"Who do you think killed Tommen?" Tyrion's tone also turned cold. "Jaime already knew your sister murdered Tommen, but he decided to use Tommen's death to offset the feud between the two families. In the end, you turned around and struck him hard."
"He was knocked unconscious, and it took more than half a month for him to recover."
"Tommen was killed by Arya?" Jon was startled.
"Your sister has already confessed. She poisoned Catspaw, infiltrated the Red Keep using a skinchanger's methods, and drugged Tommen to death."
"Even if she killed him, isn't Jaime being too presumptuous by using one Tommen to settle the Stark family's debt?" Jon said.
"You dare compare numbers with me?" Tyrion sneered.
"You need to consider cause and effect. Why did Arya go to Casterly Rock? Why did the Starks become enemies with the Lannisters?" Jon's gaze sharpened.
Tyrion stared at him for a long time, then resumed walking forward. "If we keep discussing like this, we'll never reach a consensus."
"A grand trial is indeed necessary. Let's just hope the Dragon Queen is as fair and just as the Father."
Jon's tense expression relaxed, and he said with confidence, "I believe in the Dragon Queen. She's your sister, so you should trust her even more."
With the topic changed, the icy atmosphere between them immediately thawed.
"Sometimes I even wonder if, after seeing the empty Casterly Rock, she might hide under her blanket and laugh secretly," the dwarf sighed.
Jon held back a laugh. "That's not a big deal. The Lannisters wiped out her family and killed her young nieces and nephews. She has every reason to feel schadenfreude over what happened to Casterly Rock."
"In fact, when news of Casterly Rock reached King's Landing, nine out of ten commoners smiled. It was practically a citywide celebration. The remaining one, who had some sense, only said the timing was wrong."
"You Lannisters really should reflect. You've always acted so ruthlessly. Sooner or later, there will be retribution."
"That's what I should be saying to you," Tyrion's face turned cold again.
Jon shook his head. "There's no need to waste time repeating old arguments. Today is the grand trial."
After that, the two walked all the way to the main hall of House Farman's castle, which was already packed with people.
Though it was crowded, the castle hall could only hold a little over four hundred people.
The trial area was in the center of the hall. A massive wooden armchair, raised half a meter above the floor, belonged to the Dragon Queen. On both sides were three tiers of seating, clearly arranged, reserved for noble lords, ladies, and young maidens.
Below, two Unsullied guarded a four-meter-long railing, keeping back the onlookers: mercenary knights, notable townsfolk, singers, poets, merchants, and craftsmen.
House Farman's soldiers guarded outside the castle, while inside, the Dragon Queen's White Knights led the Unsullied in maintaining order.
The surviving lords of the Westerlands had all arrived, seated on the left side of the Dragon Queen. Many nobles from the Seven Kingdoms were also present, seated on the right.
The dwarf and Jon separated. One took the first seat on the left, the other the first seat on the right, facing each other across a three-meter-wide space.
This trial had been anticipated for a month, and its scale was indeed grand, almost like a "frugal version" of a Great Council.
Aside from Tyrion, the ailing Jaime had also come. His cheeks were gaunt, and his eyes seemed shrouded in a dense fog of pain and confusion, leaving him lost in life.
Sansa sat beside Jon, holding her daughter. She wore a white hairnet adorned with blue diamonds and a dark purple wool dress that accentuated her graceful figure and snow-white skin.
Compared to before, her face had less sharpness and anxiety. She appeared calm and confident, with an added elegance and gentleness of a mature woman.
Especially when she looked at the baby in her arms, her beautiful blue eyes seemed to bloom with spring.
After sitting down, the dwarf fixed his gaze on her and could not look away. Yet seated right beside Sansa was his fiancée, Arianne.
The Dornish princess also noticed her fiancé's dazed expression. However, she assumed that, like Jaime, he was immersed in pain, his mind drifting elsewhere.
In truth, the dwarf and Jaime did look somewhat alike at that moment. Anyone glancing at them would not doubt they were two sorrowful brothers.
Behind Arianne sat several Sand Snakes. They were the ones Jon had referred to as the group who had "celebrated with great joy" upon hearing about Casterly Rock's fate.
They made no effort to hide their schadenfreude.
And not just them. It was said that when the news of Casterly Rock's fall and the massacre at Lannisport reached Dorne, Prince Doran first remarked that "the Seven Kingdoms are in big trouble," then promptly forgot about the million wights and excitedly circled the Water Gardens twice.
Of course, that was fake news. Doran was paralyzed in his lower body. Even after several treatments by priests, he had only progressed from "wanting to saw off his legs from pain" to being able to walk with a cane.
However, the nobles of Sunspear did admit that on that night, the prince hosted an unprecedentedly grand feast, inviting all the city's lords, knights, elites, and poets. His smile could not be concealed, and he even enthusiastically danced with each Sand Snake.
Beside Arianne sat Davos, the Hand of King Stannis. He looked exhausted, his eyes dull, lost in thought.
Further down sat the satisfied "Bronze" Yohn.
