Chapter 39 CHAPTER 39
"Mating fluids?"
Garon's eyes flickered slightly as he watched Cersei and Jaime's expressions instantly change after Robert's words.
After being reminded by the king, Ned also stepped forward and bent down to smell the strange odor coming from the box. His expression immediately darkened.
"That's right," Ned said coldly. "These are indeed bodily fluids left behind after intimacy."
Anger instantly surfaced in his eyes.
"Who was coupling inside the Broken Tower?"
"And why would they try to harm Bran?"
Ned looked sharply toward Garon.
"Garon, what else did you and Jon discover?"
Before Garon could answer, Jon suddenly blurted out angrily, "What more is there to investigate?"
"Bran must have climbed the tower and witnessed someone coupling!"
"To stop Bran from talking, they pushed him from the tower!"
Bang!
The moment Jon finished speaking, Robb slammed his fist heavily against the table.
Ned's expression turned icy once more.
"Theon," he ordered coldly, "go summon Ser Rodrik."
"I want to know where everyone in Winterfell was during the day and what they were doing."
Theon, who had only barely recovered his composure, instantly stiffened.
He absolutely did not dare to leave.
If Ser Rodrik truly began investigating carefully, there was no way he would survive.
Fortunately for him, Tyrion stepped forward at that moment and offered a different perspective.
"That explanation still leaves one problem unresolved."
Tyrion pointed casually toward the wooden box.
"How do you explain the bloodstains?"
"Your Majesty, Lord Ned, surely blood cannot appear simply from two people coupling?"
He clicked his tongue exaggeratedly and made an amused expression.
"How intense would that have to be?"
Robb was already furious to begin with, and Tyrion's expression only irritated him further.
"What exactly are you trying to say?" Robb asked coldly.
Tyrion glanced subtly toward Jaime and Cersei before turning his gaze toward Garon.
"You mentioned earlier that there were many bloodstains at the top of the Broken Tower?"
Garon's eyes flashed faintly.
He instantly understood what Tyrion was trying to do and chose to cooperate.
"That's correct," Garon answered calmly. "Most of the blood droplets were concentrated near the window at the top of the tower."
"But there were no signs of a violent struggle."
Tyrion smiled immediately.
"That's exactly the point!"
Facing the puzzled gazes of Robert and Ned, Tyrion explained leisurely, "This proves one thing."
"Bran knew the man and woman inside the tower."
"And he was extremely familiar with them."
A strange smile appeared briefly on Garon's lips as he smoothly continued the reasoning.
"Lord Tyrion means that because Bran trusted the other party completely, he never lowered his guard."
"So when they suddenly attacked him, he instinctively fought back with his hands or mouth, leaving behind the bloodstains?"
Tyrion glanced at Garon in slight surprise, unable to understand why Garon was helping him push the matter in this direction.
Still, Tyrion immediately nodded.
"That's exactly what I mean."
"I suspect Bran overheard some secret conversation he was never meant to hear."
"And because of that, someone tried to silence him permanently."
Tyrion slowly swept his gaze across the hall.
"I believe Lord Ned only needs to check whose body bears scratches or bite marks today."
"The culprit will naturally reveal themselves."
After saying that, Tyrion intentionally glanced once more toward Jaime and Cersei.
Unexpectedly, both siblings instinctively turned to look toward Theon at nearly the exact same moment.
Garon noticed this clearly.
The smile at the corner of his mouth deepened.
Since things had already progressed this far, there was no reason to continue pretending.
He directly shifted the spear toward Theon.
"Speaking of which," Garon said thoughtfully, "I'm rather curious about something."
"Theon, what happened to your wrist?"
"Why is it bandaged?"
Instantly, every gaze in the hall focused upon Theon's right wrist.
Theon froze stiffly in place.
"At yesterday's banquet your hand was perfectly fine," Garon continued calmly. "So why are you suddenly injured today?"
"You wouldn't happen to tell His Majesty and Lord Ned that you accidentally cut your own wrist, would you?"
Cold sweat instantly covered Theon's forehead.
"I... I..."
Robb originally had very little suspicion toward Theon.
But seeing him stammer so badly immediately made doubt appear in his heart.
"Theon…" Robb asked slowly, "did you really go to the Broken Tower today?"
"I didn't!" Theon shouted desperately. "Robb, I've lived with you for years!"
"Don't you trust me?"
"You're suspecting me over nothing but wild guesses?"
Robb fell silent immediately.
After all, the evidence so far truly could not directly prove Theon was responsible.
Theon quickly pressed his advantage.
"I considered Bran my brother too!"
"Why would I ever hurt him?"
"And didn't you all just say the culprit should have bite marks or scratches?"
"Then look carefully at my wound!"
With that, Theon suddenly tore the bandage from his wrist.
