The sudden argument caused the atmosphere at the scene to stiffen instantly.
The sea wind blew across the area, and the sky was overcast, as if a thunderstorm were about to break.
The air was oppressive, giving rise to an inexplicable sense of unease.
After a long moment, seeing that Stannis Baratheon was still as unyielding as a block of stone, Eddard Stark finally lost his patience.
"Stannis, if you intend to defy the laws of the realm and Robert's will, then as Hand of the King, I must make a choice."
Eddard fixed Stannis Baratheon with a sharp gaze. His attitude became extremely firm, and his words, rarely, carried a faint hint of threat.
But since Stannis Baratheon had already come this far, how could he possibly retreat of his own accord in the face of so simple a threat from Eddard Stark?
Thus, he let out a cold snort.
"Lord Eddard Stark, have you perhaps forgotten something?"
"You should know that, strictly according to the laws of the realm, I am the first in line to the Iron Throne. This is something all of you—including Robert—acknowledged at the Small Council."
Stannis's rebuttal rang out firm and forceful, as he continued to stand by his position.
Seeing that Stannis still dared to be so presumptuous even after his personal arrival, Eddard Stark's expression turned cold.
Yet the moment he heard Robert's name, he could not help but recall the charge Robert had entrusted to him on his deathbed.
"I do not deny that point. But that was because, at that moment in time, Kal Baratheon had not yet been legitimized by Robert, and so you were the first heir."
"Stannis, have you forgotten that—even if it was only for a single second—Robert exercised his authority as king while he was still alive!"
"Stannis, I do not wish for this matter to give rise to further dispute. You understand what I mean."
Thinking of Robert, and of the present state of the realm, Eddard Stark still did not want matters to spiral out of control. His tone softened slightly, as he continued trying to rein in Stannis's madness.
But in response to these words, in response to the mention of Robert Baratheon, a long-simmering anger surged straight into Stannis's heart.
"A bastard? A bastard that Robert, just because he liked him, muddle-headedly turned into the king's bastard on his deathbed?!"
"And as for me—his younger brother, who should have been the heir to the Iron Throne—he did not even spare me a glance. Ever since he sat upon that damned Iron Throne, it has always been this way!"
Stannis Baratheon roared without regard for decorum, his face livid.
"Storm's End should have been my seat from the very beginning. I never once asked for Dragonstone—I never wanted that wretched place at all."
"I took it only because Robert's enemies were entrenched there at the time, and he ordered me to wipe them out!"
"I built a fleet for him, defeated his enemies, and fully fulfilled my duty as a younger brother. But look at how Robert repaid me!"
"He named me Lord of Dragonstone, yet gave the lands and taxes of Storm's End to Renly. For three hundred years, Storm's End has been the hereditary domain of House Baratheon. By all rights, once Robert ascended the Iron Throne, I should have been the one to rule it!"
"What I am doing now is nothing more than justly reclaiming what should have belonged to me in the first place—not handing the throne over to some so-called bastard who plays the clown to win people's favor!"
Suddenly, without the slightest warning, Stannis Baratheon poured out the grievances he had long kept buried in his heart.
Eddard Stark stared at him in astonishment.
Seeing the look on Eddard Stark's face, Stannis Baratheon came back to himself and shook his head.
"Sorry. I will not acknowledge this."
He let out a long breath, forcing himself to calm down.
"I can acknowledge that he has been legitimized, but he absolutely cannot be king. He does not have the right."
After saying this, Stannis Baratheon completely lost his patience. He turned his back and, leaving one final sentence behind, said, "If you came here only for this, then for the sake of the realm, I will allow this one offense."
"But Lord Eddard Stark, if you came to threaten me, then I will tell you this: I am the rightful king."
"When that time comes, I will regard you as a traitor."
"Go back. Return to King's Landing and await my arrival."
Having said that, Stannis Baratheon did not invite the far-traveled Eddard Stark to his castle as a guest, but instead turned around stiffly and left.
Seeing that no matter what he said, Stannis Baratheon would not abandon his intentions, Eddard Stark looked at his back, thinking of Robert's death, and of Kal Baratheon—who had come alone to King's Landing to attend Robert's funeral, and in the end, for the sake of the realm, had resolutely never sat on that throne even once, before continuing on alone to the Westerlands.
He thought of how, before leaving, Kal had still told him to continue serving as Hand of the King, and had even told him to act as regent in his stead while he, the king, was not in King's Landing.
Eddard Stark knew he had to do something.
And for a kingdom, a man's personal grievances could not make Eddard Stark yield.
Whether in terms of honor or in terms of interest, it was the same.
"Lord Stannis Baratheon, if you still decide to violate the laws of the realm—if you still decide to commit treason—then in the name of King Kal I of House Baratheon, I will launch military action against you."
