The north wind howled through the courtyard. The ascetic monk's cell, without a lit fireplace, was no warmer than the outdoors.
The atmosphere among the three Lannister brothers also seemed to have frozen solid in the cold.
After a while, Lancel broke the silence and said in a deep voice, "You really didn't kill my father?"
The dwarf pulled his cloak tighter and replied with certainty, "It was Cersei and Euron!"
He then recounted in full why he had gone to see Kevan and what they had discussed.
"You can go ask around and find out whether Uncle Kevan had any intention of surrendering that day, and you'll know if I'm lying.
Actually, if you just think about it, I didn't hesitate to admit to patricide. Why would I lie about a lesser crime?"
Lancel lowered his eyes and sighed.
Jaime pressed his lips together, his expression twisted as if in extreme pain.
The dwarf killing his father and Cersei killing their uncle might seem that the former was more insane, but the dwarf had a "justified" reason, while Cersei acted for power.
Jaime even felt a trace of sympathy for the dwarf, but killing kin for power was something he could not accept.
"What about Tommen?" he asked hoarsely.
"What the seven hells, why don't you just say every murder in the Red Keep is my responsibility?" Tyrion snapped angrily, waving his hand. "You all thought I killed Joffrey back then, didn't you? And what happened? I could even tolerate that second Mad King Joffrey, so why would I kill an honest boy like Tommen?"
"Tommen was poisoned by a skinchanger," Lancel interjected. "On the first night of his vigil, a wild cat sneaked into the Great Sept and seemed intent on attacking Cersei.
Fortunately, Saint Matthew, who was still only the High Septon at the time, was present and severely injured the soul inside the cat.
As the cat fled, one of the monks was merely scratched by it and died instantly, his death identical to Tommen's.
At that time, the Long Night had not yet arrived, and we knew nothing about skinchangers or other supernatural beings, so no one understood what had happened.
Later, when the sun went out and the Mother delivered a divine revelation, she also revealed all the hidden truths of the world to the High Septon. Only then did we realize that the cat was the animal companion of a skinchanger."
"Stark?"
"Stark!"
The two brothers spoke in unison. Jaime hesitated, while the dwarf spoke with certainty.
"Which Stark do you think it was?" Jaime asked, looking at his brother.
"Maybe the Three-Eyed Raven?" the dwarf said, now uncertain.
Jaime thought for a moment and shook his head. "It could be Jon Snow, it could be Sansa, it could be Arya, but not the Three-Eyed Raven.
I've met Bran. He's very powerful. If he really wanted to kill Cersei, he wouldn't have waited until then."
The main reason was that the dwarf had not participated in the Battle of Winterfell. If he had gone and encountered Arya, he would have had no doubts and would have immediately identified the real culprit.
"Forget it. No need to guess. It's a Stark either way. This is retribution, the feud between lions and direwolves."
Jaime sighed bitterly. "No matter who killed him, there's no need to pursue this further. The lions killed Eddard and Robb, so let Tommen pay the price.
For that child, death might not have been a bad thing.
At least from now on, when we face the Starks, we won't have to feel guilty anymore. Our two families are even!"
"I never feel guilty. I didn't push Bran, I didn't stab Eddard, and I didn't plot Robb's death," Tyrion said.
"If you hadn't been so useless as to be captured by Catelyn, why would I have stabbed Eddard? Why would Father have raised an army to attack the Riverlands? In the end, you were the starting point of everything," Jaime said angrily.
"You should really let Father outside take a look and see how brainless the heir he chose for Casterly Rock is, still not understanding the true cause of the War of the Four Kings," Tyrion mocked, pointing out the window.
"You think you're smart?" Jaime spat. "Idiot!"
"You're the idiot! Littlefinger's been dead this long and you still don't even know he was the mastermind," Tyrion shot back.
Jaime sneered coldly. "Since you're so smart, tell me, how did Littlefinger die?"
The anger on the dwarf's face froze.
Littlefinger's death remained a great unsolved mystery.
"Could it have been you? What have you been doing these past two years? If I hadn't heard you fought the White Walkers at Winterfell, I'd have thought some bastard buried you by the roadside," Tyrion said in surprise.
"It's a long story." Jaime waved his hand and sighed. "At least I've finally repaid all my debts."
"What debts? Be more specific," the dwarf asked.
"I can't say. I swore to keep it secret," Jaime shook his head.
The dwarf frowned and thought for a moment. Suddenly, his expression changed drastically. "Could it be that there's still a Stark alive?"
"I'm going to save Cersei!" Jaime abruptly changed the subject.
The dwarf stared at his face and had already gotten the answer he wanted. He couldn't help but marvel, "I thought the Targaryens had the strongest fate, that even after their dynasty fell, descendants could rise again.
But now I see that the Starks are the true protagonists. They keep dying, yet none of them truly die."
"Maybe one day Eddard will suddenly pop out, and I wouldn't even be surprised."
"You don't need to worry about that. Eddard Stark's bones have already been burned to ashes. I saw it myself in Winterfell. The Starks in the crypt are all ashes," Jaime said.
The dwarf smiled smugly. "So it really was Catelyn. Unbelievable. She was actually resurrected by a Red God priest."
"You—!" Jaime was shocked and furious.
