Edric Dayne, who only reached Jon's chest, was startled when he heard Jon's words.
He opened his mouth, and finally couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Hahaha—sorry, sorry, Ser Jon. I usually don't laugh, but I really can't help it."
The little Edric clutched his belly, laughing so hard he nearly bent double.
Jon, on the other hand, stared blankly at the suddenly laughing Edric Dayne, then instinctively turned toward Bronn, as if wanting to see from that shabby sellsword's face what could possibly be so funny about what he'd just said.
But faced with Jon's puzzled look and Edric laughing till tears came out, Bronn tilted his head, seeming to realize something.
Then he spread his hands, shrugged, and smirked: "Looks like Wylla wasn't your mother. She was just your father's bedwarmer during those long lonely nights."
Seeing Edric laughing, Bronn clearly didn't think much of Jon's question about whether Wylla was his mother.
Hearing that explanation, the confusion in Jon's eyes gradually cleared, though disappointment still flickered beneath them.
Seeing Edric laugh, he too thought he had made a fool of himself.
But hearing the two of them, Edric Dayne finally stopped laughing.
"Ser Jon, I swear by the honor of House Dayne, I truly wasn't mocking you."
He hurriedly wiped the tears from his eyes and apologized first.
Then he spoke solemnly: "But I must say, this man is mistaken."
"For as far as I know, Wylla really is your mother. Though I think Lord Eddard Stark never told you, did he?"
"She's a wet nurse of Starfall. She's served our house for many, many years—since even before I was born."
Edric Dayne was clever. With only a few words, he had roughly grasped Jon's purpose for seeking him out—especially from Jon's anxious look.
So he didn't bother to hide it. He directly explained everything he knew about Wylla, Eddard Stark, and Jon.
As those certain words left his mouth, the disappointment that had filled Jon's eyes gradually brightened once more.
"Did Wylla tell you this, Lord Edric?!"
After all that hopeless searching, at last, a light broke through.
Upon hearing news about his mother, Jon's excitement surged uncontrollably.
But faced with the stirred Jon Snow, Edric quickly waved his hands, then craned his small neck to glance around.
Seeing that no one was paying attention, his cheeks flushed slightly as he looked up at Jon and said, "Perhaps… you could call me Ned, my milk-brother."
"Though we share no blood, when I was little, my mother had no milk, and it was Wylla who nursed me."
For some reason, toward this bastard of House Stark, Edric felt a heartfelt fondness, as if he had met a true brother by blood.
It made him rather happy.
"Milk-brother, Ned?" Jon didn't mind the relationship itself—but hearing that name, he couldn't help feeling slightly surprised.
After all, there was only one Ned in Winterfell, and that name was usually spoken only by Lady Catelyn or the King himself.
"That's my nickname, but I heard Lord Eddard Stark is called that too. Still, it's the name my parents gave me."
Faced with Jon's surprise, Edric explained awkwardly.
Jon didn't dwell on it.
After all, his own name had been given by his father, Eddard Stark, to honor his foster father, Lord Jon Arryn.
So seeing this, Jon smiled as well. He extended a hand toward the young Edric, who had shown him such open goodwill.
"All right, Ned, and you don't need to call me 'Ser.' My brother Robb and the others just call me Jon—I think you can too."
Learning who his mother was, and at the same time gaining a pure friendship, made Jon deeply happy.
It was something he had never experienced in his life.
At Winterfell, only Robb and Arya had liked him and were willing to spend time with him.
But he had always been just a bastard.
If not for Kal, he might already have donned the black and gone to the Wall far to the north.
And now, in the borderlands of Dorne, he had gained another brother.
Not yet fifteen, he looked upon this young lord of Starfall—with his platinum-gold hair and deep blue eyes tinged with violet—who called him milk-brother and claimed to know about him, and felt an inexplicable warmth.
The tall and short figures clasped hands together.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Jon."
Having lost his parents early and grown up without any siblings, Edric Dayne was thrilled to have gained a brother.
"The pleasure is mine, Ned—and I'm honored for it."
Jon smiled and shook his hand.
"May I invite you to my tent as a guest?"
Edric's eyes widened. To receive a guest outside the tent was considered rude.
