Fast-Leg Joel

Evening was approaching.

Joel carried half a bottle of ale, swaying as he walked through the dim corridors of Winterfell.

He accidentally stumbled and slumped against the wall.

He muttered words like "girls" and "happy" under his breath.

A patrol of soldiers happened to pass by, though they were long accustomed to such sights.

For the past two days, Winterfell had been filled with drunken southern knights and noble lords running amok every night.

"Hey, Ser, if you're looking for a whore, you'd better get out of the castle soon!"

"In another hour, the drawbridge of Winterfell will be raised. Once that happens, no one can enter or leave without Lord Ned's command."

The last soldier to pass by Joel offered him a kind reminder.

Joel waved his hand, his eyes bleary as he said, "I know."

Once the soldiers had passed, his drunken gaze instantly cleared.

Joel rose slowly and began to make his way toward the south gate of Winterfell.

As he walked, he cursed incessantly in his heart.

"Damn it, am I the one who's crazy, or is the prince?"

"He actually wants me to assassinate Lord Ned's son!"

Every time Joel thought about how blinded by greed he had been earlier that day, he wanted to slap himself twice.

When Joffrey had approached him, Joel, who had fled from Pentos to the continent of Westeros, thought his luck had finally turned and that the prince was going to take him on as a squire.

Who would have thought the prince would ask him to find an opportunity to assassinate Bran!

Joel had been stunned on the spot.

But Joffrey had offered far too much—

One hundred Gold Dragons and a promise to recommend him to the King.

In a moment of heat, Joel took the Gold Dragons and agreed.

But after a calm afternoon, Joel touched the pouch of Gold Dragons in his pocket and muttered, "I'm afraid I'll have the life to take them, but not the life to spend them!"

"Sigh—"

He let out a soft sigh, pretended to be drunk, and slowly made his way to the courtyard of Winterfell before glancing back at the main keep, where candles were being lit.

"Is that blond prince's brain kicked by a horse?"

"Fuck, with so many people guarding the place, he actually wants me to finish the assassination within two days?"

"I'm not the Giant Bear Slayer; how could I possibly have that kind of strength!"

Joel continued to curse in his heart, heading toward the south gate without hesitation.

He decided to leave Winterfell first and then find a chance to run away tomorrow.

"Having offended the prince, I can't stay on the continent of Westeros anymore. Maybe I should just go back to Pentos and continue being a mercenary."

"Besides, that idiot prince already paid me all the Gold Dragons."

Having made up his mind, Joel clutched the Gold Dragons Joffrey had given him and abandoned the assassination mission without a shred of guilt.

As night fell, Joel mingled with a group of southern knights heading to Winter Town for some fun and slipped out of Winterfell.

Just as he was preparing to head to Winter Town for a night of pleasure, the sound of hooves came from the gate behind him.

Joel stepped aside to let them pass, seeing three riders galloping out of Winterfell.

One of them, a handsome youth with brown-black hair, was none other than Garon, who had recently risen to fame.

"The Giant Bear Slayer..."

Joel recalled the massive giant bear brought back to Winterfell yesterday, and a trace of fear couldn't help but creep into his gaze as he looked at Garon.

"Strange, it's so late. Why isn't the Giant Bear Slayer staying in Winterfell? Why is he running to Winter Town?"

"Could he be looking for fun too?"

"Don't be ridiculous. He just got engaged to the daughter of the Warden of the North. He'd have to be crazy to go to Winter Town for fun."

"I don't know about that. The Giant Bear Slayer has been the center of attention these past two days; maybe some woman is throwing herself at him."

"Heh heh..."

The group chattered and laughed, and a lewd smile couldn't help but appear on Joel's face.

He blended into the crowd and headed toward the pleasure houses of Winter Town.

The night in Winter Town was much livelier than in Winterfell.

Because of the King's arrival, the place was filled with girls and peddlers who had come to do business.

Joel pushed open a wooden door with practiced ease, and the girls inside greeted him with coquettish laughter.

