Chapter 157: The Brother Who Could Not Refuse
The king's offer had remained unanswered for three days.
Robert had attempted to disguise his impatience beneath feasts, hunting plans, loud conversations, and frequent visits to Winterfell's wine stores.
He had failed.
Every morning, he found some excuse to speak with Ned.
Every evening, his eyes moved toward his old friend as though expecting an answer to appear upon Ned's face.
Ned gave him none.
He had already reached a decision.
He simply had not yet informed the king.
Before doing so, there was one final conversation he needed to have.
-----
Jon found his father waiting within the crypts of Winterfell.
The air beneath the castle was cold and still. Stone kings sat in endless rows, iron swords resting across their laps as they watched over the dead.
Ned stood before Lyanna's statue.
A lantern burned upon the floor beside him.
Jon approached without speaking.
Ned heard his footsteps but did not turn.
"She was younger than I remember her."
Jon looked at the stone face.
"The sculptor made her beautiful."
"She was beautiful."
Ned's voice carried the weight of an old wound.
"But not like this. Lyanna was never so still."
Jon remained beside him.
Neither spoke for several moments.
The silence of the crypts did not feel uncomfortable. Father and son had shared enough silences to understand one another without filling every moment with words.
Ned finally looked toward him.
"You said there was something I needed to know before answering Robert."
"Yes."
"Is that why you came to Winterfell?"
"You asked for my counsel."
"That was not my question."
Jon met his father's eyes.
"No. It is not the only reason."
Ned's expression became guarded.
Jon crouched and placed two fingers against the frozen stone floor.
A thin pattern of blue-white light spread outward.
It travelled across the floor, climbed the nearby walls, and formed a silent barrier around them.
Ned watched the light fade.
"No one beyond this section of the crypt can hear us now," Jon said.
"What have you discovered?"
"Jon Arryn did not die from an illness."
Ned became completely still.
"You are certain?"
"Yes."
"How?"
"I began investigating before Robert's party reached the Neck."
Ned's eyes narrowed.
"You knew enough to begin an investigation before speaking with me?"
"I knew how events unfolded in the history I remembered. But memories of another world are not evidence. I needed proof that events here followed the same path."
"And do they?"
"Closely enough."
Ned looked toward Jon Arryn's empty place among the dead kings, as though the old man's shade might somehow be found within the Stark crypts.
"Who killed him?"
"Lysa Arryn administered the poison."
The answer struck Ned harder than Jon expected.
His father took a slow step backward.
"Lysa?"
"Yes."
"Why would she murder her husband?"
"She did not act alone."
Ned understood before Jon spoke the next name.
His face hardened.
"Petyr Baelish."
Jon nodded.
Ned turned away.
For several moments, he stared into the darkness beyond the lantern's light.
Jon allowed him time to absorb it.
Lysa had been like a younger sister to Ned during his years in the Vale. She had eaten at Jon Arryn's table, laughed beside Catelyn, and watched Ned and Robert train within the Eyrie's courtyard.
Petyr Baelish had grown beside Catelyn at Riverrun.
The betrayal was personal in ways court intrigue rarely managed to become.
"What proof do you possess?" Ned asked.
"Enough to know what happened. Not yet enough to place before Robert without warning our enemies."
"Tell me."
"One of Baelish's agents attempted to eliminate a witness in King's Landing. My men captured him. We followed the network he used and identified several couriers."
Jon's voice remained quiet within the sealed crypt.
"Baelish suspected someone was watching him. He sent three separate pieces of false information through three different channels to discover which one leaked."
"A trap."
"Yes. We allowed him to believe it succeeded."
Ned turned toward him.
"You deliberately gave him one of your agents?"
"No. I gave him a trail which ended precisely where I wanted it to end."
Something cold entered Jon's expression.
"He believes he discovered the weakness in my network. In truth, he merely revealed which servants he trusts to act without oversight."
Ned had witnessed Jon command armies, destroy impossible enemies, and speak to kings without fear.
