Formulating a Plan

Catelyn accompanied Cersei and the others as they stepped into the inner ward.

The others who had been waiting to welcome the king also dispersed in twos and threes, beginning to busy themselves.

Except for Garon and Jon.

Just as Catelyn cold-shouldered the bastard, Garon was likewise ignored by her.

However, Maester Luwin told Jon a piece of good news as he was leaving.

Benjen Stark would be returning today.

By the afternoon at the earliest, or by evening at the latest.

Jon became excited immediately, pouring out his heart to Garon about his relationship with Benjen.

Garon waited with him at the castle gate, and seeing him so happy, asked abruptly, "Jon, so do you intend to join the Night's Watch?"

Jon froze; if this were before, he might have admitted it directly.

After all, he had always believed that a bastard had nowhere else to go but to take the black.

But after spending these past few days with Garon, Jon realized that there were more meaningful ways to live.

Thus, he hesitated.

Seeing him like this, Garon understood immediately.

He stepped forward, patted Jon on the shoulder, and extended an invitation.

"Jon, if you haven't decided where to go, why not come visit Deepwood Motte with me after my betrothal is concluded?"

"The Wall and the Night's Watch will always be there; if you want to go, you can go at any time."

Jon's eyes lit up, but he soon stammered, "But Lord Ned, he..."

Seeing him like this, Garon knew he was already tempted and laughed, "Don't worry, I will go and plead with Lord Ned; I imagine he will agree."

Hearing this, Jon reached out his palm to Garon and smiled, "It's a deal!"

Garon likewise reached out to slap his hand in agreement, "It's a deal!"

Just then, a grey steed galloped over from Winter Town.

The rider atop it wore a black cloak, and after a brief look, Jon confirmed it was Benjen Stark.

"Uncle Benjen!"

Jon shouted excitedly.

In a few short moments, Benjen rode up before him, his face full of weariness.

However, the moment he saw Jon, he laughed heartily, "Jon, did you come specifically to welcome me?"

He dismounted and gave Jon a warm hug.

"Yes, Maester Luwin told me the news that you were returning today," Jon released Benjen and explained with a smile, "I had nothing to do, so I was waiting for you with Garon."

"Oh, right, Uncle Benjen, this is Garon, Garon Glover!"

Benjen turned his head, curious, "Glover? Are you Galbart's son?"

Seeing Garon nod with a smile, he asked again, "How is Galbart doing lately? I heard last time that his old wounds had flared up again."

Garon shook his head with a look of sorrow and said, "My father passed away half a year ago due to his injuries flaring up!"

Benjen's expression stiffened; he clearly had not expected Galbart to have passed away so suddenly.

He sighed slightly, and finding it inappropriate to say more, he changed the subject, "My apologies, I must go see Ned first. Jon, come with me."

"Garon, we shall talk again tonight."

Jon and Garon nodded in agreement.

Garon stood where he was, watching Jon and Benjen depart, the smile on his face fading bit by bit.

"The King has arrived, and the curtain of the plot has already been raised."

"Just in case, the backup plan should also be initiated..."

Garon took a deep look in the direction of the Broken Tower; before long, that would become the venue for Cersei and Jaime's liaison.

And he intended to send someone over to observe it.

After careful consideration, Garon turned and walked toward the guardroom of Winterfell, where his five Deepwood Motte guards were stationed.

About half an hour later.

Garon found his guard captain, Roger, who was happily bragging and chatting with the soldiers of Winterfell.

"Master Roger!"

Garon stood outside and called out Roger's name with a smile.

Roger and the other four Deepwood Motte soldiers heard him and immediately walked over quickly.

"Lord Garon, why have you come here?"

"Did you not go with Lord Ned to accompany the King?"

Garon shook his head slightly. He glanced at the soldiers who were still loudly gossiping about the Lannisters, then lowered his voice.

"This isn't the place to talk. Come with me!"

