"I never thought I'd have the chance to come out again. I thought I would die like a rat in some forgotten corner where no one would ever know."
"Or perhaps your king would have my head chopped off, slap on the charge that I murdered the father who handed him the throne, and use it as a stepping stone to steady his climb up to the Iron Throne."
Tilting his head back to look at the sky, Oberyn Martell was laughing at himself, yet his mouth kept uttering mercilessly barbed words.
The Master of Whisperers, Varys, was accompanying Lord Eddard Stark, the Hand, personally releasing the three members of House Martell who had been imprisoned in the dungeons.
"This was a misunderstanding. On behalf of the king, I extend my sincere apology to you and to House Martell."
Faced with Oberyn Martell's words—which on the surface were self-mockery, but underneath were plainly ridicule—Lord Eddard Stark forced down the displeasure in his heart and slightly inclined his head to express his apology.
As the one acting as regent in King Kal's name after his departure, Lord Eddard Stark knew he had to handle this matter well.
Though this affair was neither truly big nor truly small, it still left room for people to find fault.
And given the situation at hand, it was best to maintain good relations with Dorne.
This was not solely for the sake of the king's peace. Merely considering Jon Arryn's efforts, Eddard did not wish to squander this hard-won calm.
Especially in times as unsettling as these.
"You call it a misunderstanding, but luckily Kal El didn't actually die at my wine table, or I'd truly have fallen headfirst into a dung pit."
As he spoke, Oberyn instinctively looked around, but he did not see Kal El.
"And where is your King Kal? I still want to ask him about that miraculous antidote of his."
Having not been held for many days, Oberyn Martell remained rather open-minded.
Although Kal had barged into his territory without any reason, attacked without a word, and slaughtered his people—an act that was indeed infuriating—
Kal El's rationality and restraint afterward had still made him view the man in a different light.
In that kind of situation, he had still been able to accurately notice some subtle details, not letting his mind be clouded by anger, and calmly realize and analyze that he was not the murderer.
Moreover, the situation at that time could be described as an arrow already nocked on the string; a single misstep would have meant a war.
This feeling of being shrouded in conspiracy, made to take the blame, and used as someone else's weapon was certainly not pleasant.
So it was impossible to say that there was no anger in Oberyn Martell's heart.
However, not much of that anger was actually directed at Kal El.
He was a clever man as well, and naturally understood what kind of situation it had been at the time.
The qualities Kal El had displayed in the course of it all had indeed made Oberyn think more highly of this man of outstanding martial prowess.
And there was also a certain air of mystery about Kal that concerned him somewhat, and all of this meant that Oberyn did not feel much hostility toward Kal El, the man who had had him seized.
On hearing these blunt words from Oberyn, before Lord Eddard Stark, the Hand of the King, could say anything further, Varys hurriedly stepped forward.
He looked at the three members of House Martell before him, each with a different expression on their face, a faintly fawning smile on his own, and said, "His Majesty the King is busy with some important matters, so he cannot personally come to offer you his apology."
"And in the end, His Majesty also captured that Faceless Man and tortured some crucial information out of him—this allowed us to learn that the matter has nothing to do with you or with House Martell."
Upon hearing these words from Varys, Oberyn Martell keenly sensed something, furrowed his brow slightly, and subconsciously began to think it over.
However, at this moment, Princess Arianne Martell, who had been standing behind Oberyn with a perpetually dark expression, turned her gaze over and picked up the thread of the conversation.
"From what you're saying, and given that you're not interrogating us now but instead are directly releasing us from the cells, it sounds like you already know who killed Robert, don't you?"
Arianne Martell, who still had some anger in her heart, spoke in a tone that was equally blunt.
Eddard Stark felt somewhat displeased at their lack of respect.
Varys glanced at the Hand, then hurriedly nodded and did not conceal anything.
"According to the information His Majesty has given us, the Faceless Man was hired by Tywin Lannister, and his aim was to assassinate King Robert and King Kal."
Upon hearing Varys's explanation, Oberyn and the other two could not help exchanging glances, and a question arose in their minds.
In the end, it was Arianne who, somewhat puzzled, said, "But if I remember correctly, wasn't Tywin Lannister already sent to the Wall to serve in the Night's Watch?"
"So how did he manage to do that?"
Arianne's face was full of doubt; she suspected there was something fishy here.
Oberyn was still frowning, but after hearing Arianne's words he spoke up: "Achieving that is not all that difficult. A Faceless Man, when he kills, only looks at the price and the target; he doesn't care who the one doing the hiring is."
"But House Lannister is already completely finished. Why would he do all this, just to vent his anger?" Arianne still did not quite understand.
"Perhaps that really is the only reason. He simply wanted revenge. After all, King Robert and His Majesty Kal can both be said to be the ones who destroyed everything the Lannisters had."
