He paused, then pointed to himself and continued, "I am of the Kingsguard, sworn not to marry or have children. If Tyrion dies, what will happen to your name? On future battlefields, who will raise the Lion banner? Your nephew? Lancel Lannister?"
Jaime spread his hands. "Or those Lannister branches whose names I can't even remember?"
Duke Tywin stared intently at his eldest son, who was threatening him, and said coldly, "If I pardon Tyrion, the wars in the Seven Kingdoms will be endless, and the Lannister will ultimately become a wounded, weak Lion. At that time… what will happen to the family?"
Jaime clenched his fists. He paused, stared into his father's eyes, and said word by word, "The Lannister will be continued by me."
He exhaled, and his clenched fists slowly relaxed. "I will take off the white cloak. As long as you let Tyrion live, I will dutifully be your heir. I will…"
Before Jaime could finish speaking, Duke Tywin's calm voice sounded, "Deal."
This left Ser Jaime stunned.
"After the evidence collection is complete and he is pronounced guilty…"
Duke Tywin raised his glass in a gesture. "Tyrion will have an opportunity to repent for himself. If he requests a pardon, I will permit him to take the black."
Jaime was still staring blankly at his father. He continued, "Three days later, he will be sent to The Wall to become a Night's Watchman and live out his days there."
"And you."
The Old Lion pointed at Jaime. "After you take off your white cloak, immediately proceed to Golden Tooth."
Jaime paused, slightly recovering. "Golden Tooth?"
Duke Tywin nodded slightly. "I will deal with the little Direwolf. You will go there to lead the twenty thousand new troops trained by Daven, prepare to capture Riverrun, and reclaim the honor of the Casterly Rock heir."
Jaime couldn't help but smile self-deprecatingly. So… his father was waiting for him to come, or rather, from the day Tyrion's incident happened, his father had already begun waiting for him.
The Old Lion showed the only hint of kindness he had displayed since his wife's passing, reserved only for his eldest son: "Do you want to go back on your word, Jaime?"
"I keep my word."
Jaime shrugged. This was the best outcome he could think of. Unless absolutely necessary, he didn't want to betray his father and the Lannister by secretly letting Tyrion escape.
Oathbreaker… traitor… oathbreaker again… His life truly was a mess.
Jaime reached for the wine glass in front of his father, drained it, and said, "What about Dorne?"
Duke Tywin left his chair, picked up a new wine glass, and as he poured wine, he said, "I will discuss your wife's selection with House Tyrell."
Holding a wine glass in one hand and a wine jug in the other, he looked at his eldest son. "You will soon have your own legitimate heir. Do you agree to my proposal, Jaime?"
Splash, splash, splash. Duke Tywin poured wine into the empty glass in Jaime's hand.
"…I will love her." Jaime drank all the wine in the glass in one gulp.
Duke Tywin took a sip of the wine in his glass and said, "Before the court resumes, tell your brother the good news and teach him what he should do."
Jaime put down the wine glass and was about to leave, but the Old Lion called out to him, "Tell Tyrion to control his tongue. If he continues to babble, no one can save him."
Jaime opened his mouth, hesitating whether to tell his old father that Tyrion already knew the truth about Tysha from back then.
Forget it… At this moment, it's most important for Tyrion to save his life. Don't mention anything that might be detrimental to him.
"I will remind Tyrion…"
As he spoke, Jaime suddenly had a thought. "Father, why do you say that?"
Duke Tywin sat down, his gaze turning cold. "Whether he lives or not depends on him, not on me. If he causes irreparable harm to himself, that cannot be a reason for you to break our agreement."
...…
Dong~~ Dong~~ Dong~~
As Ser Jaime hurried to Tyrion, the bells rang.
He glanced at the moving crowd around them and whispered, "You will be found guilty…"
Tyrion merely glanced at Jaime, said nothing, and scoffed.
Looking at the growing crowd again, Jaime crouched down, grabbed Tyrion's shoulders with both hands, and looked directly at him. "Listen to me. After the verdict, you must sincerely repent and ask to take the black. Father will agree; he has already promised me."