Yet moments like this reminded him that Jon's greatest danger did not come from his physical strength.
Jon could be patient.
Very few powerful men understood how to be patient.
"What did the couriers reveal?" Ned asked.
"One travelled into the Vale. We followed him to a location connected to Lysa. She preserved letters Baelish sent her."
Ned's eyes sharpened.
"The letters still exist?"
"Some of them."
"Do they confess to the murder?"
"Not directly. Baelish is too cautious to write, 'Poison your husband' upon parchment. But they establish the relationship, the secret communication, and the timing. Combined with testimony and records from King's Landing, they will be enough."
"What records?"
"Grand Maester Pycelle treated Jon Arryn after he became ill."
Ned's face darkened.
"Was he involved?"
"He did not administer the poison. But he recognised that Jon Arryn could have survived and prevented another maester from treating him properly."
"For the Lannisters?"
"Yes. Pycelle believed Jon Arryn had discovered something dangerous to House Lannister. He did not know Lysa had poisoned her husband for Baelish."
Ned's hands curled into fists.
"Robert must be told."
"No."
The refusal came immediately.
Ned looked sharply toward his son.
"Jon Arryn raised him. Robert loved him."
"That is precisely why Robert cannot be told yet."
"He has a right to know."
"He does. When we possess everything required to act."
Ned stepped closer.
"You expect me to stand before him while concealing the murder of the man who raised us?"
"I expect you to remember Robert's nature."
Ned fell silent.
Jon continued.
"If Robert learns Baelish arranged Jon Arryn's death, he will not smile, return to King's Landing, and quietly gather evidence. He will demand Baelish's head before the conversation ends."
"He would have cause."
"And Baelish would know we discovered him."
Jon's voice remained calm.
"He would destroy evidence, murder witnesses, activate every remaining agent, and flee if necessary. Lysa would seal the Vale and accuse the crown of threatening her son. Pycelle would lie. Every person involved would prepare a defence before we could strike."
Ned disliked it.
Jon saw that clearly.
But disliking a truth did not make it less true.
"Robert would not remain quiet," Ned admitted.
"No."
"He might pretend to."
"For perhaps half a minute."
Despite the subject, Ned almost smiled.
The expression disappeared quickly.
"Does Catelyn know?"
"Not yet."
"She is Lysa's sister."
"That is why you should decide how to tell her."
Ned looked toward Lyanna's statue again.
"What was Jon Arryn investigating?"
Jon watched his father carefully.
This was the most dangerous portion of the truth.
"Robert's children."
Ned slowly turned.
"What about them?"
"The answer is connected to the reason Pycelle believed Jon Arryn threatened House Lannister."
Jon held his gaze.
"But I will not give you conclusions before my agents finish gathering the evidence."
"You already know the answer."
"I know what happened in the history I remember."
"That is not the same thing."
"No."
Jon did not look away.
"And if I tell you now, you will see every action through the certainty of my memories. I need you to examine the evidence without forcing it to fit an answer."
Ned recognised the wisdom in that.
He did not appreciate it.
"You have become skilled at withholding information from your father."
Jon's lips curved faintly.
After a moment, Ned released a quiet breath.
"Fairly said."
The brief amusement passed.
"You believe accepting the Handship would place me in danger."
"Yes."
"Because Baelish wants me in King's Landing."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"He knows your honour. He understands how you respond to injustice. Once you begin investigating Jon Arryn's death, you will continue regardless of the political consequences."
Jon looked along the row of stone kings.
"Baelish wants conflict between Stark and Lannister. Your presence in the capital gives him the pieces required to create it."
Ned considered the words.
"Then I will refuse."
Jon turned toward him.
"The Handship?"
"And the marriage."
Ned's answer possessed the quiet certainty of a judgement already made.
"I intended to refuse the marriage after seeing Joffrey's behaviour. What you have told me has removed any remaining doubt."
"Sansa will remain here?"
"All my children will remain at Winterfell."
Jon nodded.
"That is wise."