Although the Vale lords had suffered heavy losses in the King's Landing explosion, the tall, thin old earl was in high spirits. With House Arryn extinct, he had become the new Lord Protector of the Vale, and might even one day take control of the Eyrie. This was a promise made by Stannis to win him over.
After him were the worried "Laughing" Baelor, the frowning "Blackfish" Brynden, several Frey daughters married into other houses, and Robb's wife, Jeyne Westerling.
Even Asha Greyjoy had come.
However, the Kraken woman's situation was somewhat awkward. She had taken off her leather armor and put on a cumbersome formal dress she disliked but had to wear for the occasion, sitting alone at the far end of the first row on the right.
No one spoke to her.
The looks people gave her were even more vicious than those Westerlands nobles gave the Starks.
When most people had arrived, the Dragon Queen waited a while longer. Around nine o'clock, she entered the hall, accompanied by Barristan and Belwas.
For today's trial, the nobles present had all changed into solemn attire, and the Dragon Queen was no exception.
She wore a sapphire-blue puff-sleeved blouse with a silver high-waisted skirt made of wyvern leather, inlaid with rubies. It was elegant and dignified, not overly ostentatious. But her hair—
Hair needed decoration. Bare hair paired with formal wear was as inappropriate as wearing slippers to work. Even rural women, if they could afford it, would wear lace headbands during important festivals.
All the ladies in the hall wore hair accessories, such as Sansa's crystal hairnet and Arianne's golden hairpin.
By rights, a delicate crown would suit Daenerys's status at this moment.
If she were in Winterfell, Sansa would have worn one. If she were in Sunspear, Arianne would have done the same.
But aside from the three-headed dragon crown crafted for her by the Qarth tourmaline guild when she first rose to prominence, Daenerys had never had her own crown, nor had she worn one. The "Queen of Love and Beauty" crown at the Honeywine did not count.
Today, she simply used a headband to tie back her silver hair.
The headband was woven from gold, red, and blue ribbons, complementing her smooth white forehead and silver hair. It should have appeared simple and lively, yet for some reason, everyone felt that the Dragon Queen had never seemed more sacred and imposing, untouchable, like a deity descending from the heavens to sit upon a mortal throne.
Outsiders saw only the spectacle, but those with insight saw deeper.
Tyrion and Sansa, both transcendent beings, noticed the unusual nature of the Queen's headband. They seemed to grasp something, yet still could not fully understand.
Jon, whose cultivation was higher, was shocked for a moment before widening his eyes and exclaiming, "Gods! The world is singing for her. This is the aura of the Song of Laws!"
"The Song of Laws has manifested into tangible form, and there are three of them. What level is this? A true god?"
Amid the awed gazes of those around her, the Dragon Queen took her seat on the high-backed chair.
Next, two Unsullied wearing spiked helmets escorted Arya to the front.
Arya wore no shackles. She had on a gray sheepskin coat, with the wool exposed outside, fluffy and almost festive in appearance.
Moreover, compared to her previous gaunt and sallow state, she had gained some weight, and her skin looked fairer and smoother. It seemed that this month in prison had been more like recuperation than punishment.
"Everyone knows the reason for today's trial," Daenerys said. "The true cause originates from the War of the Four Kings."
After a pause, she continued, "Arya Stark's poisoning of 874 people in Casterly Rock is only a small conclusion to a series of immoral events in recent years. The purpose of today's trial is to ensure it does not become the beginning of another chain of tragedies."
"I hope that the sins hanging over the great houses and the hatred buried in their hearts can be completely ended after this trial."
"That depends on whether the result is satisfactory," Tyrion muttered.
His voice was not loud, yet the hall was silent. Everyone heard him and turned to look.
Daenerys also looked at him. "As one of the victims in the Casterly Rock incident, tell me, what would satisfy you?"
Tyrion raised his head, his gaze falling on the two Starks opposite him. "First, I need to confirm whether all the culprits behind Casterly Rock have been brought to justice."
"Jon Stark, tell us, was Arya Stark acting alone, or did she have instigators or accomplices?" Daenerys asked.
Jon stood up and said solemnly, "I swear to the gods, I had no idea beforehand that Arya would go to Casterly Rock, nor did I know she had been seeking revenge for the Starks."
Daenerys nodded and looked at the next Stark. "Sansa Stark?"
Sansa stood up with the baby in her arms. Her expression changed several times before she finally sighed. "Before the Battle of Winterfell, that was the first time I saw Arya after our father's death. I learned she had been abducted to Braavos by villains and trained as a Faceless Man."
A wave of gasps echoed through the hall, and people began pointing at Arya in the center.
"By the Seven, I've actually seen a legendary Faceless Man."
"The reputation is well deserved!"
"No wonder, at such a young age, and a noble lady at that, she could be so ruthless. Now it makes sense. She's a Faceless Man."
"I had suspected it earlier. The way the Freys and Lannisters died in Casterly Rock was extremely similar to the use of basilisk venom by Faceless Men in plays. So it really was them."
"You believe plays?"
"But Arya Stark's experience almost matches the character in Dr. Vogreve's plays. Both were abducted as children and brainwashed into cold-blooded killers."
The fear in people's eyes as they looked at Arya was now mixed with a trace of pity.
(End of Chapter)
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