"I agree with all of this entirely. After all, the fact that His Grace survived is due in some small part to my efforts..."
Picking up the conversation, Jon followed logical steps and answered Lord Ned's latter question first.
However, seeing the Hand of the King abruptly stand up in surprise, Jon didn't reveal everything. Instead, he selectively deconstructed the events and guided the narrative.
Under Jon's deliberate misdirection, the Hand gradually came to understand that Jon's concern for King Robert's safety—and his proactive warning—were all due to a "prophetic dream."
But as a Stark himself, Lord Ned didn't believe that their thinned bloodline could once again birth the ancient abilities of a warg or greenseer.
Even if it were possible, that was the stuff of legends, not something to be taken literally in the modern age.
So, after a brief, heavy silence, the Hand concluded that Jon simply had reasons he couldn't share.
Although curious about what secret could keep a father and son from sharing the truth, Ned didn't press him. He didn't take it to heart.
From the beginning, the Quiet Wolf was accustomed to treating his children with leniency. He wasn't the type of harsh, inquisitor-like parent who demanded to know every detail of his children's lives.
After that, their conversation turned to the cause of Jon Arryn's death.
Upon learning that his "son" shared his suspicions—and had even used the authority of the Hand and the Small Council to summon Lady Lysa to testify—Ned felt a faint sense of unease.
But he didn't scold Jon for it. After all, he had considered doing the exact same thing.
However, when Ned mentioned he was tracking down Robert's bastards, Jon couldn't help but glance at the heavy tome on the desk: The Lineages and Histories of the Great Houses of the Seven Kingdoms.
Fortunately, thanks to Jon's earlier interventions, even though Ned knew the book was a clue, he lacked a specific direction.
The two daughters who might have provided him with accidental insights—Sansa and Arya—had been packed up and taken away by Jon. Now, the Hand was left to puzzle it out alone.
Regarding the Robert situation, aside from blaming his foreknowledge on dreams, Jon had other thoughts. Should he continue to investigate, or let it go?
But before he could voice this, Ned pulled out another small scroll and handed it to him.
Eyeing the broken wax seal of the crowned stag, Jon skipped the pleasantries and unrolled it quickly.
He read Robert's thoughts on the matter.
In the letter, the Usurper didn't blame anyone, nor did he attribute the incident to an assassination attempt.
Robert simply complained that the two "brothers" were now ironically matched, both nursing leg injuries.
He also mentioned that, if necessary, he might need to rest for another month before returning to King's Landing.
At the end of the letter, the Usurper extended an invitation: he hoped Ned would accompany him to Storm's End. The tone was thick with nostalgic sentiment.
Jon read a completely different meaning into this letter.
Since taking the Iron Throne, the Usurper had never returned to Storm's End. Instead, he had handed his family's ancestral seat to his youngest brother, Renly—the one he respected the least.
To the lords who fought in the Rebellion, this decision seemed unfair.
It was Stannis who had held Storm's End against the siege, eating rats and boot leather, not Renly, who was still a snot-nosed child at the time.
Yet, despite the criticism, Robert insisted on naming Stannis the Lord of Dragonstone, effectively banishing him to that desolate, rocky island.
It looked like a punishment, but perhaps Robert saw it differently. He might have simply been making the most appropriate choice.
Only Robert knew that Stannis was as cold and hard as a stone coffin. He might be a capable general and a strict judge, but he was not a lord who could win hearts.
Therefore, keeping Stannis in command of the fleet and soldiers, where strict discipline was valued, was the best option.
As for Renly, his youngest and "most useless" brother? He seemed clever, but his problem was that he was too clever, lacking the raw ferocity and pride of a Baratheon.
Perhaps only by making him a High Lord, surrounded by swords, could Renly's fragile life be preserved in these dangerous times.
Robert never revealed these thoughts to outsiders. While he was a terrible husband and a worse king, he was, in his own way, a responsible older brother.
After the recent conflict with the Lannisters (Jaime's attack on Ned), Robert chose to travel to clear his head. It was a way to escape the awkwardness while figuring out how to make it up to Ned.
So, this rambling, nostalgic letter was clearly Robert's way of extending an olive branch.
Ned could guess some of the Usurper's intentions, but he wasn't sure if there were other implications hidden in the text.
That was why he sought Jon's opinion.
However, Ned had asked the wrong person. Presented with such a golden opportunity, Jon didn't hesitate for a second. He immediately saw a way to stir the pot.
Currently, Cersei wouldn't just give up after her failed assassination attempt. Ned, who was poking around King's Landing causing trouble, would likely become her next target.
If Jon could ship the Hand off to join Robert, it would achieve a "1+1 > 2" effect for their safety. Being together, surrounded by loyal Stormlands lords, would make them much harder to kill.
Conversely, once Ned left, the power vacuum in King's Landing would allow Jon to regain control.
As for the agreement with Littlefinger? Well, that depended on whether the buyer and seller could still see eye to eye.
With this in mind, Jon didn't openly support Robert as he usually might. Instead, he rubbed his chin and expressed a fabricated doubt.
"Father, are there any noble youths of appropriate age in the Stormlands? I mean... the kind suitable for a marriage alliance..."
Although Jon wanted to pack Ned into a carriage and ship him to the Stormlands immediately, being too eager would make the now-sharp Hand suspicious.
So, Jon's comment was almost an instinctive deflection.
But as soon as the words left his mouth, he realized why his subconscious had gone there.
Since Robert was planning to marry Sansa to Joffrey, it proved the Usurper wasn't a total political idiot.
If he could think of marriage alliances, it was possible he had further plans. Perhaps he intended to arrange matches for Robb or Arya with Stormlands nobles, further cementing the friendship between the two houses for the next generation.