When their group arrived at the Hall of Affairs in the Prime Minister's Tower, several people were already waiting there.
Joffrey I sat at the prime minister's seat, with Garlan Tyrell beside him. Oberyn, the Red Viper, sat at the head of the right-hand side, and beside the Red Viper were Roose Bolton and Catelyn Tully.
Including Tywin and Duke Mace who just entered, all the Wardens of the Seven Kingdoms and their representatives, except for the Vale, were now present.
Upon entering, Tywin went directly to his seat without a word, merely glancing at Joffrey. Joffrey then lowered his head and stood up, yielding his seat to Tywin. Seeing this, Garlan also stood up, giving his seat to Joffrey. After greeting Duke Mace, he sat in a side seat reserved for observers.
Upon entering, Sansa saw her mother and couldn't help but walk quickly towards her, but after two steps, she stopped, looking at Catelyn Tully with a complicated expression.
Catelyn Tully also looked at Sansa excitedly, wanting to stand up, but was held down by Roose Bolton beside her.
At this, Catelyn Tully looked at Roose Bolton with some resentment, but when Roose Bolton showed a displeased expression, she lowered her head and did not look at Sansa again.
Seeing this, Sansa's face showed a shocked expression. She had never imagined her mother would become like this. Extreme disappointment appeared on her face, and her gaze towards her mother became cold, angry, and a little disdainful.
Then she sat directly in the seat opposite Catelyn, saying nothing, just glaring at her mother. Catelyn Tully no longer lowered her head but looked up calmly, meeting her daughter's gaze.
Seeing Catelyn's change, Lynd also felt somewhat surprised. He could sense that Catelyn had been tamed by Roose Bolton through some method. At this moment, although Catelyn still retained some emotions, she had completely lost herself. Her mind and body were entirely centered on Roose Bolton, feeling as if she had undergone the trial of the Redemption Sanctuary.
However, the changes in Catelyn were fundamentally different from the trials of the Redemption Sanctuary. The trials of the Redemption Sanctuary, in addition to containing common methods like religious brainwashing, more importantly involved the thought-imprint effect produced by the dual action of potions and magic. The core technology involved magic, so everyone who passed various levels of trials in the Redemption Sanctuary would more or less possess a magical fluctuation.
However, there was no magical fluctuation on Catelyn. Her mind was twisted purely by ordinary human methods.
The Bolton family of flayers has mastered the most sophisticated torture methods in all of Westeros since ancient times. In the previous life's drama, Ramsay Snow, the Bastard of Bolton, twisted and tamed Theon's mind, which was one such method. And the Bastard of Bolton's methods were certainly not as sophisticated as Roose Bolton's. Therefore, Roose Bolton likely took advantage of the mental blow inflicted on Catelyn by Robb Stark's death, seized the opportunity, twisted her mind, and completely turned Catelyn into a puppet he could control at will.
Lynd had no intention of interfering with Catelyn's situation; these matters were for Sansa to handle herself. He gestured for Shireen to sit beside Sansa, and then he sat in the seat directly opposite Tywin.
At this moment, Varys and other Small Council ministers walked in from outside, and Littlefinger Petyr Baelish was among them. Although a smile still lingered on his face, it was clearly somewhat forced, especially when he saw Roose Bolton place his hand on Catelyn's leg; his fist involuntarily clenched.
Because this meeting was not a Small Council meeting, but a meeting of the Wardens of the Seven Kingdoms, Varys and the others were not eligible to be present and could only sit in the observer's seats like Garlan.
Afterward, Jaime, Davos Lannister, and Adam Marbrand, along with other younger members of the Lannister family, also arrived at the meeting room and sat in the chairs behind Tywin.
"Almost everyone is here, let's begin!" Tywin saw that everyone had arrived and began, "Now, except for the Vale, the dukes, princes, and Wardens of the other kingdoms have all arrived. The war over the past year and more has consumed too much of our financial, material, and human resources. All the kingdoms involved have suffered heavy losses, and the people are struggling. We should not continue this civil war. Our true enemy is north of the Wall, so we should now settle all disputes, let everything return to normal, and concentrate our forces to deal with those non-human enemies." As he spoke, he looked at Lynd opposite him and said, "Prince Linde, do you agree with what I said?"
"Lord Tywin, you are right." Lynd nodded, then smiled and said, "I have said that as long as it does not affect the war against the Others Beyond the Wall in the North, then I will not intervene in the civil war of the Seven Kingdoms. The current conflicts among you have not yet reached a point of affecting the situation in the North, so if you are still interested in continuing the chaotic fight, I will likewise not intervene."
Hearing Lynd's words, Tywin and the others looked at Lynd with a strange gaze. Although Lynd seemed very rational and spoke from a neutral position, no one present, including the young girl Shireen, would believe Lynd's words.
After more than a year of war, the North, Riverlands, Vale, Westerlands, and Stormlands all suffered countless casualties, and even The Reach, which joined the war last, also suffered many casualties. Yet, Lynd did nothing and took the biggest spoils of victory, while others could only eat what he left behind. A neutral party became the biggest winner. Not to mention direct combatants like Tywin, even The Reach, which joined the war last, felt like a fool.
If anyone truly believed Lynd's words and continued fighting, they would have to suspect that, in the end, Lynd would become the new master of the Iron Throne without expending a single soldier.
So, even the conspirators among those present who harbored ill intentions and wanted to incite chaos again to profit from it now abandoned their initial thoughts, believing it was best for things to end here.
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