"Wine!"
King Robert sat atop his horse and roared at the top of his lungs, "Damn it, can't you see my wineskin is empty?"
His squire, Lancel Lannister, hurriedly changed it for a fresh skin and handed it to the king.
Robert gulped down a large mouthful, then once again glared at the squire and cursed, "Damn it, are you blind? Help me down!
"You Lannisters never give me a moment's peace!"
Lancel lowered his head. He did not help the king down. Instead, in the blind spot beyond everyone's sight, he handed out the dagger in his hand and stabbed it hard into the horse's rump.
The warhorse was suddenly attacked. It let out a shrill neigh and, startled, kicked off into a wild run.
King Robert, still mounted, was jolted for dozens of meters before being thrown through the air, crashing straight into a rock on a slope.
Blood splattered. Torn flesh twitched.
Robert's head jerked up violently, his eyes bulging, his tongue lolling out for a long stretch. He could not even scream. Only after a long while did his head droop low, his hands and feet twitching once.
Then he fell unconscious.
Maegor's Holdfast.
"How is His Grace?"
"Damn it, who let Robert go hunting? Did none of you know how fat he has become?"
"You must save His Grace!"
Queen Cersei screamed sharply, her face covered in grief-stricken tears.
Anyone who did not know better might have thought this queen and King Robert were deeply in love.
Lord Eddard and Renly Baratheon could not help but exchange glances.
Neither of them had expected the king's fall from his horse to happen right under their noses.
Outside the door, the atmosphere was heavy and oppressive.
Only when Grand Maester Pycelle came out with both hands covered in blood did his expression turn sorrowful.
Prince Joffrey, who had not appeared before the public for some time, immediately grabbed him. Sobbing, he seized the maester by the collar and shouted, "How is Father?"
Pycelle's face was drained of color. For a moment, he did not know what to say.
"Joffrey, do not be rude to the Grand Maester!"
The queen turned and stopped her son's impulsiveness.
"How is Robert? Are his wounds serious?"
"I have done all I can."
Grand Maester Pycelle sighed and shook his head.
"By the gods, His Grace's injuries are too severe. He is wounded almost everywhere.
"The worst of it is that he also broke several ribs. One of the broken bones pierced into his organs…"
With the medical conditions of Westeros, an injury like this was basically beyond saving.
Renly's gaze flickered when he heard this.
"Then can His Grace still be saved?"
Grand Maester Pycelle hunched his back, as if the chain around his neck was weighing him down beyond endurance.
"Only if the gods themselves show mercy."
Upon hearing this, Lord Eddard's pupils abruptly contracted. Then, as though all strength had left him, he fell seated on the ground and murmured, "This is impossible!"
Cersei's eyes, in an unguarded instant, flashed with a hint of triumph and venom.
…
The hearth in the king's bedchamber burned fiercely. A gloomy red glow filled the room, making it feel strange and terrifying.
Robert lay beneath a blue woolen blanket, staring blankly at the ceiling. It was unclear whether he was still conscious.
Lord Eddard walked to the bedside and lifted the blanket.
The king's entire body was covered in wounds. Though medicinal powder had been sprinkled on them and they had been bandaged, it had no real effect. Blood seeped through and dyed the gauze red.
"Ned, is that you?"
King Robert suddenly spoke.
"It is me. Your brother Renly is here too."
Eddard asked with concern, "Robert, how do you feel now?"
"Afraid I won't live. Hah… to be thrown by a horse like this. What a disgrace!"
Robert pointed at the table.
"Quickly. Before I die, I want to make my will and set my affairs in order…"
Lord Eddard took a sheet of parchment and spread it flat over his knee, holding a quill in hand.
"Your Grace, you may speak."
"The following is the will of Robert the First of House Baratheon, King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, ruler of the Seven Kingdoms… damn it, put all those long, stinking titles in."
Robert took a weak breath.
"Before the old gods and the new, I hereby appoint the Warden of the North, Lord of Winterfell, Eddard Stark, as Regent of the Realm and Protector of the Realm. Upon my death, he shall rule in my stead until my eldest son Joffrey comes of age…"
Lord Eddard's quill stopped there.
The bastard Joffrey was clearly not the lawful heir to the throne.
In his heart, Stannis Baratheon of Dragonstone was Robert's true heir.
And so Eddard changed Robert's words from "Joffrey" to "lawful heir."
"That is enough. You know how to write the rest."
Robert struggled as he spoke.
Renly immediately looked uncomfortable. Though he had known Robert would give the regency to Lord Eddard, the fact that his elder brother had not even mentioned him in the will was perhaps a little excessive.
"Brother, what about me? Is there anything you want me to do?" Renly asked carefully.
"You?"
Robert rolled his eyes with difficulty, as though he knew what his younger brother was thinking.
"Go back and be your Lord of Storm's End properly."
Then he snapped irritably, "Do not even think about stealing little Joff's seat. Otherwise, I will not spare you even from hell!"
In front of Lord Eddard, Renly could only put on a helpless, bitter expression.
"Rest assured, Your Grace. I will obey your will."
But in his heart, he was already cursing furiously.
Queen Cersei's chambers.
The door closed. The guards withdrew.
Only Queen Cersei, the Kingslayer Jaime, and the Imp Tyrion, who had just been rescued from the dungeon by Jaime, remained there.
The three young lions of House Lannister had gathered here.
"Hahahaha!"
Cersei could no longer hold back the wild joy in her heart. Her voice carried a trace of madness.
"After all these years, I finally killed him!
"All those years of coldness. All those years of humiliation.
"On the first night I married him, I gave myself to that man with such expectation, but I never imagined that what he whispered in my ear was the name of that whore Lyanna Stark.
"That bastard deserved to die!"
Jaime stood silently at the side, saying nothing.
Tyrion looked at this madwoman and could not help but feel speechless.
"My dear sister, was it not just one wrong name?
"Perhaps King Robert's eyesight was bad and he mistook you for someone else.
"After all, he was your husband. Even if you are not sad, there is no need to be this happy, is there?"
"Why should I not be happy? That fat pig is finally dead. I finally killed him!"
Cersei saw that her younger brother still dared to talk back and could not help but fly into a rage.
"Shut your mouth! If not for you, would we have had to turn against the king so soon?"
Tyrion retorted at once, "Because of me? It was because of your precious son Joffrey, was it not? If he had not assaulted and murdered Lady Darry, would I have suffered such an unjust accusation? Would I have been tormented by Eddard Stark like this?"
"You!"
"What 'you'?"
"You bastard!"
"You brainless fool!"
…
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🏰🩸 GAME OF THRONES: SECRETS BENEATH THE DREADFORT
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🚨 SOMETHING IS BURIED BENEATH THE DREADFORT...
And perhaps it was buried for a reason.
The North is a land of old blood, older grudges, and secrets hidden beneath snow and stone.
But few places inspire more fear than...
The Dreadfort.
30+ chapters ahead are already available.
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🩸 THE DREADFORT HIDES MORE THAN BONES
🏰 Dark northern secrets
⚔️ Political intrigue
🐺 Westerosi power struggles
🩸 Bloodlines & betrayal
❄️ The brutal North
👑 Ambition & survival
💀 Mysteries best left forgotten
The North remembers.
But the Dreadfort?
🩸 The Dreadfort hides.
🔥 30+ CHAPTERS AHEAD.
👉 Go beneath the Dreadfort before the public readers reach the door.
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⚠️ The more Power Stones this novel receives, the greater its release priority!
❄️ Winter may be coming. The secrets are already here.