Gathering Evidence

Beside the First Keep, beneath the Broken Tower.

Because of the effort to carry Bran, the ground was a muddy mess, making it impossible to identify the exact spot where he had fallen.

Garon raised his oil lamp to look around, then completely gave up on finding any clues here.

"Come on, let's go check the Broken Tower!"

Jon naturally couldn't see anything either, so he could only follow blankly behind Garon.

A moment later, the two figures appeared on the first floor of the Broken Tower.

Because the top of the tower had never been repaired, very few people ever came here.

Even the last time Jon had accompanied Garon, they had stopped at the base of the tower.

Therefore, the interior of the Broken Tower was cluttered and damp.

Coupled with the dim light of dusk, the oil lamps in their hands could only illuminate a small area, and one could easily slip on the moss-covered stone steps if not careful.

"Watch your step, Garon!"

Jon held his oil lamp, preparing to step onto the stairs to head up.

But at that moment, Garon stopped him: "Wait!"

"What is it?" Jon asked, puzzled, as he pulled his leg back and took a step away.

Garon held his oil lamp close to the moss-covered stone steps and began to observe them carefully.

Jon was curious as well and couldn't help but lean in.

Yet, after staring for a long time, he still found nothing.

"What are you looking at?"

In the end, he couldn't help but ask.

Garon pointed at the stone steps and said, "Jon, look at the marks on the moss. Don't they look like footprints?"

"Hmm?" Jon leaned in skeptically. "Are there marks? I don't see anything."

Garon traced a circle in the air above the step with his hand. "Right here, take a look!"

Jon looked in the direction Garon indicated and indeed faintly discovered some marks on the stone. After staring for a while, they really did look like footprints, just as Garon had said.

"Indeed, they do look a bit like footprints."

"But even though this place is remote, it wouldn't be strange for others to have come here, right?"

Garon nodded. "True, but bloodstains wouldn't be normal, would they?"

He raised the oil lamp slightly higher and pointed at the steps. "Jon, look there!"

Three steps up from the ground, a drop of dried blood was clearly visible.

Jon became instantly agitated. "Could it be that someone really wanted to kill Bran?"

"But Bran is just a child. Who would hold a grudge against a child?"

Garon, who knew the answer, did not respond to Jon's question, but said cryptically, "Who knows? Isn't that the reason we came here to investigate?"

"Let's go, let's head up and take a look! Watch every single step!"

The two carried their oil lamps, climbing slowly up the stairs of the Broken Tower, keeping a constant watch on the condition of every step.

Soon, they made a new discovery—a dried, milky-white, unidentified substance that gave off a strange odor.

"What is this?"

Jon had never had sexual relations, so he naturally didn't know what the thing before him represented.

But Garon, who had been nearly married in his past life, was certainly no stranger to dried seminal fluid.

However, given his current persona, he couldn't just say it out loud.

Garon shook his head slightly. "I'm not sure either. We can collect some and let Maester Luwin take a look!"

Jon immediately said, "Wait for me, I'll go out and find a box."

With that, Jon ran outside with his oil lamp.

Garon stood in place with a somber expression, staring at the winding stairs as he pondered silently.

The presence of semen means Jaime and Cersei were definitely here.

But what about this blood?

And I haven't seen Theon yet. Could he have already been killed by Jaime?

Are these bloodstains left by Theon?

But Garon quickly shook his head, dismissing the thought. Theon definitely isn't dead yet, or Ned would have said something by now.

Could he have really struck a deal with Jaime?

But would Jaime let him go?

Garon's expression was deeply puzzled; he couldn't figure out how Jaime could possibly let Theon go after Theon had caught him and Cersei in the act.

One must understand that the identities of Jaime and his sister are extraordinary; whoever discovers their affair faces only one fate: death.

Jon Arryn was like this, and so was Ned Stark.

If they did not kill those who discovered their affair, then it would be the turn of the entire House Lannister to be wiped out.

In the original plot, the reason House Lannister had no cards left to play after Tywin died was precisely because the affair between Cersei and Jaime pushed away everyone who wanted to form an alliance with them.

The siblings challenged the world!

Neither of them was willing to separate to marry into other houses, and in the end, House Lannister was left to fight alone, surrounded by enemies on all sides.

Their downfall had long been destined.

If the two siblings had only listened to Tywin's arrangements, they would never have ended up like this.

But then again, if Jaime and Cersei had listened to Tywin, they wouldn't be who they are.

Just as Garon was speculating on how Jaime managed to make Theon keep the secret, Jon hurried back, holding a wooden box.

He drew the dagger from his waist and carefully pried up the moss stained with blood and white solids, placing them into the box.

"Let's go, let's go back up and take another look!"

Garon led Jon to continue forward; every few distances along the hundreds of steps, they discovered more blood and white solids.

"I have to say, Jaime and Cersei really know how to play!"

"To go all the way down such a long stone staircase, Jaime's stamina is truly extraordinary!"

Walking along the way, Garon couldn't help but admire Jaime and Cersei in his heart.

The two walked and stopped, taking nearly an hour before finally reaching the top of the Broken Tower.

Jon held the oil lamp in one hand and the wooden box in the other, saying, "This is the highest point we can reach; anything further up is the tower top that was struck by lightning and never repaired."

Garon nodded, also raising his oil lamp, and said, "Mm, let's go in and take a look."

Upon entering the final room, the two looked around and found the environment chaotic, with footprints everywhere on the floor.

They were most concentrated near the window.

Garon knew that a conflict must have occurred here between several people, ultimately leading to Bran falling from the tower.

He raised the oil lamp and approached, and sure enough, he discovered a few more drops of blood beside the window.

Garon leaned his head out to look outside the window; it was pitch black beneath the Broken Tower, and he couldn't see anything clearly, though the Raven's Nest not far away caught his eye for a moment.

"It seems this is the primary scene of the incident!"

Knowing the result, Garon could naturally deduce the cause with ease.

"Judging by the footprints on the ground, there were at least three or more people here."

"And one of them was Bran."

Garon turned his head to explain to Jon, "The extra bloodstains on the ground tell us that Bran must have had a dispute with them; I suspect Bran was pushed down by them!"

"What?" Jon was shocked, hurriedly asking, "Who are they?"

Garon shook his head, "I'm not sure, that depends on whether Robb has found anything!"

"Let's go, let's head back to meet up with Robb, and we can have Maester Luwin examine what we've found along the way."

Jon nodded, while also casting an angry look at the room, shouting furiously.

"Don't let me find out who harmed Bran, or I will make them pay in blood!"

"You will, I promise you will get your wish!"

Under the dim oil lamp, the corners of Garon's mouth curled up with a meaningful smile.

At the same time, Cersei and Jaime, who were enjoying dinner, also learned that Robert had arranged for people to investigate Bran's fall from the tower.