The evening after the spar, Robin was summoned to the Duke's private study. Not the public court. Not the great hall. The private study where family matters were handled away from witnesses.
Robin expected this. The Duke wouldn't let such a public defeat of his son pass without comment. Without consequences.
He walked through the corridors with measured steps. His body was still recovering from the morning's exertion, but he kept his posture straight. Confident but not arrogant. Ready for whatever came next.
Two guards flanked the study door. They didn't speak, just opened it and gestured him inside.
The room was exactly as Robin remembered from his first summons. Dark wood furniture. Maps on the walls. A fire crackling in the hearth despite the warm evening. The Duke liked his private spaces uncomfortably hot, a power play, making visitors sweat while he remained comfortable.
Duke Aldric sat behind his massive desk. But he wasn't alone.
Leo stood to the right, his jaw visibly bruised where Robin's practice sword had connected. His expression was thunderous. Marcus stood to the left, arms crossed, watching with analytical interest.
All three of them. This is serious.
"Close the door," the Duke commanded.
Robin did. The solid thud of wood meeting frame felt final. Trapping.
"Sit."
There was only one chair. Directly across from the Duke. Positioned so the fire's heat hit Robin's back while the Duke remained cool in shadow.
Robin sat. Kept his hands relaxed on the armrests. Didn't fidget.
The Duke studied him in silence. Ten seconds. Twenty. The silence was meant to be oppressive. To make Robin nervous. To force him to speak first.
Robin waited. He'd endured interrogations before, Justin had been questioned by enemy commanders during a failed diplomatic mission. Silence was just another weapon, and it could be turned back on the wielder.
Finally, the Duke spoke. "You forced my hand today."
"I won my wager fairly, Father."
"Don't call me that." The Duke's voice was cold. "In this room, you are not my son. You are a problem I'm trying to solve."
Robin kept his expression neutral, but internally he noted the admission. He sees me as a threat now. Good. Fear is respect wearing a different mask.
"The wager was public," the Duke continued. "Witnessed by half the household and several bannermen. I cannot go back on it without damaging House Stark's reputation. You knew this when you made your challenge."
"Yes."
"Clever, manipulative and extremely foolish." The Duke leaned forward. "You think you've won. That you've secured passage to the Academy. But you've only earned the right to attempt the entrance exams. Not to succeed."
"I understand the terms."
"Do you?" The Duke's eyes narrowed. "Let me make them absolutely clear. You will travel with Leo's convoy, yes. But you will ride in the supply wagons with the servants.
You will eat their food. Sleep in their quarters. You will not wear Stark colors. You will not carry our banner."
Leo smirked. "Like the servant you are."
Robin didn't look at his brother. Kept his focus on the Duke.
"You will receive no new equipment," the Duke continued. "No weapons. No armor. No training gear. Whatever you bring is whatever you already possess."
So, nothing. I'll be arriving with literally nothing.
"You will receive no letter of recommendation from House Stark. When the Academy administrators ask about your lineage, you will acknowledge your birth, but you will make it clear you attend without family support."
"I understand."
"Do you?" The Duke's voice dropped to something dangerous. "Because here is the most important condition. When you fail and you will fail, you will not return to Winterfell.
You will not embarrass this family further by crawling back with your tail between your legs. You will make your own way in the world, far from House Stark."
Exile. The Duke was essentially exiling Robin the moment he failed.
Marcus spoke for the first time. "Father, that seems harsh. He is still...."
"Still what?" The Duke's gaze snapped to his eldest. "Still your brother? Still a Stark? He stopped being those things the moment he was born under a cursed moon. I've fed him. Sheltered him. Fulfilled my promise to your mother. But I will not allow him to drag this family's name through mud at the kingdom's premier military institution."
Robin felt something cold settle in his chest. Not anger. Not hurt. Just... clarity.
He's not even pretending anymore. The mask is off.
"If, by some miracle, you pass the entrance exams," the Duke said, turning back to Robin, "you will attend the Academy without House Stark's support. No monthly allowance. No care packages. No visits. You will be on your own. Succeed or fail based solely on your own merit."
"That's all I've ever asked for, Your Grace."
The title was deliberate. If the Duke wanted to deny their relationship, Robin would oblige.
The Duke's jaw tightened. "You think this is a game. A challenge you can overcome through stubbornness and luck."
"I think I landed a clean strike on a trained opponent in front of witnesses. That's not luck. That's skill."
Leo exploded. "You got lucky! A cheap shot while I was off-balance!"
"A victory is a victory," Robin said calmly. "You were off-balance because I put you off-balance. I swept your leg because your stance was too wide and your weight distribution was poor. That's not luck. That's tactics."
Leo lunged forward. Marcus caught his arm.
"Enough," the Duke commanded. "This is exactly why I'm implementing these conditions. You've humiliated your brother. Made him look incompetent in front of the household. Now you'll learn what happens when you bite the hand that feeds you."
Robin stood. He hadn't been dismissed, but he'd heard enough. "May I go, Your Grace? I have preparations to make."
The Duke's expression darkened. "You dare...."
"You've made your conditions clear. No support. No equipment. No family backing. Exile if I fail. I accept all of it." Robin met his father's eyes directly.