"Stop being so obstinate!"
At this moment, Eddard Stark no longer chose to try to solve this problem by tactful means.
If even after he had come in person to speak with Stannis Baratheon about this matter, Stannis was still like this, then Eddard Stark knew that if he truly wanted peace, he had to show the attitude that was his.
This was his promise to Robert, and it was also his repayment to the king he now served—King Kal—and to the trust Kal had placed in him.
Stannis Baratheon, who had been about to leave, heard Eddard Stark's naked threat, and the step he had been taking halted in place.
"I said it already—you are the traitors to the realm."
"I granted you mercy, yet time and again you cast it aside like a worn shoe!"
"Since that is the case, then you needn't go back."
At this moment, Stannis's anger could no longer be suppressed, and he chose to keep Eddard Stark here.
The instant he said this, Jory Cassel and the other guards who had followed Eddard Stark immediately drew their weapons, quickly stepping forward to protect their lord.
And in response to Lord Stark's party's reaction, the guards on Dragonstone's side also raised their spears one after another.
In an instant, the atmosphere at the scene became tense, blades drawn.
Bloodshed seemed as if it would come in the next heartbeat.
And Ser Davos Seaworth—the Onion Knight—who had already been dissatisfied in his heart, and who had repeatedly warned and admonished Stannis Baratheon, could barely keep the expression on his face at the sight of this scene.
Seeing that the two sides were about to come to blows, he no longer cared about the danger. He immediately sprang forward in a single bound and stood between the two sides facing one another with drawn weapons.
The sword in Jory Cassel's hand nearly stabbed into him.
If not for the fact that he had stepped out while raising both hands high and shouting—
"Everyone, stop! Stop!"
"Lord Stannis, and Lord Eddard Stark, please calm yourselves. Resorting to force is absolutely not a way to resolve this problem!"
Maester Cressen was old, and his movements were not so quick.
But upon seeing Davos Seaworth step forward, he still let out a breath of relief, even as the look in his eyes grew more complex.
From the moment he learned that Eddard Stark would personally come to Dragonstone, he knew that this matter would have to be brought to a decision.
Yet when he thought of Stannis's attitude toward this matter, and of the kind of man Eddard Stark was, he had already anticipated that this would not end so easily.
But to truly come to blows with Eddard Stark and tear all pretense away was absolutely unacceptable.
Dragonstone's strength was far too limited. It was simply impossible to make enemies of everyone. If they truly wished to achieve their goal, they had to have allies.
If Eddard Stark's arrival could not turn an enemy into a friend, then at the very least it absolutely could not end in open hostility.
But if Stannis were to act on impulse and truly do this, then it would all be over.
To detain the Warden of the North, the Lord of Winterfell, here—or to kill him—
A war with the North, and even a war with the Vale, would become unavoidable.
That was absolutely unacceptable.
Thinking of all this, and looking at Davos Seaworth standing there between the two sides who were on the verge of violence despite the danger, Maester Cressen's gaze could not help but turn toward the woman who had been standing off to the side all along, wearing a faint smile on her face and silently observing—Melisandre.
Everything had been brought about by this woman.
Whether it was Stannis Baratheon's insistence that he was the king of the Iron Throne, or the difficult situation before them now, none of it could be separated from this woman's bewitchment.
As if noticing Cressen's gaze, Melisandre's eyes swept over, as though she did not care in the slightest that the scene before them could, with the slightest misstep, turn into a horrific bloodbath with far-reaching consequences.
Seeing someone step forward and prevent the situation from continuing to hurtle toward an unpredictable direction, the tension that Eddard Stark had been holding finally eased somewhat.
However, faced with Davos Seaworth's obstruction, Stannis Baratheon was clearly the most displeased of all.
He turned back, looked at his soldiers, and with a cold face directly gave the order.
"Seize Davos Seaworth!"
The moment Stannis Baratheon said this, not only Eddard Stark and the others—even the soldiers could not help but freeze for a moment.
But under their lord's command, they could only comply.
Facing the stubbornly unrepentant Stannis, Davos Seaworth seemed to have been mentally prepared as well; he merely surrendered without resistance, his face full of bitterness.
Looking at the Onion Knight kneeling on the ground with his hands pinned by the soldiers, Stannis's eyes were filled with disappointment and anger.
"Davos, from the beginning until now, you have always been opposing me. I should consider your loyalty."
"Originally, in view of your loyalty, I knighted you as my Hand of the King—but all you have brought me is disappointment."
Hearing these words, the look on Davos Seaworth's face became even more bitter.
"Lord Stannis, my loyalty to you is plain for all to see, but that is precisely why I am unwilling to see you fall into the abyss."
