When Linn arrived, he had been searched and only had his clothes and a standard Northern longsword on him; there were no silver stags at all.
This was something the search officer knew.
No money, and he hadn't been out. Where did these silver stags come from?
Stolen from wildlings?
But what use would wildlings have for silver stags?
Everything became clear.
These silver stags did indeed come from the assassin.
A fine layer of cold sweat instantly broke out on Bowen Marsh's forehead.
His small eyes darted around, not daring to look at anyone.
As the Chief Steward of Castle Black, he managed the entire castle's purse.
Every purchase of supplies, every copper coin spent, was recorded in his thick ledger.
He certainly remembered.
Not long ago, Alliser Thorne had withdrawn a small bag of silver coins from him, under the pretext of 'repairing weapons and needing to purchase special Southern whetstones.'
At the time, he hadn't thought much of it.
Although Thorne was usually acerbic and extremely unpopular.
He was, after all, the master-at-arms, a knight, so he had no reason to refuse such a small request.
But now... looking at the silver coins on the ground, and recalling Pypar and Grenn's accusations.
And the supplies Thorne hadn't actually purchased.
Bowen Marsh's heart instantly sank to the bottom.
He knew he had been dragged into an enormous mess.
"Master Marsh?"
Linn's voice pulled him back from his muddled thoughts.
"Have you remembered?"
Bowen Marsh's face alternated between red and pale.
He secretly glanced at the grim-faced Lord Commander Mormont, then at the cold-eyed Linn.
Finally, his gaze fell on Alliser Thorne's already twisted face.
He knew he had to make a choice now.
Should he protect a Thorne who was clearly doomed, and offend the two most powerful people in the castle?
Or... tell the truth?
This choice didn't require any thought at all.
"I... I remember now."
Bowen Marsh wiped the sweat from his forehead, speaking with a dry voice.
"Just... just on the day you were attacked, Lord Linn."
"Ser Thorne did indeed withdraw twenty silver stags from me."
"The reason was... was to purchase whetstones."
These words, like the final straw, completely crushed Alliser Thorne.
"You... you fat pig! How dare you betray me!"
Thorne let out a desperate roar.
He wanted to rush over and tear apart Bowen Marsh's fat face.
But Toren and Jason's swords once again blocked him.
"Thorne!"
Lord Commander Mormont's voice was utterly devoid of warmth.
"What else do you have to say?"
"No... it wasn't me! It was them! They ganged up to frame me!" Thorne was still making a last struggle.
But his voice sounded so pale and weak.
"Frame you?" Linn sneered.
"Ser Thorne, do you think everyone is as foolish as you are?"
"You instigated internal strife, attempting to provoke conflict—that's a fact."
"You hired assassins to kill, attempting to eliminate me, your thorn in the side—that's also a fact."
"You even prepared a story to blame the wildlings, trying to pull the wool over everyone's eyes—that's an even bigger fact!"
Each of Linn's sentences shattered Thorne's self-righteous schemes.
"I ask you."
Linn's gaze was fixed on Thorne.
"Why did you do this?"
"Just because I once defied you?"
"Just because I made you lose face in front of everyone?"
"Or is it..."
Linn's voice suddenly dropped.
"...you're not one of us at all?"
These words stunned everyone.
Not one of us?
What did that mean?
Even Lord Commander Mormont showed a puzzled expression.
Only Alliser Thorne, the moment he heard these words, his pupils contracted to their absolute limit.
His face revealed genuine fear!
"I don't know what you're talking about!"
Thorne's voice became shrill.
Linn smiled.
He turned and bowed slightly to Lord Commander Mormont.
"Lord Commander, please allow me to ask Ser Thorne a few questions."
Mormont looked into Linn's deep eyes and nodded.
"Ask away. I will ensure justice is served."
Linn turned back to Thorne.
"Ser Thorne, I hear."
"Before you took the black, you were a loyal supporter of the Targaryen Family, correct?"
Thorne's face instantly became incredibly ugly.
This was the past he least wanted brought up.
During the Usurper's War, he had sided with the losers.
After the war, to save his life, he was forced to take the black and come to this cursed place.
To him, it was a profound humiliation.
The Nights Watch rules state that those who come here have no status, no honor, but that does not include the title of Ser!
The Nights Watch acknowledges the title of Ser!
This was also why he emphasized that he was a Ser.
"So what?" Thorne said, gritting his teeth.
"What do past events have to do with the present?"
"Of course they do!"
Linn's voice grew even colder.
"I hear that you have always harbored resentment towards King Robert Baratheon and his friend Duke Ned Stark."
"You're talking nonsense!"
"I'm talking nonsense?"
Linn shook his head.
"Many people know that you often curse them with the most venomous language in private, don't you?"
A low murmur of discussion rose among the surrounding Night's Watchmen.
Indeed, Thorne's foul mouth was notorious in Castle Black.
He often, after getting drunk, would curse Robert as a usurping butcher and Ned as a treacherous hypocrite.
However, everyone was used to it, and no one took his drunken ramblings seriously.
But now, with Linn bringing it up publicly, the meaning was entirely different.
"I ask you again."
Linn's gaze became even sharper.
"Ever since the wights appeared, your behavior has been very abnormal."
"Do you feel that the appearance of the Others and wights is a disaster for the Nights Watch."
"But for you, it's an opportunity?"
"An opportunity... to restore the Targaryen?"
"If the Wall is breached, if the Seven Kingdoms fall into chaos, if the army of Others marches south..."
"Then, wouldn't those Targaryen remnants hiding across the Narrow Sea have a chance to kill their way back amidst the chaos and reclaim their iron throne?"
"And you, Ser Alliser Thorne, as the Targaryen's most loyal lackey, wouldn't you be able to transform into a founding hero?"
Linn's words were like a clap of thunder on a clear day, exploding in everyone's minds!
Everyone looked at Linn with the expression of someone looking at a madman.
This... this imagination is too wild, isn't it?
Connecting the Others' invasion with the Targaryen restoration?
This was simply a fantasy!
Even Lord Commander Mormont felt that Linn's deduction was a bit too... incredible.
However, Alliser Thorne's reaction made everyone drop their jaws.
He didn't refute.
He didn't roar.
He just stood there, trembling violently all over.
His eyes, as he looked at Linn, were more terrified than if he had seen a wight.
How... how could he know?
How could he know the deepest secret of my heart?
Could it be... could he really see through people's hearts?
Or... an even more terrifying thought surfaced in Thorne's mind.
Could it be that he is truly an envoy sent by the old gods?
An omniscient, omnipotent divine messenger?
Of course, Linn didn't know whether Thorne actually had this thought at the moment; he merely knew Thorne's past and deduced it in the direction most beneficial to Thorne.
Linn needed to pin a label on Thorne, even if the label was false, it would give Linn a reason to kill this obvious viper.
But he didn't expect that his guess might actually be correct?
It could be considered a lucky hit.
"Thump."
Alliser Thorne, this arrogant Ser, this master-at-arms of Castle Black.
His legs gave out, and he actually knelt directly on the ground.
His psychological defenses were completely shattered by Linn's heart-piercing words.