"Ah..." A wave of shocked cries erupted in the hall, with the Sand Snakes' exclamations being the loudest and most furious.
"Robert deserves to die. Mother have mercy, send him to the seventh hell!" Arianne gritted her teeth in rage.
"I… I actually served as his White Knight for fourteen years. Seven gods!" Barristan clutched his head in anguish.
"King Robert has already paid for his deeds," Davos said with a complicated expression as the Baratheon representative. "He did things that cost him his honor, but he did not murder the two princes."
"He wanted to wipe out the roots, hunted me for over ten years, yet when his bastard daughter came to me for help, I helped her instead," Dany said.
Davos flushed red and found himself unable to refute her.
Robert had been dead for many years, and Dany had no intention of making things difficult for an old knight. She said, "Bran, tell them about Varys switching the babies."
"Varys is also a Targaryen."
This revelation was like a thunderclap. Even Dany was startled.
"Sigh, in front of the Three-Eyed Raven, all those conspirators who pride themselves on their boundless wisdom are nothing more than self-satisfied clowns on a stage.
From now on, the people of Westeros will likely behave more honestly, but fear may also make them…"
Tyrion stared at the great raven as it meticulously dissected Varys's schemes, his eyes flickering.
He leaned toward Jaime and whispered, "What do you think he's thinking? How does he plan to end this?"
"I don't know what he's thinking, but he certainly knows your darker thoughts," Jaime warned seriously.
"Relax, I won't do anything foolish." Tyrion gestured toward the others around them and said with a strange smile, "Only those with guilty consciences fear an all-knowing god. My conscience is clear.
But if someone is all-knowing, shouldn't they fear that others might also become all-knowing? Tell me, is he a man or a god? Or can he truly control everyone's fate?
Jaime, did you cripple a god?
I heard he has returned to Winterfell, and I also heard his true body isn't particularly strong."
"This is a dangerous topic, especially in a setting like this. Some things everyone knows but keeps to themselves, showing nothing on the surface. Is your self-control worse than theirs?" Jaime frowned.
"No, only in a setting like this is the topic not dangerous." As he spoke, Tyrion even smiled at the great raven.
Whether the raven noticed him or not, it gave no response.
Since Tyrion and Jaime already knew about Varys's plans, they had the leisure to chat idly. The others, including the Dragon Queen, were fully focused, constantly asking for details.
Varys's mindset, each of his meetings with Illyrio in the secret passages of the Red Keep, and the contents of those meetings were all laid bare before the world.
After a long while, the great raven fell silent.
Dany said coldly, "He is different from Aegon. Aegon is innocent, but he is steeped in sin. I will not acknowledge his identity, nor will I spare him lightly."
No one objected. Even Sansa, whose expression shifted several times, did not plead for her cheap uncle.
She even felt a sense of shame, believing the Spider had tainted the bloodline of that mediocre King Aegon.
However, she also did not want to lose the Spider and his intelligence network. Since he was Aegon's maternal uncle, he would not betray her and could be a great asset.
Thus, her emotions at this moment were extremely complicated.
"Who murdered Lord Jon Arryn? Was it the Lannisters?" Bronze Yohn raised his hand and asked.
"Was it you?" Tyrion nudged Jaime, grinning.
"I might stab him with a sword, but I wouldn't poison him. If Cersei knew he suspected Joffrey's identity, she would have told me," Jaime said calmly.
"It was Littlefinger!" the dwarf shouted toward Bronze Yohn.
"Not just Littlefinger." The great raven shook its head. "The Lannisters cannot escape involvement."
"At the time, only Jaime, Cersei, and I were in King's Landing. Since it wasn't us, could it have been my father orchestrating it remotely?" Tyrion frowned.
"It had nothing to do with Lord Tywin. It was Grand Maester Pycelle. He had always served the Lannisters in secret."
Tyrion was stunned for a moment, then muttered, "If it was him, that's actually quite possible. That old dog worked tirelessly to clean up our messes, serving loyally for decades.
What a pity. After giving so much to the Lannisters, I shot him through the groin with a crossbow."
"Sigh, dying early means fewer mistakes," Jaime said with a shake of his head.
Bran continued, "The one who poisoned Lord Jon Arryn was Lady Lysa."
"What? Another wife poisoning her husband?" the crowd exclaimed.
"Today's great trial is truly necessary. Otherwise, who would dare to marry in the future?" Tyrion lamented repeatedly. "Women are too vicious. Being a man is so hard.
Outside, you face schemers who disregard honor and plot against you. At home, your good wife serves you a cup of 'release.'"
"You could follow Robb or Rhaegar and break your sacred marriage vows," Arianne said flatly from across the room.
"See? This woman is vicious!" Tyrion pointed at his fiancée and said to Jaime with a grin, "We're not even married yet, and she's already cursing me."
Sansa felt a pang of discomfort and said coldly, "This is a trial hall."
Tyrion touched his nose and stopped joking.
Jon frowned, his gaze moving between several faces.