Roger was a bit confused, but he agreed nonetheless.

After Garon instructed the remaining four soldiers not to cause any trouble, he led Roger back to his own bedchamber.

As they neared the room, the two of them ran into a group of arrogant Lannister knights.

Garon and Roger kept a low profile, stepping aside to let them pass first.

Once the Lannister knights had left, Garon led Roger into his room.

He gently pulled the door shut, blocking out the noise from outside.

"Master Roger, please wait for me a moment."

Roger nodded, curiously looking around Garon's room, a hint of confusion in his eyes.

He didn't know why Garon had called him over so secretively.

Garon didn't explain immediately; he walked straight to the table in the room, sat down, and took out paper and a quill.

After a moment of thought, he wrote a line on the paper with the quill.

[Meet at the Broken Tower tomorrow morning. This is of great importance; do not inform anyone else. Balon Greyjoy!]

Garon deliberated carefully for a moment, then folded the paper and stood up to look at Roger.

"Master Roger, can I trust you?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Roger's previously casual expression turned instantly solemn.

Clearly, he realized that Garon must have something major for him to do.

But Roger didn't hesitate in the slightest, his face grave as he said, "Lord Garon, I am at your command!"

Garon nodded; he could naturally trust Roger.

Roger had been the most trusted subordinate of Garon's father, Galbart, and had even served as Garon's sword-fighting instructor when he was young.

It could be said that Roger had watched Garon grow up.

After Galbart passed away from illness, he had sworn his allegiance to Garon once more, making him the person Garon trusted most at present.

The reason Garon asked this was to remind Roger that the matter at hand was no small thing.

Seeing that Roger understood his meaning, Garon walked to his side, handed him the note, and whispered.

"Tonight, Lord Ned will host a banquet for the King, and everyone will attend."

"At that time, I need you to slip this letter into Theon Greyjoy's room without anyone noticing."

Roger quickly took the note and, without even looking at the contents, tucked it into his tunic.

Fearing he might let something slip, Garon cautioned him again, "Remember, do not let a single soul discover you!"

Roger nodded heavily, "I understand, Lord Garon!"

Garon smiled and nodded, then sent Roger on his way.

"The wind is rising..."

Garon watched Roger's retreating back, murmuring to himself.

Ever since Sansa told him that Catelyn was preparing to find an opportunity to arrange a marriage with the King, a sense of crisis had been lingering in Garon's heart.

He vaguely felt that tonight's banquet would be anything but peaceful.

Catelyn would definitely use this opportunity to stir up trouble!

Rather than waiting passively, it was better to take the initiative.

If something went wrong tonight, Garon would simply flip the entire table—

He wanted to lure Theon into discovering the affair between Jaime and Cersei!

Theon was not Bran; if he stumbled upon the scandalous deeds of the Lannister siblings, there would only be two possible outcomes.

Either he would be killed by Jaime, in which case Ned would surely search the entire city for the sake of his ward's death.

Winterfell was not King's Landing. With Ned's control over Winterfell, Garon only needed to provide a little guidance to point the finger at Jaime and Cersei, and the marriage proposal would be doomed to fail.

Or, if Theon survived, given his personality and his desire to avoid Lannister retaliation, he would have no choice but to tell Ned about the siblings' scandal, and Jaime and Cersei would be killed directly by a furious Robert.

As for Theon, he would become a mortal enemy of the Lannisters, and Tywin would surely be determined to kill him.

Regardless of the result, Garon would always remain in an invincible position.

He could continue to pursue the marriage with Sansa while using the Lannisters' hands to kill Theon—it was a plan that killed two birds with one stone.

The only worry was the chain reaction caused by changing the plot.

But—

There is no turning back once the arrow is loosed!

Garon was determined to marry Sansa, and whoever stood in his way would have to die!

He silently reviewed the plan and felt there were no issues.

Just as he turned to head back into his room, a cynical voice came from his side.

"Hey, do you know where the brothel is?"