Following The Mountain's injury-forced departure, the atmosphere of the entire tournament was ignited once more. Loras, having been ambushed by The Mountain, withdrew due to physical discomfort, leaving The Hound, Sandor, to claim the final victory.
However, the entire audience's focus remained on Roman. Watching that cruel, tyrannical beast, The Mountain, get sent flying felt as refreshing to everyone present as a glass of fine Arbor vintage, though they dared not express it out of fear of Lannister authority.
The knights in attendance looked at Roman, their hearts pounding in their chests. Setting aside the tournament for a moment, they knew one thing for certain: they must never challenge Roman to a duel.
Everyone could see that The Mountain had only survived because Roman was mindful of the King's face; otherwise, he would have been a corpse the moment his greatsword was shattered.
Although, he was practically one already.
Since he was covered in blood, Roman changed his clothes before returning to watch the rest of the spectacle.
Sansa and Myrcella were captivated by Roman's heroic actions, buzzing around him as they shared all sorts of girlish fantasies and stories, painting him as a legendary warrior.
Robert, in his excitement, tried to drag him off for a drink, only relenting after Ser Barristan offered some gentle persuasion.
But the members of House Lannister did not fare so well. When Roman sat beside them, Tywin, Jaime, Cersei, Joffrey, and their guard, The Hound, all felt a shiver of dread.
Especially Jaime and The Hound; as powerful knights, they understood the true terror Roman posed. Seeing him sit in his chair, chatting and laughing with the princesses, they felt a sense of trance, as if they were watching a beast smile.
Tywin stared at Robert, wondering if this was the King's way of giving House Lannister a show of force.
As for Cersei... that fool was still seething in impotent rage. Although The Mountain was merely a dog in their family's hand, Roman's actions felt like an insult to her. Yet, she had to endure it; if she were to displease Robert, Tywin would never forgive her.
Cersei could only glare at Roman in fury, but suddenly, Roman looked up and locked eyes with her.
Gone was the gentleness Roman had shown while talking to Sansa and Myrcella; his deep eyes now revealed no trace of emotional fluctuation.
Cersei felt like a hen with its throat gripped; her anger vanished in an instant, replaced only by a surge of overwhelming fear.
Not until Myrcella called out to Roman did Cersei feel saved.
Tywin looked at his sweat-drenched daughter, and his head began to ache again. Aside from Kevan, not a single person in this family gave him any peace of mind.
The tournament proceeded as usual, with the archery competition and group battles quickly concluding, and the various winners collecting their prize money.
Watching the chests of gold coins being carried to the winners, both Roman and Eddard felt a pang of heartache.
Back when Roman led the construction team from Harrenhal to convert the entire Kings Road from the Trident to King's Landing into a high-speed thoroughfare, it hadn't cost nearly this much.
Roman: "Lord Eddard, you really ought to manage His Majesty's daily expenses!"
Eddard: "If I could manage that, I wouldn't have a headache every single day!"
After the tournament ended, everyone returned to their quarters, and Sansa and Arya joined Myrcella to chat with Roman.
Sansa had no interest in Joffrey whatsoever. In her current eyes, Joffrey was nothing more than a wet-behind-the-ears brat, arrogant, domineering, and a bully.
As for their engagement? Sansa recalled the teachings of Septa Mordane: a noble lady must consider the interests of her family.
As it happened, the two of them couldn't stand each other, so Sansa couldn't be bothered to pay Joffrey any mind.
Arya, on the other hand, was stunned by Roman's martial arts. As she was currently learning the Water Dance, she had a deeper appreciation for his skill.
She pestered Roman, hoping he would exchange pointers with her sword instructor and teach her as well.
—— — —
But after some time, this tranquility was disrupted when Eddard and Robert clashed once again over Daenerys.
Robert was determined to assassinate the Mother of Dragons, wanting to prevent her from bearing a son in the future who would hold a strong claim.
But Eddard firmly disagreed; he could not condone such dishonorable behavior, and the two even argued about leaving.
At this moment, a raven from Fili arrived with news: Catelyn had detained Tyrion at Winterfell.
Roman: "???"
Fili held the letter and said, "Lady Catelyn found Lord Tyrion's belongings on the assassin. To confirm the truth, she has kept him at Winterfell, and an investigation is currently underway."
"Lord Tyrion isn't hurt, is he?"
Fili shook her head, indicating that Catelyn had not harmed Tyrion, but instead had treated him with hospitality.
Roman: "Then have the King and Tywin received word?"
Fili pondered for a moment and said, "It has already been delivered to the hands of the Great Lords, and His Majesty the King is aware as well."
