King's Landing, Tower of the Hand.
Eddard Stark, who had yet to emerge from the grief of losing his wife, held a thick book in his hands, his face filled with an expression of disbelief.
"the lineages and histories of the great houses of the seven kingdoms"—this monumental work, which recorded the names and characteristics of nearly all the nobles in the history of Westeros, clearly stated that with the exception of the three children born to Cersei, every member of the Baratheon Family was black-haired without exception!
In other words, the three children legally born to Robert and Cersei were likely not Robert's biological offspring, but bastards produced by the Queen's adultery!
After discovering this truth, Eddard fell into a state of extreme conflict.
On one hand, he desperately wanted to tell Robert the truth, as this would quickly dismantle the Lannister influence in King's Landing and provide him with more conditions for his revenge.
It would also allow his old friend, who had been kept in the dark for years, to take advantage of his still-decent health to quickly choose another Queen from among the other nobles and sire a legitimate heir to the iron throne.
On the other hand, the honor he bore on his shoulders and his indecisive nature made it impossible for him to use this matter to threaten the lives of three underage children.
The upright and honest Eddard had disdained such petty behavior his entire life.
After long deliberation, he decided to talk to Cersei first, giving her and her children a chance at survival.
Closing the book, Eddard Stark's eyes were firm; even if his enemies were despicable and shameless, they could not make him turn toward despicability!
...Just as he stepped out of the gates of the Tower of the Hand, he ran straight into Arthas, who was strolling toward him as if taking a walk.
"Hello, Lord Hand."
The blonde youth greeted Eddard elegantly; although they were currently in a tense situation with daggers drawn, it did not prevent him from showing the other party some outward decency.
"You come at a good time, Lord Arthas."
Still wearing a perpetually solemn expression, Eddard frowned as he watched Arthas approach leisurely, a plan forming in his mind.
"I have some matters I wish to discuss with you."
"Please, speak."
Glancing at the title of the massive book held in his hand, Arthas had already guessed most of what Eddard wanted to say, but he still calmly spread his palm slightly, indicating he was all ears.
"Joffrey, Tommen, Myrcella..."
"As the uncle of these three children, have you ever had doubts about their parentage?"
Eddard's gaze was complex; though he didn't know if he should just come out and say the truth directly, he decided to test Arthas's stance first.
In his naivety, he did not consider whether his own life would be threatened, merely assuming the other party was unwilling to start a war.
The situation was already tense enough; if he were to meet with any accident in King's Landing, war would be inevitable.
Facing Eddard's cautious probing, Arthas only gave a contemptuous smile, seemingly not expecting him to be so foolish.
"My dear Lord Hand, are you trying to say that these three children are not the King's seed, but were born of incest between the Queen and my good-for-nothing brother, the King's Kingsguard Jaime Lannister, right?"
To Eddard's surprise, amidst his look of utter shock, Arthas actually admitted the fact directly.
"If I may be so bold, both you and the King are a bit too dull."
"Such a simple and clear matter, yet it took you so many years to realize it."
"You... you knew about this all along?"
Eddard's eyes widened, seemingly not expecting him to admit it so readily, nor expecting the other party to have such a completely indifferent reaction to the matter; for a moment, he was actually speechless.
"Don't be so surprised; I think almost half of the lords on the Small Council know the truth, it's just that no one is willing to be the one to stick their neck out."
"After all, questioning the royal Bloodline is a thankless task."
Shrugging very comfortably and ignoring Eddard's shocked gaze, Arthas acted as if he were merely stating a very obvious fact.
"How... how can this be..."
After murmuring blankly for a few moments, Eddard's frown deepened; he had never imagined that such a serious matter could be so insignificant in their minds.
Then, with a stern old face, he looked at the calm Arthas and questioned:
"Then are you not afraid that I will tell the King about this and have them all executed?"
"Why should I be afraid?"
Arthas showed no fear, instead leaning forward and asking in return:
"Do you really think I would care about the lives of my vicious Queen sister and her few bastards?"
"You really are too naive... haha."
After a couple of contemptuous laughs, looking at the already stunned Eddard, Arthas patted his shoulder and warned:
"I advise you to keep this matter to yourself, Lord Stark."
"Although I admire your noble character, you had better not meddle in the royal Family affairs."
"Even though I very much dislike Cersei and Joffrey, I still quite like Tommen and Myrcella; these two innocent children have personalities completely different from their mother."
"So, you must not do anything out of line..."
"Otherwise, things might develop beyond your expectations, 'hand of the king'!"
Leaving behind a few words of advice, Arthas departed nonchalantly, leaving Eddard standing alone on the spot, his expression shifting uncertainly as he pondered... "Oh, Your Majesty, you are truly so valiant!"
Inside Robert's bedchamber, this arrogant Overlord of the Seven Kingdoms was currently preoccupied with seven fallen women.
Having been unusually energetic for days, he had come up with a new way to play, which was to find a beauty from each of the Seven Kingdoms to enjoy himself with, grandly calling it "Ruling the Realm."
Under his continuous assaults, even these battle-hardened fallen women were finding it hard to cope; this fellow was like a tireless machine, having actually gone three days and three nights without sleep, doing nothing but eating, using the bathroom, and constantly engaging in fierce battles with them.
If it weren't for the fact that the seven of them could take turns serving the King, they probably would have been played to death by Robert.
"Bang!"
Just as Robert was about to reach the Peak, the door to the bedchamber was violently pushed open.
"fuck!"
Robert, having been interrupted, was about to lose his temper when he saw Eddard rush in with a grave expression; he quickly pulled up the quilt to hide his fat, not wanting his old friend to see him in such an embarrassing state.
But to his surprise, Eddard did not reprimand him, but instead frowned and drove the prostitutes out of the room.
After they had all left, he picked up the copy of "the lineages and histories of the great houses of the seven kingdoms" and spoke solemnly to Robert:
"Do you know what this is, Robert?"
Asked this, Robert carelessly took the book, and the moment he saw the title clearly, it seemed as if some unpleasant memories flashed through his mind.
He clutched his head, trying to remember, and an angry expression instantly surfaced on his face.
But at the very moment Robert was about to explode, an imperceptible faint blue light flashed in his eyes, and his face instantly calmed down again.
He sat up solemnly and gave Eddard a slightly eerie smile:
"Whatever you have to say, just say it, Ned."
"I will definitely stand by your side."
Full collection Avilable at low subscription patreon (Obito_uchiha)