The two quickly stripped off their clothes and got straight to the point.

After a bout of intense exertion, Joel lay lazily on the bed, downing the ale he had placed on the bedside table in one gulp.

"My lord, why did you bring so much money today?"

The girl lay against Joel's chest, her eyes fixed intently on the pouch of Gold Dragons he had left on the bedside table.

Joel gave the girl a pat on the backside and said nonchalantly, "This is my reward for a job well done. Go on, get me some more wine to keep the mood going!"

"I'm going to devour you completely today, or else I won't have the chance tomorrow!"

Upon hearing this, a strange look flashed in the girl's eyes.

However, she quickly giggled and stood up, walking naked to the table nearby to fetch the wine.

Standing before the table, the girl shook the empty bottle and said, "My lord, there's no more wine in my room. I'll go next door and get some!"

Joel nodded, leaned over to take a Gold Dragon from the bag at the bedside, and tossed it onto the girl's chest.

"Be quick about it, I haven't had my fill yet!"

The girl giggled as she tucked the Gold Dragon away, threw on some clothes, and turned to leave the room.

Joel leaned back against the bed, staring at the candle before him, waiting silently for the girl to return so they could resume their battle.

But after waiting for over ten minutes, the girl still had not returned.

Joel grew suspicious and muttered to himself, "Does it really take that long to get a bottle of wine?"

His long career as a mercenary made him realize that something was wrong.

He quickly put on his clothes, hung his sword at his waist, tucked the Gold Dragons into his tunic, and prepared to go out and take a look.

Joel pushed the door open, and the cold night air of The North made him shiver uncontrollably.

"Damn it..."

The road in front of the room was empty; there wasn't a soul in sight.

Moans still drifted from the surrounding rooms, making Joel feel restless and hot.

He walked a few more steps forward, but still found no trace of the girl.

Realizing something was amiss, Joel drew his longsword and quickly hid in the shadows of the buildings.

He used the dim night to grope his way forward.

But before he had gone many steps, Joel heard a flurry of rapid footsteps.

He carefully poked his head out to look and saw several soldiers from Winterfell closing in on his position.

Who are they trying to catch?

No sooner had this question popped into his mind than he noticed the girl he had just been with following behind the soldiers.

Damn it, did that idiot prince let something slip?

Are these people here to arrest me?

But I haven't even done anything yet!

A sense of dread welled up in him.

If I get caught, I won't be able to explain myself even if I had a hundred mouths.

In the eyes of these noble lords, accepting an assassination contract is a capital crime in itself!

Joel quickly retreated, intending to head to the east side of Winter Town to steal a horse and flee under the cover of night.

But on his way back, he accidentally stepped on a branch.

Snap—

The searching Winterfell soldiers immediately tensed up.

"Who's there!"

Joel didn't dare answer; he turned and ran.

"It's him, it's him!"

The girl recognized Joel by his clothes and immediately shouted at the top of her lungs.

The Winterfell soldiers swarmed forward at once.

"Stop!"

"Catch him! It must be him!"

The soldiers' voices rose one after another, and suddenly several torches were lit all around, pursuing Joel.

Joel ran forward with all his might, and relying on his knowledge of Winter Town from the past two days, he quickly reached a nearby stable.

There were indeed a few horses inside.

Joel didn't hesitate; he quickly vaulted onto a horse.

But just as he was about to leave, Garon suddenly jumped out from the side, brandishing his sword as he shouted, "Where do you think you're going!"

"Giant Bear Slayer!"

Joel was horrified and hurriedly held his sword horizontally to parry, but with a sharp "clang," the sword was knocked right out of his hand before he could react.

As luck would have it, the sword flew directly toward Garon's side.

For a moment, Garon had no choice but to tilt his head to dodge.

"Hyah!"

Seizing this opportunity, Joel immediately spurred his horse and charged out of Winter Town.

"After him!"

At this moment, Ser Rodrik also arrived on the scene, and the two men quickly mounted their horses, each taking one and giving chase without pause.