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After calming down, Tyrion suddenly lit up with realization.
"That's it, it has to be, Now it makes sense."
"Lord Stark, if Jon truly carries the Targaryen name, then his age must not be what people think it is."
"That would mean he wasn't simply stronger than Robb growing up. He was actually older than Robb all along."
"Yes," Ned replied. "Lyanna once told me Jon was more than eight months older than Robb."
"In that case, Lord Stark… is it possible just possible that Lyanna didn't give birth to only one child?"
"You see, my mother gave birth to twins, Jaime and Cersei."
"So if just hypothetically Jon had a brother…"
"One child, Jon, was entrusted to you, The other was secretly taken away by one of Rhaegar's loyal men."
"That child grew up… and became Jimmy."
"If that's the case, everything suddenly makes sense."
Tyrion grew more excited the more he spoke, his thoughts rapidly organizing themselves.
"For example, he knows the Red Keep and its underground tunnels extremely well."
"He killed the Mountain and Amory Lorch using exactly the same method."
"He carried the Laughing Tree shield."
"And he shows absolutely no hesitation when killing anyone in Westeros."
"But at the final moment, he saved all of you."
The more Tyrion analyzed it, the clearer the theory became in his mind.
Right… and he mentioned Daenerys too, He even said he would protect her three dragons.
Robb suddenly realized something as well.
So that was why Jimmy had been so enthusiastic about criticizing both him and his mother.
It was almost laughable.
Suddenly, Robb found the idea strangely amusing.
His so-called cousin might actually be a bit mischievous. Calling his own uncle "Old Wolf," constantly mocking him with words while quietly arranging everything behind the scenes.
But then Ned frowned.
"No… something still doesn't add up."
"The appearance doesn't match. And the Targaryens have never used vines as armor decorations."
"Their symbols are the three-headed dragon, or the Blackfyre. Even dragonfire would make sense."
"But vines? That seems impossible."
Ned clearly had entertained the same thought himself, but he still found it hard to believe.
"Different appearance?" Tyrion waved a hand dismissively.
"You simply weren't looking closely enough."
"If not for the appearance, I might not have been so sure. But now I'm certain."
"Did you ever truly examine his eyes?"
"They're blue. But whenever he focuses carefully, a flash of purple appears around the edge of his pupils."
"That's a signature trait of Targaryen eyes."
"Prince Rhaegar's eyes were indigo as well, weren't they?"
"As for why he doesn't have silver hair… well, the Stark bloodline is notoriously stubborn."
"And regarding those vines you mentioned…"
"Lord Stark, even if you don't worship the Seven, you must know about the Great Sept of Baelor in King's Landing."
"Baelor Targaryen—the king known as Baelor the Blessed—was said to be favored by the gods."
"He once wore a crown made entirely of vines and flowers."
At Tyrion's explanation, everyone suddenly remembered that peculiar Targaryen king.
Baelor had been… an unusual man, to say the least.
In fact, he had been fanatically devoted to the Faith of the Seven.
When Baelor's brother Daeron died in Dorne, Baelor became king. His very first order was to release the Dornish hostages Daeron had brought to King's Landing.
Baelor wanted to "heal the wounds" caused by his brother's war.
So he personally decided to escort the Dornish hostages back home.
And how did he plan to do that?
By following what he believed to be the will of the gods.
He walked.
Barefoot.
The hostages were practically in tears.
Walking from King's Landing all the way to Dorne was bad enough, but doing it barefoot? By the time they arrived, their feet might as well have been ground to dust.
Some of them probably would have preferred a quick execution.
But driven by sheer religious devotion, Baelor actually made the journey all the way to Dorne.
Even the Prince of Dorne was stunned when he arrived.
"This fool actually walked all the way here step by step?"
"What did he ask for? Just agree to it. Agree to everything! That man isn't normal!"
The Dornish had been terrified he might collapse somewhere along the road and die in their territory, which would bring disaster upon them. They even suggested sending him back to King's Landing by ship.
Baelor refused.
He insisted he must walk back as well, following the will of the Seven.
The Prince of Dorne immediately issued an order. Escort him the entire way. Just make sure he doesn't collapse and die in Dorne.
Amazingly, Baelor survived the journey.
Not only that, he almost managed to get himself killed along the way.
When passing through the castle of House Wyl, he decided to "rescue" his cousin Aemon.
At the time, Aemon had been suspended over a pit filled with venomous snakes. Baelor climbed down into the pit himself to save him.
According to the songs of the bards, every snake bowed in reverence before the pious king.
The truth was far less poetic.
Baelor was bitten forty or fifty times and nearly died on the spot.
Lord Wyl, terrified that the king might actually die on his lands and bring disaster upon him, hurriedly sent the overly pious monarch away as quickly as possible.
---
"How could it be him?" Ned protested immediately. "That's my nephew you're talking about. And Baelor was… well… a rather strange man."
"How could it not be him?" Tyrion countered calmly.
"You're only seeing Baelor's eccentricities. But he possessed one ability that no one else had."
"He often said, 'The Seven are watching you.'"
"And strangely enough, it seemed to be true."
"He once issued a bizarre decree stating that any lord who used a chastity belt to protect his daughter's virtue would be exempt from taxes."
"Yet somehow, no one managed to exploit that decree."
"Not even minor lords in the most remote regions were able to deceive him."
"That's frightening when you think about it."
"It means even the smallest lords were under his watchful eye."
Tyrion spread his hands.
"So tell me, do you still think Baelor was completely useless?"
"If he truly knew everything… then it would explain why Jimmy also seems to know everything."
Silence filled the room.
No one had expected such a possibility.
---
Of course, Jimmy had absolutely no idea about the conclusions they had reached.
If he knew how wildly off-track their theory was, he would probably laugh until he cried.
Forcing a Targaryen identity onto him like that was quite a stretch.
---
Jimmy had no time to worry about their speculations anyway.
When he returned to Sea Dragon Point, he was immediately stunned by Rickon.
Rickon, looking extremely pleased with himself, proudly announced that he had successfully captured Deepwood Motte.
To avoid attracting attention, he had also wiped out all traces of their involvement and withdrawn afterward.
But Rickon hadn't returned alone.
There were guests.
From House Glover of Deepwood Motte.
Although calling them a "house" now might have been generous.
Only a widow and her children remained.
Galbart Glover and Robett Glover had followed Robb south into the Riverlands, and their fate remained unknown.
What remained of House Glover was now here.
Robett Glover's wife, Sybelle, along with their three-year-old son Gavin and their one-year-old daughter Aina. Nearly two years old, actually.
Naturally, where there were guests, there were also prisoners.
The most notable among them was Asha.
Asha Greyjoy, the Queen of the Iron Islands.
Well… she had been until recently.
With the support of the priest Aeron, Victarion Greyjoy had claimed the throne and become the new King of the Iron Islands.
Asha's rise and fall were both tied to Theon.
She had originally gained power with Theon's support, but after Theon was captured by Ramsay Bolton, she insisted on attempting a rescue mission.
Most of the ironborn refused to follow her and instead turned against her.
By the time Asha returned to Deepwood Motte, she had only four ships and a little over two hundred men left.
Even with such meager forces, she still refused to stay quiet.
On the way back to Deepwood Motte, she encountered a group of free folk from Sea Dragon Point hunting seals.
Lacking manpower, Asha mistook them for hill tribes from the Wolfswood.
So she decided to seize them and replenish her forces.
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