"Nonsense!" Amid the clamor, the pockmarked knight Richard suddenly bellowed.
Everyone turned to look in shock. The hall actually fell silent for a moment, and then the knight of the Fiery Heart pointed at Brienne and shouted:
"You killed the person yourself. Now there is no proof from the dead, so you act without restraint, spitting blood and slandering King Stannis at will?"
"I swear to the Seven that I have not spoken a single lie."
Brienne did not retreat in the slightest, meeting him with the firmest gaze.
"This is an extremely simple question," the pockmarked knight said as he swept his eyes over the crowd and raised his voice. "Everyone, if you had done something evil, would you really have no thought of concealing it at all and just stupidly admit it outright?"
"Well…" The assembled nobles were taken aback. It did seem to make some sense.
At the time, however, there had only been the Red Priestess and Brienne. Brienne was almost certain that Stannis had killed Renly. Whether the red-robed woman admitted it or not seemed irrelevant. She probably never imagined that the female knight would dare to kill someone outright.
All sorts of thoughts twisted through everyone's minds, but no one voiced them. They simply watched Brienne to see how she would respond.
Brienne glanced back toward her own side, looked once at Tyrion, and finally fixed her gaze on Stannis, whose face was livid.
"Why do something and yet not dare to admit it?
"King Renly is dead. That is a fact. At the time, there was one and only one person with both the ability and the motive.
"There was even a witness. Lady Catelyn saw the shadow's appearance clearly.
"What really happened is as obvious as the dragon in the fountain pool. Why are we still discussing this?
"You abandoned the Seven and turned to the Red God, but whether it is R'hllor, the Father, or even the Old Gods worshiped by the North, none of them encourage their followers to lie.
"If you violate the doctrines of the gods and insist on lying, what meaning does today's judgment have at all?
"In any case, you who have already betrayed the gods' teachings will receive no divine protection. Why bother believing in the Lord of Light at all?"
Brienne's rough, round face was filled with calm sincerity. Her clear blue eyes were pure and transparent, like a mirror that instantly projected the depths of anyone's heart the moment they were reflected in it.
These words, which spoke only of conscience and not of evidence, plunged the hall into silence. Anyone who met her gaze immediately turned their head away in discomfort.
Even Davos, Stannis's Hand of the King, was no exception.
He had once accused his own king of kinslaying. Stannis had not blamed him, but instead explained sincerely: "I have an alibi. Your son Devan is my squire. He can testify that I never left the camp that night."
Moved by the king's sincerity and magnanimity, the Onion Knight believed his nonsense.
Well, just like Stannis himself, it was nothing more than self-hypnosis.
Because immediately afterward, Stannis had ordered him to ferry Melisandre through the drains beneath Storm's End in a small boat, where he personally witnessed the heavily pregnant Melisandre give birth to a shadow bearing Stannis's likeness, which then killed Ser Cortnay Penrose, the castellan of Storm's End.
At that time, Stannis had also been in the camp, with an alibi.
Now, hearing Brienne's questioning and seeing her mirror-like clear eyes, Davos's old face went deathly pale. His expression grew dazed, and his eyes lost all focus.
What is wrong with me? For what reason did I become so loyal to King Stannis, so full of reverence for him?
Because of his integrity and justice?
No. He is my god. He made me what I am. He honored me with his trust. That is the true reason I am willing to die for him.
All of a sudden, Davos was like an electric cart with fresh batteries, instantly brimming with energy again. He met Brienne's gaze intensely, though she had already looked away.
"Hey, isn't she just some witch? Kill her and be done with it. In Westeros, killing forest witches has never required a reason. Isn't that right?" Greatjon muttered loudly.
To be more precise, in Westeros, once wizards or skinchangers were discovered, they would be pelted with bricks by common folk, stabbed with pitchforks, or handed over to the lords to be hanged or burned in public.
Just like the medieval church dealing with witches.
That was why Westeros became a magical wasteland. That was why the theory of the "true world" took root in the Citadel, grew under the cultivation of the maesters, and was ultimately put into practice.
Of course, by now almost everyone knew that the King in the North was a warg, so Greatjon tactfully left skinchangers out of it.
"Lady Melisandre is His Majesty's High Priestess and our spiritual leader. How can you say she should be killed just like that?" Davos stepped forward and shouted angrily.
In truth, he had long wanted to get rid of Melisandre. He had even prepared to kill her to purge the king's side. Seeing Brienne cut Melisandre down, he was actually quite pleased.
But Brienne killing Melisandre and him killing Melisandre meant completely different things.
He would kill Melisandre because she had bewitched Stannis. A just and selfless ruler had been led by a witch into becoming a kinslayer. How could he not hate her?
Brienne, however, killed Melisandre to avenge Renly.
If Brienne were let off, it would amount to indirectly acknowledging that she was right.
Could that be acknowledged?
Acknowledging that Stannis killed Renly?
Why could the Imp not become Aegon's Hand of the King?
Was it because Aegon was unwilling?
In fact, the dwarf's status in Aegon's camp was that of the Hand of the King in all but name.
If Stannis admitted to kinslaying, never mind contending for the Iron Throne, he would not even be able to stay alive.
The dwarf was not a king, so there was no question of universal betrayal. Stannis, as a kinslayer, would inevitably face universal betrayal.
In history, which king abandoned by all could keep his life?
Therefore, Stannis absolutely could not let Brienne go.
Davos glanced at the expressionless Aegon, then turned his gaze to Jon and said solemnly, "Duke Stark, you are the lord of these lands, and you have sworn fealty to King Stannis. Now is the time to fulfill your duty as a vassal."
