Evidence

Beside First Keep, beneath Broken Tower.

Because Bran had been carried away, the ground was a muddy mess, and it was impossible to tell where he had fallen.

Garon raised his oil lamp and looked around, then gave up completely on finding clues here.

"Come on. Let's check out Broken Tower!"

Jon naturally couldn't make anything out either, so he could only follow Garon in confusion.

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

Because the tower's roof had never been repaired, hardly anyone ever came to Broken Tower.

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

So the inside of Broken Tower was messy and damp.

On top of that, the sky was darkening, and the oil lamps in their hands could illuminate only a small area. One careless step could send them slipping on the moss-covered stone stairs.

"Careful, Garon!"

Holding his oil lamp, Jon was about to step onto the stairs and climb up.

But Garon stopped him. "Wait!"

"What is it?" Jon asked, puzzled. He lowered his leg and stepped back.

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

Jon was curious, too, and moved closer.

But after looking for a long time, he still couldn't see anything.

"What are you looking at?"

At last, he couldn't help asking.

Garon pointed at the steps. "Jon, do those marks on the moss look like footprints to you?"

"Hm?" Jon leaned closer, puzzled. "Are there marks? I don't see any."

Garon traced a circle in the air above the step. "Here. Take a look!"

Jon looked where Garon pointed and did indeed make out faint marks on the steps. After staring at them for a while, they really did look like footprints, just as Garon had said.

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

"But even though this place is secluded, it wouldn't be strange if someone else had come here, would it?"

Garon nodded. "That's true. But bloodstains are a different matter."

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

On the third step from the ground, a dried drop of blood was clearly visible.

Jon was instantly excited. "Does that mean someone really did try to kill Bran?"

"But Bran's just a child. Who would have a grudge against a child?"

Garon knew the answer, but didn't respond to Jon's question. Instead, he said cryptically, "Who knows? Isn't that why we came here to investigate?"

"Come on, let's go up and take a look! Pay attention to every step!"

Holding their oil lamps, the two of them slowly climbed the stone stairs in Broken Tower, carefully examining each step.

Before long, they made another discovery: an unknown, dried, milky-white substance with a strange smell.

"What is this?"

Jon had never had sex, so he naturally had no idea what the substance in front of them meant.

But Garon had nearly been married in his previous life, so he was no stranger to dried bodily fluids and semen stains.

Still, given his current persona, he couldn't say that outright.

Garon shook his head slightly. "I'm not sure either. We can collect some and have Maester Luwin examine it."

Jon immediately said, "Wait here. I'll go find a box."

With that, Jon hurried outside, carrying his oil lamp.

Garon stood where he was, his expression distant as he gazed at the stone stairs winding upward, lost in thought.

Semen stains meant Jaime and Cersei had definitely been here.

What was the blood from?

And he hadn't seen Theon just now. Had Jaime already killed him?

Were these Theon's bloodstains?

But Garon quickly shook his head, rejecting the idea. Theon definitely wasn't dead yet. Otherwise, Ned would have said so.

Could he really have struck a deal with Jaime?

But would Jaime let him go?

Garon looked deeply puzzled. He couldn't imagine how Jaime could have let Theon go after Theon caught him with Cersei.

Jaime and Cersei had special status. Anyone who discovered their affair was doomed.

That had been true of Jon Arryn, and it was true of Ned Stark, too.

If they didn't kill the people who discovered their affair, the entire Lannister family would be wiped out instead.

In the original story, the reason House Lannister had no cards left to play after Tywin's death was Cersei and Jaime's affair. It drove away everyone who might have wanted to ally with them.

The twins' incestuous affair defied convention!

Neither of them was willing to separate and marry into another family. In the end, House Lannister was left to fight alone, surrounded by enemies.

Its fate had long been sealed.

If the twins had followed Tywin's arrangements, things would never have come to this.

Then again, if Jaime and Cersei had listened to Tywin, they wouldn't have been who they were.

Just as Garon was wondering how Jaime had managed to make Theon keep quiet, Jon hurried back with a wooden box in his hand.

He drew the dagger from his belt and carefully scraped up the moss bearing the bloodstains and white substance, placing it in the box.

"Come on, let's keep going!"

Garon led Jon farther up. Along the hundreds of steps, they found blood and white substance at intervals.

"Jaime and Cersei certainly liked to get adventurous."

"To go all the way along a staircase this long—Jaime really does have incredible stamina!"

As they made their way up, Garon couldn't help admiring Jaime and Cersei.

The two of them stopped and started along the way. It took them nearly an hour to reach the top of Broken Tower.

Jon held an oil lamp in one hand and the wooden box in the other. "This is as high as we can go. Above us is the tower roof, which was struck by lightning and never repaired."

Garon nodded and raised his own oil lamp. "Right. Let's take a look inside."

When they entered the last room, they looked around and found it in disarray, with footprints scattered all over the floor.

There were especially many near the window.

Garon knew that the people involved must have clashed here, eventually causing Bran to fall from the tower.

He raised his oil lamp and went over. Sure enough, he found a few more drops of blood beside the window.

Garon leaned out and looked below. The area beneath Broken Tower was shrouded in darkness, and he couldn't make anything out. But he glanced a few times at Raven's Nest in the distance.

"Looks like this is where it all happened."

Garon already knew the outcome, so naturally he could easily deduce what had happened.

"Judging by the footprints on the floor, at least three people were here."

"Bran was one of them."

Garon turned to Jon and explained, "The extra bloodstains on the floor tell us that Bran must have argued with them. My guess is that they pushed him."

"What?" Jon was shocked. He hurriedly pressed, "Who were they?"

Garon shook his head. "I don't know. We'll have to see if Robb has found anything."

"Come on. Let's go back and meet up with Robb, and have Maester Luwin identify what we found."

Jon nodded, then cast an angry glance around the room and said furiously,

"If I find out who tried to kill Bran, I'll make them pay in blood!"

"You will. I promise you'll get your wish."

In the dim lamplight, the corners of Garon's mouth lifted in a meaningful smile.

Meanwhile, Cersei and Jaime, who were enjoying dinner, had also learned that Robert had sent people to investigate Bran's fall from the tower.