A bloody mangled wound immediately appeared before everyone.
It truly did not resemble either a scratch or a bite.
The suspicions in Robb and Jon's eyes weakened slightly.
Theon also suddenly realized something at that moment.
Garon had been deliberately trying to force suspicion onto him from the beginning.
Hatred instantly surged through his heart.
"This Garon has only been in Winterfell a few days," Theon shouted angrily, "yet trouble keeps following him everywhere!"
"And now he's deliberately trying to frame me!"
"If you ask me, Bran's accident was caused by him instead!"
Naturally, Ned did not believe such nonsense at all.
Garon had been with the hunting party throughout the entire day.
Ned frowned deeply and shouted coldly, "Enough!"
If the argument continued any longer, the entire court would become a joke before the king and queen.
But Garon had no intention of stopping halfway.
He carefully examined the wound on Theon's wrist before speaking coldly once more.
"You've explained many things."
"But you still haven't explained how that injury happened."
Theon instantly went speechless.
Garon stepped forward slowly.
"That wound is indeed neither a bite nor a scratch."
"But it also doesn't resemble an ordinary cut from a sword or dagger."
"It looks far more like someone intentionally sliced apart the flesh afterward to conceal the original wound."
Robert and Ned were both veterans of countless battles.
At a glance, they could naturally tell the difference between fresh injuries and deliberately altered wounds.
The two men exchanged a glance instinctively.
Their suspicion toward Theon immediately deepened.
Robert suddenly slammed the table furiously.
"Theon!"
"Where were you during the day?"
"Speak!"
"Did you harm Bran?"
"I didn't!" Theon defended himself frantically. "I truly didn't, Your Majesty!"
But Garon gave him no chance to recover.
"Then why treat the wound on your hand immediately afterward?"
"I didn't treat a bite mark!"
Garon suddenly laughed coldly.
"Oh?"
"How do you know we're discussing a bite mark specifically and not scratches?"
"I don't…"
"You don't know?"
"Then why were you so certain just now that it wasn't a bite mark?"
"I… I…"
Garon's voice suddenly rose sharply.
"As I see it, you attacked Bran with a dagger first, then pushed him from the tower afterward to disguise it as an accident!"
Then Garon stepped closer and shouted fiercely.
"Look into my eyes and answer me!"
The rapid questioning completely shattered Theon's already fragile composure.
His thoughts became chaotic instantly.
Under Garon's pressure, Theon subconsciously looked directly at him and blurted out instinctively,
"Nonsense! I only pushed him down, I didn't stab him with a knife!"
Instantly, the entire Great Hall fell silent.
Everyone stared at Theon with completely different expressions.
Garon smiled faintly.
"Your Majesty. Lord Ned."
"He has already confessed."
Pain immediately surfaced across Ned's face.
For nine years he had treated Theon like a son.
Never had he imagined that one day Theon would betray him and harm Bran.
At that exact moment, the words Garon spoke on the day he first arrived at Winterfell suddenly resurfaced in Ned's mind.
Ironborn are Ironborn. Their nature is difficult to change.
Robert understood Ned's character very well.
Knowing Ned would struggle to act decisively against someone he had raised himself, Robert simply made the decision for him.
"Jaime," Robert ordered coldly, "seize Theon and interrogate him thoroughly."
"I want to know who gave him the courage to murder the son of the Warden of the North!"
The killing intent in Jaime's eyes could no longer be concealed.
He knew perfectly well that if Theon survived long enough for proper interrogation, everything about himself and Cersei would eventually be exposed.
Jaime strode forward instantly and drew the longsword from his waist.
"Theon Greyjoy," Jaime declared coldly, "you murdered the son of the Warden of the North, violated the laws of the realm, and defied the will of the gods."
"Your crime is unforgivable."
Theon saw the terrifying killing intent within Jaime's eyes and immediately stumbled backward in terror.
"Jaime… Ser Jaime…"
"You… you can't do this…"
"You promised…"
Jaime suddenly swung his sword, deliberately cutting off Theon's words.
Seeing Theon dodge instinctively, Jaime feigned anger and shouted,
"You dare resist the king's command?"
"Theon, in the name of the Kingsguard, I order you to surrender immediately!"
But after seeing the murderous intent in Jaime's eyes, how could Theon possibly stop moving?
As he desperately retreated, Theon shouted frantically,
"Jaime, you clearly"
Before the sentence could finish, a sharp flash suddenly appeared in Jaime's eyes.
He stepped forward with terrifying speed and slit Theon's throat cleanly with a single strike.
Pfft!
Blood sprayed through the air instantly.
Gasp
Theon clutched desperately at his throat as blood bubbled continuously from his mouth.
"You promised me…"
He glared venomously at Jaime one final time before collapsing heavily onto the floor, dying with unwillingness still frozen in his eyes.