the name of the Thousand-Faced God, this is the essence of that person's path, and the whole truth at this moment."

His lips twitched very slightly as he looked at Joffrey.

"So, will this cautious yet despicable prince release someone now?"

Only the suppressed breathing of the crowd remained in the courtyard.

The apprentices had already retreated far away, and even Arya held her breath.

They may not understand what these words mean.

But it's so mystical, you can tell it's amazing just by listening to it.

Joffrey was speechless.

He just wanted reassurance, not for you to blurt out everything.

Although it was said in a very subtle way.

But storms and saltwater probably define the Iron Islands.

Joffrey slowly exhaled and nodded to the jailer beside him.

"Remove his shackles. I'll explain to Commander Genos."

The iron lock clicked open.

Jaqen stood up and stretched his wrists.

Then he turned to Joffrey and performed a smooth Braavos-style bow.

"Someone's gratitude, Your Highness. Someone's debt, etched in my heart."

"You can go now," Joffrey said calmly. "I'll arrange for someone to escort you out of the city, and I'll give you a horse and a small amount of travel expenses."

Upon hearing this, Jia Kun gently shook his head.

An enigmatic smile appeared on his face.

"Hey, why aren't you leaving yet?"

……

On the same day, in the council chamber of the Red Fort.

The message brought by the raven dispelled the last vestiges of celebration from the martial arts tournament.

"I want them dead!"

Robert's roar made the whole hall vibrate.

He slammed his fist on the council table: "I want them both dead, mother and son, and that idiot Viserys too."

"Damn you, Ned! I warned you! And now look what's happened—that girl's pregnant!"

The high-ranking officials at the imperial council were terrified and almost all of them knelt down.

But Ed straightened his back and ignored it.

"Your Majesty, you are simply making unfounded accusations."

The eunuch twisted his hands, which were covered in perfume powder.

"My lord, how could I fabricate false information to deceive His Majesty the King and all the lords?"

"Our friends across the Narrow Sea see it clearly: the exiled orphan of the old dynasty, Princess Daenerys Targaryen."

"She has indeed married Khal Drogo, the horse king of Dothraki, and is already pregnant."

"There's no way this could have gone wrong."

Ed looked coldly at the eunuch.

"But if the intelligence is wrong, we have nothing to fear; if the girl miscarries, we have nothing to fear; if she gives birth to a daughter, we have nothing to fear; if the child dies before reaching adulthood, we have nothing to fear either."

"Moreover, the Narrow Sea lies in the middle, and the Dothraki considered seawater to be poison."

"I will only be afraid when they teach their horses to walk on water."

Robert took a big gulp of wine.

"So you're planning to wait until that dragon's bastard child arrives with his army before you do anything?"

"But that's just an unborn baby." Ed and the king looked at each other across the table.

"I never imagined that after all these years, you would become such a coward."

Robert slammed the flask against the wall.

"You forgot?!" the king roared again.

"You fucking forgot how the Mad King burned your father to death and strangled your brother to death! You forgot how Rhaegar kidnapped Lyanna!"

"If I don't kill them, I will be punished by heaven!"

He suddenly scanned the others: "Tell me! Should he be killed?"

Lanley nodded immediately: "He deserves to die."

The eunuchs, Little Finger, and Grand Secretary all echoed his sentiments.

Only Barristan voiced his opposition: "Your Majesty, this is indeed a dishonorable matter."

But no one knows whether the old knight's heart was churning with pity for the infant or with the last vestige of complex emotions for the bloodline he had once served.

Ed stood up, his expression complex.

"He who sentences someone to death must wield the blade himself; before taking a life, he must look directly into the person's eyes."

"Robert, I will never be an accomplice to murder," he said, and then untied his cloak.

He then slammed the engraved silver hand badge, symbolizing the Prime Minister, onto the table in front of the King: "I never thought you were that kind of person."

Robert's face turned from red to purple.

"Get out! Get out now! Go back to your Winterfell!"

"If you dare let me see you again, I'll chop your head off!"

Ed said nothing more, silently turned around, and walked towards the heavy door.

But at this suffocating moment...

A panicked voice came from outside the door.

"Your Majesty, Duke Tywin Lannister requests an urgent audience."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the hall door was violently kicked open.

Tywin Lannister burst in.

His pale green eyes, tinged with gold, swept across the room, finally settling on Ed, who was about to leave.

"Your Majesty, Your Excellencies."

"I hereby formally accuse Eddard Stark, the Duke of Winterfell."

Every word he uttered landed clearly on the ground.

"His wife, Caitlin Tully."

"My son was abducted by force on the King's Road in the River Valley."

Tyrion Lannister.