Tyrion's lips twitched; at that time, he hadn't even been woken up by the Dornish woman in front of him.
Then, Ellaria's face was filled with grief, and she covered her face with her hands: "I am so useless.
The Prince is dead, and all I could do was scream.
I should have avenged him myself at that moment... boo hoo hoo..."
Once Ellaria had calmed down somewhat, Duke Tywin spoke: "You were with Prince Oberyn and Tyrion the entire time.
Aside from what you saw upon waking, do you have any other additions, or did you notice anything unusual between the two of them?"
Ellaria nodded quickly: "I overheard their arguments by chance... The Prince was an elegant man; it was mainly Dwarf who was speaking.
He warned that if Martell could not forget the past, he would forever lose the chance to return to the Red Keep."
She seemed to have prepared thoroughly during the waiting period for the trial.
Her voice, though still tearful, was fluent in its statement: "The Prince said that blood debt can only be paid with blood.
Dwarf said Dorne would be removed from the Seven Kingdoms.
The Prince said that even the Targaryen dragons couldn't conquer Dorne... Later, after an unknown amount of time, they both laughed again.
I know the Prince; he was laughing on the surface, but he was already angry.
I know him very well."
Duke Tywin tightened his grip on the armrest of his chair and said: "Ellaria Sand, are you certain there were always only three people in the room?"
Ellaria nodded repeatedly: "I promise, Lord Presiding Judge, I absolutely did not see anyone else.
If you don't believe me, you can ask the guards from that night; they were always outside the door and never left.
I promise I am telling the truth.
I beg you, you must kill Dwarf to avenge the Prince!"
After Ellaria stepped down, the four Martell guards and four Lannister guards who had been outside the door that night came forward.
One by one, they testified that no fourth person had entered the room where Tyrion and the others were.
Then came a middle-aged Gold Cloak Captain, who, under the orders of Commander of the Gold Cloaks, Ser Adam, had inspected the room.
He testified that the room's doors and windows were intact and that no traces of anyone else having been present were found.
The next witness was Ser Balon Swann of the Kingsguard.
Tyrion frowned; he knew this man was Cersei's.
What was he doing here?
What testimony could he possibly have?
Ser Barristan Selmy bowed and said to the Old Lion: "Hand of the King Tywin, I had the honor of fighting alongside your son against Stannis's army in King's Landing.
Please believe me, though he is small in stature, he is very brave and admirable."
The sudden praise for Tyrion caused a stir in the hall.
Tyrion couldn't help but turn his head to the second floor; he couldn't see clearly... but he could sense Cersei's smugness at that moment.
Ser Barristan Selmy continued: "Yes, Tyrion has struck King Joffrey at least three times.
Whenever he felt King Joffrey was not doing well enough, Tyrion would hit him.
Yes, he is much more agile than he looks; each time he would suddenly jump up and slap him, and even the strong King Joffrey couldn't withstand a single blow and would fall to the ground.
My Kingsguard brothers can also testify to this."
Duke Green, with his excellent eyesight, saw Cersei's bright smile.
This was her arrangement; she wanted to prove that even though Tyrion was Dwarf, he had enough "skill" to kill Prince Oberyn.
But Joffrey's reputation...
Duke Green's brown eyes flickered; he saw a vein bulge on Duke Tywin's neck.
Lord Mace stroked his beard and frowned: "According to the laws of the realm, those who lay hands on royalty shall suffer the penalty of having their hands cut off.
Why did the Kingsguard not perform their duty?"
Ser Barristan Selmy opened his mouth and said: "Tyrion is King Joffrey's uncle, and he is also a member of the royal family.
Furthermore, he was then the Hand of the King."
Duke Tywin corrected him coldly: "He was the acting Lord Hand, appointed by me."
Next to testify were The Three Kettleblack Brothers.
They took turns confessing that they had been hired by Tyrion to spy on Queen Mother Cersei and King Joffrey.
Later, they heard that Tyrion was planning to find an opportunity to eliminate the Queen Mother and the King, so, inspired by the Seven Gods, they chose honor.
They heard that I wanted to kill Cersei and Joffrey?!
He was the one who saved this utterly foolish mother and son!
"You are slandering me, liars!"
The Three Kettleblack Brothers were utterly shameless.
He regretted it at this moment; when he learned of their betrayal to Cersei, why didn't he immediately eliminate these shameless traitors (Battle of King's Landing)?
He shouldn't have been soft-hearted!
Tyrion, who had stepped forward two paces, was pulled back by two Gold Cloaks.
Duke Tywin frowned: "Tyrion, do you want us to bind your hands and feet like a bandit?"
Tyrion slowly exhaled to steady his emotions.
Cersei had indeed put a lot of thought into her dear brother, and it was rare for her to be clever.
She first used the Kingsguard's credibility to make people believe he had the skill to kill.
To start with a convincing premise, she then sent out her lackeys to portray him as a true demon who even wanted to kill his sister and nephew.
Adding Ellaria Sand's and the guards' testimonies, ah ha... he, too, was almost convinced he was the murderer of the Red Viper.
Dwarf had hated being slandered since childhood... Cersei was indeed his good sister; she knew exactly how to provoke him.
He shouldn't have gotten angry.
Compared to the pain Lannister had caused him, what was this slander?
Moreover, his "performance" standing here today was itself the greatest slander, so why should he be angry?
"No."
Tyrion bowed slightly and said: "My lords, I beg your forgiveness; I will remain silent."
Having said that, he gave the Old Lion a slight smile; the esteemed Tywin Lannister would hear the roar of his Imp son.
After The Three Kettleblack Brothers stepped down, Grand Maester Pycelle, having a young assistant temporarily take over his record-keeping, tottered to the area below the presiding judge's platform.
He read out the results of the examination of Prince Oberyn's body: the murder weapon—a short sword with a golden snake hilt—had pierced his heart, killing him instantly.
Pycelle's maester's chain jingled softly: "Duke Tywin, Lord Mace, Duke Green, I found no other wounds on Prince Oberyn's body.
Therefore, I deduce—someone attacked Prince Oberyn while he was intoxicated.
Furthermore, I wish to remind you, my lords, that such a situation is most likely to occur between acquaintances."
After Pycelle, an endless stream of witnesses came forward, one after another.
Tyrion knew this must again be Cersei's doing.
Lords, ladies, knights, guards, and servants—anyone who had ever seen him with the Red Viper—all came forward to offer testimony.
Some said that Tyrion had complained at the Blackwater River Dock while waiting for the Dorne Envoy that he had lost the opportunity to greet the Little Rose of Highgarden because of a Red Viper.
Some said that Tyrion, upon first seeing Prince Oberyn's mistress at the Blackwater River Dock, had been leering at her ** and **.
Some said that Tyrion was very irritable... that from the moment they met, he had shown murderous intent towards Prince Oberyn.
And so on and so forth.
Tyrion recognized most of these faces; some he couldn't name, but he had some impression of them.
He had saved all of them.
He suddenly found it amusing.
At that time, Stannis was at the city gates, and to save these people, he had even been prepared to die in battle for their trivial lives.
Perhaps what he considered a heroic act was, in their eyes, merely a comical performance by Dwarf.
"Yes, I once saw them riding past near Silent Sisters Street, and I even saw Dwarf openly seducing the Prince of Dorne's mistress..."
Tyrion suddenly interrupted: "Hand of the King Tywin, I confess!"
Duke Tywin raised a hand, and the hall gradually fell silent.
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