" Petyr?" Jon frowned slightly upon hearing the name, looking at Sansa and Arya who were sleeping close together.
He patted Sansa on the shoulder, and Sansa flinched, looking up to find it was Jon before relaxing.
" Sansa, take your little sister to the back room first. I need to meet someone here." Although his voice was very soft, the empty sanctuary seemed to still make his voice echo.
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Sansa nodded, shook the sleepy Arya awake, and the two left arm in arm.
Then Jon turned to the guard and said to Dao, "Go tell Petyr that I'm sleeping and to be quiet when he comes in. I'll wake up soon."
"Understood, sir." The guard nodded and left the sanctuary.
Jon believes that Petyr's motive for coming to see him late at night is not hard to guess. He is probably preparing to go to Dragonstone to negotiate on behalf of Tyrell. As for stopping by to see him in the middle of the night, it is probably for his own benefit.
After all, Tyrell possessed the wealthy The Reach and a large army; he was merely a minor nobleman on the outskirts of the valley.
This back-and-forth behavior was bound to arouse Stannis's disgust. Like the Frey family, he needed his endorsement to safely navigate the change of dynasties.
Jon also realized that since Littlefinger dared to come to see him, it must mean he thought that Littlefinger was unaware of Dao's secret plot to murder Eddard.
But Jon doesn't intend to expose him now, nor does he intend to kill him. After all, Petyr is now Tyrell's representative, and the most urgent task is to restore peace to the entire Seven Kingdoms and accumulate strength to deal with Long Night.
If it really comes down to killing someone, you can simply use a dragon egg to bribe a Faceless One to do it.
As for the present, the natural thing to do is to find a way to make him spend some gold coins. This guy borrowed more than three million gold dragons from Iron Bank on behalf of the royal family. It's impossible that he didn't line his own pockets with such a huge amount of money.
Moreover, he himself runs the second largest brothel in King's Landing, so it would actually be more worthwhile not to kill him.
Jon put the cushions of the three siblings together, lay down on them and pretended to sleep. Soon a somewhat thin figure arrived in the sanctuary of the temple.
Dozens of candles flickered, like the ghosts of the dead recounting their past grievances, which sent a chill down Petyr's spine.
He took a deep breath, calming his racing heartbeat, and then softly called out to the figure that seemed to be hidden in the shadows: " Jon?"
Jon —————— Jon.———— Jon ——
Petyr called out, but was startled by the echo in the sanctuary. He slowly approached and saw Eddard's clothes laid out in the coffin.
Petyr remembered that the clothes were the same ones Eddard was wearing when he was arrested, the ones he had held to Eddard's neck with a dagger and said to Dao: "Didn't I tell you not to trust me?"
Back then, Petyr never imagined that his entire life and fortune would be tied to Eddard's bastard.
At this moment, Petyr noticed that Jon was standing guard beside Eddard's remains, with his back to him.
Petyr looked at the tall, slender young man, hesitated for a moment, but decided to wake him up. He needed to get a guarantee from Jon as soon as possible, and then he had to go to Dragonstone immediately to act as Tyrell's peace negotiator. Time was of the essence.
But just as he reached out to pat Jon on the shoulder, something unexpected happened!
The boy in the shadows had a fierce look in his eyes, like a startled wolf. He suddenly flipped over and slammed Petyr to the ground with a speed that left only a blur.
The next second, the cold dagger pierced Petyr's clothes and embedded itself in his flesh. As the dagger was about to push further in, Petyr cried out, "Spare me! Jon! It's not what you think! It's all Cersei's orders! It's all Cersei's orders!!!"
In a life-or-death moment, at the last second, Petyr frantically tried to exonerate himself. His voice echoed through the sanctuary, almost immediately attracting the attention of the guards outside.
He discovered that the boy who was suppressing him was not only agile and swift, but also incredibly strong, and he had no chance of resisting at all.
At this moment, Jon seemed to wake up from a dream, and the fierce look on his face turned into a surprised expression.
"Who are you?"
"ah?"
Petyr paused for a moment, then blankly revealed his identity.
"Ah, it's Ser Petyr. I'm so sorry, so very sorry," Jon said, helping him up.
" Ser Petyr, that guard is a servant I just took in. He doesn't know my habits yet, so he let you in. I like to kill people in my dreams, so no one comes near me when I'm sleeping." Jon comforted the still-shaken Petyr and reached out to bandage his wounds.
Listening to Jon's explanation, Littlefinger couldn't believe that he had been injured because of such a ridiculous Dragon thing.
But now is not the time to pursue the matter, and he is the one who needs something from him. In fact, the two of them are right next to Eddard's remains. Petyr naturally keeps saying that it's okay and doesn't matter, trying to steer the conversation to the main topic.
" Jon, Jon, actually I was trying to persuade Eddard to wear black that day. I knew Dao was innocent and it was unfair to him, but I was just a lowly Chancellor of the Exchequer. I did everything I could—" Petyr looked at Eddard's remains, filled with regret and tears. His acting was so convincing that if Jon hadn't known the truth about Dao, he would have almost believed it.
