Ned was so stunned by Lynn's last words that he couldn't speak for a long time.
Making the House Lannister unpopular in King's Landing?
That was easier said than done. The House Lannister had been entrenched in King's Landing for many years, and their power was deeply rooted.
Cersei was the Queen, Jaime was of the Kingsguard, and their father, Tywin Lannister, was the wealthiest and most feared Lord in Westeros.
How easy was it to shake this golden lion?
"This is too crazy..."
Ned muttered to himself, losing count of how many times he had said that to Lynn.
"How do you plan to participate in the tourney? The joust is a knight's stage, and you..."
Ned suddenly stopped, remembering Lynn's identity.
A Night's Watch member.
A Night's Watch member, let alone a knight, was no different from a criminal in the eyes of southern nobles.
"I cannot bestow knighthood upon you."
Ned's voice was a bit strained.
"The Stark Family worships the Old Gods. Knighthood is a ceremony of the Faith of the Seven. I cannot keep vigil in a sept, nor can I receive the blessings of the Seven."
This was an inescapable dilemma.
A man without a knightly title didn't even have the qualifications to sign up for the joust.
Lynn's plan encountered an obstacle at the very first step.
Lynn looked at Ned's troubled face and spoke calmly.
"Then let someone with the authority allow me to participate."
Ned was startled. "Who?"
"The King."
The King certainly had the authority, but those two words made Ned's eyelids twitch violently.
"Robert?"
He almost instinctively retorted.
"Impossible! He now... he now holds a great prejudice against me."
"He thinks I'm a country bumpkin who only knows how to stay in the North and doesn't care about his state affairs."
"If I ask him for an exception now, he'll only think I'm being ridiculous!"
Evidently, Ned's absurd behavior during his month in King's Landing had greatly shocked Robert.
"He will."
Lynn's tone was resolute.
He walked in front of Ned, his black eyes staring directly at him.
"Because I can bring him what he desires most."
...Ned Stark, who had been suppressed in the Tower of the Hand for a long time, finally bit the bullet and led Lynn into the Red Keep's council chamber.
He had Lynn leave those two overly conspicuous Valyrian steel swords in the Tower of the Hand.
In King's Landing, especially in front of Robert Baratheon, anything related to the Targaryen Family was taboo.
King Robert was slumped in a large chair.
His once burly body, which could smash Rhaegar's breastplate with a warhammer, had now been corrupted into a bloated mass of fat by wine, women, and an easy life.
He held a wine cup, listening impatiently as the Master of Coin, Petyr Baelish, also known as Littlefinger, reported the budget for the Hand's Tourney.
"Fifty thousand gold dragons? Just to have a bunch of tin cans crash into each other on horseback?"
Robert's roar echoed through the council chamber.
"Are you trying to empty my treasury?!"
"Your Grace, this is not just a tourney, but also to display the glory of the Crown and to welcome the new Hand's appointment..."
Littlefinger explained unhurriedly, with his trademark smile on his face.
"Can glory feed us?!"
Robert waved his hand, smashing the wine cup to the ground.
"All I see is my money pouring away!"
His gaze swept over the ministers present, finally landing on Ned at the door, his dissatisfaction almost overflowing.
Originally, he wanted to hold a grand tourney for Ned.
But Ned's various actions had greatly angered him!
This fellow was even more outrageous than himself!
This damn tourney, it's not happening!
"Ned! You finally deigned to emerge from those brothels?"
Robert's tone was full of mockery.
"What, what makes you have time to come to me now?"
Ned's face flushed red, and his fists clenched in his sleeves, cracking.
Robert also waved his hand, dismissing the ministers.
Now, only Robert, Ned, and Lynn were present.
Lynn, who was behind him, took a step forward at this moment.
"Your Grace."
Robert narrowed his eyes, somewhat cloudy from alcohol, and scrutinized the unfamiliar young man.
Tall, upright, with the cold, crisp demeanor unique to the northern ice plains.
"Who are you?" Robert frowned.
"Lynn, a member of the Night's Watch, sent south to King's Landing by Lord Commander Mormont."
"The Night's Watch?"
Robert scoffed, leaning back into his chair, appearing uninterested.
"Come to ask for men and money again? The Wall hasn't collapsed yet, has it?"