"I will tell Robert today."
"He will not accept easily."
"He must."
Jon said nothing.
Ned studied him.
"You believe I should accept?"
"No."
The answer came without hesitation.
"You believe refusing will protect me?"
"It will remove you from the centre of Baelish's plan."
"Then why do you look uncertain?"
"Because Robert did not ride north merely to obtain a capable administrator."
Jon glanced toward Lyanna's statue.
"He came for his brother."
Ned's expression changed.
For the first time since entering the crypt, his certainty weakened.
Only slightly.
But Jon saw it.
"I will refuse," Ned repeated.
Jon inclined his head.
"It is your decision."
"You will not speak to Robert about what we discussed."
"No."
"Not Baelish. Not Lysa. Not Pycelle. None of it."
"Robert will learn when the evidence is secure."
Ned looked toward the barrier surrounding them.
"And until then?"
"Baelish will believe his plan continues to succeed."
The coldness returned to Jon's eyes.
"That belief will encourage him to make mistakes."
----
Robert received Ned's answer in the lord's solar.
Catelyn stood beside her husband. Jon remained near one of the windows, his hands clasped behind his back.
Robert had asked him to attend.
Perhaps the king believed Jon could persuade Ned.
Perhaps he merely wanted someone present who understood both of them.
The king poured wine into two cups and pushed one toward his friend.
Ned did not take it.
Robert noticed.
"That expression never brings me good news."
"I have considered your offers."
"And?"
"I cannot accept the proposed marriage between Sansa and Joffrey."
Robert stared at him.
Catelyn remained silent.
Jon watched the king's face.
Several days earlier, the refusal would have provoked anger. Robert might have shouted about uniting their houses, accused Ned of insulting the crown, or dismissed Joffrey's cruelty as youthful arrogance.
Now, his eyes moved toward the window.
Beyond it lay the courtyard where he had forced his son to apologise to a stable boy.
Robert picked up his cup and drank.
"Aye," he said at last.
Ned appeared surprised.
Robert scowled at him.
"Do not look at me as though I have grown another head."
"I expected you to object."
"I do object."
Robert dropped heavily into a chair.
"I wanted our houses joined. I wanted your daughter to become queen and your grandchildren to rule after my son."
He looked down into his wine.
"But I saw Sansa's face when Joffrey spoke to her. And I have seen enough of my son since arriving here to understand why you would refuse."
His mouth twisted bitterly.
"I would not give Myrcella to a boy who behaved as Joffrey has. I cannot condemn you for refusing to give him Sansa."
Catelyn's shoulders relaxed.
Ned inclined his head.
"Thank you."
"I did not say I was pleased."
"No."
"The gods have cursed me with enough sense to recognise when I deserve an insult."
Robert drank again.
"The marriage is abandoned."
Ned glanced briefly toward Catelyn.
Their first battle had ended more easily than either expected.
Robert looked between them.
"Now the Handship."
Ned's face became solemn.
"I must refuse that as well."
Robert's cup stopped halfway to his mouth.
"No."
Ned had prepared himself for anger.
The single quiet word unsettled him more than a shout would have.
"Robert—"
"No."
Robert placed the cup down.
"You may refuse the marriage. You have cause, and Sansa is your daughter. But I will not accept your refusal of the Handship."
"It is not a royal command I can obey."
"It is exactly that."
"You asked me as a friend."
"And I am answering as one."
Ned held his gaze.
"My place is in the North."
"Your place is beside your king."
"Robb is prepared to assume more responsibility, but he is not yet Lord of Winterfell."
"He will not be alone. Catelyn will remain. Maester Luwin will advise him. Every northern lord respects your house."
"That is not the only concern."
"Then name the others."
Ned could not.
Not without revealing the investigation.
Robert mistook his silence for reluctance.
His anger began to rise.
"I rode a thousand leagues through snow and mud to ask this of you."
"I know."
"You are the only man in the Seven Kingdoms I trust."
"You trusted Jon Arryn."
