Seeing Catelyn's husband helping him and seeing her own husband standing shocked, Cersei had never felt so furious in her life. Edmure was simply useless, so useless that he couldn't even protect her. With her face still bleeding, the beautiful woman shouted loudly. "Aren't you going to defend my honor, Edmure!?"
Edmure, despite being a weak man, still showed the determination to protect his wife, and before Tyrion could say anything to calm things down, the Heir of Riverrun stepped forward and spoke loudly. "Lord Stark, your wife almost killed my wife; she has to take responsibility for her actions."
Catelyn couldn't believe those words had come from her own brother's mouth. "Edmure, has this woman manipulated you so much that you would say such things about your own sister?"
Edmure showed a conflicted expression, but looking at Cersei, the woman he loved more than anything in this world, he showed a determined expression and ignored his younger sister's words.
Stepping forward, Eddard, with his cold gray eyes, spoke in a terrifyingly calm tone. "And what do you suggest to resolve this conflict, Lord Edmure?"
"Naturally, a duel; your wife offended mine with dirty and vile words; she has to pay." As soon as Edmure spoke, everyone's eyes widened to the extreme; even Rhaegar, who was watching everything, started coughing up the wine he was drinking at that moment
Although Eddard was not as famous as in the other universe, Eddard was still a renowned, experienced warrior who wielded the legendary sword of House Stark, Ice. There were not five people in the entire continent who could make the Silent Wolf of House Stark take a fight seriously.
Who was Edmure? Mediocre in every sense of the word, he earned the title of knight because he was Hoster Tully's son. A title he suspiciously won in a tournament at Riverrun. So, knowing that Edmure dared to challenge Eddard to a duel shocked everyone; even Cersei thought Edmure was crazy.
Eddard frowned and looked coldly at Edmure. He wasn't worried about the possibility of winning, but Edmure was his wife's brother; by law, he was his Good Brother. And although he disliked Edmure, he was indeed his brother through his marriage to Catelyn.
Killing a relative, even if it was a relative by marriage, was not something well-regarded, much less honorable. The title Kinslayer was not a light one; it was a stigma that would stain his honor forever, a stigma that even his sons and daughters would carry for life.
When someone thought of Robb in the future, people would remember that he was the son of the Kinslayer, which would not only make his eldest son's rule over the North difficult but would also affect the marriage of all his sons and daughters.
"I will ignore your words because you have drunk too much wine, Lord Edmure." Eddard said in a calm and cold tone; the words of the Lord of the North essentially gave Edmure an escape to retract his words. Everyone would think it was just the words of a drunk, and no one would care.
Tyrion, seeing such a good chance, quickly intervened and spoke in a calm tone. "My dear lords have drunk too much wine; it is best that everyone returns to their respective chambers and enjoys a good night's sleep."
The Dwarf could not even suffer the consequences if Edmure died during the duel; it would be the spark for a civil war without a doubt. And although he thought a war was inevitable, he wanted to postpone this terrible event as much as possible.
"Lord Tyrion is right; everyone should return to their respective chambers and rest; tomorrow will be a long day." Rhaegar had similar thoughts to Tyrion. He wanted to delay the war as much as possible. The longer it extended, the more he could strengthen himself.
At the same time, he couldn't believe how crazy and stupid Edmure was to challenge the Lord of a Great Noble House. Any fool with a minimum of noble education knows how terrible the consequences of killing a Lord of a Great Noble House were.
Cersei also knew this and held her husband's arm, looking at him with a penetrating and sharp gaze; all of Edmure's courage drained away before the gaze of his beloved wife. Without saying anything, she held her sons and daughter and dragged her husband out of the dining hall. But not before looking coldly at Catelyn, like a poisonous snake looking at the prey that escaped.
Catelyn showed no weakness and looked into Cersei's eyes with a smug look; she had just won the battle and had reason to be proud.
"Mother, you were amazing!!!" Arya approached her mother and looked at her with admiration for the first time in her life. Looking at the little eyes full of admiration, Catelyn felt a different feeling and admitted that she liked seeing her daughter looking at her with such admiration.
Robb also looked at his mother with admiration; there was no son in the world who wouldn't be amazed to see his mother defending her own child. However, he soon frowned and spoke in a worried tone. "Will this make our relationship with House Tully worse?"
After seeing Edmure controlled like a puppet by Cersei, Robb had no doubt that things between House Stark and Tully would become tense. And at this moment, where a war was already on the horizon, this was a terrible thing, as it meant that House Stark had no allies.
Unlike Eddard, Robb was raised to be a Lord and understood politics, as well as controlling the army, and he was a good warrior; even being young, he could see that things would be complicated in the future.
Eddard looked at Robb with a satisfied look and then looked at the king; seeing the king's purple eyes staring at him, the Lord of Winterfell nodded his head. He saw a smile appear on the Targaryen king's lips.
Remembering the wizard's words, Eddard knew he had no choice; his antipathy towards House Targaryen could not outweigh his concern for his own family. If House Stark had no allies, it would be isolated and surrounded by enemies.
Especially with Riverrun on the right and the Vale on the left, once an army positions itself on the Trident, the entire supply line of the North will be cut off. Once that happens, the commoners will die without food and from the cold; he will have no hay for the horses or food for the army.
With the Greyjoys at sea… it made trade and purchase impossible…
Rhaegar, seeing Eddard nod to him, knew that the alliance between House Stark and Targaryen could resurface once again. This relieved much of the pressure on him, as forty thousand experienced soldiers were an army everyone wanted.
Martell, Tyrell, Stark, and Targaryen could now be considered a huge power in his hands; this gave Rhaegar the confidence to resolve this war once and for all.
"Mother, do you think we can marry Rhaenys and Gaemon to Robb and Sansa? Maybe Arya?" Rhaegar asked in a calm tone. To further relax the tensions between Houses Stark and Targaryen, he planned to marry his son and daughter.
"The marriage with Lady Sansa will not be difficult; from what I see, the girl daydreams about princes and heroic knights." Rhaella said in a calm tone; she knew Sansa's mentality well, as she spent some time with Catelyn and Sansa.
"But the Heir of Winterfell is difficult; Lord Eddard will not accept and will marry the heir to some Lady of the North, perhaps with House Manderly; I heard that the Lord of White Harbor has two beautiful daughters." Rhaella explained in a calm tone.
"After all, his marriage to Lady Catelyn, who is a faithful believer in the Seven, caused much discontent among the Lords of the North, especially after a sept was erected in Winterfell. The heir needs a wife from the North to calm the hearts full of suspicion and skepticism of the Lords of the North."
"Eddard really wasn't raised to be a Lord; how could he allow his wife to erect a sept in Winterfell in a region where the Old Gods are worshiped?" Rhaegar shook his head and sighed. He will still try to marry Rhaenys to Robb, but if not, marrying Sansa to Gaemon will also be good.
As for Maekar, Rhaegar planned a marriage with the Stormlands; Shireen Baratheon was a good choice, as Robert's legitimate line had no children and the apparent heir was Stannis Baratheon.
Cadmus looked at the subtle politics in the place and smiled; he truly found it fascinating how people without a drop of magic could decide the lives of tens of millions of people on a continent with just a few conversations.
Suddenly, Cadmus saw Arthur Dayne approach the king and whisper some words in his ear, then the king's face had a slight change in his expression.
"Looks like I have work to do." Cadmus murmured to himself, seeing the gaze fall upon him.
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Read my other books:
Game Of Thrones: The God-Emperor of Planetos (500,000 words written).
Percy Jackson: Godwyn the Golden.
Game Of Thrones: The King's Court Wizard