Bran continued, "After Lord Jon Arryn was poisoned, Maester Colemon of the Eyrie could have saved him.
In fact, under the effect of the antidote, Lord Arryn's condition had already improved. Then Grand Maester Pycelle intervened, sent Maester Colemon away, and cut off Arryn's medicine.
Maester Colemon understood Pycelle's intentions, but he did nothing.
Therefore, the murderers of Lord Arryn also include Maesters Pycelle and Colemon."
Bronze Yohn frowned. "Maester Colemon is the Arryn family's assigned maester. He swore total loyalty to House Arryn."
Dany sneered. "Pycelle once served as the Targaryens' maester as well. Nobles can break oaths, the Night's Watch can break oaths, the Faith's septons can break oaths. Naturally, maesters can too. In the past, oath-breaking became the norm in Westeros."
At this point, she turned to Jon, whose face had reddened. "I heard that in Robb Stark's will naming his heir, it casually mentioned trading a group of prisoners to the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch in exchange for your freedom?"
"It wasn't casual. Robb's wording was very solemn. And it wasn't a few prisoners, it was a whole group," Jon said awkwardly in defense.
"See? This is the true attitude nobles have toward sacred vows."
Dany looked around at the crowd and slowly told a story. "There was a young couple who were very unfilial. They often refused to feed their elderly mother and even beat and scolded her.
Not long after, the poor old woman starved to death. Tell me, where did she go after she died?"
"The Mother is merciful. She must have taken her to heaven to enjoy blessings," a woman said devoutly.
"The Mother will surely punish that couple and send them to hell," a noble lady beside her said angrily.
Dany nodded. "Lady Farman is right. The old mother went to hell."
"What?" The young lady's red lips parted slightly, her excited expression freezing. "Your Grace, you must have misheard. I said the couple would go to hell."
"Yes, exactly, the couple," Dany sighed. "This is a cycle. The old mother was once young too.
When she was a daughter-in-law, she treated her own mother the same way, and her children watched from the side, learning as they watched. Then when she became the old mother, her children became what she once was."
Lady Farman suddenly understood and exclaimed, "I see. If a king treats sacred vows like a joke, then his subjects will treat their oaths of loyalty the same way.
King in the North Robb first broke his sacred marriage vow, then placed a price on the Night's Watch oath. So Walder Frey and Roose Bolton could also put a price on their loyalty.
As those above act, so do those below. Eventually, everyone loses reverence for oaths. Such a world is truly terrifying."
Everyone in the hall, whether noble or commoner, looked deeply shaken and moved.
Especially the Starks, whose expressions were particularly complicated.
For a long time, their hearts had been filled with resentment toward Walder Frey's betrayal and Roose Bolton's treachery.
They believed themselves to be innocent victims, that even the gods should weep for the Red Wedding.
But now…
"Robert Arryn was also killed by Maester Colemon," Bran suddenly said in the silence.
"What?" Sansa and Bronze Yohn cried out together.
"Why would he do that? What benefit is there in murdering Robert Arryn? Who profits? Without a beneficiary, it makes no sense," Tyrion said in disbelief.
"Littlefinger needed Robert to die slowly in a 'natural' way," Bran said.
"But Littlefinger is already dead," Bronze Yohn reminded him.
Bran said, "Robert suffered from epilepsy. Littlefinger often had Colemon administer sweetsleep.
In small amounts, sweetsleep can suppress seizures, but in excess, it becomes a deadly poison that kills without a trace. Therefore, it is not suitable for someone like Robert who suffers frequent seizures.
Just as with Lord Jon Arryn, Maester Colemon knew the consequences, yet he still did it.
It wasn't because he was loyal to someone, working for someone, or seeking gain. He was simply cowardly and indifferent, with little loyalty to House Arryn.
The Arryn line had ended, which had no impact on his life. No matter who ruled the Eyrie, he would still be the foremost maester of the Vale."
"The maester system has truly collapsed," Belmore sighed.
"Any system built on oaths and trust will collapse when trust is bankrupt," Tyrion said with a complicated expression.
Afterward, they resolved a series of cases, including the attempt on Bran's life, Robert's death, Ned's execution, Renly's death, and more.
When the exact process of Renly's death was perfectly reconstructed and the shadowbinding magic explained, the crowd was horrified. The Onion Knight felt as if cold water had been poured over him, waking him from a dream. Then, as if his spine had been removed, he slumped into his chair, his eyes filled with despair and sorrow.
In the end, the mysteries that had troubled the nobles of the Seven Kingdoms for years were effortlessly unraveled by the Three-Eyed Raven.
The way the people in the hall looked at the great raven gradually changed from suspicion to curiosity, to amazement, and finally to fear.
They wanted to ask what role the Three-Eyed Raven had played in these events, but none dared to speak.
Such a creature should not exist.
Though they did not speak, the same thought arose in all their minds.
From nine in the morning until three in the afternoon, the "Past of the Seven Kingdoms" finally came to an end. The Dragon Queen announced adjournment, and after a two-hour break, the final judgment of Arya would begin.
(End of Chapter)
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