Chapter 70: Ser Simon's Ambition (Part 2)
"I think your goal and my master's should be the same on this matter, correct? Once Simon and Wilder report all the evidence to the Iron Throne, House Grafton won't be able to escape this disaster."
"What does this have to do with House Grafton? I haven't been caught." Ser Daeron said stubbornly.
"Don't forget that several of your knights were caught in the encirclement just now," Roll reminded him.
"As long as they don't catch me, we can insist this matter has nothing to do with House Grafton.
As for the knights under my command, Ser Aris was a squire in Gulltown for many years. Why couldn't he have called upon those men through his personal connections?" After Daeron finished speaking, he looked at Roll, as if hoping to gain his approval.
"I don't know, ser," Roll's answer disappointed Daeron. "I'm just a guardsman. I don't understand these things. Anyway, my master said that if you don't cooperate with him, House Grafton will be doomed."
Daeron was silent for a moment, then asked hoarsely, "What do you need me to do?"
"I don't know, ser. I'm just a guardsman." Roll was relieved to see that Daeron had been successfully frightened by his words, because now he wouldn't have to force him to stay. "My master will be here soon, and you can speak with him then."
"It's all over." Ian cut the ropes that bound Ser Simon, who had just been escorted out of the cellar. "Thanks to you, we've eliminated the ghosts that have plagued this land for months."
"Ser Lucien," Simon said with a forced smile, "I've done everything you asked of me. Can you please fulfill your promise and let me go?"
"Didn't I already do that?" Ian pointed to the cut ropes on the ground.
"What? You mean, I'm free?" Simon was overjoyed.
"That's how it should have been, but unfortunately, we just received some terrible news from the interrogation."
"No!" Simon screamed, seeing Ian trying to go back on his word. "You can't do this! I've been fully cooperating with you from the beginning! Whatever bad news you received, it has nothing to do with me, does it? I've been locked up down there the entire time!"
"Nothing to do with you?" Ian sneered. "You're quite skilled at playing innocent. What did you say when I asked you what your goal was in forming this band of brigands?"
"Aris said he wanted to plunder a sum of coin to form a sellsword company and seek his fortune in Essos. I figured that if Aris left Westeros, and something happened to our trueborn brother in the future, perhaps I'd be able to inherit Darry, so I chose to help him," Simon replied.
"You still want to hide it now?"
"Hide what? No, Ser Lucien, every word I said is true!" Simon quickly defended himself.
"Do you take me for a fool? Daeron Grafton himself has admitted that you're raiding here to raise an army to sail to Pentos and join Viserys."
"Viserys? Who's that?" Simon appeared confused.
Seven hells... "A remnant of House Targaryen."
"Oh, you mean the Beggar King?" Simon made a face that didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Are you jesting? What could the Beggar King possibly have that would be worth Aris and Ser Daeron joining him?"
"So you're going to play ignorant?"
"No," Simon said, looking at Ian's dark expression, his heart pounding. "I just don't understand."
"Viserys will wed his sister to the mightiest khal in the Dothraki Sea, and that khal will provide him with an army to return to Westeros."
"Seven Hells! Gods be good!" Simon realized the other party wasn't joking, and he immediately cursed. "Ser Lucien, I want to see Aris! Let me see him!"
"What do you mean? Did you just discover this?"
"Seven save me, I didn't know their plan at all! I didn't know at all! I was deceived by Aris! I'm also a victim!"
"As the most important member of the plan, you don't know what they were plotting? I hope His Grace will listen to your explanation."
Ser Simon fell to his knees and clutched Ian's legs: "Believe me, Ser Lucien, believe me, I truly didn't know! That bastard Aris deceived me!"
Looking at the bulging veins on Ser Simon's forehead and his bloodshot eyes, Ian pretended to be moved: "All right, I can sense that what you're saying is true, but what use is it if I believe you?
Your brother's treason will certainly be reported to the Iron Throne, and you've been an informant in Ser Wilder's alliance for so long. It won't be easy to extricate you from this crime, unless..."
"You can save me?" Simon keenly grasped the turning point in Ian's words.
"If we change the story from you being captured in Ser Willy Ward's castle and then forced to cooperate with us to the story that you accidentally discovered your father and brother's treasonous plan and took the initiative to seek help from Ser Wilder to stop the rebels, wouldn't you become a loyal supporter of the crown?"
A glimmer of hope suddenly flashed in Simon's eyes, but the next moment he said uncertainly: "But even if you're willing to save me, Ser Wilder and the others know the truth. Will they be willing to help me conceal it?"
"Ser Daeron Grafton proposed a deal to us earlier. He was willing to pay a ransom of 1,000 gold dragons in exchange for his freedom, and asked us not to mention House Grafton when reporting the matter to the Iron Throne."
"Where does he have 1,000 gold dragons?"
"He promised to sell his ship."
"Did you agree to it?"
"Not yet, because compared to the gold, Ser Wilder and the others want the recognition for thwarting the rebellion and warning the Iron Throne of possible future invasion in advance.
Your brother refuses to explain anything, so we must escort Ser Daeron to King's Landing to gain the attention of the Iron Throne."
"So?" Simon still couldn't grasp Ian's meaning.
"But if you, Ser Raymund's bastard, are willing to go to King's Landing in person and confess your father and brother's crimes, then Ser Wilder and I can both collect Ser Daeron's ransom and gain the recognition for thwarting the rebellion." Ian patted Simon's shoulder.
"You want me to betray my family?" Simon trembled for a moment.
"They don't consider you part of the family anyway, do they? And think about it—if your father and brother were executed for treason or exiled to the Wall, who better to be the new lord of Darry than your loyal self?"
(End of Chapter)
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