"No, Your Grace." Lynn was neither humble nor arrogant.
"I came to King's Landing to participate in the tourney."
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire council chamber seemed to fall silent for a moment.
Robert looked as if he had heard the greatest joke. He was stunned for a long while, then burst into thunderous laughter.
"Hahahaha! A crow, wants to participate in a tourney?"
"Ned, is this the jester you brought from the North?"
"Your Grace, I need your permission." Lynn ignored his mockery.
"I want to participate in the joust as a member of the Night's Watch."
"And, if I can win the joust, I hope you will personally knight me."
The King was not only a knight but also possessed the highest authority to bestow knighthood, unrestricted by normal conventions and imbued with supreme honor.
The laughter ceased abruptly.
The fat on Robert's face jiggled.
He sat up straight, scrutinizing Lynn anew with a discerning gaze.
"A crow, wants to be a knight?"
His voice deepened.
In Westeros, any knight could knight another, provided the ceremony of the Seven was followed.
There were already knights among the Night's Watch members.
For example, the famous "Fat" Samwell Tarly was already a knight when he joined the Night's Watch, though he was unqualified.
Moreover, the Night's Watch oath did not explicitly forbid its members from being knighted.
The core of the oath was: no wife, no lands, no children.
Becoming a knight itself did not directly violate these three points.
Knighthood was a status of honor and duty, not land or marriage.
No crowns, no glory.
This might be the only area of conflict.
Knighthood itself carried some "glory," but this was rather subjective.
To serve faithfully, until death.
A knight's duty was to protect the weak and obey his lord, and this was broadly consistent with the Night's Watch's duty to "guard the realms of men."
So Lynn was eligible to be knighted!
"On what grounds? Just because you've killed a few wildlings?"
Robert understood the key point; Lynn indeed had the qualifications, and so he asked curiously.
"No." Lynn shook his head.
"Because I can eliminate the last threat to the realm for you."
"A threat far across the Narrow Sea."
Across the Narrow Sea?
Robert's breathing instantly became heavy.
In his cloudy eyes, a flame called "hatred" ignited little by little.
"Targaryen?"
He almost squeezed out the words through gritted teeth.
"Exactly." Lynn nodded.
"Viserys Targaryen, the so-called 'Beggar King'."
"I will go across the Narrow Sea and bring you his head."
Lynn's voice was calm, yet it was like a giant stone thrown into a still lake, stirring up a thousand colossal waves.
Ned Stark looked at Lynn's back in disbelief.
He had never expected Lynn to propose such a deal!
He had always considered Daenerys and Viserys to be insignificant threats.
And he had always secretly advised Robert not to hunt down these two.
Could it be.
Must it really come to this?
This was no longer a request, but a transaction.
A transaction for the lives of the Targaryen remnants.
And this transaction was even for himself!
Ned's mind was a mess at once.
"You?"
Robert stared intently at Lynn, as if trying to see through him.
"You alone?"
"Me alone!"
"Good!"
Robert slammed his hand on the armrest and stood up from his chair!
Into his bloated body, the soul of the warrior who had hammered Rhaegar at the Trident seemed to be instantly injected!
The drunkenness and weariness on his face vanished, replaced by an almost cruel excitement.
"Good! Well said!"
Robert strode to Lynn, his large, fan-like hand slapping heavily on his shoulder.
"Boy, I don't care who you are, or where you come from!"
"As long as you bring me that dragon whelp's head, let alone a knightly title!"
Robert's voice boomed in the council chamber, making Ned's eardrums ache.
"I'll make you a Lord! I'll give you a castle! I'll give you anything you want!"
"The Night's Watch oath doesn't allow you to marry?"
"I'll allow you to marry ten!"
"Have as many children as you want!!"
"I'll let you sign up! Let you participate in the tourney! All the tourney events!"
"I want to see just how capable a man who dares to kill a Targaryen really is!"
On Robert's face, a long-unseen, uninhibited warrior's smile appeared..
He looked at Lynn, immensely satisfied.
Lynn's words had struck a chord with Robert.
He dreamed of killing the Targaryen Family across the sea!
Ned Stark stood rooted to the spot, as if struck by lightning.
Ãdvåñçé çhàptêr àvàilàble óñ pàtreøn luffy1898