I Demand Trial by Combat!

Throne Room.

Tywin sat upon the Iron Throne, having summoned over a hundred noble lords from the court.

This was serious.

A Lannister soldier knelt in the center of the hall. Beside him lay Gillian on a stretcher, both of them covered in blood and wounds.

The noble lords on either side looked troubled, each holding different opinions on the attack against the Hand of the King's younger brother.

At this point, they could only hope that the King and the Lord Hand would not lose their minds when they clashed.

Varys frowned slightly and found an opportunity to ask from within the crowd, "Lord Hand, when will His Majesty arrive?"

Just then, a middle-aged maester hurried into the hall and whispered something into Tywin's ear.

Tywin nodded faintly and said in a deep voice, "His Majesty is taking his afternoon nap. I will handle this matter in full."

Varys lowered his head and withdrew.

With the King absent, the Hand of the King acted in his stead. No one could find fault with that.

"It's over, it's over."

Lord Owen, also among the crowd, anxiously paced in circles. He could already imagine the unfair treatment the prince would suffer without the King present.

This man was quite loyal. He believed Daeren had done nothing wrong.

Time passed second by second.

Tywin swept his gaze around the hall and called out, "Where are the Kingsguard? Was someone not sent to summon Prince Daeren?"

Naturally, no one answered.

Of the seven Kingsguard, one lay bedridden awaiting death, three were far away on Dragonstone, and three remained at the King's side.

"They're here..."

"Prince Daeren has arrived with the White Bull and Barristan..."

Suddenly, the silent hall came alive, and the crowd automatically parted to form a path.

Before the open doors of the hall.

Daeren's figure slowly appeared. He stepped over the black stone stairs outside and entered the hall one step at a time.

His expression remained calm, his posture as upright as ever, as though the accusations had not affected him in the slightest.

Three meters behind him, Ser Gerold and Ser Barristan followed at his left and right, their presence like an impassable high wall and an unstoppable spear.

The noble lords stared intently at the young face of the man at the front. Their discussions gradually shifted away from the accusations and the two Kingsguard to Daeren himself.

Before today, many only knew that the King favored his second son. They had never seen anything particularly remarkable about the King's second son.

Daeren walked neither hurriedly nor slowly. Ignoring the two people lying in the center of the hall, he headed straight beneath the Iron Throne.

"That is far enough, Your Highness."

Tywin's gaze sharpened as he called out in a low voice.

He did not have the Kingsguard protecting him. Before the Iron Throne stood only a squad of Lannister soldiers, as fragile as paper before two peak knights who possessed Life Force.

Daeren stopped before the forest of swords beneath the Iron Throne and tilted his head slightly. "May I ask why the Lord Hand summoned me?"

"Someone has accused you of malicious assault."

Tywin's face was stern, like that of a majestic lion.

Daeren glanced around and fixed his gaze upon the two people in the center of the hall. "You mean them?"

"That's right!"

Confident, Tywin recounted the incident point by point and said in a deep voice, "You ordered Ser Jon Darry to kill three innocent Lannister soldiers, cripple five more, and severely wound Gillian Lannister. Someone can testify that all of this is true."

Daeren treated the words as though they had gone in one ear and out the other. "Lord Hand, did you not ask what caused this?"

His teacher really knew how to pin labels on people.

If the charges were established, even he would not be able to get away easily.

This was no surprise. There had been precedents for similar incidents.

The last one dated back to the Tourney at Ashford Meadow in 209 AC, along with the Trial of Seven that became known throughout the Seven Kingdoms.

His great-grandfather Aegon V's second brother, "Maelys" Aegon, bullied commoners and was stopped by Ser Duncan, then still a wandering knight. Duncan even knocked out several of his teeth.

Soldiers captured Ser Duncan, but Aegon, who had concealed his identity, revealed who he was and temporarily saved Ser Duncan.

What followed was Aegon's frenzied retaliation against Ser Duncan.

Aegon framed him, then feared Duncan's size and strength, so he demanded a Trial of Seven.

A brutal battle began over a conflict between a prince and a wandering knight.

To prove innocence and so-called honor, a Targaryen died in that battle—the Iron Throne's heir, Baelor Breakspear, who had been praised as the one most likely to restore the family's glory.

Even defending a wandering knight's innocence had come at such a cost.

An accusation from a Lannister would undoubtedly be even harder to settle.

Seeing his student so composed, Tywin changed targets. "Soldier, why did the conflict occur?"

"My lord, following your orders, we went to the warehouse to collect materials for repairing the port. Gillian only exchanged a single sentence with Prince Daeren before the other side attacked us."

The Lannister soldier shakily raised his hand and pointed at the spirited young prince.

Uproar!

The noble lords erupted in alarm, looking at the figure before the Iron Throne as they whispered among themselves.

Had Prince Daeren inherited the King's mad blood, attacking and injuring people over a mere disagreement?

Tywin nodded to himself and asked, "Your Highness, what defense do you have?"

Daeren ignored the discussions behind him and replied calmly, "My lord, my father approved the construction of a palace for me. Did you not know?"

Tywin said, "I knew, but the two matters are unrelated."

It was a decisive denial.

Daeren doubted him for a moment, wondering whether the man had gone senile.

At the same time, several Grand Ministers within the crowd darkened their faces.

"The situation is very unfavorable."

Varys knitted his brows as he considered the causes and consequences.

The King had ordered Daeren's palace built, the Lord Hand had approved it, and Lord Owen was carrying it out.

But between the order and its execution lay the Small Council's planning.

Under the Small Council's arrangements, the prince chose to take materials sealed within the royal treasury.

The Lord Hand had not participated in the discussion, yet at the same time approved Gillian's request for materials to repair the port.

The two matters had cleverly become the spark for the conflict.

So long as the Lord Hand insisted that he knew nothing of the Small Council's plans, he could absolve himself of responsibility and, under the premise of a misunderstanding, convict the prince of accidental killing and injury.

The crime would not warrant death, but it would at least mean the loss of his lands and exile.

"He doesn't want to tear things apart with me. Is he planning to wait until I yield?"

Daeren's thoughts turned as he considered a deeper conspiracy.

The other side had deliberately sent Gillian here to be beaten, luring him into the trap, cutting away his wings, and then making him beg for mercy.

"Heh heh."

Daeren suddenly laughed.

Tywin frowned and demanded, "The victims are lying here. What is so funny?"

The laugh brimmed with disdain and contempt, making him feel that his authority had been challenged.

"My lord, do you think you can judge me?"

Daeren's expression turned cold. He then faced the hundred or so noble lords in the hall and first declared his integrity. "The basis of law is not right or wrong, but a person's intent at the instant the law is broken. Now, someone with malicious intent has distorted the nature of the matter and laid a trap before me that I was bound to stumble into."

"You refuse to accept the verdict?"

Sensing that the situation was slipping somewhat out of control, Tywin spoke to uphold the judgment.

"No! The result of the judgment is plain for all to see."

Daeren suddenly turned back, raising his hand to point at the teacher who had painstakingly instructed him. He did not yield an inch. "But I am Daeren Targaryen. I accept no one's judgment unless the Seven Who Are One bear witness."

Tywin rose abruptly to his feet and snapped, "Daeren Targaryen, do you know what you are saying?"

"I demand Trial by Combat!"

With the pride of True Dragon Bloodline, Daeren spoke each word distinctly. "If you want me to confess and submit to punishment, then send someone to their death."