CHAPTER 79
Maegor's Holdfast.
The King's bedchamber.
Fireplaces burned fiercely at both ends of the chamber, filling the room with a dim crimson glow.
The heat inside was suffocating.
Ned hurried into the room, and the moment his eyes landed on Robert lying upon the draped bed, his heart immediately sank.
Robert's right leg looked as though the bones had completely shattered, twisted beyond repair.
Cersei Lannister sat beside the bed, staring blankly at Robert's ruined leg.
Maester Pycelle stood nearby attending the King, while Renly paced restlessly beside the closed window.
Servants constantly entered and exited the room, either adding firewood or warming spiced wine.
"Ned… come closer…"
Seeing Ned arrive, Robert forced out a relieved smile and weakly called to him.
Ned walked past everyone to Robert's bedside. The thick scent of blood filling the room caused sorrow to instantly rise in his heart.
"What happened…?"
He wanted to ask calmly, yet his throat felt tightly constricted.
"It was a boar."
Renly, still covered in blood, stepped forward and answered for Robert.
Ned abruptly turned to glance at Renly and the surrounding Kingsguard, his expression turning furious.
"What were all of you doing? Why didn't you protect the King?!"
Renly replied helplessly, "My brother ordered everyone to stand aside so he could hunt the beast himself."
Ned looked toward Robert's pale face and could only sigh bitterly.
He lifted the blanket slightly, exposing the terrible wound where the boar's tusk had pierced Robert's abdomen.
Although Pycelle had clearly done everything possible, the bandages soaked in wine were already stained through with blood, and every breath Robert took made the horrific wound split open slightly again.
Robert noticed the grief in Ned's eyes and unexpectedly tried to comfort him instead.
"Don't look so miserable. Pycelle said if I survive three days, these wounds may slowly heal."
Nearby, Pycelle straightened slightly as if he wanted to speak, yet ultimately remained silent.
Robert weakly raised his voice.
"All of you… leave. I want to speak with the Hand alone."
Panic flickered briefly through Cersei's eyes.
"Robert, my dear, I…"
Robert's voice was weak, but the determination within it was unmistakable.
"I said get out! Which part didn't you understand, woman?"
Cersei stared into Robert's cold eyes for several moments before finally rising and leaving.
Renly and the others also followed her out.
Pycelle remained behind last. He mixed together a cloudy white liquid before carefully presenting it to Robert.
"Your Grace, this is milk of the poppy. Please drink it. It will lessen the pain."
Robert weakly pushed the cup aside.
"I need to stay awake right now. Take it away."
Pycelle helplessly bowed and slowly shuffled out of the room.
"Robert… damn it, why are you always so reckless?"
Ned sat beside his old friend, grief filling his eyes.
Robert let out two dry laughs.
"Hah… I drank too much. Otherwise, how could a mere boar wound me like this?"
"But even so, I still killed the beast."
Seeing that Ned still looked sorrowful, a trace of reluctance flashed through Robert's eyes.
"Ned…"
He softly called his friend's name before forcing himself to continue calmly.
"I'm crippled."
"That old fool Pycelle said that even if I survive, this leg will never walk again. And the wound in my belly means I won't even be able to endure a cold breeze."
He tried to laugh again.
"A crippled king forced to hide in his room forever?"
But the laughter tugged painfully at his wounds, causing him to grimace and curse weakly several times.
Hearing that Robert still had a chance to survive, Ned felt slightly relieved.
"The gods are merciful. You can still govern the realm from your chambers."
But Robert slowly shook his head.
"I'd rather die than live like that."
His tone was firm and resolute, causing Ned's heart to tremble.
"Robert… you…"
Robert weakly looked at Ned and replied,
"Since ancient times, what king has hidden away in his chambers forever?"
"The Seven Kingdoms are already unstable. If the King remains absent for years, those ambitious fools will grow even bolder."
"Ned… my brother… my son will depend on you from now on."
Ned's entire body stiffened. He could hear the unmistakable finality in Robert's voice.
"Joffrey is too young, and the council is filled with flatterers and incompetents…"
Robert paused to gasp painfully several times before continuing.
"I will leave a royal decree naming you Regent and Protector of the Realm. With my death, your grievances with the Lannisters can finally end."
"Now take parchment and quill… write this down…"
Ned's eyes immediately reddened.
At last, he could no longer endure watching his old friend remain deceived.
