Catelyn's Disgust

"Mother?"

Seeing that Catelyn did not respond, Robb felt a bit puzzled and called out to her again in a soft voice.

The sound broke the strange atmosphere in the room.

Garon took this opportunity to stand up, his eyes calmly fixed on Lady Catelyn.

With just one glance, he noticed that the look Catelyn gave him was filled with coldness, and even disgust.

It was as if he had done something that crossed her bottom line.

"Is it because of Sansa?"

Garon was puzzled, unable to suppress his thoughts as he silently speculated.

"Could it be because Ned insisted on betrothing Sansa to me despite her opposition?"

"Is that why she is so cold toward me?"

Garon recalled the plot, and the more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

After all, in the original story, Catelyn had always hoped to marry Sansa off to the south, far away from the bitter cold of the North.

Even without the King traveling north.

Given Catelyn's personality, she would certainly have chosen a well-matched southern noble for Sansa Stark.

"But since Ned has given me his word now, he should have consulted her opinion, right?"

"With her personality, even if she opposed it, she shouldn't be this cold, or even disgusted with me."

"Could something have happened in between that I don't know about?"

Garon's gaze deepened, and a faint sense of unease stirred in his heart.

Since arriving at Winterfell, Garon had been sailing with the wind, with almost everything progressing exactly as he had envisioned.

But now, Catelyn's unexpected attitude served as a wake-up call to his complacent heart.

"Steady, I must stay steady!"

"Before the betrothal is officially set, no accidents can happen!"

"I must find a way to figure out why Catelyn is thinking this way."

Garon glanced at Robb in front of him without changing his expression, thinking to himself: "It seems I can only let Robb probe her for me."

However, Garon's small movements did not escape Catelyn's eyes.

"Hmph, you have designs on my daughter, and now you want to manipulate Robb too?"

"Theon was right, this Garon before me has ulterior motives..."

The more Catelyn thought about it, the angrier she became, and she couldn't help but snort coldly in her heart.

If it weren't for the presence of Robb and Maester Luwin, she would have already driven Garon out.

"Robb, what are you doing here?"

Catelyn forcibly suppressed her disgust for Garon and turned to ask Robb.

However, her deliberate attitude toward Garon still left Robb in a difficult position.

"Father clearly instructed Mother not to give Garon a hard time, yet Mother is targeting him like this."

"Sigh..."

Robb felt helpless; on one side was his mother, and on the other was his friend.

Caught in the middle, it wasn't appropriate to help either one.

After thinking for a moment, Robb decided to separate the two first, then tell Ned about the situation and let him make the call.

Therefore, he explained to Catelyn.

"Father arranged for me to show Garon around Winterfell, and I just happened to bring him to his quarters to see if anything was missing."

"Mother, if there is nothing else, Garon and I will head off now."

Catelyn did not answer Robb; instead, she deliberately ignored Garon, turned her head to look at Maester Luwin beside her, and instructed.

"Maester Luwin, have Lord Tyrion's room prepared as we just discussed."

"We are going to the kitchen to take a look."

"Robb, you come with me as well; it's time for Tom to take care of your beard."

"Mother..." Robb glanced at Garon and hesitated, "I still have to complete the task Father gave me. How about I go a bit later?"

"I'll just call Jon and Theon to come along."

It would have been better if Robb hadn't mentioned Jon, but the moment he did, Catelyn immediately reacted sharply.

"No!" she rejected him outright, her tone brooking no argument. "To show someone around Winterfell, any servant will do."

Catelyn cast a light, sweeping glance at Garon and continued, "I am having you come with me to teach you the etiquette for meeting the King."

"The Starks are the Wardens of the North, and etiquette is a part of our family's honor."

"Robb, we cannot be like some people who don't know their place and bring shame upon the family!"

As soon as these words were spoken, a flash of anger instantly crossed Garon's eyes.

Intelligent as he was, how could he not know that Catelyn was beating around the bush to insult him for coveting the power of the Warden of the North?

Although that was indeed the truth.

But for Catelyn to expose it so indirectly was no different than wanting to tear off the mask and confront Garon head-on.

A sharp glint flashed in Garon's eyes, and he was about to retort, but Maester Luwin, standing to the side, gave a light cough and interjected before Garon could speak.

"My Lady, we should be going!"

Fearing that Catelyn might say something else thoughtless to provoke Garon, Maester Luwin turned his head to speak to Robb.

"Robb, you should go with Lady Catelyn."

"As for Theon and the others, I will have someone notify them."

"But..."

Seeing the atmosphere becoming increasingly tense, Robb wanted to ease the situation and tried to say something more.

At this moment, Garon also calmed down.

It is not yet time to fall out with Catelyn...

Thinking this, Garon squeezed out a smile and interrupted, "Robb, you should go ahead and accompany your mother."

"I actually wanted to be alone for a while to rest for a moment anyway."

"It won't be too late to come find me after you finish your business."

Garon saw through Catelyn's intentions as clearly as a mirror.

He was already certain that Catelyn neither wanted Sansa to marry him nor wanted Robb to continue associating with him.

Rather than forcing them to stay and putting Robb in a difficult position, it was better to go with the flow and earn a favor.

But unfortunately, despite Garon's good intentions, Catelyn remained unmoved.

Seeing this, Robb knew that the relationship between the two was not something he could reconcile.

Therefore, he had no choice but to follow Catelyn's instructions, preparing to find an opportunity to tell Ned.

Robb looked at Garon apologetically, "Then you rest for a while, and I will come find you as soon as I'm done."

Garon nodded slightly in agreement.

He turned and stepped out of the room, clearing the way for the three people inside.

Catelyn took light steps, walking past Garon with an expressionless face, not even offering a greeting.

Maester Luwin, a step behind, gave a bitter smile and nodded apologetically to Garon before following closely after Catelyn.

Robb sighed inwardly, saying nothing more.

As he passed Garon, he patted him on the shoulder, signaling for Garon not to overthink it.

Then he quickened his pace to catch up.

Garon stood tall at the doorway of the bedroom, firmly etching Catelyn's retreating figure into his mind.

A fierce look flashed and vanished from his eyes.

"Catelyn has not a shred of affection for me; trying to please her is nothing but a pipe dream."

"Furthermore, she is still trying to find a way to ruin the marriage contract."

"I cannot let her continue like this!"

Garon's eyes were deep and his expression solemn, "According to what Ned said, the King will arrive in three days."

"Should I do something to divert her attention?"

In an instant, the image of Bran's broken legs flashed through Garon's mind.

"No, no!"

"It hasn't reached that point yet; I must think of other ways."

Garon wiped the image of Bran's broken legs from his mind.

Although he did not consider himself a good person, he still had his own bottom line.

Garon disdained using a child's life as a means of revenge.

Just as Garon was thinking about how to solve the problem, a raven had been perched on the castle wall since who knows when.

It slowly turned its head, its eyes rotating along with it, as if it were overlooking the entirety of Winterfell.

Suddenly.

The raven noticed Garon, who was lost in thought, and tilted its head slightly, as if it were observing something.

A moment later, the crow flapped its wings and took flight.

In the blink of an eye, it landed on a wooden rack not far in front of Garon.

"Caw, caw..."

Accompanied by a few caws, Garon, startled awake, instinctively looked up toward the source of the sound.

In an instant, his eyes met those of the crow.

A cold consciousness surged through his gaze and poured into Garon's body.

A sudden transformation occurred.