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Tyrion and the others returned to the room and began recounting everything that had happened.
His forced marriage to Sansa, Joffrey's death. The accusation was placed on him. Oberyn volunteered as his champion in the trial by combat, only to die in the arena.
Tyrion even mentioned, in a strangely casual tone, that before leaving, he had taken Tywin with him to the grave.
Ned and the others looked at Tyrion with expressions. that were complicated What kind of experiences could make a man speak about killing his own father as if it were a passing joke?
"You married Sansa?" Robb asked, clearly focusing on the wrong part of the story.
"Yes," Tyrion replied with a shrug. "But I swear, both Sansa and I were forced into it. I may have my flaws, but I'm not the sort of man who would lay a hand on a girl like Sansa."
"I've always believed such things should be mutual. And clearly, Sansa didn't want it, and neither did I."
After that, they discussed the circumstances of Tyrion's rescue.
Tyrion muttered thoughtfully, "Jimmy… Jimmy, what kind of house is Halstead?"
"Lord Stark, forgive my ignorance, but I've never heard of a family by that name."
"Some of the mountain clans in the Vale worship things that resemble Horus, but it's obvious he isn't one of them."
"He definitely isn't," Ned said. "His armor, weapons, and the craftsmanship behind them are far beyond anything those mountain clans could produce."
"And think about it," Robb added. "He had access to so many suits of Valyrian steel armor and weapons, yet he didn't even seem interested. That means whatever he wears and uses must be even better than Valyrian steel. There's no way he's some hill tribesman."
Robb had grown particularly fond of the book Jimmy had left behind. If he had known the knowledge in that book earlier, he might not have been placed in such a disadvantageous position before.
Sometimes he even experimented with the methods described in it, including observing people.
Observing others worked well enough. But trying to analyze Jimmy was pointless. The man simply didn't fit into any predictable pattern.
"There's something else you might not know," Ned said, recalling his earliest encounters with Jimmy. "His information network is incredibly precise and unbelievably fast. Even his predictions are frighteningly accurate."
"That's not something a single person could accomplish."
"But strangely enough, in all this time, I've never seen him with a single subordinate."
"Well then," Tyrion said, leaning back with interest, "since we have nothing better to do, why don't we gather every clue we've found and try to figure out who Jimmy really is?"
His suggestion was quickly accepted.
Life on this island was terribly dull. When Gendry had been around, at least there had been blacksmithing to pass the time. Now that Gendry had left with Jimmy, the only real entertainment left was fishing.
Now that such an intriguing mystery had appeared, how could anyone resist?
Soon, all their observations were laid out before them.
---
Tyrion picked up a palm-sized shield decorated with a laughing face.
"The Laughing Shield," he said. "This is the first point where he connected himself to Westeros."
"There's no way he simply picked this up randomly like he claimed. It must have a deeper meaning."
"There's no such thing as coincidence. A person's most instinctive actions reveal their true nature."
"For example, when a child is frightened, they run to their mother. When a rabbit is startled, it runs to its burrow."
"Even if he isn't the Knight of the Laughing Tree, he must have some connection to that legend."
Ned rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"Well… about that."
"I can assure you, he really doesn't seem to have anything to do with the Knight of the Laughing Tree."
Everyone turned to look at Ned.
"?"
"Because I know who the Knight of the Laughing Tree was."
"Huh?"
Not only was Tyrion stunned, even Catelyn couldn't keep her composure.
You old wolf.
She looked at Ned with disbelief, I thought you were simple and honest. Just how many secrets have you been keeping from me?
"This was something I never intended to reveal," Ned said slowly. "But if I don't explain it, you might start drawing the wrong conclusions, so I'll tell you the truth."
"The Knight of the Laughing Tree… was your aunt, Lyanna."
"What?"
Everyone in the room was stunned.
Well, that explained why the mysterious knight had been small and slender. That was exactly how a woman would appear in armor.
"That's unbelievable," Tyrion said, staring wide-eyed. "The Rose of Winterfell actually… That's truly astonishing."
"Father, tell us the whole story," Robb urged eagerly. "You've never told me anything about Aunt Lyanna before."
Perhaps it was because they had both come so close to death, but there was a rare warmth between father and son in that moment.
Ned smiled faintly and began recounting the story.
"At the beginning of that great tourney, Lyanna happened upon three young squires who were ganging up on a smaller boy."
"When she realized the boy was a crannogman, Lyanna charged in without hesitation. She scattered the three bullies using a tourney blade and brought the injured boy back to her tent to clean and bandage his wounds."
"Later we learned that the boy was none other than the young lord Howland Reed. Lyanna introduced him to us and convinced him to sit with us at the feast."
"At the banquet that night, Prince Rhaegar played a hauntingly beautiful melody on his harp. The music was so moving that Lyanna was brought to tears. Benjen teased her for crying, so she promptly dumped a goblet of wine over his head."
Ned chuckled softly at the memory.
"During the feast, Lyanna also recognized the three squires who had bullied Howland earlier. They belonged to Houses Haigh, Blount, and Frey. She pointed them out to us."
"Benjen suggested that if Howland wanted revenge in the tourney lists, we could help him find armor. But Howland worried that he wasn't skilled enough at mounted combat and declined."
"You may have heard that Lyanna was an incredible rider. People called her a centaur because of it. But what you may not know is that among all of us siblings, Lyanna was the best with a lance."
"In fact, Benjen never once beat her in swordplay."
"So when the Knight of the Laughing Tree appeared at the tournament, I immediately knew it was Lyanna."
Ned shook his head with a faint smile.
"Robert, on the other hand, never recognized her. He even wanted to lift the knight's visor himself."
"After defeating the three knights to avenge Howland, Lyanna demanded only one thing in return for returning their armor. They were to discipline their squires and ensure such cruelty never happened again."
"Later, Rhaegar went after the mysterious knight. Lyanna fought him briefly. Because she was trying to escape quickly, she left a small opening. Rhaegar managed to knock off her helmet."
"But at the same moment, Lyanna smashed him off his horse with her shield."
Ned paused.
"What happened afterward, you already know."
"Rhaegar crowned Lyanna the Queen of Love and Beauty. But it wasn't because he had fallen in love with her."
"It was because he realized that the crown had always belonged to her."
"I knew the truth… but I couldn't say anything."
"And then…"
"And then Lyanna fell in love with Rhaegar," Catelyn finished quietly. "And Jon was born."
"What?" Tyrion nearly choked. "Jon Snow is the son of Prince Rhaegar and Lyanna Stark? Gods above… this is…"
"There are no bastards in House Stark," Catelyn said firmly.
"Jon's name is Targaryen."
There was pride in her voice.
But there was guilt as well.
For so many years, the boy who had been treated as a bastard had endured countless injustices.
Thankfully, there was still time to make things right.
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