"And Jon Arryn is dead!"
The words struck the room like a hammer.
Catelyn lowered her eyes.
Jon remained silent.
Robert pushed himself out of the chair and began pacing.
"He is dead, Ned. The man who raised us is dead, and every day since his funeral I have sat in that damned throne room surrounded by men waiting for me to stumble."
His voice grew rougher.
"Varys whispers. Pycelle nods. Renly smiles. Stannis judges. Littlefinger counts coins while the realm sinks deeper into debt. Cersei watches every decision as though we are fighting a war across the council table."
Robert stopped before Ned.
"I have courtiers. I have councillors. I have flatterers, liars, and ambitious fools enough to fill every hall in the Red Keep."
He struck his chest with one heavy hand.
"But I have no brother there."
Ned's resolve tightened against the words.
"Renly and Stannis are your brothers."
"By blood."
Robert laughed without humour.
"Stannis has spent half his life resenting me. Renly knows the man wearing the crown, not the boy who lived in the Vale."
His eyes remained upon Ned.
"You knew me before any of this."
Robert gestured angrily, as though the crown, court, kingdom, and years of disappointment surrounded him within the solar.
"You knew me before the rebellion. Before the Trident. Before people began bowing whenever I entered a room."
Memories moved through Ned's mind.
Two boys racing horses down the mountain paths beneath the Eyrie.
Robert laughing after Jon Arryn caught them stealing wine.
Wooden swords striking until their hands blistered.
Shared meals.
Shared punishments.
Shared dreams of futures neither had received.
Robert saw the memories in Ned's face.
"We were brothers before either of us understood what brotherhood meant," he said.
Ned looked away.
Robert stepped closer.
"When my parents died, Jon Arryn gave me a home. When your father and brother were murdered, he chose us over the Mad King."
His voice lowered.
"He risked everything because he would not surrender his sons."
Catelyn looked toward her husband.
Robert continued before Ned could answer.
"We rode south together. We fought together. We buried friends together. I killed Rhaegar upon the Trident, but I would never have reached him without you holding half the realm together behind me."
Ned's jaw tightened at Rhaegar's name.
Robert did not notice.
"You found me after the battle," the king said. "I had a wound in my side, blood covering my armour, and every lord around me was already calling me king."
A faint, tired smile appeared upon his face.
"You called me a reckless fool for breaking formation."
"You had broken formation."
"I had won."
"You could have died."
"Aye."
Robert's smile faded.
"And you were the only man there who cared more about that than the crown."
Silence filled the solar.
Jon watched his father.
Ned had entered the room prepared to refuse a king.
Robert was not speaking to him as a king.
That was why the refusal became harder with every word.
"I am not the man I was upon the Trident," Robert admitted.
There was no pride in the confession.
No laughter.
No attempt to disguise the truth.
"I know what I have become."
Ned looked at him.
Robert glanced toward the untouched wine upon the table.
"Jon forced me to see more of it than I wished."
His mouth twisted.
"An unpleasant talent your son possesses."
Jon offered no response.
Robert returned his attention to Ned.
"I failed my children. I allowed the council to rule while I hunted, drank, and convinced myself that winning the throne meant I had finished my duty."
He drew a slow breath.
"I cannot undo those years. But perhaps I can stop wasting the ones remaining."
Ned's expression softened despite himself.
"You do not need me to become a better father."
"No."
Robert's voice became quieter.
"I need you because I do not know how to become a better king."
The admission cost him.
Everyone in the room understood that.
Robert Baratheon could acknowledge mistakes in anger. He could laugh about his appetites and curse his failures after drinking.
But asking another man for help required something he rarely offered.
Humility.
"You were always the better of us," Robert said.
"That is not true."
"It is."
"You won the throne."
"And you would have ruled it better."
Robert stepped closer until barely an arm's length separated them.
"I am not asking you to abandon the North forever. I am asking you to come south and help me place the realm in order."
"I have responsibilities here."
"And I have seven kingdoms filled with responsibilities I neglected."
