The moment these words were spoken, every heart in the room, except the speaker's, leapt. Over a dozen pairs of eyes turned to the person lying on the bed, searching his face for the signs Myrcella had mentioned.
Aegor, who was lying down, cursed himself inwardly for his carelessness. He quickly reined in his thoughts and held his breath to keep his eyes from darting around again. The members of the Stark family, with Catelyn at their head, were all filled with apprehension. They feared that Aegor, even in a coma, might have heard and remembered Rickon's foolish words, and that he might bear a grudge or retaliate upon waking. As for Qyburn, who was accompanying them, he was racking his brain, desperate to smooth things over and avoid exposure.
He wanted to deny the girl's words and tell her it was merely an illusion, but a different idea suddenly came to him. He realized there was a better way.
"His eyes moving shows that the Lord Commander is dreaming. That's a good sign, meaning the poisoning hasn't caused devastating damage to his brain." His extensive physiological and medical knowledge served him well at this moment. Even when speaking off the cuff, his words were reasonable and left no room for doubt. "If a strong enough external stimulus is given, there is a chance he could wake. But for the sake of his recovery and long-term health, I recommend allowing Lord Aegor to continue resting until he wakes naturally, so as not to risk any lasting effects."
This former dynasty's little princess had keen eyes indeed. Fearing she might linger and continue dismantling his story, Qyburn used the first half of his sentence to dispel doubts, and the second half to subtly urge them to leave.
Catelyn vaguely understood his meaning. She was also worried her youngest son might blurt out something else, so she quickly went along with it. "Since that's the case, it's best we don't disturb him any further. We'll visit again after the Lord Commander recovers."
Qyburn nodded quickly. "That would be best. We'll inform you immediately once the Lord wakes."
"Thank you, Maester Qyburn."
After thanking him in advance, Catelyn, with a hint of impatience, pulled her youngest son Rickon along and headed for the door as if escaping.
With the parent leaving, the daughter-in-law and the other children had no choice but to follow. In an instant, the crowd around the bedside dispersed, and everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief. Qyburn led the way to the door and opened it in a gentlemanly manner for Lady Stark. Just as she stepped over the threshold, Sansa, who had been stunned by her brother's honest remark, finally regained her composure. With some embarrassment and irritation, she poked Rickon lightly and scolded him in a low voice.
"Nobody thinks you're mute if you don't speak. Do you even know what kind of situation this is? You can't just say whatever you want."
This was originally just a kind reminder between siblings, spoken so softly even Qyburn didn't catch it. But unfortunately, she was dealing with a child who didn't know reason. Rickon was still upset over Hairy Dog's death and annoyed at being dragged along by his mother. With Sansa's light poke, his pent-up grievances and frustration burst like a balloon, and he pushed her back.
"I'm just saying! He can't hear it anyway, so what?"
Though Rickon was still young, years of playing with the direwolf had made him quite sturdy. Caught off guard, Sansa stumbled from the push and bumped into Roslyn, who was holding Lyanna, causing her to take a step back as well. Fortunately, Arya was behind them and managed to steady her.
"Careful!"
Qyburn quickly stepped forward to help, worried that the Young Wolf's wife might fall and hurt the little Stark girl in her arms, which would only lead to more trouble. He supported Roslyn and helped guide her and the infant through the door.
"Will you ever stop!" Arya, already in a bad mood, was disrupted by the bump and flared up. She raised her hand and gave Rickon a hard knock on the head.
"Enough, everyone quiet down!" Catelyn was starting to regret making the children participate in this act. She quickly pulled Rickon in front of her to separate the siblings, glaring back at Arya, then pushed her youngest son out of the Lord Commander's room.
Everyone's attention was on the small conflict between the children. No one noticed that Rickon's push had not only caused Sansa to bump into Roslyn, but also caused Roslyn to stop and block Arya for a moment. As Arya braked, she accidentally nudged Myrcella, who had been walking at the rear. In this chain reaction, the light-footed, small-boned, and completely unprepared little princess was squeezed toward the wall behind the door, landing in an odd blind spot.
The guards outside watched the entire Stark family exit the room one by one. When they peeked inside again, their view was blocked by the half-open door, and they failed to notice Myrcella, who was small and had just steadied herself behind it. Mistakenly thinking all the visitors had left, and following the rule of "every bit of warmth matters in this cold," one of them reached out, grabbed the doorknob, and closed the door without hesitation.
Bang.
With a soft thud, the door closed in front of her. Myrcella, just about to follow the group out, was abruptly shut inside, leaving her cut off from the outside world. She nearly bumped into the door panel. A string of question marks floated in her head. It took her two seconds to realize what had happened, and she felt like laughing and crying at the same time.
She had only been half a step behind the Starks, yet they had managed to completely forget her existence.
And the Night's Watch guards had actually failed to count whether the number of people leaving matched the number who had entered.
Though she felt a little sad and wronged, she understood that it had just been an accident. No one meant her harm. Arya hadn't intended to shove her aside, and the guards hadn't deliberately overlooked her. It was simply that Stark blood didn't run in her veins, and her small stature made her presence easy to miss.
At this moment, all she needed to do was open the door, apologize to the guards, explain the situation, and quickly catch up to Catelyn and the others. But just as her hand reached for the doorknob, a thought stopped her.
(Maybe... I shouldn't leave just yet? I could stay until the attendant returns, to ensure there's no gap. What if Aegor wakes up during this short time and sees me by his side? He might have a better impression of me... That way, when I ask for his help later, he'll be more likely to agree, right?)
A flurry of thoughts lined up in her mind, but Myrcella quickly shook her head and dismissed them. The Stark family had only temporarily forgotten her. When they returned to the keep and noticed she was missing, they would surely come back. If they found her hiding in Aegor's room, how would it look? Even though she sincerely meant to help cover for the attendant, the man didn't even know her. If he came back from the latrine and found a suspicious girl from the Stark side in the room, he might think she had been sent by Catelyn to do something shady...
Even if the most miraculous thing happened and Aegor woke up, and was happy to see her, the whole thing would still come across as too deliberate and calculated.
Whatever you do, it's best to leave no trace.
Having thought through the pros and cons, she sobered up. She had already been standing behind the door like a fool for tens of seconds. If she stayed any longer, the guards might suspect something. Myrcella didn't dare linger. She quickly reached out and grabbed the doorknob, ready to pull it open.
But just then, from the direction of the sickbed behind her, came a clearly audible sigh.
(To be continued.)