Varys gave a wry smile and shrugged; of course there was no answer to this question.
Or rather, even now they still could not fully confirm that the Faceless Man really had been hired by Tywin Lannister, and that it was not some unfathomable conspiracy.
After all, aside from revenge as a goal, Tywin Lannister truly seemed to have no motive to do such a thing.
Because doing this, apart from making House Lannister's destruction even more complete, would not bring the slightest benefit.
And it was not only Arianne and the others who were puzzled by this point; Varys was equally at a loss.
Seeing that the group seemed to be getting deeper and deeper into this question, Lord Eddard Stark also rubbed at his brow in a headache.
He then waved his hand, cutting off their conversation.
"All right. As for this matter, I have already written a letter and sent it to Castle Black."
As he spoke, he looked back at Oberyn Martell and said, "If there is an answer, I will let you know."
After all, no matter how one put it, although House Martell had made this trip only to be made scapegoats, they indeed still had the right to know.
"Eddard Stark, even if you don't drive me away, I don't like staying in this place. But if you do get an answer, you can tell me. I am indeed somewhat curious about how Robert died."
"Mm—because I have to tell my brother, to soothe over your offense against House Martell, don't I?"
Although Oberyn's words were phrased tactfully, the schadenfreude on his face was not concealed in the slightest.
The bit of guilt Eddard Stark had still felt toward them for having misunderstood them and locked them up vanished on the spot when he saw Oberyn's expression.
His face instantly grew cold.
"I have already prepared carriages for you, and your soldiers have also been released. There should be people outside still waiting for you."
"And I also apologize; I am rather busy, so I will have Lord Varys accompany you next."
Faced with Oberyn's mockery, whose measure he had judged very well, Eddard Stark had no way to deal with it. Though angered in his heart, he could only turn around and leave.
Watching the furious back of this grey wolf, the mockery on Oberyn's face became all the more unrestrained.
Ever since House Targaryen had been overthrown by Robert Baratheon, House Martell had had little fondness for the houses of the fish, the wolf, the stag, and the falcon.
Although the killers of Rhaegar's wife, Elia Martell, had been of House Lannister, if not for Robert, Elia would not have died.
Given such an opportunity, Oberyn naturally would not let pass a chance to mock them to his heart's content.
Besides, he had been locked up for several days—what was wrong with venting a bit after coming out?
So apart from reining himself in slightly in his words, Oberyn's delighted schadenfreude was utterly unrestrained in his manner.
After all, given Eddard Stark's and the Iron Throne's current situation, what could they possibly do to his House Martell?
If he did not bare his face at a time like this, he would hardly deserve to be called the Red Viper.
Watching the two of them part ways in mutual displeasure, Varys showed no trace of embarrassment on his face; he merely smiled and gestured outside with his hand.
He said, "Prince Oberyn, and Princess Arianne and Prince Quentyn, your steward and maester are waiting for you outside the Red Keep. I hear there seems to be news from Dorne to be conveyed to you."
On hearing these words from Varys, Oberyn put away the mockery on his face and turned to glance at the eunuch, but he did not see anything from him.
"News from Dorne—seems the information of our Lord Spider really is well-informed."
Varys showed no reaction to Oberyn's probing.
"I have only heard that it is a message from Prince Doran. As for what it is, of course I do not know."
Having said this, he once again made an inviting gesture.
Arianne also caught the undertone of the conversation between the two; she turned her head to glance at her uncle, and Oberyn happened to look over as well.
The two of them then nodded.
"Very well, Lord Varys. We're already very fortunate to be able to come out alive, but I still have to say that I hope I will never come back to this place again after this."
Having said this, Oberyn lost the desire to keep bickering and strode toward the outside of the Red Keep.
As she passed by, Arianne gave Varys a glance, put away her doubts, and followed after her uncle.
As for Quentyn Martell, he had had no particular thoughts from beginning to end; right now, he was simply truly grateful that King Robert's death had nothing to do with House Martell.
So he hurried to follow in their footsteps as well.
Varys understood the ways of the world very well; he escorted the three of them all the way out of the Red Keep, and along the way he himself brought up the events that had happened in King's Landing afterward, as well as some news about King Kal.
Oberyn, however, remained silent, merely listening while pondering in his heart.
Arianne Martell, on the other hand, would now and then ask a couple of questions, but they were all just for supplementary information, more than half of which concerned Kal El.
The group did not stop until they had left the Red Keep and saw several carriages parked at the gate of the Red Keep.
Ellaria Sand immediately caught sight of Oberyn Martell, rushed over to throw her arms around him, and offered him her kiss.
Several of his bastard daughters who had come to King's Landing with him, the Sands, could not help showing smiles on their faces as well.