"I understand. I heard from Lady Catelyn that you helped Lord Eddard a lot in investigating the cause of death of former Prime Minister Arryn. You are Lord Eddard's friend, and I am willing to believe you." Jon also held Petyr's hand and said gratefully, "Dao," and then pulled him to Eddard's remains: " Lord Petyr, you must have a lot to say to my father. Please."
With that, Jon stepped aside.
But Petyr was no longer able to speak; he could only feel the blood flowing from the wound in his chest, soaking his shirt underneath.
But Jon was watching him from behind, so how could he dare to refuse?
" Eddard — it was my incompetence that prevented me from saving you — Eddard, you have a good son, he has avenged you, soon the true and rightful king will inherit the iron throne, you can rest in peace, Eddard —"
Jon looked at Petyr with a mocking expression, knowing that Dao was lucky to be alive. It was impossible for him to be granted the title of Lord of Harrenhal and then take actual control of the Vale through a marriage alliance with Lysa, as he originally had.
However, Petyr still has a huge influence on Lysa, who is so love-struck that she would murder her husband for her lover, and still has the ability to influence the choices made by the Valley.
As long as one remains sufficiently wary of him, temporary cooperation can still bring significant benefits.
Soon after Petyr finished his mourning, he told Jon about the Battle of King's Landing that day.
He said he was very anxious when he learned that Jon was the one defending Dao, but there was nothing he could do. He had been ordered to form an alliance between Lannister and Tyrell, and he couldn't disobey orders.
" Jon, you're the smartest young man I've ever met. Tyrell chose to ally with Lannister because their interests aligned. When King Robert rebelled, Tyrell was excluded from the political center because he sided with Targaryen. Taking advantage of this opportunity, they were finally able to increase their influence and move to the forefront. My role was merely that of a middleman." Petyr downplayed his role as a go-between in front of Jon and emphasized his helplessness.
" Ser Petyr, of course I understand." Jon expressed his understanding, but then he changed the subject and said to Dao, "But Lord Petyr, even so, as human beings, we should have our own principles and bottom lines, and we can't just follow the crowd, right?"
Perhaps my words are harsh, but look at yourself now, what you're doing is hardly any different from being a slave to three masters.
"A traitor who has served three masters?" Petyr didn't react for a moment, but with his clever mind, he quickly realized how offensive Jon's words were, yet he couldn't refute them.
Although he was forced to obey Cersei's orders, now that the situation is not good, he has to pledge allegiance to Stannis. In addition, given his surname " Baelish," he is naturally the traitor Jon mentioned.
Although Jon has now clearly stated that he wants to support Stannis, he was one of the ones who explicitly opposed Robb when the Riverlands nobles of the North supported him, so he naturally has the right to speak against Petyr.
Faced with criticism from a young man almost twenty years younger than himself, "despite feeling resentful, I still had to nod in agreement and say, ' Jon, you're right.'"
In reality, he kept his head down, hiding his expression in the dim light, his eyes full of disdain.
But Jon got more and more carried away, scolding him for almost half an hour until his mouth got a little dry before he finally stopped.
Seeing that Jon seemed to have finally gotten to the point, Petyr then spoke up, saying, " Jon, you're right. Although you're younger than me, your moral character and sense of honor far surpass mine. But now my life is in danger. If I can't overcome this crisis, I'll never be able to make up for the mistakes I made before." Petyr put on a pitiful expression as he spoke.
" House Tyrell now wants to pledge allegiance to His Majesty Stannis. Let's be realistic. His Majesty Stannis certainly won't refuse such a powerful family, and House Tyrell won't be retaliated against for his previous alliance with Lannister. But I'm different. I'm just a minor nobleman in the Vale, with a barren and small fief. I'm worried that His Majesty Stannis will punish me. Jon, for your father's sake, please help me."
"How can someone be so shameless?" Jon thought to himself, while also marveling at Petyr's astonishingly thick skin.
" Lord Petyr, you did help my father after all, so naturally I will help you in return. Here's what I'll do: I'll write you a letter, take it with you, as if I'm pleading on your behalf." Jon patted him on the shoulder and began to speak.
He wasn't worried at all about Stannis's concerns about him forming cliques or engaging in favoritism; the groundwork laid with Davos and Melisandre had been enough.
Stannis would at most think that he was naive and had been deceived by a villain.
Jon quickly wrote a lengthy letter, which he then handed to Petyr. Petyr carefully treasured it, his joy evident in his expression.
Jon then took the opportunity to make his own request: " Lord Petyr, I did you a favor, could you do me one too?"
" Jon, just say the word. As long as it's within my power," Petyr assured Jon with a serious expression.
"I'd like to borrow some money—well, to be precise, I'd like to ask you for some money," Jon began.
Jon claimed that the Soldiers needed a reward but he was short of money, and that he was also worried about the defenses and supplies of the Wall, so he hoped Petyr could contribute some money.
Petyr did not refuse and immediately said that he would raise at least 100,000 gold Dragons to give to Jon.
With Jon's guarantee, Petyr left King's Landing overnight. He did not come alone; he also brought with him the nobles captured in the Battle of King's Landing that day, and he would take them to Dragonstone to hand them over to Stannis.