The revelry of the banquet hall had long since dissipated.
Only the sporadic clinking of cups and plates remained as servants cleared away the remnants.
The night wind seeped in through the window cracks, and Lynn's room was eerily silent.
He hadn't lit a lamp.
Moonlight streamed through the narrow window, casting a cold, bright patch on the floor.
He sat cross-legged on the bed, the longsword resting horizontally across his lap, its cold steel touch keeping him absolutely clear-headed.
He was waiting.
If he hadn't miscalculated the time...
Lysa's secret letter would have already reached Catelyn's hands via raven.
Everyone's fate had begun to slowly slide along its destined path.
And he, Lynn, had finally transformed from an observer into an inconspicuous chess piece on the board.
Perhaps even a piece with the potential to alter the game's direction.
"Thump, thump-thump."
A very faint, almost cautious knocking sound echoed.
Lynn's eyes opened in the darkness, without the slightest surprise.
Indeed.
The one who was meant to come always would.
Lynn got out of bed, his bare feet treading on the cold stone floor, and unlatched the door.
Two people stood outside the door.
Maester Luwin held a lantern that flickered erratically in the wind.
His usually calm face was now etched with gravity.
And in the shadows behind him stood a taller figure.
Ned Stark.
The arrival of the Warden of the North instantly made the small room feel oppressive.
Lynn stepped aside, letting them enter.
Ned stooped to walk through the low doorframe.
He didn't look at Lynn, his gaze sweeping over the room's simple furnishings, finally resting on the longsword placed on the bed.
Maester Luwin closed the door behind him, completely sealing off the room from the biting wind outside.
"I apologize for disturbing your rest at such a late hour."
Maester Luwin's voice, like the man himself, was dry, cautious, and polite.
"My Lord."
Lynn respectfully gestured to the only chair in the room.
Ned did not sit.
He simply stood there, the aura emanating from him colder than the winter night outside the window.
Maester Luwin pulled out a roll of parchment tied with a thin string from his voluminous maester's robe.
The parchment was pitifully small, almost completely fitting in his palm.
"A letter sent from the Eyrie."
Maester Luwin untied the string, his movements slow and solemn.
"It was sent through a secret channel, and the Lady has already deciphered the cipher."
He unrolled the parchment and held it under the lantern's glow.
The dim yellow light illuminated the unease in his eyes.
"It is from Lady Lysa… the widow of Lord Jon Arryn, and Lady Catelyn's sister."
Only Maester Luwin's hoarse voice echoed in the room.
"She says Jon Arryn did not die of illness."
Maester Luwin looked up, meeting Lynn's gaze.
"He… was murdered."
Rage burned in Ned's grey eyes.
"It was the Lannisters."
"Lannister."
"My most respected foster father, murdered!"
Ned's voice was squeezed out as if from between clenched teeth, every word laden with hatred.
That suppressed fury, like a volcano before eruption, made the air in the entire room turn scorching hot.
"I am surrounded by vipers…"
Ned recalled Robert's words in the crypt.
He remembered Cersei's beautiful yet cold face.
He remembered Jaime Lannister's eyes, always filled with mockery.
Prophecy.
Warning.
Now, they had all become a bloody reality.
Ned suddenly looked at Lynn.
That gaze no longer held any doubt or scrutiny.
Only the pain of a truth confirmed, and the urgency of grasping at a last straw.
"All the prophecies you spoke of have now come true."
Ned's voice was hoarse.
"What should we do now?"
Maester Luwin also looked at Lynn.
For the first time, this learned elder's eyes revealed awe and fear of an unknown power.
Prophecy, a legendary ability.
And its possessor stood before him at this very moment!
Lynn met their gazes, his expression terrifyingly calm.
He tossed the secret letter from Maester Luwin's hand into the fireplace.
"My Lord, you still need to go to King's Landing."
"What?"
Ned almost thought he had misheard.
"To King's Landing? To that den of wolves and tigers that killed my father?"
"How is that any different from suicide?"
"Precisely why you must go south, my Lord."
Lynn looked at Ned, enunciating each word carefully.
"The Hand of the King, the most powerful man in the Seven Kingdoms, died in his own bed."
"And the murderer is very likely the King's own bedmate."
"You know better than I what a dangerous situation King Robert is in."
"He trusts you, he needs you."
"At this time, besides you, who else in the entire Seven Kingdoms would dare go to King's Landing, to root out those vipers lurking beneath the throne for him?"
