Creak... An iron door was pushed open...
The bright moonlight shone through the doorway onto Jaime Lannister. His disheveled appearance did not bring Catelyn Tully the slightest bit of comfort.
"Good evening, Lady Stark. I apologize for being unable to serve you properly in this state. If you were to let me wash up, perhaps I could perform quite well."
Jaime raised a hand to shield his eyes from the moonlight for a moment, the sound of iron chains clinking following suit.
It wasn't until a few minutes later, when his eyes had adjusted, that he clearly saw it was Catelyn Tully. The cynical, asshole remark he made with a smile caused Catelyn to frown.
"kingslayer, you are still as repulsive as ever. Are you the same with your sister?"
Catelyn held up a lamp. The light illuminated the entire room, as well as the eyes of the kingslayer before her.
No matter how many times she had seen him, Catelyn had to admit that Jaime was indeed born with a handsome face.
His golden hair shimmered in the lamplight. Despite his hands and feet being shackled, it was still hard to hide the majesty of the Golden Lion.
"As you wish, yes. Cersei is indeed my one true love." Jaime's straightforward answer made Catelyn pause.
"Then Joffrey and the others are your seed too?"
"Yes, is that the answer you wanted?"
Catelyn didn't know if he dared to face her next question. She steadied her mind, gritted her teeth, and asked:
"Why did my son Bran fall?"
"Why should I answer?" Jaime said with a smile. His playful grin infuriated Catelyn.
"To save your own skin."
"You think I fear death?"
Jaime displayed his classic mocking smile again. Even though he was now unshaven, ragged, and reeking, he still tried to maintain the elegance of a nobleman and a knight.
"You will. The gods have eyes. The heinous crimes you have committed will cause you to suffer eternally in the deepest abyss of the seven hells after you die." Catelyn glared at the man before her; she desperately needed an answer.
"Where are the gods? Where are the gods in this world? If there really are gods in this world, why is there so much injustice? Loyal men fall, and the wicked run rampant. Is this what the gods want to see?"
Catelyn's words seemed to touch Jaime's heart. His emotions fluctuated, and he spoke more than usual, a rarity.
From that moment years ago, Jaime had stopped believing in gods. He decided to measure justice in the world with his own heart.
"That is because there are people like you."
"No one is like me; there is only one of me in this world. Perhaps if you gave me a flask of wine, I could give you a bit more of a reply?"
Catelyn glanced back. Brienne understood, immediately tossed the wine flask in her hand to Jaime, and then silently exited.
Once the kingslayer had gulped down more than half, holding the flask in his hand.
Catelyn asked again: "kingslayer, I will ask one more time. Why did my son Bran fall?"
"I threw him from the window." Whether it was the effect of the alcohol or Jaime truly wanting to speak, Catelyn finally got her answer.
This finally made Catelyn angry. She slapped Jaime across his unshaven face and whispered, "You wicked, despicable wretch!"
"Wicked and despicable, am I?"
"You murdered the king you swore to protect, harmed the weak—is that not wicked and despicable?"
"Hahahaha, Lady Stark, do you think so too? It just goes to show the world is full of ignorant fools."
Jaime Lannister suddenly burst into laughter, laughing hysterically, rocking back and forth, tears in the corners of his eyes. The whole person appeared incredibly insane. That expression startled Catelyn; she almost thought Jaime had lost his mind.
"About Bran, I am sorry."
Suddenly, Jaime Lannister stopped laughing and silently lowered his head.
"But kingslaying?"
He let out a drunken hiccup, fell silent for a long while, then sighed:
"What kind of king was he!"
Jaime raised the wine flask: "To Aerys II of House Targaryen, Ruler of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm! To the sword that cut his throat! Do you know? It was a golden sword. The sword was stained with his blood—it was the color of House Lannister, red and gold."
That day, Jaime Lannister wore golden armor, draped in a white cloak, and drew his longsword. He first stabbed the pyromancer who was going to release the wildfire, then walked step by step toward The Mad King Aerys on the iron throne.
The last Dragon King, "The Mad King" Aerys, was still screaming hysterically:
"Burn them! Burn them!"
He was mad; he wanted all the citizens of the city to be buried with his Targaryen dynasty...
Jaime's thoughts returned to the present. He leaned against the wall with his eyes closed. "I suppose Lord Eddard Stark never told you how his father and brother died, did he? I remember his brother Brandon Stark was once your fiancé, right?"
"How else could they have died? Cruelly murdered by The Mad King Aerys, with swords or axes." Catelyn said.
"It seems you truly do not know." Jaime looked at Catelyn Tully and smiled:
"Aerys accused them of treason and took them hostage, summoning their father to the capital for questioning. When they arrived in King's Landing, they were executed without trial—neither father nor son was spared."
