Eddard Stark and Catelyn Tully arrived at Maester Luwin's maester's tower.
Maester Luwin was nowhere to be found. After waiting for a moment, Catelyn discovered an exquisite wooden box on Maester Luwin's desk.
"What's this?" She picked it up curiously and examined it, finding that it seemed to have hidden compartments and could be disassembled.
"Catelyn, what are you doing? Don't mess with the maester's things; there might be some danger," Eddard Stark said.
"Eddard, don't worry. Maesters aren't pyromancers; their things are generally quite safe."
Catelyn Tully continued to disassemble the wooden box, but at the last step, she couldn't open it.
Just then, Maester Luwin returned.
"My lord, my lady! I didn't expect to see you both. It's rare for you to come to me together! Hahaha!" Maester Luwin chuckled.
"Maester, is this yours? I apologize for picking it up and looking at it," Catelyn said apologetically.
"My things?" Maester Luwin frowned and took the wooden box.
"I am quite certain this is not mine."
"However, the mechanism inside is ingenious. Give me a moment to open it and take a look!"
After about half a cup of tea, Maester Luwin figured out how to open the hidden compartment inside.
But out of caution,
Maester Luwin aimed the box at an empty wall when he opened it.
The moment the box opened, a small knife flew out and embedded itself in the wall.
Eddard Stark and Catelyn Tully were both startled. If they had forced it open, someone might have been injured, or even killed.
Maester Luwin first examined the small knife. He found that although it was very thin and sharp, what was more deadly was that it was poisoned. The dark green blade was definitely not made of normal iron.
"Maester Luwin, is someone trying to kill you?" Eddard Stark couldn't help but ask.
"I am merely a maester. Even if I made enemies during my time at the Citadel, most of them are long dead. I don't believe I have any enemies still alive in the world."
"And there is also a secret letter inside. It states that it is to be given to Lady Catelyn." Maester Luwin took out a small piece of paper from the hidden compartment.
"My lady, please!" Maester Luwin said.
Catelyn took the note and recognized Lysa's handwriting, and she had used a unique way of writing.
"My lady, who wrote you this letter, and what does it say?" Eddard Stark asked.
"It's from Lysa. To prevent it from falling into the wrong hands, she modified this box and used a secret language that only the two of us can understand."
"My lady, I had no idea you were so clever," Eddard Stark said, somewhat bewildered.
"Eddard, Lysa says that Jon Arryn didn't die of illness; he was murdered."
"What?!" Eddard Stark's face showed a complex mix of emotions: anger, surprise, and sadness.
"Who killed him?" Eddard Stark asked in a deep voice.
"Ser Mufasa of House Lannister!" Catelyn said. She herself was shocked by the news.
"What? That's impossible!" Eddard Stark frowned deeply. From his observations of Mufasa over the past few days, he thought him an upright knight.
He had also asked Robb, Bran, Jon, and others what they thought of Mufasa.
They all said Mufasa behaved properly, was elegant in his manners, skilled in swordsmanship, and not bad with a spear.
Sansa and Arya even said Mufasa was very handsome.
"Catelyn, could Lysa be mistaken? Robert told me that Mufasa only returned to King's Landing after Jon Arryn died. He had been exploring the ruins of Valyria before that."
"He has a perfect alibi!"
"Exactly, he has a perfect alibi! But his alibi being so perfect actually makes one suspicious," Catelyn Tully said, feeling that her wisdom at this moment could rival Queen Alysanne's.
"Mufasa secretly killed Jon Arryn, and then the next day, pretended as if nothing had happened and returned to King's Landing."
"But!" Eddard Stark still couldn't believe that Mufasa had killed Jon Arryn.
According to what Robert told him, the North Sea Kindergarten and South Mountain Retirement Home that Mufasa established were on land granted to him by Jon Arryn.
There was no conflict of interest between the two of them, was there?
"Don't doubt it. It was Mufasa who killed Jon Arryn. Eddard, think about it, with Jon Arryn dead, who was most likely to succeed as Hand of the King?"
Catelyn Tully asked. Her eyes gleamed with intelligence, looking as if she held victory in her hands.
"Tywin Lannister?" Eddard said.
"Precisely, him! He is Mufasa's grandfather! Originally, Tywin was the most suitable person to succeed as Hand, and Robert knew this perfectly well. But he didn't want the power of House Lannister to expand further, so he came to Winterfell to seek your help."
"Mufasa would never have imagined that you would become Hand, instead of his grandfather."
Eddard Stark was somewhat convinced by Catelyn Tully.
At this moment, Maester Luwin spoke up.
"My lord, my lady, I don't believe Ser Mufasa would do such a thing as killing Jon Arryn."
"Maester Luwin, do you have any evidence?" Catelyn looked at him with displeasure. Why was this old man siding with outsiders?
"My lord, my lady, do you know about the playing cards Mufasa made?" Maester Luwin asked.
"Sansa and the others mentioned them, what about them?" Catelyn Tully asked, frowning.
"Mufasa recently replaced the Sea Snake with Lord Jon Arryn."
"What does that have to do with anything, Maester?" Eddard asked.
"My lord! My lady!"
Maester Luwin began to explain the rules of the playing cards to them.
Aside from the Joker, the highest card was the King (K). The four Kings were represented by Aegon the Conqueror, Jaehaerys the Conciliator, R'hllor the Lord of Light, and King Robert.
The four Queens (Q) were represented by Queen Visenya, Queen Alysanne, Queen Nymeria, and Queen Cersei.
The four Jacks (J), after several changes, were finally determined to be Orys Baratheon, Brynden Rivers, Jon Arryn, and Tywin Lannister.
The four Aces (A) were Brandon the Builder, Lann the Clever, Garth Greenhand, and the Grey King, ancestor of the Ironborn.
"Mufasa placing Jon Arryn on the Jack of Hearts indicates his attitude," Maester Luwin said.
"What attitude?" Eddard Stark asked.
"He respects Lord Jon Arryn! Therefore, he couldn't possibly have killed Lord Jon Arryn, especially not with such a despicable method as poison." Maester Luwin continued.
"Maester Luwin, mind your stance. You are the Maester of Winterfell, not Casterly Rock!" Catelyn Tully said.
"My apologies, my lady, I am merely speaking the truth. We maesters are not like knights."
"Knights swear fealty to an individual lord, but we maesters swear fealty to a castle, a town, not to counts or dukes. The Citadel is independent of the Crown," Maester Luwin said.
"You!" Catelyn Tully had never disliked Maester Luwin so much before.
However, Eddard Stark said nothing, as the essence of a maester was service, not loyalty. They were different from knights.
"Cate, let's put the matter of Mufasa aside for now. Please, Maester Luwin, advise us on the matter of your goddaughter!" Eddard Stark said.
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