Davos Seaworth did not regret what he had done. He only worried that he had not truly fulfilled his duty.
Seeing that even like this, Stannis Baratheon was still the same, his brows tightened.
"Take him away. Hang him—"
Seeing that Stannis truly had murderous intent, Cressen hurriedly stepped out to interrupt him. "Lord Stannis!"
With this old man speaking up, Stannis still stopped the words he had not finished.
"I do not wish to hear any more voices of doubt—even from you, Cressen."
Stannis's tone was icy and grim, and his anger was clearly not something that could be dispelled so easily.
Seeing that Stannis seemed to truly be angry this time, Cressen gritted his teeth and, disregarding his lame leg, sank to one knee.
"Maester—" Davos blurted out.
Davos had not expected Maester Cressen to do this.
Seeing this, Stannis's brows could not help but furrow again.
"There is absolutely no problem with Ser Davos Seaworth's loyalty to you, Lord Stannis. I only hope you can deal more lightly with his offense toward you."
"He simply does not want things to become too terrible."
Cressen endured the pain and, gritting his teeth, spoke. Facing this old man who was like a father to him, Stannis—who had truly harbored the intent to kill Davos—could not help but close his eyes.
How could he not know these things? But precisely because of that, he had to do it.
Forcing himself to endure the anger in his heart, Stannis opened his eyes and looked toward Melisandre.
"His loyalty is beyond doubt, Your Grace."
Melisandre said slowly, also pleading on Davos's behalf.
But faced with her plea, Davos only looked at her coldly and said nothing.
He had no resentment toward anything Stannis had done to him.
Even if it cost him his life, that was fine—so long as his death could make Lord Stannis Baratheon turn back because of it.
"Lock him up. During this time, no one is permitted to have contact with him. Three days later, give him food and water."
Sparing Davos Seaworth the death penalty, Stannis changed Davos's punishment to three days of confinement as chastisement.
Davos did not speak again. His objective had been achieved.
As long as no blood was spilled, there was still a chance for everything.
Before leaving, he nodded to Eddard Stark—who looked at him with astonishment and a certain respect—then, after meeting Cressen's eyes in a long, deep look, he calmly allowed the soldiers to take him away.
"It seems you have chosen war."
Faced with this dispute that had arisen out of nowhere and then ended in such an absurd way, Eddard Stark said no more.
He already knew Stannis's answer.
As he spoke, he prepared to turn and leave.
But just as he was about to go, Stannis Baratheon's voice drifted over.
"Eddard Stark, I have not permitted you to leave. You should remain here and become my guest."
Seeing Eddard Stark only now preparing to leave, Stannis Baratheon changed his mind.
However, in the face of Stannis's repeated offenses time and again, even someone with as good a temper as Eddard Stark was provoked into anger.
"You should not be so discourteous. Your behavior right now is just like that of the former Mad King."
Eddard Stark drew his sword, turned around, and faced Stannis Baratheon.
"Tell me—will you become the Mad King?"
"It seems Kal was right. I should not have placed any hope in you."
Hearing Eddard Stark actually compare him to the Mad King Aerys, Stannis Baratheon did not get angry as one might expect. Instead, he let out a rare cold laugh.
"I am not the Mad King, because I will make you understand why I am the true king!"
"I've changed my mind. Indeed, I should not have been so discourteous. Although Ser Davos Seaworth was somewhat disrespectful, he did remind me of something."
After saying this, Stannis Baratheon glanced at the priestess of the Lord of Light and continued, "In the name of the true king, I invite you to remain here as my guest for three days."
"If after three days you still insist on your position, then we can settle who is right and who is wrong on the battlefield."
With that, Stannis turned and left at once, not lingering in the slightest.
Seeing his behavior so strange, Eddard Stark could not help but frown, unable for the moment to understand what Stannis Baratheon was really plotting.
Seeing the soldiers of Dragonstone once again press forward, clearly intending to force him to remain, Eddard Stark raised his hand to stop Jory Cassel and the others from resisting.
Here, if Stannis truly intended something against him, there was no way he could leave regardless.
"Let's stay and see. To be honest, Stannis Baratheon was never like this in my impression."
"What changed his mind and made him so resolute?"
"We are not lacking three days of time. If these three days can make Stannis abandon his plans, then my objective will have been achieved."
Eddard Stark decided to remain. Then, amid this eerie atmosphere, time came to the early hours of the second day, before dawn had yet broken.
The steward of Dragonstone came to invite Eddard Stark to attend a gathering outside the castle.
When he arrived with his men, he discovered that Stannis Baratheon had ordered the statues of the Seven to be brought over and cast into the great fire.
The comet in the sky was still striking, hanging high above.
But on the ground, the thick smoke from the burning gods stained the morning sky a uniform gray.
"Gods above!"
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