Dong~~ Dong~~
Two Gold Cloaks walked towards them. Jaime quickened his pace. "Remember, you must remember, don't speak carelessly. You must obediently plead guilty. Father will allow you to take the black."
The figures of the Dukes appeared on the high platform. Jaime watched his brother nod, then stood up and left.
After a pause, Tyrion looked at Jaime's gradually disappearing back and murmured, "You truly are a naive fool."
Two tall Gold Cloaks stood behind him. One of them, while bending down to adjust his chainmail, whispered into Tyrion's ear.
After speaking, the Gold Cloak straightened up casually, while Tyrion clenched his fists tightly.
The three Dukes took their seats, and the trial continued.
The Lord Steward chanted, "Call the next witness—!"
Next, one by one, the prostitutes Tyrion had "patronized" took the stand.
"He was very particular about his… height. If you didn't call him a giant during pleasure, he would get very angry every time."
"With my mouth and… other parts, I also saw him severely punish other sisters. I had to obey him."
"If I was a little slow, he would also make me do many shameful things…"
"Yes, he hated it when people called him a Dwarf. He was very irritable."
"He ordered me to call him that, 'My Lannister Giant!'"
The content of what they said became increasingly explicit. Someone finally couldn't help but laugh first, and then the laughter spread like a hurricane until the entire Throne Room began to shake.
Tyrion looked around. He knew… this was all Cersei's arrangement. She was fabricating another reason for him to have killed the Red Viper: Prince Oberyn might have mocked Tyrion for being a Dwarf.
At the same time, she also wanted to humiliate him in plain sight.
In his eyes, the mouths of the people twisted in joy, their bellies shaking, laughing so hard that snot splattered from their nostrils.
Of the hundreds of nobles in the hall, except for the three on the high platform, everyone was openly mocking him.
Tyrion knew Cersei's real goal was to enrage him, to make him jump around in anger like a clown.
He knew all this, but the fire churning within him could not be suppressed.
"Silence!" As the Lord Steward's voice sounded, the laughter of the crowd gradually ceased.
"Call the next…"
Tyrion then turned his back to the high platform and suddenly declared, "I truly regret it. I shouldn't have kept Stannis outside the city. I should have let him in and let him kill all of you. I shouldn't have saved you filthy people!"
Duke Tywin coldly shouted, "Tyrion!"
With a grin, Tyrion slowly turned around. He looked up at Duke Tywin. "I admit I killed Oberyn Nymeros Martell."
The nobles, who were about to denounce Tyrion, fell silent because of his sudden confession.
Duke Tywin was as calm as a rock. "You have confessed to the crime of killing Prince Oberyn."
The hall was very quiet. They all seemed to be waiting for the moment of conviction.
"Tywin Lannister."
Tyrion's face was somewhat twisted. "Don't you just want to hear me confess the crime myself?"
Duke Tywin looked down at Tyrion motionlessly and repeated, "You admit to killing…"
Tyrion interrupted, "I want to repent. I am guilty."
He paused, staring intently at the high-seated Duke Tywin. "You are also guilty, the great, the just, the Lord of the Westerlands, the eternal Hand of the King!"
The hall fell into an eerie silence.
Taking a deep breath, Tyrion's entire face twisted. "Tywin Lannister, you, you had your guards * * my wife!"
The Lion roared, "Tysha, she was my lawful wife, she was your son's wife!"
Buzz!
Everyone present couldn't believe their ears. Hundreds of eyes simultaneously looked at Duke Tywin, who was sitting in the center of the high platform.
Duke Tywin seemed unaffected by his son's sudden accusation. He said coldly, "She was your first prostitute."
Tyrion's pupils dilated. He wanted to rush onto the high platform but was held back by the Gold Cloaks.
Duke Tywin directly announced, "The evidence is conclusive. Tyrion is found guilty of murdering Prince Oberyn."
Then, he waved his hand.
Tyrion was being forcibly dragged away by the Gold Cloaks. "Tywin Lannister, I now wish I were the one who killed the Prince of Dorne! If so, I could personally plunge a blade into your body and avenge my wife!"
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