Tyrion looked at the stunned Edmure, raising an eyebrow slightly, and then said, "Although my sister has been married, she is still shining white; pray favors her."
With sincere eyes, Tyrion suddenly felt… he was now like a pimp recommending a whore to a guest, and his face must be full of flattery.
Perhaps, he could find a job at Sathaya's (the owner of King's Landing's largest brothel) in the future… Hmm, he missed Shae's perky rear.
Tyrion Lannister immediately pulled back his nearly straying thoughts, and he winked playfully at Edmure.
Edmure Tully's lips trembled for a while, and using the action of raising his cup… he shifted his body, took a big gulp of wine, and said, "Tyrion, your joke today is not funny at all."
Edmure's gaze shifted away, and he twitched his right leg as if unconcerned.
Tyrion stared at Edmure silently.
After a pause, Edmure's blue eyes moved slightly, first looking at Tyrion, then immediately retracting his gaze, and said, "Because we are friends, I can pretend I didn't hear it, Tyrion."
Watching Edmure's "little gestures," Tyrion's lips curved into an almost imperceptible smile; he could tell that Riverrun's heir was already moved.
"Although…"
Before he finished speaking, Tyrion sighed deeply and continued, "I am still very grateful to you, Edmure."
In Edmure's eyes… Tyrion rubbed his face, forced a smile, and then moved on to other topics.
Listening to the usual stories of Tyrion and beauties that he loved to hear, Edmure felt increasingly uncomfortable; he actually wanted to hear more about Cersei.
By the thirteenth cup of summer red, looking at the incessantly talking Tyrion, Edmure felt a bit annoyed; how could the usually clever Lannister dwarf not have realized that he wanted to continue discussing his sister—Cersei Lannister?!
By the fifteenth cup of summer red, Edmure really couldn't hold back. He first cleared his throat to get Tyrion's attention, then tried his best to speak casually, "Tyrion, my friend, is what you said true?"
Facing Tyrion's puzzled gaze, the Tully heir subtly prompted, "Ahem, I mean… about your sister being confined in Maegors Holdfast."
Hearing Edmure's words, Tyrion paused slightly, holding his wine cup motionless and silent for a moment, before nodding.
Then, he leaned back in his chair, gazing towards the window, and slowly said, "It's true. My father doesn't want Cersei to appear before Joffrey. He thinks a mother can easily make a son weak."
Edmure blurted out, "How can this be, this is still… this… this…"
Tyrion shrugged and said, "This is Tywin Lannister, my benevolent father. He has only one demand for his children: obey his every command, whether you want to or not."
Edmure felt sympathy for Cersei's plight and murmured, "Although her husband has passed away, she is already a mother, she shouldn't… Alas… Tyrion, I have no standing to judge anything, my friend, don't be too sad."
Tyrion nodded slightly, raised his cup with a sorrowful expression, but secretly savored the sweetness of the summer red.
He exhaled and said, "Robert never let my sister experience true marital love, and even now… she not only has the beauty of a young woman but also retains the pure heart of a maiden."
After a pause, he raised a hand to wipe the corner of his eye, revealing a bitter smile: "Before I left King's Landing, Cersei still believed… that one day, a knight from a poem would rescue her from Maegors Holdfast. For that day, for that knight, she dressed herself beautifully every day… I am proud of my sister's good heart, and also sad for her innocence."
Tyrion wiped the corner of his eye again: "I am truly useless. I don't have the courage to defy my father. I have failed my sister's love for me."
Edmure empathized; if it were him… if his sister were trapped and he had no good way to rescue her, he would surely go mad with worry. He guessed that because of a cold-blooded father like Lord Tywin who only cared about power, the bond between the Lannister siblings must be as deep as that between the Tully siblings.
The atmosphere became heavy, and Edmure opened his mouth, offering a strained comfort, "Your sister is, after all, the King's mother…"
The King's mother… repeating it in his mind, Edmure suddenly felt a warmth in his lower belly. He quickly suppressed the sudden strange feeling and continued, "Everyone is watching, I think Lord Tywin wouldn't dare go too far."
"If he cared about what others thought, he wouldn't be Lord Tywin, nor would there be the Rains of Castamere."
Tyrion's tone was mocking: "If Lord Frey could help Lord Tywin, I guarantee my father would immediately send Cersei to Lord Frey's bed, without hesitation."
Imagining that scene, the good-natured Edmure suddenly felt an urge to kill. He silently drank his wine, suppressing the emotions surging within him.
Tyrion ran his hand through his hair, making it look like a messy pile of weeds: "Because pray's favor gave Cersei the greatest beauty in the Seven Kingdoms, but did not grant her the marital affection that even an ordinary woman can enjoy."
He looked at Edmure, who was staring fixedly at him, and said, "To be honest, I've never seen a woman more beautiful than my sister."
He lowered his voice slightly: "Even her toes are pray's masterpiece on earth…"
He sighed softly: "Perhaps this is the price of having the best beauty in Westeros."
At this moment, the image of Cersei in Edmure's mind became more vivid: as stunningly beautiful as rumored, and very delicate.
She needed a knight's protection; this was salvation, perhaps… he was the knight she had been waiting for.
No, he was, he could do it.
Edmure Tully had been "obedient" since childhood, but today… he was going to make a decision on his own, perhaps a bit impulsive, but he could no longer suppress the love welling up within him. He didn't want to regret it for a lifetime.
Edmure suddenly rose from his chair. He said to Tyrion, "My friend, I will go talk to my father about Cersei Lannister."
Without waiting for Tyrion's response, he immediately strode off. He was like a warrior rushing to the battlefield: "I'm going now."
The hand Tyrion had extended stopped there. He stared blankly at Edmure's retreating back until he completely disappeared, then he murmured, "Good luck."
After speaking, he let out a long burp.
Not long after Edmure left, footsteps sounded, and Ser Adam Marbrand (Jaime's childhood friend, ordered by Lord Tywin to escort Tyrion to Riverrun, Chapter 258) entered, clad in black armor.
Ser Adam stood before Tyrion, gazed at him for a moment, and said, "Tyrion, what are you up to?"
Tyrion took a sip of wine and drunkenly said, "Do you like eavesdropping, Ser?"
To Tyrion's taunt, Ser Adam was expressionless: "I'm not a fool. Your Sellsword guards intentionally let me hear your conversation."
Tyrion grinned: "That's not a good excuse. If you were a true knight, he would have refused my good intentions."
Ser Adam clenched his fist and said, "Everything you say and do in Riverrun, I must report to Lord Tywin. This is my duty."
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