Hearing this, Roman let out a long sigh of relief. As long as things were communicated clearly, it would be fine.
"I suppose the people of House Lannister won't be completely unreasonable; they couldn't possibly lash out just because Lord Tyrion was detained."
Fili: "??"
Roman: "..."
Roman: "Wait!!!"
That is the fucking Lannisters; how could they not go crazy?
"Fili! Quickly, see what Lord Eddard and that bunch of Lannisters are up to!"
Seeing Roman so tense, the girl immediately understood the gravity of the situation and hurriedly closed her eyes to connect with the flock of ravens.
After a moment of searching, Fili snapped her eyes open and said in a panic, "Lord Roman, the kingslayer is leading soldiers to ambush Lord Eddard!"
"Tsk!" Roman clicked his tongue. "Fili, I'm going to support Lord Eddard first. You go find our sleeper agent planted among the Gold Cloaks. We'll communicate via raven."
Fili nodded heavily and immediately headed for the contact point, while Roman jumped directly onto the rooftops of King's Landing; he was going to rush there across the roofs.
When Eddard finished investigating Robert's bastard and prepared to leave, Jaime led men to surround him.
"Ser Jaime, what is the meaning of this?"
"Lord Eddard, your wife has taken my brother, and now I have come to demand an explanation."
"An explanation?" Eddard gestured to the surrounding soldiers. "Is this how you demand an explanation? What good does this do other than deepen the conflict between House Stark and House Lannister?"
Jaime scoffed dismissively: "All I care about is avenging my brother."
Eddard: "Your brother is unharmed."
"Is that so?" The kingslayer clearly didn't believe this claim. "You captured my brother and now you say it's just an investigation? Are you kidding me?"
"Then what do you want? If you lay a hand on me, your brother won't survive."
Jaime looked at Eddard and nodded, then said casually to his subordinates: "Spare his life, slaughter the rest."
Just as the Lannister men were about to strike, a loud roar came from above. "Wait!!"
Everyone looked around, eventually spotting Roman's figure on the nearby rooftop.
Clad in black, Roman stood at the height, leaping into the air amidst the terrified gazes of the crowd, then landed squarely in front of Jaime.
Watching Roman, who carried a giant hammer, drop straight down from over ten meters, cracking the paving stones upon impact, the crowd saw him merely bend his knees slightly to absorb the pressure.
Roman still wore a smile, but everyone was breaking out in a cold sweat; this was beyond the scope of a human being.
"Ser Jaime, there is no need to make things so tense. You are a member of His Majesty Robert's Kingsguard, and Lord Eddard is the Hand of the King; both sides can talk things over."
Although Jaime was terrified inside, he stiffened his neck and said, "And just allow House Stark to kidnap my brother as they please?"
"No kidnapping; it was merely an invitation for Lord Tyrion to participate in an investigation. Didn't Lady Catelyn say she was treating Lord Tyrion with hospitality?"
Jaime: "Then can I not invite Lord Eddard to talk?"
Roman advised: "Ser Jaime, are you representing the King right now, or yourself? Or perhaps... House Lannister? Criston Cole is hardly an example worth emulating!"
This was undoubtedly a stinging insult. Jaime felt that Roman was using his past of breaking his oath to become a "kingslayer" to mock him.
If a member of the Kingsguard could break their oath once, why wouldn't they do it a second time?
Now, Jaime's anger overcame his fear, and he drew his longsword, aiming it at Roman.
"You are too arrogant, Roman!"
The dragonseed of Harrenhal looked at Jaime; the smile on his face had vanished without a trace, replaced by a dark, calm expression.
This guy, Jaime, was completely stubborn. Roman's patience had run out, and he decided to apply some classical mechanics.
"kingslayer, don't push your luck. Breaking your oath once wasn't enough? You want to do it a second time?"
Roman had spoken the title "kingslayer" in front of everyone. Jaime's pride caused him to lose all reason, and he swung his sword directly at Roman.
But Roman simply countered with his left fist, knocking Jaime's longsword aside.
"Oh no!"
Jaime tried to retreat, but Roman reacted faster, kicking Jaime squarely in the crotch.
The intense pain caused the kingslayer to drop his weapon, clamp his legs together, and clutch his manhood with both hands.
But Roman didn't stop there, following up with a punch to Jaime's face, sending him sprawling to the side.
Roman thought to himself: "Should be fine, just consider it a lesson."
Once Jaime fell, his soldiers looked at each other, not knowing what to do.
At this moment, Fili arrived on the scene with troops. Seeing that they had no chance of winning, the Lannister soldiers threw down their weapons and surrendered one after another.
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