Watching her uncle reunited with his family, Arianne merely took one look and did not disturb them further, instead taking the initiative to walk toward the steward and maester in the back.
Quentyn followed after her.
"Is it news from my father? Who is it for?"
Looking at the two of them, Arianne frowned slightly as she asked.
At a time like this, she was somewhat puzzled as to what kind of news it might be.
After all, from the time they had been seized to the time they were released, only three or four days had passed; in principle, news could not possibly have been sent to Dorne so quickly and then sent back again.
So this message certainly could not be about whether they were safe or not.
Yet in the face of her question, both the maester and the steward did not answer her directly.
"There are messages for both you and His Highness the Prince, Princess Arianne. We have already prepared a welcome banquet for you and His Highness the Prince. Would you perhaps return first and speak of it then?"
The steward was offering this explanation to Arianne, but his gaze went to the Spider standing behind the group, looking at them with narrowed, smiling eyes.
Arianne understood what he meant and nodded.
Oberyn, who had only exchanged a few brief words with his lover and daughters at the side, had of course also heard their conversation, but his expression had grown somewhat grave.
The problem Arianne could sense, he had of course long since already sensed as well.
However, he also could not quite understand why his brother Doran had sent news at such a time.
"Well then, Your Highness the Prince, Your Highness the Princess, I will see you only this far. In the future, if there is time, His Majesty has said he will personally apologize to you."
Kal had never said such a thing; he had even long since forgotten about them.
But for the smooth and worldly Varys, these were merely words that slipped easily off the tongue.
Such utterly insincere words would of course not move Oberyn to tears of gratitude, so he merely let out a cold laugh, not even bothering to exchange pleasantries with the eunuch, and directly turned and stepped onto the carriage.
With a single order, the few members of House Martell who had been seized and brought to the Red Keep thus quietly left the Red Keep.
Varys watched them leave, the smile on his face not fading; only when he saw them disappear from his sight did his expression slowly return to calm.
Then he turned around, his hands tucked into his sleeves, and with his head lowered walked back into the Red Keep.
Yet his gaze was somewhat vacant, and his brows were furrowed.
The hands he had tucked inside his sleeves unconsciously squeezed the letter he had placed in a hidden pocket.
"Doran seems to be unable to hold back any longer. He thinks this is the last chance—"
"What should I do?"
"And the dragon? Kal El has hatched dragons, but what about Daenerys's side?"
"And should I tell Doran that piece of news as well?"
Lost in his own thoughts, Varys suddenly halted his steps, then turned and headed toward his own chambers.
...
On the way back, the members of House Martell also did not say much; only after they had returned to an estate they had outside King's Landing did Oberyn and the others gather again.
"Bazel, what news has come from Sunspear?"
The maester and steward at this estate were both old retainers of House Martell, whom Oberyn had brought from Sunspear to handle their affairs and daily matters.
"We do not know, my lord. But among them there was one letter which, according to what we could make out from what we were allowed to read, we handed over to the Red Keep's Master of Whisperers, the Spider Varys."
The maester said nothing; the steward, however, quite straightforwardly told them this piece of news.
Oberyn, who had not been paying all that much attention at first, raised his brows at once when he heard this.
"Varys?"
"Did Doran specify that it was to be given to him by name?"
Seeing that Prince Oberyn Martell seemed to know something, both the steward and the maester were somewhat surprised, but they also knew this was not the sort of news they ought to know.
So, after handing over the two letters he had been carrying on his person ever since receiving them to Oberyn Martell, the steward took the initiative, along with the maester, to leave the room.
Looking at the two letters in his hand, Oberyn's breathing grew a little rapid.
But although he was somewhat agitated, his eyes and expression became incomparably solemn.
Arianne Martell, Quentyn Martell, Ellaria Sand, and Oberyn's bastard daughters at his side had of course also heard the steward's words.
All of them could not help turning their gazes toward the two letters in Prince Oberyn's hand.
They truly could not understand why the letters sent from Sunspear by Prince Doran would have anything to do with that eunuch in the Red Keep.
However, when they saw the expression on Oberyn's face, they no longer quite dared to speak.
After a long moment, Oberyn finally let out a long breath and lifted his head, his gaze heavy.
He looked at his three bastard daughters and, in a grave tone, gave his orders.
"Obara, Nymeria, and Tyene, the three of you go out and guard this room. Do not let anyone approach. The news in here is not suitable for you to know."
It seemed the seriousness of the matter was beyond what they had imagined. After exchanging a glance, Obara, Nymeria, and Tyene did not ask any more questions; they picked up their weapons from the side and took the initiative to walk out the door to stand guard.
"Uncle, what do you know?"
Arianne looked at the unopened letters in Oberyn's hand, her expression grave.
She faintly felt that these two letters seemed to have something to do with her.
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