"Northern duties do not disappear because the king asks me to leave."
"No. They pass temporarily to the family you raised."
Robert looked toward Catelyn.
"Lady Stark is more capable than half my council combined."
Catelyn inclined her head, accepting the compliment without interrupting.
"Robb must learn to govern," Robert continued. "Let him do so while you still live to correct his mistakes. Leave Luwin with him. Leave trusted men. Return whenever the North requires you."
Ned remained silent.
Robert's voice roughened.
"Gods, Ned, I buried Jon Arryn."
The king's eyes shone with grief he had concealed beneath wine and rage since entering Winterfell.
"I stood before the man who raised us and realised I had not spoken honestly with him in years."
He swallowed.
"Now I am expected to return to the same halls where he died, sit among the same smiling strangers, and behave as though nothing has changed."
Ned's resistance began to break.
Robert saw it.
"I do not want to return alone."
The words were barely louder than the fire.
They carried more weight than every royal demand which preceded them.
Ned closed his eyes.
He remembered Robert at sixteen, loud and fearless, dragging him into trouble beneath Jon Arryn's disapproving gaze.
He remembered Robert after Lyanna's death, bleeding from wounds no maester could heal.
He remembered the distance which had grown between them during the years after the rebellion.
That distance had not erased what came before it.
Robert remained his oldest friend.
His foster brother.
One of the final living pieces of a youth destroyed by war.
Ned opened his eyes.
Robert waited.
No king stood before him now.
Only the boy from the Vale, grown older, heavier, wearier, and lonelier than Ned had allowed himself to understand.
"I will serve as your Hand," Ned said.
Catelyn drew a quiet breath.
Robert did not move for a heartbeat.
Then his immense hand closed around Ned's shoulder.
"I knew you would not abandon me."
Ned's expression tightened.
Whether from affection, regret, or the sudden weight of his decision, even he could not have said.
Robert pulled him into a rough embrace.
Ned endured it for several seconds before returning it.
The king laughed.
Some of the heaviness disappeared from his face.
"We will put the realm in order."
"We will attempt to."
"There is the cheerful Ned Stark I remember."
Robert released him and turned toward the table.
"This requires wine."
"It does not."
"It absolutely does."
Robert filled two cups before Ned could object.
He thrust one into his friend's hand.
"To the Hand of the King."
Ned reluctantly raised the cup.
"To duty."
Robert drank deeply.
Ned barely touched the wine to his lips.
Only then did Robert look toward Jon.
The young king had remained silent throughout the exchange.
Robert studied his expression.
"You disagree."
Jon met his eyes.
"My father has given you his word."
"That was not an answer."
"It is the only answer which matters."
Robert waited for an argument.
None came.
"You will not attempt to stop him?"
"No."
"Even though you believe King's Landing is dangerous?"
"Every capital is dangerous."
Robert snorted.
"You consider your own dangerous?"
"To my enemies."
A brief laugh escaped the king.
Then he grew serious again.
"I will protect him."
Jon's expression did not change.
Robert understood the silence perfectly.
The king's promise possessed little value against dangers he could not yet see.
But Jon did not challenge him.
Ned had chosen.
Jon would respect that decision.
Robert raised his cup toward him.
"I suppose this means you will visit King's Landing."
"When my responsibilities permit."
"Bring the flying monster."
"No."
"The wolves?"
"No."
"One giant?"
"No."
Robert scowled.
"You are remarkably ungenerous for a man who owns so many interesting creatures."
"They are not court entertainment."
"Everything becomes court entertainment if enough wine is involved."
Ned rubbed his forehead.
For the first time since the conversation began, Catelyn smiled.
----
The family gathered that evening in the solar.
Robb sat beside Bran near the fire. Arya occupied a chair incorrectly, one leg hanging over its arm. Sansa sat with her hands folded in her lap, while Rickon played upon the rug beneath Catelyn's watchful eye.
Jon stood near Ned.
Robert was not present.
