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"Robb, the dwarf may be despised by House Lannister, but in the end he still shares their blood.
Trying to recruit him isn't the same as inviting a starving lion into a sheep pen?"
Watching Tyrion and the others walk away, Theon was the first to speak up.
"Heh, but didn't he refuse? Then spread that story around."
"So you weren't really trying to recruit him. I understand. I'll take care of it right away."
'But I was serious... I really did want him to accept. What a pity.'
Seeing Theon's expression relax quite a bit, Robb let out a silent sigh to himself.
Outside the council hall, Yoren quickened his pace and caught up with Tyrion, who was walking with his head lowered, deep in thought.
"Lord Eddard's son is no simple man. I could tell that when he tried to recruit you just now, he was serious.
You've been underestimated your whole life. Now that someone finally values your talent, shouldn't you be happy?"
"Mm, I could tell he was being sincere too. And that's exactly why I can't be happy.
I have a feeling this matter isn't that simple. It feels like he knows me very well. And just now, he said with complete certainty that he would be my best option when I reached the end of the road.
Under his command, the North will surely only grow stronger and more prosperous. But for the other six kingdoms, I can't say whether that would be a good thing or a bad one."
Tyrion muttered as he thought. Suddenly, annoyed by the lack of information, he scratched his head, then said to Yoren,
"Ah, why are we thinking so much about it? Let those lords play their games of power. We'll go play the grown-up games we happen to enjoy.
Hehe, back at Castle Black, I said I'd treat you well. Let's have some fun, Yoren!"
...
That day in Winterfell, more than a dozen ravens flew out carrying letters in every direction. The prostitutes of Winter Town received another shower of silver stags as reward, and the common folk went on living as usual.
In King's Landing, Ser Rodrik slowly rode his horse into the crowd and passed through the Old Gate, worn down by time, narrow, and packed with people entering and leaving the city.
Setting foot once more in the now-familiar King's Landing, and looking at the bustling crowd, Ser Rodrik stopped in the middle of the street and began wondering how he might secretly find Lord Eddard and deliver his report.
"Ser Rodrik, Lord Eddard sent word for you to come with me. He wishes to see you."
A soldier wearing a thick golden woolen gambeson beneath black armor rode up and spoke in a low voice.
Looking at the soldier of the City Watch, known as a Gold Cloak, Ser Rodrik asked quietly, still wary,
"Lord Eddard, the Hand of the King, sent you?"
The soldier nodded in confirmation. Then he turned his horse and began to lead the way. After thinking for a moment, Ser Rodrik followed behind him.
Starting from the Old Gate and veering a little to the left, the two of them soon entered the famous street of pleasure, the Street of Silk.
All along the street stood every kind of brothel, from the most luxurious to the most ordinary. At that moment, both sides of the street were lined with young prostitutes dressed in thin, transparent fabrics, shamelessly displaying their alluring bodies.
Ser Rodrik had seen all kinds of things in his life. He kept his face expressionless and his gaze fixed straight ahead as he followed the soldier leading the way.
Before long, the two arrived in front of a luxurious two-story brothel built of stone.
They entered through the front door without hiding anything, and the soldier guiding him stopped in front of a door on the second floor.
Ser Rodrik pushed it open and entered. Inside that room, decorated with extravagant luxury and an exotic air, he found Eddard waiting for him, accompanied by an attractive, refined-looking middle-aged man.
"Lord Eddard, Lord Baelish, Lady Catelyn sent me..."
The moment he entered, Ser Rodrik greeted them both. The man beside Eddard he knew well enough. It was Petyr Baelish, the master of coin.
"Catelyn asked Lord Baelish for help so that we could meet here."
Eddard cast a sidelong glance at the man beside him and explained in a few short words.
Rodrik had served Eddard for many years and naturally knew that his lord did not like Baelish in the slightest.
"When I left Winterfell, Lady Catelyn had not mentioned that."
Hearing the explanation, Ser Rodrik nodded, though there was some doubt in his voice.
"Ravens are always faster than men. I only received Catelyn's letter a few days ago. As for her request, I simply could not refuse it."
Baelish did not mind Eddard's expression in the least. He smiled and answered lightly.
"Enough. What did Catelyn send you to bring?"
Eddard quite clearly had no desire to remain in the same room as Baelish any longer than necessary and went straight to the point.
"Lord Eddard, someone tried to murder Bran using a Valyrian steel dagger.
Because of that, Lady Catelyn believes Bran's fall from the tower was not an accident."
When he heard the question, Ser Rodrik spoke without beating around the bush.
"They tried to kill Bran? ...A Valyrian steel dagger is something very rare. That should be an easy trail to follow."
After hearing Rodrik's report, Eddard spoke his thoughts aloud in a low voice, focusing on the dagger as a clue.
"Eddard, there's no need to investigate that. In all the Seven Kingdoms, I was the only one who owned a Valyrian steel dagger like that."
"You?"
"Yes. But on the day Prince Joffrey was named, I lost it to Tyrion Lannister."
"Tyrion Lannister?"
Hearing the clue Baelish had provided, Eddard repeated Tyrion's name, deep in thought.
"By the way, how is Winterfell? And what was Robb's position on this?"
When Ser Rodrik had left Winterfell, the war had not yet begun. So, when he heard Eddard's question, he answered,
"Winterfell is being governed very well by Robb. He told Lady Catelyn that this matter is not so simple and that no conclusion should be reached too quickly."
"Very good. Then we will not draw conclusions too soon. We'll keep investigating.
Rodrik, you have done well. Take this letter back to Winterfell and deliver it to Catelyn."
"As you command, Lord Eddard!"
After receiving the letter from Eddard's hand, Rodrik left that luxurious brothel with him, while Baelish followed them both with a smile.
The moment the two men disappeared around the bend in the street, the look on Baelish's face darkened at once. Biting his own lip, he began thinking about how he ought to handle what was coming next.
After reflecting for quite some time and deciding that his plan could indeed work, he nodded to himself and climbed the stairs.
Then he wrote a secret letter to his distant lover in the Eyrie, Lysa Arryn.
...
After spending two days in Winterfell, Tyrion and his three companions presented Robb with the design for a special kind of saddle, then prepared to leave directly for King's Landing.
The moment he saw the design, Robb silently nodded, impressed by Tyrion's ability to invent and create.
To prevent anything from happening to him on the road back to King's Landing, he offered to send an escort of Winterfell riders to accompany him.
Perhaps because he did not want to become too entangled with Robb, Tyrion refused his goodwill decisively.
Robb thought that Catelyn was still in Winterfell and that he had also repeatedly told Ser Rodrik that no conclusions should be drawn too soon before there was sufficient proof of who the true culprit was.
Because of that, Tyrion would probably not run into any trouble at the inn at the crossroads.
At noon that very day, Tyrion and the other three left Winterfell and began their return to King's Landing.
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