"Actually, there was a trial, but it was just of a different form. Lord Rickard demanded a trial by combat, which the King approved. However, in the end, the King told him: Fire is the champion of House Targaryen, and if Lord Rickard wanted to prove his innocence, he had to not be burned."
Jaime Lannister's green eyes stared fixedly at Catelyn Tully as he continued:
"Do you want to know the process? The Mad King Aerys guaranteed: Unless his son could save his father, Lord Rickard would be nothing but ashes. Brandon Stark tried very hard, but the harder he struggled, the tighter the rope around his neck constricted, until finally, he choked himself to death."
"Aerys was a madman; the whole country knows it. Do you expect me to believe you killed him just to avenge Brandon Stark?" Catelyn couldn't listen any longer, and she didn't know if this was the truth.
"I didn't mean that. The Direwolf Stark meant nothing to me. But through this, I also learned that people can smell so good!"
Jaime sighed: "What I mean is, while there is one person in this world who loves me for the kindness I never offered, there are many, many people who curse me for my greatest benevolence. Lady Stark, it is late; you should go back and rest."
When he said this, the face of his younger brother, the Imp Tyrion Lannister, unconsciously appeared in his mind.
Jaime's lips twitched involuntarily, and he silently whispered a name that only he could hear: "Tysha..."
"Except for my sister Cersei, I have never had another woman in my life. I have my own way of doing things, my own justice. More honest and more loyal than your Ned. And I must ask you, who is it that treats honor like bullshit? Tell me, what is the name of his bastard?"
Jaime smiled and mocked: "Snow, it sounds as white as Snow, as pure and flawless as his cloak and honor..."
"Brienne!"
Brienne pushed the door open violently and rushed into the dungeon. "You called for me, my lady?"
"Bring me my sword!" Catelyn Tully reached out her hand.
...
On the other side.
After Robb Stark learned that the joint Lannister and Tyrell forces had defeated Stannis Baratheon in the Battle of the Blackwater, he also knew his strategy had failed, so he had no choice but to take Jeyne Westerling back to Riverrun.
On the way, ignoring the objections of Kings Hand Ragu, Robb Stark announced to the entire army that he would marry Jeyne Westerling as his queen.
Upon hearing this decision, Lyman Frey was the first to refuse, because his father, Stevron Frey, had just died in battle for Robb Stark, and Robb was actually breaking his marriage contract! He felt insulted.
Consequently, Lyman Frey cursed Robb Stark on the spot for breaking his promise and lacking honor, threw the Direwolf banner in his hand onto the ground, and took the thousand cavalrymen of House Frey, led by his son Black Walder Frey, straight back to The Twins.
(A side note: Stevron Frey was the eldest son and heir of Walder Frey, who was injured and died in the Battle of the Oxcross. Lyman Frey was the eldest son of Stevron Frey; after Stevron Frey died, it meant his eldest son Lyman Frey became the first heir. And Black Walder is the second son of Lyman Frey, belonging to the third heir of the current House Frey. The inheritance law of the A Song of Ice and Fire world is as follows: after the eldest son dies, it is inherited by the eldest son of the eldest son. After Stevron Frey dies, it is inherited by his eldest son Lyman Frey. If Lyman Frey dies, it would be inherited by his eldest son Edwyn Frey, and so on.)
"What are you doing? Didn't we agree a few days ago to wait until we reached Riverrun and saw Lady Stark before discussing the marriage?"
Robb Stark's sudden decision was truly beyond Kings Hand Ragu's expectations. They had clearly agreed to wait until they reached Riverrun and met the parents before discussing the marriage, yet this kid Robb Stark had changed his mind halfway.
Kings Hand Ragu had originally wanted to let Robb Stark calm down on the road. Once they saw Catelyn Tully, he would state the pros and cons, and she would persuade Robb, who was caught in the whirlwind of love, to wake up.
"I can't wait. I cannot sit idly by and watch the gossip in the army. I must uphold the purity of my wife Jeyne Westerling and the honor in my heart."
Robb Stark spoke beautifully, but he was also very conflicted at the moment.
He didn't know how to face the members of House Frey who had died for him in battle, but he couldn't worry about that now.
"Upholding your wife's purity is important, but is breaking your marriage contract now also considered upholding honor?" Kings Hand Ragu scolded.
"I have my own thoughts." Robb Stark lowered his head, speaking without conviction.
"You fool! You are simply unreasonable! You don't understand anything at all! Do you know how much I paid to save you?"
Looking at Robb Stark's indifferent attitude, Kings Hand Ragu became even angrier, rambling on about a bunch of messy things.
These words sounded nonsensical to Robb Stark, and he couldn't understand them.
However, Robb Stark could feel that this Kings Hand Ragu didn't seem as old as he appeared on the surface; when he spoke, it was like he was his own peer.