This was a Stark matter.
Ned looked at each of his children before speaking.
"I have accepted King Robert's offer to become Hand of the King."
The room became silent.
Robb straightened.
Bran's eyes widened.
Arya's foot stopped swinging.
Sansa looked immediately toward her mother.
"You are going to King's Landing?" Bran asked.
"Yes."
"For how long?"
"I do not know."
The answer pleased no one.
Ned continued before questions could overwhelm the room.
"Your mother will remain at Winterfell. Robb will assist her in governing the North."
Robb's surprise became apprehension.
"Me?"
"You have attended councils since you were old enough to understand them. Now you will carry greater responsibility."
"I am not ready to be Lord of Winterfell."
"You will not be Lord of Winterfell. I remain its lord."
Ned's expression softened slightly.
"You will learn. Your mother, Maester Luwin, Rodrik, and the household will advise you."
Robb looked toward Jon.
Jon inclined his head once.
It was not reassurance that the task would be easy.
It was reassurance that Robb could perform it.
"What of the betrothal?" Sansa asked quietly.
Ned faced his daughter.
"There will be no betrothal."
Relief passed openly across Sansa's face.
Catelyn placed one hand over hers.
"King Robert accepted the refusal," Ned said.
Arya grinned.
"So Joffrey will not become part of our family?"
"No."
"Good."
"Arya," Catelyn warned.
"What? Everyone was thinking it."
Bran attempted to hide a smile.
Even Ned's stern expression weakened for a moment.
"Sansa, Arya, Bran, and Rickon will remain at Winterfell," he continued.
Arya sat upright.
"We are not going south?"
"No."
Her relief nearly matched Sansa's.
King's Landing had once represented adventure in her imagination.
After meeting Joffrey and the southern court, remaining in Winterfell seemed far more appealing.
"Who will accompany you?" Catelyn asked.
"A small household guard. Jory will command them. Vayon Poole will manage the Hand's household."
"Not enough," Jon said.
Everyone looked toward him.
It was the first objection he had offered.
Ned regarded him calmly.
"How many would you recommend?"
"Enough that their absence is noticed whenever someone attempts to isolate you."
"That is not a number."
"Fifty trusted men at minimum."
"Fifty northern soldiers within the capital may appear excessive."
"You will be the second-most powerful man in the Seven Kingdoms."
Jon's tone remained even.
"If the capital considers fifty guards excessive, that reveals more about the capital than it does about you."
Catelyn agreed immediately.
"Take fifty."
Ned looked between his wife and son.
"Very well."
Jon said nothing more.
He did not demand Winter's Heaven soldiers accompany Ned. Their presence would attract constant attention and reveal Jon's involvement in every movement his father made.
Trusted northern men would appear ordinary.
Jon's agents would remain unseen.
That was far more useful.
"Will you come home before winter?" Rickon asked.
Ned looked down at his youngest son.
"I will try."
Rickon frowned.
Children understood uncertain promises better than adults believed.
Ned crouched before him.
"I will write."
"You do not write good stories."
Arya laughed loudly.
Ned looked offended.
"My letters are perfectly adequate."
"They only say who visited, how much it rained, and that everyone should continue their lessons," Arya said.
"Those are important matters."
"They are boring matters."
"I will attempt to include a battle."
Catelyn raised an eyebrow.
"Preferably one you did not fight."
Ned looked toward her.
"That is my preference as well."
The humour could not remove the unease entirely.
But it made the coming separation bearable for one more evening.
----
Jon found Ned alone upon the battlements after midnight.
Snow drifted across Winterfell in thin white sheets.
Below the walls, the camp of Winter's Heaven remained perfectly ordered. Fires burned between rows of tents. Armoured patrols moved along the perimeter. Enormous direwolves rested in the darkness, their ears turning toward distant sounds.
Ned heard Jon approach.
"You think I made a mistake."
"Yes."
There was no accusation in Jon's voice.
Only honesty.
Ned rested both hands upon the cold stone.