"Of course!"
Jon naturally had no objection.
And so, under Bronn's curious gaze, the two youths went together to Edric Dayne's tent. It was one reserved for the Lord of Starfall himself—so large it was nearly a house.
At Edric's invitation, the two sat down inside.
"So, has Wylla ever spoken to you about me? Does she still remember me?"
Hardly had he sat down when Jon pressed again the question Edric had not answered earlier.
Right now, he was desperate to confirm that this woman named Wylla was truly his mother.
Hearing this, the young Lord of Starfall, still glowing with excitement at having gained a brother, paused slightly.
He tilted his head and thought carefully.
But after a while, he shook it.
"Sorry. Though Wylla would sometimes tell me stories about the Lord of the North and the Warden of Winterfell, I don't recall her ever saying that you were her child."
Edric looked a bit troubled and embarrassed.
But soon he smiled again and changed the subject.
"But that clearly isn't a problem."
"If you ever need it, Starfall will always welcome your visit. When the time comes, Jon, you can ask Wylla yourself."
"Or you could also ask Lord Eddard Stark. I think by now, perhaps he would no longer treat this matter as a secret."
"And I believe that if you can personally receive confirmation from them, it would surely be far better than hearing it from me."
Edric appeared optimistic and offered his sincere advice.
Although he hadn't received a definite answer, Jon wasn't disappointed.
Right now, he was simply overjoyed to have obtained news about his mother.
And since things had come this far, Jon firmly believed that Wylla must indeed be his mother.
After all, the King had said so, and Prince Oberyn Martell of Dorne had also told him to seek out someone of House Dayne to ask.
Now, with the personal confirmation of the Lord of Starfall, Edric Dayne, Jon no longer thought there could be any doubt.
What's more, his father, Eddard Stark, had once promised that he would tell him this secret when he became a knight.
So for him now, all he needed was a confirmation.
"All right. Thank you, Ned. After all, this is still far better than knowing nothing at all."
"I'm very happy you told me so much!"
Jon smiled brightly.
He felt that perhaps in all his fifteen years, he had never been so happy as today.
He was truly grateful that Kal had sent him to Dorne to deliver gifts.
Yet, having finally laid to rest the doubt that had haunted him for years, Jon soon brought up another matter—
A rumor that had once been publicly suppressed by Eddard Stark back at Winterfell.
"I had originally thought my mother might have been your aunt, Ashara Dayne. But now, it seems she was not."
However, at the mention of Ashara Dayne's name, Edric unconsciously withdrew the smile from his face.
"Though my aunt Ashara died long before I was born, I am certain she was not your mother."
"Because, from what I know, the child she bore then was a stillborn girl. That was what broke her heart… and why she chose to end her life."
At that, a hint of sorrow crossed Edric's face—for this was not a pleasant subject.
House Dayne of Starfall had few surviving members; now, only he and his other aunt, Allyria Dayne, remained.
This often left the young Lord of Starfall with a sense of worry.
Still, being thoughtful by nature, he soon set aside the sadness and spoke of another anecdote instead.
"But my other aunt, Allyria Dayne, once told me that Lord Eddard Stark and my Aunt Ashara had already fallen in love during the tourney at Harrenhal."
"So, if that little girl had lived, perhaps you would have had another sister."
Hearing about the dead, Jon opened his mouth instinctively, then quickly apologized. "I'm sorry—I didn't mean to—"
Jon looked genuinely remorseful, as if he hadn't expected things to turn out that way.
Though he was somewhat puzzled about how his father, Eddard Stark, and Ashara Dayne could have been in love.
After all, the stories about House Dayne most widely told in Winterfell were those concerning the duel between Lord Eddard Stark and "Sword of the Morning" Ser Arthur Dayne.
In the battle at the Tower of Joy, his father had been the final victor.
As for "Sword of the Morning" Ser Arthur Dayne, he had perished there.
Realizing this, Jon suddenly became aware that he had spoken out of turn, and a faint unease stirred within him.
"It's nothing. I only hope I was able to help you."
Edric, of course, had no idea what Jon was thinking. He simply smiled, shook his head indifferently, and continued chatting happily with him.
Thus, time passed swiftly in the warmth of their conversation.
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