The dwarf waved his hand and said with a smile, "Calm down. I wasn't trying to trick you. There are only so many Starks. Robb's head was mounted on the Mountain's body, and Eddard was burned to ashes. That leaves only Catelyn.
And I've long heard rumors about the Lightning Lord. Back then I thought it was just a trick by the Brotherhood Without Banners. But now, with gods and demons everywhere, I'd be a fool to still think that way."
Jaime sighed. "Lady Stoneheart is a devil. You'd better not provoke her, not inquire about her, and have nothing to do with her."
Tyrion shook his head indifferently and said with some pride, "You've been stuck in Westeros, Jaime. Your horizons are a bit narrow.
In the past two years, I've seen too many terrifying people, gods, and demons. Compared to them, Lady Stoneheart is nothing."
Lancel glanced out the window and reminded them, "It's getting late. The Seven-Star Holy Light Tower will be lit at six in the morning, and the monks wake even earlier for morning prayers. You'd better get to the main topic."
Tyrion looked around the narrow, empty, freezing stone chamber and frowned. "Waking early and sleeping late, and living in a place like this, your life is really too harsh."
The room, like an ice cellar, was only about fifteen square meters. It should have felt cramped, but aside from a half-meter-wide, two-meter-long wooden plank bed and a small desk with a chair, there was nothing else. The emptiness instead gave it a strange sense of openness.
The dwarf and Lancel were sitting on the straw-covered hard bed, while Jaime sat on the only small stool.
"My living conditions already surpass ninety percent of the Seven Kingdoms," Lancel said calmly.
"As long as you like it." Tyrion shrugged and turned to Jaime. "Where are you staying now?"
"A cave."
"What?" The dwarf thought he had misheard.
"I dug it under Aegon's High Hill, connected to the Red Keep's secret tunnels. The tunnels are now filled with traps, so I had to use the original plans Varys gave me to dig a new route," Jaime said with a sigh.
"You really are persistent." The dwarf didn't know what else to say.
With the Long Night upon them and the White Walkers advancing south, instead of returning to the Westerlands to defend his homeland, he was digging tunnels underground.
After a while, he asked softly, "She's already in such a state. Is it worth it?"
"Besides me, who else can save her? She must be waiting for me with all her heart. That's enough," Jaime said with lowered eyes.
The dwarf rubbed his numb, frozen face and asked, "What can I do to help you? You didn't wait for me here just to rekindle brotherly affection."
"This time it really was a coincidence. Jaime didn't know you were coming. But word spread in King's Landing that nobles were coming to claim their ancestors' coffins, and he came to deal with those four coffins," Lancel said.
"Burn them all. I'll take the ashes back to Casterly Rock. After this Long Night, burial customs in Westeros will definitely change. Cremation will become the norm," Tyrion said.
Jaime looked Tyrion up and down. "You're wearing Valyrian steel armor, aren't you? Daenerys treats you well.
Stannis is about to attack King's Landing, but there's still one last section of the tunnel to the Red Keep that hasn't been cleared of traps. Maybe you can help me."
"What are you planning?" Tyrion asked warily.
"Valyrian steel armor can resist poison arrows, bear traps, and poisoned salt—"
"You want me to trigger the traps with my body?" Tyrion shouted.
"Cersei is your sister too," Jaime said with a sigh.
"I'd rather feed that sister to the White Walkers. Cersei as a wight would be the most beautiful Cersei. She'd think the same of me," Tyrion snapped.
"So will you help me or not?" Jaime asked directly.
The dwarf hesitated for a moment. "Actually, you don't need to worry about Cersei's safety. King's Landing won't hold. Stannis's two-headed demon dragon is terrifying. It's the fallen demigod dragon Vhagar.
And I have a deal with Stannis. After he takes the Red Keep, he'll hand Cersei and all the Lannister forces over to me."
"Including you," he added.
"What deal?" Jaime asked.
"I spent more than half a month negotiating with Davos on Tideshead Island. Haven't you heard?"
Jaime nodded. "Varys has little birds on Tideshead Island."
"You're still mixed up with that fat eunuch? At this point, don't you understand his schemes?
Let's not even talk about what he did to Rhaegar and his siblings, just look at the Lannisters.
The reason I could see Father that night and kill him was all part of his plan.
Even a fool understands this: as long as House Lannister had Tywin, Aegon could never take the Iron Throne," Tyrion said with a frown.
"Did he hold your hand and force you to pull the trigger?" Jaime sneered.
"I…" Tyrion waved his right hand aimlessly in the air before letting it drop onto his leg. He sighed. "I persuaded Sansa to provide 100,000 tons of grain to Stannis and swore allegiance to him with her.
With two of his strongest rivals for the Iron Throne gone, Stannis is more than willing to spare you and Cersei. He also promised not to burn Casterly Rock with his two-headed dragon."
"You've really put in effort, even giving up your own father's Iron Throne," Jaime said calmly, his tone unreadable.
"You might not believe it, but the effort I've made to preserve House Lannister surpasses what you and Cersei have done combined," the dwarf said with a sigh.
"Then help me save Cersei," Jaime said.
"So everything I just said was for nothing?"
"I don't trust Stannis's promises. The false prince Aegon is proof. And tell me, when he rides his dragon and burns the Red Keep, how will he avoid Cersei if she's hiding somewhere inside?"
(End of Chapter)
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