"I asked for your counsel."
"And chose differently."
"You are not angry?"
"No."
"I expected an argument."
"You already knew what I believed."
Jon stopped beside him.
"Repeating it after you made your decision would serve no purpose."
Ned looked toward his son.
"You could prevent me from leaving."
"Yes."
The simple answer carried no threat.
Jon possessed the power to make Robert abandon the Handship, turn the royal party south, or accept any condition placed before him.
He would do none of those things.
"Why will you not?" Ned asked.
"Because it is your life."
Snow settled upon Jon's dark hair without melting.
"You allowed me to choose my path when I was six, despite believing it dangerous. You permitted me to leave Winterfell, build my own home, and carry burdens no child should have possessed."
Ned remembered the small boy who had stood before him with certainty far beyond his years.
Letting Jon leave had been the hardest decision of his life.
"I wondered every day whether I had failed you," Ned admitted.
"You gave me the freedom to become myself."
Jon looked over the sleeping castle.
"I will give you the same respect."
Ned's expression tightened with emotion.
"I am not choosing the Handship because I desire power."
"I know."
"Robert needs someone he trusts."
"I know."
"He is still my brother."
"I know."
Jon's answers contained no mockery.
That made them harder to hear.
Ned stared toward the distant campfires.
"You believe Baelish expected me to accept."
"Yes."
"Then part of his plan has succeeded."
"Yes."
Ned turned toward him.
"And you remain this calm?"
"Because only part of it succeeded."
The cold wind moved Jon's cloak.
"He wanted you in King's Landing with your entire family. Sansa would have been bound to Joffrey. Arya would have followed. Your attention would have been divided between protecting your daughters, serving Robert, investigating Jon Arryn, and surviving the court."
Jon's eyes became colder.
"Instead, your children remain in Winterfell. You know Lysa's warning cannot be trusted. You know someone wants Stark and Lannister turned against one another."
"And your agents are already inside the capital."
"Yes."
"How many?"
"Enough."
Ned recognised the answer.
It was the same one Jon had given when northern lords asked how many soldiers possessed Basic Breathing.
Enough.
"You will tell me when the evidence is complete?" Ned asked.
"I will place it in your hands."
"And until then?"
"Act as though you know nothing."
Ned disliked deception.
But he understood necessity.
"I will not tell Robert."
"Good."
"He will consider the concealment a betrayal when he learns of it."
"Perhaps."
Jon looked toward his father.
"But he will be alive to feel betrayed."
Ned could not argue with that.
They stood together in silence.
Far to the south, Petyr Baelish likely believed events were proceeding precisely as he intended.
Jon Arryn was dead.
Lysa's letter had directed Stark suspicion toward the Lannisters.
Robert had travelled north.
And Eddard Stark had accepted the position of Hand of the King.
Baelish would count each event as a victory.
He would congratulate himself upon understanding honourable men.
He would believe Ned Stark was walking willingly into the trap prepared for him.
Jon's lips curved faintly.
Baelish did not know the Stark children would remain safely in Winterfell.
He did not know Ned had already learned Lysa's warning was false.
He did not know his couriers had been followed, his agents identified, his witnesses protected, and his carefully preserved secrets uncovered one by one.
Most importantly, he did not know Jon was watching.
Enjoy your victory while it lasts, Littlefinger.
End of Chapter 157
-------------------
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📖 Reborn as Jon Snow with God System — Up to Chapter 187
🏰 GOT Kingdom Building System — Up to Chapter 120
🍥 Naruto: The God List Exposed My City — Up to Chapter 37
And more is coming!
🎬 I've also released a Reborn as Jon Snow with God System Auidobook upto chapters 31–60 video with improved visuals on my YouTube channel: Epicpensaga.
Patreon: patreon.com/EpicpensagabyMR_Fanfic
Thank you for all the support!
🍥 Naruto: The God List Exposed My City — Up to Chapter 7-- on here on webnovel, please go and read, and from now on there will be continuous update for this fiction.
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