chsdbacks Chapter 62 The Sons of the Wolf Family
Chapter 62 The Sons of the Wolf Family
"Don't forget, the Night's Watch exists because of His Majesty Lynn's magnanimity and Colin's remonstrance, even at the cost of his life. Besides, the king only needs to tap his shoulder with his sword to legitimize the bastard."
Mans continued to express his views.
His goal was actually quite simple: to persuade the acting commander-in-chief to agree first, so that he could better persuade Jon Snow.
In his judgment, Jon Snow, who would rather die than surrender, was probably also unwilling to break his oath to the Night's Watch.
His personality was like a true Stark: pedantic yet upright, and only thinking about honor.
"But that applies to bastards; there has never been such a precedent among the Night's Watch."
Dennis persisted, but his tone was less certain. He understood that the matter was probably beyond repair, and besides, he didn't want to see the Stark family without an heir.
Lynn was in a good mood, so she jokingly said:
"Everything has to start with someone. Can you guess what the first person to try something new was thinking?"
There always has to be someone who's the first to try something new.
So Dennis reluctantly agreed.
Mance gave him no chance to back out and immediately dragged Jon Snow, who was still locked in the ice cell, over.
Jon was shocked by the Black Castle, which had been completely altered, but before he could recover, Mance had already dragged him into the King's Tower.
The ground-level portion of Castle Black consists of the King's Tower, the Commander's Tower, the Spear Tower, the Harding Tower, the Grey Castle, and the Shield Hall, as well as numerous other dilapidated and abandoned buildings.
At its peak, this place was garrisoned by as many as 5,000 fully armed soldiers. However, most of the buildings have long since fallen into ruins, which are now being rebuilt and utilized by the free people.
But the King's Tower still looks the most dignified among them, and after more than a hundred years, it finally welcomed a king again.
"Jon Snow,"
Lynn greeted them:
"Sit down and have a drink. I have some bad news for you."
Without a word, Mans pressed Jon into a chair, and a large glass of mead was placed on the table directly in front of him.
Have you met Sir Denis Mellist?
Lynn asked considerately, and Dennis coughed and introduced himself somewhat awkwardly:
"Jon Snow, I am Dennis Mellist, Commander of the Shadow Tower, and currently Acting Lord Commander of the Night's Watch."
Jon looked both terrified and bewildered.
"Have the Night's Watch surrendered?"
He asked, somewhat absentmindedly.
"No, we reached an agreement."
Lynn took the initiative to avoid making things awkward for Dennis, and then gestured with his hand.
Dennis then briefly explained the Night's Watch brothers' vote to recognize Lynn Morningstar as king, and the agreement reached between the two sides.
He avoided the part about Bowen Marsh.
Jon Snow looked relieved, as if he had never had any hope that the Night's Watch could save the Wall.
He took a large gulp of mead, then panted and said:
"Your Majesty...and Your Excellencies, I'm not sure, is this bad news?"
The people present exchanged glances, and finally Lynn spoke:
"Be strong, Jon, the bad news is coming—Winterfell is gone."
"Gone?"
Jon stared at Lynn's exotic face.
"But my brothers are still in Winterfell! Bran and Rickon..."
"It is a great pity, Jon. After Theon Greyjoy seized Winterfell in his father's name, he executed your brothers, and when your father's men were about to take it back, seeing that they were no match for him, he burned the castle to the ground."
"But your brothers' revenge has been taken. Bolton's bastard claims to have killed all the Ironborn, and it is said that he skinned Theon Greyjoy inch by inch as punishment for his evil deeds."
"I'm sorry, Jon," Lynn said. "We're all sorry."
When Jon struggled out of his memories, tears streaming down his face, Lynn almost couldn't bear to continue.
But he still forced himself to say it.
To become king, one must take on responsibility.
"And there's worse news, Jon. Your brother Robb Stark has been betrayed by his vassals at the Twins. He is dead, his kingdom destroyed, and his entire army wiped out."
Bolton was among the traitors, so I suspect the truth behind the destruction of Winterfell is not as simple as the rumors suggest.
This news dealt another heavy blow to Jon, who spilled his wine all over the floor.
"Your sister, Sansa Stark..."
Lynn decided that a short, sharp pain was better than a long, drawn-out one.
He stared into Jon's almost pleading eyes and slowly said:
"She is accused of murdering King Joffrey and may face trial. We have no further sources about her, but she is accused of murdering the king..."
Lynn shook her head.
He finally finished speaking and let out a long sigh of relief.
The people in the room waited for the length of a meal before Jon finally spoke, his voice unusually hoarse.
"My little sister, Arya..."
Lynn shook her head.
"I'm sorry, no one has heard from her since."
Jon Snow was finally broken, and he whispered a plea to return to the ice prison.
"The Night's Watch has reached an agreement with me. You are free and do not need to return to the Ice Prison."
"Lynn said."
"I beg you, Your Majesty, please have mercy and let me go back."
He looked so pitiful that he could break the hearts of girls all over the world, but unfortunately, none of the girls present were shy young women.
"I refuse, Jon Snow. Your battle is not over."
"Winterfell has no heir, and you are the last of Eddard Stark's blood. You need to shoulder the responsibility, both for the North and for the Starks."
"We have reason to believe that the Lannisters, having succeeded in their plot, will appoint Roose Bolton as Warden of the North as a reward for betraying your brother. Can you tolerate that?"
Lynn paused, giving Jon time to process what he had said, before continuing:
"Since the death of Baron Greyjoy, the Ironborn have been fighting amongst themselves, yet they still control most of Carin Bay, Deepwood Keep, Torren Square, and the Rock Coast."
"Your father's lands are bleeding, and now a new, true Duke of Winterfell is needed to rule the North and put an end to these rebellious lords."
The overwhelming amount of information made Jon dizzy.
"Winterfell is gone. You just said it...it was burned by Theon..."
“Granite won’t burn,” Lynn said. “Castles can be rebuilt slowly, but lords cannot be made by walls. The key is the hearts of the people.”
"The people of the North don't understand me, and have no reason to support me as king, but we do have some connection, don't we?"
"In the battles to come—both the living and the dead—I need the strength of the North."
I need Eddard Stark's son to unite them, and then I will unite the Free People and the North. Only then will we have a chance to defeat the White Walkers and the Long Night.
He wants to make me the Duke of Winterfell!
Jon was overwhelmed by a mix of emotions, feeling extremely dizzy. He couldn't quite tell if it was the effect of the wine.