Inside the great hall of Winterfell.
After Galon and the others carried Theon's body away, only Robert and Ned remained.
Each was lost in his own thoughts, staring at the bloodstains Theon had left on the floor. Neither was willing to speak first.
For a time—
An unnatural silence settled over the hall.
After a long while, Robert could no longer bear it and spoke first, breaking the quiet.
"Ned…"
"Did you see how she treated me?" Robert looked at his old friend and laughed bitterly. "That is my beloved wife."
He picked up the wine jug and poured two cups, handing one to Ned and keeping the other for himself.
"I shouldn't have hit her." Seeing Ned accept the cup, Robert took a drink and continued, "That isn't something a king should do."
But Ned's anger had clearly not subsided.
He raised the cup to his lips and drank deeply, his words echoing through the hall with restrained fury.
"Why did you let Jaime leave? Theon is dead, cut down by a dishonorable sword!
What do you think his father Balon will do? Theon was his only living son!"
"If we do nothing, war will break out!"
Robert seemed unconcerned and lifted his cup for another drink. "Now he has no son at all."
After saying that, he walked closer to Ned and repeated in a low voice.
"Theon is dead. That is an irreversible fact. Whether Balon rebels depends on how much he truly cared for that son."
"But if you had Galon arrest Jaime, I guarantee the Lannisters would retaliate."
Robert paused and warned him, "Tywin values Jaime even more than Balon valued Theon."
Ned did not agree.
"So we simply let Jaime go?"
He slammed his cup down on the table, wine splashing across the surface.
Ignoring the spill, he demanded coldly, "Even if Jaime was involved in plotting with Theon, we are just supposed to let it go?"
"Theon is already dead," Robert replied calmly. "His dying words don't prove that Jaime conspired with him."
"How can they not?" Ned argued fiercely. "Theon clearly said Jaime had promised him something!"
"But promised what? Promised to plot against the North with him?" Robert spread his hands, trying to use Galon's findings to dissuade Ned.
"Ned, you heard it too. Theon was coupling with a woman and was seen by Bran."
"Are you saying Jaime is a woman?" Robert said mockingly. "Or that Jaime was the one sleeping with Theon?"
"Come on, Jaime doesn't like men."
Ned ignored the mockery and refused to back down. "Even so, Jaime should have been detained first."
"If he were found innocent, then he could be released later!"
Robert's patience was wearing thin. He drained the remaining wine in his cup in one gulp.
Then he made one final attempt to persuade Ned. "If you do this, you will be trampling House Lannister's pride into the dirt."
"Tywin will not let it go."
Ned snapped back, "I don't care about Tywin. If he dares start a war, I will help you fight him!"
Robert raised his voice in turn. "You might stop the Westerlands, but can you stop the wildlings beyond the Wall?"
"Don't forget Benjen's reports. The wildlings are gathering forces, and there are giants among them!"
At this point, Robert laid everything bare.
"The Iron Throne owes the Lannisters a mountain of debt," he said bluntly. "If the North and the Westerlands go to war, I honestly don't know how this realm can be ruled."
Disappointment flickered in Ned's eyes.
He looked at the brother who had once fought beside him and found him strangely unfamiliar.
The king before him was bloated and weary, lacking any trace of the bold storm giant from the days of the Rebellion.
'Is this what the Iron Throne does,' Ned thought, 'turning a storm giant into a king obsessed only with power?'
In that instant, Ned felt an unprecedented resistance to traveling south to King's Landing.
"Your Majesty, if this is your command," Ned said with visible dejection, "I will obey. However…"
"Please forgive me for being unable to accept the position of Hand of the King any longer."
Robert froze, then said angrily, "Ned, are you threatening me?"
Ned shook his head. "Your Majesty, it is not a threat. I simply lack the ability to fulfill the role."
He paused, then continued without waiting for a reply. "It is late. You should rest early. I am going to check on Bran."
"Please excuse me."
Without waiting for the King's response, Ned turned and left the hall.
After taking only a few steps, he heard the sound of a cup smashing onto the floor behind him, followed by the King's curses.
Ned did not look back. He simply walked with heavy steps toward Bran's bedchamber.
A short while later.
Ned arrived outside Bran's door. He hesitated for a moment, then pushed the door open and entered.
Inside were only Maester Luwin, Catelyn, and the unconscious Bran.
"My lord!"
Maester Luwin rose quickly, while Catelyn remained seated at the bedside like a statue, her hand tightly gripping Bran's small hand.
Ned gently closed the door, nodded to the maester, and sat down on the other side of the bed.
He softly stroked Bran's cold forehead. The words he murmured caused both Catelyn and Maester Luwin to stiffen.
"Bran, the one who harmed you has already…"
"Someone harmed Bran?"
Maester Luwin was still confused, but Catelyn, who had been motionless, suddenly turned to Ned.
"Who?" Her voice was hoarse, her eyes filled with searing hatred. "Ned, tell me. Who harmed Bran?"
Ned pulled the thick fur blanket over Bran more carefully, then looked at Catelyn and answered painfully.
"It was Theon."
"What?!"
Maester Luwin cried out in shock.
He had believed Bran's fall was an accident. He never imagined Bran had been harmed, especially not by Theon, who had grown up alongside him.
"My lord, is there some mistake?"
"Theon… Theon… how could he harm Bran?"
No matter how he thought about it, Maester Luwin could not understand. In his eyes, Theon was proud and difficult, but not evil by nature.
How could such a person harm Bran?
Ned was silent for a moment. "Theon confessed himself."
At those words, Maester Luwin was left utterly stunned.
Instead, Catelyn suddenly stood up, her eyes like those of a predator. "Then what are you waiting for? Send men to arrest Theon at once!"
"He is already dead."
"Dead?"
Both Maester Luwin and Catelyn were taken aback again.
Catelyn quickly recovered and ground her teeth. "How did he die?"
Fearing his wife might do something irrational, Ned answered quickly. "Jaime Lannister killed him with his own hand."
"Bran's vengeance has been taken."
Catelyn's entire body trembled, and then she burst into tears. Seeing this, Ned stepped forward and gently pulled her into his arms.
At that moment, Bran seemed to sense something. Beneath the furs, his fingers twitched slightly.
Outside the window, the direwolf's mournful howling continued.
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