...
This can't go on like this, Kings Hand Ragu thought: I can only try to remedy the situation. After returning to Riverrun, I must let Robb Stark appease Rickard Karstark among his subordinates.
Otherwise, once they break with House Karstark, Robb Stark will be completely helpless.
In the original work, it was precisely because Rickard Karstark was sentenced to death and beheaded by Robb that House Karstark completely turned to House Bolton.
Then, because of insufficient troops, Robb Stark chose to negotiate with House Frey and attend the Red Wedding.
Kings Hand Ragu looked at Jeyne Westerling beside Robb Stark, wondering if he could just kill her directly.
He remembered that Lyman Frey's second son, Black Walder Frey, had said before leaving that he didn't mind if Robb Stark was a widower.
Thinking this in his heart, his gaze toward Jeyne Westerling became dangerous.
At this moment, Robb Stark, who was walking in front, seemed to feel something. He slowed down, brought his horse alongside Jeyne Westerling's horse, and blocked Kings Hand Ragu's line of sight.
Kings Hand Ragu gave a wry smile and thought: Robb, oh Robb, all your brains are used on these kinds of things.
But he also gave up the murderous intent toward Jeyne in his heart. He believed that even if he sacrificed Jeyne, this innocent girl, it probably wouldn't guarantee that Robb Stark would fulfill his marriage contract with House Frey.
This person Robb Stark is too stubborn; he's the same ghost as his father, his own uncle Lord Eddard Stark—they are all unreasonable blockheads!
...
In Riverrun.
"Your Grace, your mother, Lady Stark, released the kingslayer Jaime Lannister. Please give us an explanation."
Rickard Karstark and a group of nobles from House Karstark all looked grief-stricken and indignant. They never expected that the mother of the King in the North, Catelyn Tully, would secretly release Jaime Lannister while they were fighting in the Westerlands.
Just because of a promise casually made by the Imp Tyrion Lannister, guaranteeing that Sansa Stark and Arya Stark would be released.
And now that the Lannisters have won the Battle of the Blackwater, it's hard to say if they will keep this promise.
How could they not be angry?
Our own family members sacrificed their lives for your House Stark, yet you did such a thing.
Watching his mother, who was silent with her head bowed, Robb Stark also remained silent for a long time.
Because now Robb Stark believed he had also done something wrong; he had violated his marriage contract with House Frey and married Jeyne Westerling as his wife, so he had always felt a little guilty when he returned to Riverrun and saw his mother.
But now that he suddenly learned his mother had also made a mistake, for some reason, he felt inexplicably relaxed.
Because in the eyes of this fifteen- or sixteen-year-old teenage boy, he and his mother were even.
But is this kind of thing so easily evened out?
"My mother, she..." Robb Stark was just about to open his mouth to forgive his mother and explain for her, when he felt a pain in his right foot.
He turned his head and found that it was Kings Hand Ragu, who had been following behind him, who had stepped on his foot. Robb Stark frowned, wanting to ask the reason.
But looking at the other's blinking eyes, Robb Stark suddenly realized. He remembered the warning Kings Hand Ragu gave him on the road back to Riverrun.
Although he didn't know why Kings Hand Ragu had disappeared for a while on the road and only returned after he received the news that the Lannisters had won the Battle of the Blackwater, Robb Stark still followed his strategy.
So, Robb Stark coughed lightly, pretending to be angry, and said loudly:
"My mother privately released the important Lannister prisoner Jaime Lannister during the war. This is a very serious mistake! In the name of the King in the North, I sentence her to death! Execute her immediately!"
With that, Robb Stark immediately ordered his subordinates Dacey Mormont and Greatjon Umber to escort Catelyn Tully to the execution ground.
As a result, none of the Northerners dared to move. Listening to Robb Stark's firm order, even Rickard Karstark, who was originally extremely indignant, was dumbfounded.
Everyone thought they had misheard. The King in the North actually wanted to behead his own mother?
Seeing this, Kings Hand Ragu beside him nodded with satisfaction. Robb Stark had finally done one thing right.
"What are you all stunned for? Is my command not good enough?" Robb Stark roared, feigning anger.
In fact, before returning to Riverrun, Kings Hand Ragu had told him that he must appease people like Rickard Karstark.
And he also provided a strategy: to pretend to behead Catelyn Tully.
In this way, the nobles of the North who were originally very angry would definitely stand up to plead for Catelyn Tully. At that time, Robb Stark could then step down from the stairs at the right time and appease everyone to end the dispute.
This was also an expedient measure, but at least it wouldn't completely escalate the conflict.
Although Robb Stark didn't know how Kings Hand Ragu knew from a hundred miles away that his mother Catelyn Tully had privately released Jaime Lannister, he still nodded and agreed to the other's strategy.