"Is there anything else? Or are you simply going to continue explaining how little you think of me?"
The silence was absolute. Marcus looked shocked. Leo looked torn between rage and satisfaction. And the Duke...
The Duke looked at Robin like he was seeing him for the first time. Really seeing him.
"You've changed," the Duke said slowly. "The boy I questioned a month ago was cautious. Respectful. This..." He gestured at Robin. "This is something else."
"I'm trying to survive," Robin said simply. "You taught me that family can't be trusted. That promises mean nothing. That power is the only thing that matters." He paused. "Thank you for the lesson, Your Grace. I'll put it to good use at the Academy."
"Get out." The Duke's voice was quiet. Dangerous. "Before I change my mind about honoring the wager."
Robin bowed. Properly, but with no warmth. Then turned and walked to the door.
"Robin." The Duke's voice stopped him. "One more thing."
Robin looked back.
"Your mother died believing you were worth saving. Worth protecting." The Duke's expression was unreadable. "I hope you're right. Because if you fail at the Academy, it will prove that her death was as meaningless as your life."
The words should have hurt. Should have cut deep.
Instead, Robin felt nothing. Just cold emptiness.
"Then I suppose I'd better not fail," he said quietly. "For Mother's sake, if nothing else."
He left before the Duke could respond. Walked through the corridors with steady steps. Didn't run. Didn't hide. Just walked.
Only when he reached his room, closed and locked the door, did Robin allow himself to process what had happened.
The Duke had essentially disowned him. Cut him loose. Given him permission to attend the Academy only because refusing would damage the family's reputation.
And Robin had accepted every cruel condition. Every calculated insult. Every attempt to make him fail before he even started.
Good.
He pulled up his quest log:
┏━━━━━━━[ Active Missions ]━━━━━━━┓
│ → Pass Academy Entrance Exams
│ ├─ Time Limit: 20 days
│ ├─ Difficulty: High
│ ├─ Conditions: No family support
│ ├─ Penalty for failure: Exile
│ └─ Reward: Freedom + Academy admission
│
│ → Survive Without Support
│ ├─ Equipment: None provided
│ ├─ Resources: None provided
│ ├─ Reputation: Openly hostile family
│ └─ Reward: Complete independence
┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┛
The system had updated automatically. New missions. New challenges.
Robin sat on his bed. Thought about the Duke's conditions.
No equipment meant he'd arrive at the Academy with nothing but his worn clothes and damaged dagger.
No support meant every copper, every meal, every piece of gear would have to come from his own efforts.
No family backing meant the Academy would see him as a no-name commoner with a noble surname and nothing else.
Perfect.
Robin started laughing. Quiet at first, then louder. The absurdity of it all. The Duke thought he was punishing Robin. Thought he was making success impossible.
Instead, he'd given Robin exactly what he needed. Freedom. Independence. The ability to succeed or fail based purely on merit.
No expectations. No obligations. No one to disappoint or impress.
Just me. My skills. My knowledge. My determination.
Justin had risen from nothing once before. Street rat to commander. Earned every rank through blood and brilliance.
Robin would do it again. But this time, he'd do it faster. Better. With the system's help and sixty years of foreknowledge.
The Duke thinks he's set me up to fail. Instead, he's given me the perfect environment to succeed.
Robin checked his status:
┏━━━━━━━[ Host Profile ]━━━━━━━┓
│ Name: Robin Stark
│ Level: 6
│ EXP: 155/600
│
│ Core Attributes:
│ STR Strength 10
│ AGI Agility 8
│ END Endurance 8
│ DEX Dexterity 9
┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┛
Twenty days to improve these numbers. Twenty days to gather what equipment he could scavenge. Twenty days to prepare for exams designed to weed out the weak.
Challenge accepted.
Robin lay back on his bed. His mind was already spinning plans. Scenarios. Preparations.
The Duke had made his move. Set the board to his advantage. Stacked the deck against Robin as thoroughly as possible.
Now it was Robin's turn.
And unlike his father, Robin knew how this game ended. Because he'd already lived through it once. He knew exactly what the Academy required. What they tested for. What they valued.
The Duke thinks he's in control. Thinks he's managed the situation.
But he's already lost. He just doesn't know it yet.
Robin closed his eyes. But sleep didn't come quickly. His mind was too active. Too focused on the future.
Twenty days.
Then he'd leave Winterfell behind. Leave the Duke's surveillance. Leave the contempt and neglect and cruelty.
And step into a world where strength mattered more than blood. Where skill trumped status. Where a cursed child could become something more.
Something dangerous.
Robin smiled in the darkness.
The Duke's permission was reluctant. Conditional. Designed to humiliate and handicap.
But permission was permission.
And Robin Stark was very, very good at taking small opportunities and turning them into victories.
Thank you, Father. For everything you've taught me.
Especially the lessons you didn't mean to teach.
Like how to survive without support. How to thrive in hostile environments. How to turn disadvantages into weapons.
The smile stayed on Robin's face even as exhaustion finally pulled him toward sleep.
In twenty days, he'd leave.
In twenty-one days, he'd prove the Duke wrong.
And someday, maybe years from now he'd return.
Not as the cursed child.
As something the Duke should have feared from the beginning.
But by then, it would be far too late to stop him.