Jon's voice was not loud, but it spread to every corner of the Throne Room, surprising everyone, who stared at Jon as if he were a monster.
Refusing a king's reward in front of everyone?
Your Majesty, he is slapping your face!
Sure enough, Stannis's recently uplifted mood immediately plummeted, and his blue eyes fixed on Jon like arrows.
"Jon! This is a king's gift, how dare you refuse it! This is insubordination!" Alliser, the hand of the king, immediately jumped out to accuse him. Now, he had to appear more loyal than anyone else.
"This is outrageous behavior!"
"Jon! Quickly apologize to Your Majesty!"
At this moment, members of The Queens Party and The Loyalists seemed to find a unified front, jumping out one after another to criticize Jon. Dondarrion and Thoros looked at Jon worriedly, unsure what he was trying to do. In their view, Jon was absolutely not the type of fool who didn't know his place.
For a time, accusations mixed with curses echoed incessantly throughout the Throne Room. Those who cared for Jon were sweating nervously for him.
Dondarrion and Thoros both recalled what Jon had said the day he launched the mutiny at Harrenhal.
Especially when facing Roose Bolton's threats, he had adopted a stubborn, defiant attitude: at worst, he would return to the Wall; if that failed, he would let Robb kill him.
Both men had thought that perhaps Jon would forget his previous words after experiencing the splendor of King's Landing. He was young, after all; this was completely normal and even understandable.
Who hasn't said a few foolish things when they were young?
But now Jon was refusing the King face-to-face—this was an extremely irrational action. Dondarrion steeled himself and walked up to Jon, saying, "Jon! Quickly apologize to Your Majesty!"
However, Jon was unmoved, raising his head to look directly into Stannis's eyes.
Pycelle, standing nearby, sighed at the sight, feeling pity for Jon. Although Harrenhal was certainly not a good place, Jon's method of refusal was too crude. He was still too young.
Only Varys stared intently at Jon. In his view, Jon should not be this reckless.
"Silence!" Stannis interrupted the outpouring of emotion, his tone laced with impatience and even anger, which made him subconsciously want to grind his teeth again.
Once everyone fell silent, the King who had just ascended the iron throne opened his mouth and asked, "Speak. What do you want?"
Everyone focused their attention on Jon again. They watched him speak: "Your Majesty, I wish to send my two sisters back to the North. They have been held captive and have been away from their mother for too long."
"An excuse!"
This was the first reaction many people had to Jon's request.
"A fool!"
This was the second reaction.
The excuse reaction was because they believed Jon intended to use the pretense of sending Sansa and Arya back to the North to return himself, unwilling to serve Stannis.
The fool reaction was because they thought, since Jon had already opposed Robb's claim to kingship, would Robb allow him to become a duke?
"Jon, this is no time to be thinking about pleasing the Stark Family! Quickly apologize to Your Majesty." Rhaegar Frey was anxious.
Old Walder had given them two tasks: one was to secure political standing for the Frey Family in the new regime, and the other was to win over Jon.
Only when Jon's reward and status were confirmed could the second task be completed. If Jon actually left, they might incur Stannis's wrath.
But Jon paid no heed, standing there still like a statue in the wind and rain.
As for the others, they looked speechless, though some insightful people voiced their understanding of the situation.
"The Stark Family must have treated Jon very poorly. Since every generation of Stark has a tradition of sending a child to the Wall, why single out Jon, the bastard? I bet Catelyn couldn't bear to part with her own sons, so she did this."
"If the Stark Family treated him badly, why would he still want to go back and serve them?"
"That's just how people are. Some people become more loyal the more they are bullied."
"Alas—this Jon."
"That's not true! That's not true!" Hearing the crowd's discussion, Arya was so anxious she was nearly in tears. She grabbed Selyse's sleeve and pleaded, "Your Majesty the Queen, it's not like that, Jon is not like that."
Selyse didn't know what to say at this moment. Looking at the tomboyish Arya, her first reaction was to push Arya's hand away to prevent her lace cuff from being damaged.