The truth he had hidden in his heart finally burst forth.
"But Joffrey is not your son!"
Robert's breathing abruptly halted.
For the first time, genuine terror appeared upon his face.
"Ned… that's not funny."
Ned slowly shook his head.
His expression was complicated, but ultimately he revealed everything.
"Robert… do you know how Jon Arryn died?"
Beginning with Jon Arryn's investigation, Ned explained Jaime and Cersei's incestuous affair, their attempt to murder Bran after discovering him spying, and finally his confrontation with Cersei in the godswood.
Robert trembled violently throughout the entire explanation.
But the moment he heard that Cersei herself had admitted everything, the fury within him erupted like wildfire.
"Kill her!"
"Kill that whore for me!"
Ignoring the blood pouring from his abdomen and the agony tearing through his leg, Robert actually struggled upright and tightly seized Ned's wrist.
He roared with all the strength remaining in his body.
Yet Robert had already grown too weak.
His voice barely reached Ned's ears before fading away entirely.
Outside the chamber, no one heard anything.
Ned felt both grief for his old friend and deep worry for the future.
He tried to calm Robert.
"I swear to you, I will give you justice according to the laws of the realm."
But Robert still was not satisfied.
His eyes remained fixed upon Ned.
"Call them all in! I want that whore and her three bastard children executed immediately!"
Ned was instantly alarmed.
"Robert, if you do that now, the royal scandal will spread across all Westeros!"
"The entire realm will mock you, and the prestige of the Iron Throne will collapse."
"At that point, your rule itself will be shaken!"
Ned earnestly tried persuading Robert to calm himself.
"You must survive."
"As long as you live, one day you can personally make those who betrayed you pay the price."
Ned's words gradually restored a measure of clarity to Robert's rage.
Robert gripped Ned's hand tightly while muttering bitterly,
"Yes… I want to personally watch that whore suffer."
"I want to destroy the Lannisters myself."
"I cannot die. I must live."
At once, Robert's desire to survive burned fiercely once again.
Only then did he truly feel the horrifying pain ravaging his body.
Looking downward, he noticed fresh blood once more seeping heavily from his wounds.
Seeing this, Ned quickly helped ease Robert back onto the bed.
Now Robert lay limply against the sheets as though all strength had been drained from him.
A bitter smile slowly appeared on his face.
"Retribution… this is the gods' punishment for me."
"I fathered bastards all across the Seven Kingdoms, yet the children I raised all these years were never mine at all."
Suddenly, Robert seemed to remember something important.
He stared directly at Ned.
"That boy Gendry you mentioned… does he truly resemble me?"
Ned nodded slowly.
"Very much. He's roughly Robb's age and looks exactly like you did in your youth."
Robert silently laughed twice.
"Those bastards want my throne? They can dream on."
"Ned… my brother… you'll help me, won't you?"
Ned nodded solemnly.
"Call them all back inside."
"I want to legitimize my bastards in the King's name."
Ned immediately froze in shock.
"Robert, if you do this… what about Stannis and Renly?"
According to Ned's original plan, once he secured Cersei and her children, he intended to recognize Stannis as Robert's lawful heir, leave the Queen and her children to the new King's judgment, and finally return peacefully to the North.
Yet Robert instead intended to legitimize his bastards.
If that happened, those legitimized sons would bypass both Stannis and Renly entirely and become Robert's lawful heirs.
Robert naturally understood this.
He explained laboriously,
"Stannis is a hard, merciless stone. If he becomes King, he'll only torment the realm with his cruelty."
"And Renly… he's merely suited for appearances. Besides, I already gave him Storm's End."
"My kingdom must pass to my own blood."
After speaking so much, Robert gasped painfully for breath before continuing with murderous hatred in his eyes.
"Just as you said, this royal scandal cannot spread. Otherwise House Baratheon's rule will be shattered."
"In that case, let my bastards deal with those other bastards one by one."
"Ned… you must help me."
When Robert spoke those final words, his eyes were filled with pleading.
Ned silently sighed.
"Which bastards do you intend to legitimize?"
Robert forced out an ugly smile.
"Only two. Gendry… and Edric Storm."
Ned looked deeply at his old friend.
"I'll summon everyone immediately."
He turned toward the chamber doors, flung them open wide, and ordered every royal councilor and every noble with status nearby to enter.
Ned intended to ensure that tonight's events could no longer be concealed by anyone.