"My Lord, you swore an oath of fealty to your King."
Lynn's words precisely dissected Ned Stark's heart.
Honor.
Duty.
Loyalty to a dear friend.
These things were already etched into his bones, becoming a part of his life.
Ned's breathing grew heavy.
He clenched his fists.
But the people of House Stark, whenever they went south, never met a good end.
His father and his brother had answered the Mad King's summons, only to be tortured to death by him.
And the previous Hand of the King had also died due to a conspiracy.
Becoming the new Hand of the King would inevitably make him a target for all.
Lynn watched him silently.
Watching this King in the North struggle painfully between loyalty and danger.
In Lynn's heart, however, another, more audacious calculation was taking place.
Ned Stark going to King's Landing was inevitable.
Even if Ned didn't want to go, Lynn would find every way to make him go south.
This wasn't Lynn deliberately sending Ned to his death.
As long as Ned was willing to cast aside his ridiculous sense of honor.
As long as he was willing to use the Northern way to deal with the Southern conspiracies.
Then, Lynn dared to guarantee.
There were too many opportunities in King's Landing.
So many… enough to allow a Direwolf to sit on that Iron Throne made of swords, as Regent.
Although the process might be a bit challenging, since he had transmigrated and the system could enhance his combat strength, Lynn wasn't afraid of the risks.
And House Stark would become his most important springboard, as well as a safe haven for stable early-stage development.
Relying on others was not as good as being in charge himself.
His goal had always been the Iron Throne!
A flicker of heat, one even he hadn't noticed, flashed in Lynn's eyes.
He would play this game.
And he would win.
And the Wolf family was also Lynn's fastest path to supreme power that he could currently access!
Publicly, Ned was a genuinely good man, someone willing to do what was right.
Privately, with Arya Stark's connection involved, Ned would be his father-in-law in the future.
As long as the Wolf family supported him, he wouldn't mind sharing the benefits with them.
Moreover, he had the system.
As long as he gave himself time to develop and become powerful.
Then, besides dragons and the Night King, Lynn would fear no living creature!
"I understand."
After a long pause, Ned finally spoke slowly.
The struggle and anger in his eyes had faded, replaced by a resolute determination to face danger.
"I will go to King's Landing."
"I will uncover the truth and avenge my foster father."
Maester Luwin opened his mouth.
He actually wanted Ned to go south.
But it was, after all, going into a tiger's den, and he was worried about Ned's safety.
Ultimately, he could only let out a helpless sigh.
Ned looked deeply at Lynn.
"You are very good."
"Once you finish at the Wall, come to King's Landing."
"I will be waiting for you there."
Having said that, Ned did not linger.
He turned and pulled open the door, his tall figure quickly disappearing into the night.
Maester Luwin placed the lantern on the table and bowed respectfully to Lynn.
"House Stark owes you a debt."
After the old maester finished speaking, he also left.
Silence returned to the room.
Lynn walked to the window and pushed it open.
The cold night wind rushed in, dispelling the stuffiness in the room.
Lynn looked at the distant crescent moon, his hands unconsciously clenching into fists, then slowly exhaled a puff of white air.
The game had officially begun.
Jon Arryn died due to the conspiracy between Cersei and Littlefinger, and Lysa Tully, as Arryn's wife, still had ties with Littlefinger, ultimately leading to Arryn's death.
Simply put, Catelyn's sister, Lysa, was not only Arryn's wife but also Littlefinger Baelish's mistress.
But the one Littlefinger truly loved was Ned's wife, Catelyn, and Catelyn was married to Ned.
A strange love triangle.
Lynn couldn't tell Ned now that Littlefinger had orchestrated Arryn's poisoning.
Ned already couldn't stand Littlefinger; upon hearing this news, he would probably kill Baelish directly.
And Baelish, as a hidden player outside the four main factions, Lynn didn't want him to exit the game so early.
Baelish considered his schemes to be at their peak, unaware that a cheat had already seen through everything; all of Baelish's covert manipulations were completely transparent to Lynn!
Moreover, Lynn didn't intend to expose Baelish immediately.
Baelish posed no threat to Lynn at all.
He still needed Baelish to continue stirring up trouble, to facilitate his own gains.
As long as Baelish's schemes against the Wolf family could be thwarted, the anxious Baelish would surely sow discord between the Stag and Lion families.
By then, it would be exactly what Lynn hoped for.
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