Listening to the crowd's discussion, Sansa subconsciously shook her head. She wanted to tell everyone that her mother, Catelyn, was not that kind of person. Going to the Wall was Jon's own decision.
But thinking back carefully, those people's guesses seemed plausible. When Eddard took her and Arya to King's Landing, Arya, the only person close to Jon, left. No one liked Jon in Winterfell, and perhaps that was why he decided to join the Nights Watch.
Sansa suddenly remembered that whenever there was an important occasion, Jon would sit with the stable boys and servants, or simply shrink into a corner.
Especially remembering how she had deliberately distanced herself from Jon in the past, Sansa felt a pang of guilt and self-reproach.
What was even more disheartening was that Stannis seemed to think the same way. He had even given Jon his personal sword—what immense favor—yet Jon still wanted to leave him. This once again triggered unpleasant memories for him.
Stannis spoke coldly: "And? Say everything you want in one breath."
Jon gathered his thoughts and spoke: "Also, Your Majesty, a few days ago, the Wall sent a request for aid, stating that the King-Beyond-the-Wall Mance Rayder's army has gathered. The wildlings number up to a hundred thousand, while the Nights Watch garrison is barely a thousand. Castle Black is at risk of falling. I hope Your Majesty can dispatch troops to support the Wall. I must also continue to fulfill my duty as a Nights Watch man, guarding the gateway to the Seven Kingdoms."
Huh?! Go to the Wall!!!
Everyone had assumed Jon wanted to return to Winterfell, but they didn't expect him to want to go so far north!
Wait, is this guy stupid? Why go to a godforsaken place like the Wall?
Seeing Jon say this, Stannis also wore a peculiar expression. Could there truly be such a—strange person in the world?
He doesn't want to be a duke but wants to be a Nights Watch man?!
The Wall? Isn't that just a place for exiles and criminals?
Stannis absolutely would not allow Jon to go to such a place, and neither would members of The Loyalists and The Queens Party. If Jon went to the Wall, they wouldn't dare mention or ask for any rewards themselves.
In Alliser's eyes, even more seriously, if the lords of the Seven Kingdoms found out that Stannis treated a meritorious subject who had achieved such great deeds this way, it would inevitably lead to suspicion and alienation.
Rewarding Jon was not only right but also a political necessity for Stannis himself.
As for Varys, he was also taken aback—Jon! You are serious!
However, before anyone else could speak, Melisandre became the first to interject: "Jon, you were personally chosen by the lord of light to assist Your Majesty. The Wall is not where you belong, especially since you have not taken the formal Nights Watch vows."
Seeing Melisandre speak, the previous curses and accusations turned into earnest advice and persuasion.
Alliser, speaking first in his capacity as hand of the king, said, "That's right, Jon. What if Mance Rayder leads a hundred thousand wildlings? The Wall is eighty feet high! Furthermore, how many of those hundred thousand wildlings can actually fight?
If necessary, Your Majesty can send all the prisoners in the dungeons to the Wall."
"Jon, if your talents are wasted on the Wall, what difference is that from paving a road with pearls?" Yassel, who had always looked down on Jon, surprisingly also spoke up to dissuade him.
"Jon!"
"Jon—"
"Jon, ah—"
Everyone spoke one after another, trying to dispel this ridiculous notion of his.
Seeing that Jon still wouldn't budge, Stannis finally spoke: "Jon, tell me, what is my title as King?"
Jon looked at Stannis and replied: "King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm, Stannis Baratheon the First."
"Yes, I am the Protector of the Realm. How to protect the country should be decided by me. This country is not only facing danger and challenges at the Wall. On the contrary, there are many other places that require your talents. Do not mention going to the Wall again, understand?! Never mind that you are not a Nights Watch man; even if you were, I have the authority to release you from your vows!"
"I understand, Your Majesty."
After all, the man was now King. Jon knew he couldn't contradict the King too many times in one day, or it would only be counterproductive.
However, Jon also knew that this single refusal was not enough to make Stannis fully resolve the matter. He needed to do something bigger!
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