At this moment, Aegon had to take a stance.
However, like Stannis, he remained seated and did not move. The one who stepped forward was the Hand of the King.
Tyrion walked to the center of the hall, pointed at the female knight, and said, "As everyone can see, Ser Brienne is a loyal, upright, and righteous knight, the foremost knight of the younger generation in the Seven Kingdoms, the Barristan Selmy of our age, and a benchmark for the new generation of knights.
Such a paragon of virtue, yet you forced Duke Stark to order her execution. Tsk tsk, that taste feels awfully familiar."
The dwarf grinned and looked at Stannis. "Do you feel the same? Doesn't it resemble the Mad King forcing Jon to kill the greatest knight in the Seven Kingdoms, your brother Robert?"
Well, in his youth, Robert absolutely deserved the title of the greatest knight of his generation. He carved out a realm with nothing but a warhammer.
It had to be said, the dwarf's analogy was vicious.
Two vassals named Jon, two victims who were both the foremost knights. Did that make Stannis no different from the Mad King?
Even the ending seemed the same: Jon rebelled against the Mad King, raised the banner of justice, and helped the true dragon ascend the throne, with Brienne as the white knight representing Aegon.
Stannis understood perfectly. Flames leapt in his eyes as he ground his teeth and said, "Are you trying to start a war with me?"
The dwarf hurriedly waved his hands. "Nothing of the sort. We may not be allied, but we are helping Duke Stark purge the Northern rebels."
He deliberately enunciated the words "not allied" with exceptional clarity, prompting thoughtful looks from everyone present.
Stannis said coldly, "Tyrion, your tongue is sharp, but it does not change the fact that Brienne murdered Melisandre.
If you intend to maintain the current peace, then shut your mouth and have the false king behind you give me an explanation in person."
"What did you say?" Aegon was provoked by the words "false king." He sprang to his feet and shouted at Stannis, "I am Rhaegar's son, of true dragon blood, the rightful heir to the Iron Throne.
Even the usurper Robert never dared to slander me as a 'false king,' let alone you, a kinslaying heathen."
"Robert wouldn't call you a false king. He would just smash your skull with a hammer," Stannis snapped, his face livid and lips pale as his whole body trembled. "You may truly believe you are Rhaegar's son, but you are not at all.Go ask the elders of the Seven Kingdoms. Rhaegar's relationship with Varys was like yours and mine. Do you think I would save your son?"
Aegon was so enraged that his vision swam. Flushed and frantic, he lowered his head to look for his sword, but unfortunately, before entering the hall, everyone's weapons had been confiscated by the Northerners.
The dwarf was anxious as well. Aegon should never have stepped in. Even if Stannis called him a false king, it should have been the dwarf who refuted it.
But now,Stannis's words were too cutting, and he could not find a chance to interject.
After circling about like a headless fly, Aegon suddenly regained his composure. He lifted his head, stared straight at Stannis, and said, "I do not know whether you would save my son, but I swear that if I had the chance to save your son, I would do so without hesitation.
You may be guilty, but a child is innocent. As king of the Seven Kingdoms, if one cannot even save an innocent child, then one is unworthy to sit upon the Iron Throne."
Aegon had been blinded by anger earlier. Once he calmed down and reconsidered Stannis's words from the opposite angle, he realized that the question was easy to answer and did not require any thought at all.
Having followed his Aunt Daenerys for so long while learning the way of kings, how could he not know how to treat the children of one's enemies?No, he knew it all too well.
One of his aunt's most famous moments, the whipping and execution decree, came precisely because rebellious slaves had slaughtered the young children of slave masters.Therefore, these words came entirely from the heart. They were spoken smoothly and forcefully, sincere and genuine, without the slightest hint of pretense.
Because of this, Stannis stared at him, stunned. Tyrion's mouth fell open, equally stunned. Jon, Davos, and the clansmen in the hall all looked shaken, as if they were seeing Aegon VI for the first time.
Perhaps he truly was a qualified king.
At that moment, many people thought so.
"Ahem, Your Graces, my lords," Davos sensed that the atmosphere in the hall was off, that everyone seemed to be overwhelmed by King Aegon's kingly bearing, and hurriedly spoke up to break the moment. "The purpose of today's trial is to seek justice for Lady Melisandre, not to discuss the relationship between Varys and Rhaegar.
Please return to the main issue, and please answer my question directly, Your Grace Aegon. What explanation do you intend to give King Stannis for the killing of a priest of archbishop rank on our side?"
Cersei murdered a High Septon, and she herself was paraded through the streets, while Qyburn donned black robes.
If Brienne were a man, Davos would naturally have her don black as well. Both sides would save face, and a large-scale military conflict could be avoided. Unfortunately,unfortunately, he did not know that both Aegon and Stannis intended to use this opportunity to erupt.
"Aegon, you kill her with your own hands, and we will consider the matter settled," Stannis said coldly, pointing at Brienne.
Stannis began to stir trouble.
"Why not have a trial by combat and let the gods decide whether Brienne was right or wrong?" Tyrion said with a squinting grin.
After hacking at her hundreds of times without killing her, who did not know she was wearing Valyrian steel armor?
Duel a knight clad in Valyrian steel armor?
Even without such armor, Brienne was one of the fiercest warriors in the Seven Kingdoms, while Stannis's knights had spent more than half a year barely surviving in deep mountains and forests.
Even noble knights like Godry Farring had been reduced to skin and bones by hunger and cold. How were they supposed to fight?
Stannis pointed at Aegon and said, "The two of us will fight. The victor is king, the loser is out."
(End of chapter)
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