Why Was the Son of the Beach Throwing His Weight Around?

Roose Bolton believed Jon and Robb's "double act" had been so effective because Jon carried the status of an "enforcer."

As long as that status was shattered, he would lose all support for anything he did afterward.

Ramsay listened closely and finally understood what Roose Bolton meant. His face lit up as he said:

"I understand, Father. You want me to find a way to provoke him!"

"That's right. Do you know how?"

"Yes!" Ramsay nodded vigorously.

He was a bastard himself, so he understood better than anyone what bastards cared about.

When the time came, he only needed to seize on Jon's status as a bastard and mock him mercilessly.

In truth, even bastards had their own hierarchy of contempt.

If one's mother was of noble birth, then the bastard was more noble as well.

A bastard like Jon, who did not even know who his mother was, stood almost at the very bottom of that hierarchy.

Thus, over the next few days, the Northern army's camp settled into an "abnormal normality."

All the soldiers behaved themselves and did not harass the locals.

There was not even any friction among them.

This made Jon feel that something was very, very wrong.

"Jon, are these lords scared?" Theon stood with Jon atop the city wall, looking at the vast camp outside.

"Scared? I'd say a big fish is about to take the bait. This is the calm before the storm."

Jon knew that someone was about to set him up.

Their target was likely the status of "enforcer" that Robb had given him.

Seeing him say this, Theon clearly became excited.

"So what are you going to do?"

"Do you know trial by combat?"

"Huh?!"

That day, Jon was patrolling as usual.

Suddenly, someone ran over to report that House Bolton's troops and Harras's troops had gotten into a conflict.

The two sides had already come to blows.

Jon knew this was a trap Roose Bolton had laid for him, so he quietly said to Theon:

"Theon, go bring Robb here. Tell him I'm going to kill someone in a moment."

"Jon... you?"

Theon came from the Iron Islands, whose people called themselves the "Ironborn."

To a true Ironborn, taking a life was a delightful form of entertainment.

But for Theon, who had grown up in Winterfell, it was somewhat brutal.

Moreover, when Jon said he was going to kill someone, his expression was utterly calm.

"No, which one of us is the Greyjoy? Which one of us is ironborn?!"

He suddenly realized what Jon intended to do.

Theon quickly slipped away from the group without a sound and headed toward Winterfell.

When Jon arrived at the site of the conflict, he found a group of men brawling in a heap.

To make the situation look out of control, many of them were shouting curses loud enough to shake the heavens.

Jon watched them with a cold smile, thinking that these people could not even be bothered to put on a proper performance. They were unwilling to shed even a drop of blood.

The most seriously injured among them merely had a bloody nose. Most only had disheveled hair and rumpled clothes.

But since they were putting on a show, they naturally had to see it through.

Jon knew that Roose Bolton or his son Ramsay was nearby.

Yet he did not look around. With a wave of his hand, more than twenty young Winterfell soldiers behind him began indiscriminately beating everyone with long staffs.

However, these men had clearly come prepared. They wore armor beneath their clothes.

Although some were struck on the head, they were not scattered at once like the soldiers before them.

Seeing this, Ramsay, standing some distance away, smiled smugly.

He looked at Jon and quietly said to several young nobles beside him:

"The bastard wolf has entered my trap."

Though he was a bastard, everyone could see that Roose Bolton intended to raise him as his heir.

Thus, House Bolton's vassals were happy to maintain good relations with Ramsay.

They would provoke Jon alongside him, and they would also serve as witnesses to prove that Jon had acted out of spite rather than to enforce the law.

Then Robb would no longer be able to handle the matter by "giving both sides the same punishment."

At that moment, the soldiers involved in the conflict formed a circle. They actually held their ground and began confronting Jon's "enforcement squad."

But the next second, Jon entered the fray. His staff work was sharp, his movements agile, and still no one could withstand even a single exchange before him.

Just then, someone with an obvious Dreadfort accent spoke up:

"Jon Snow! You're a deserter who ran back from the Wall. What right do you have to throw your weight around here?"

"What? A deserter!"

"This guy is actually a deserter!"

"The Starks actually sent a deserter to manage us. What gives him the right?!"

Whispers spread through the crowd, and even the Winterfell soldiers who had always followed Jon became somewhat unsteady.

Although Robb had already explained that Jon's return had been arranged through negotiations between himself and the Wall, under such circumstances, any explanation would be a loss.

Several young nobles beside Ramsay were already pointing fingers at Jon.

One young noble, whose mustache looked like downy fuzz, continued:

"Jon Snow! You deserter, you honorless bastard—tell me, now that you're all grown up, do you even know who your mother is?

Have you ever thought that she might be lying in some man's bed right now? Hahaha!"

A burst of stereotypical villainous laughter followed.

"That guy who struts around every day is actually just a bastard?"

"Tch. What is a bastard so proud of?"

"Hey! I remember now. I think I saw his mother in some brothel."

All kinds of filthy insults swept through the crowd. Pointing gazes pierced Jon, standing there with his long staff, like steel needles.

The Winterfell soldiers who had followed Jon all this time instinctively wanted to keep their distance from him.

Of course, they knew Jon was a bastard.

But being watched by so many people gave them the shameful feeling of being stripped naked and paraded through the streets.

Ramsay watched Jon smugly, waiting for him to make some extreme move out of anger.

Only then would Jon truly step into his trap.

If it had been the old Jon, he probably would not have tolerated it for even a moment.

But things were different now. Jon suddenly noticed that these people all shared one trait in their speech—they all had Dreadfort accents.

Perhaps eager to show off, the young man with fuzz above his lip took several steps forward and continued loudly slandering Jon's birth mother.

Jon looked at the man before him as though he were looking at a future corpse.

Just then, Roose Bolton arrived as well. With him came the Earl of Karhold, Rickard Karstark.

The Karstarks and the Starks shared the same bloodline.

Even the name Rickard had belonged to Eddard's father and Robb's grandfather.

Thus, among all the Northern nobles, he was the least likely to cause trouble.

Because he kept his men under strict discipline, Jon had never troubled them either.

Roose Bolton found an excuse to invite Rickard to his camp.

He had brought him here so Rickard could see just how arrogant and overbearing Jon was.

If even Rickard lost confidence in Robb, Robb would surely panic.

Then Roose could take the opportunity to "bestow a favor in reverse" upon Robb and seize command of the army.

Thinking this, Roose Bolton was in an excellent mood. Still, he put on an unhappy expression as he said to Rickard:

"My apologies, Ser Rickard. You've had to witness this farce."

"No need to apologize, Lord Bolton. This sort of thing is common."

As the two drew closer to the scene, they soon saw Jon being watched by the crowd like a monkey in a cage.

The moment they saw Jon, both were briefly stunned.

He looked far too much like Eddard Stark!

Anyone who did not know better would think he was Robb.

At the same time, they heard the insults being hurled at Jon from all around.

"Deserter. Bastard."

When those words entered Rickard's ears, he frowned slightly.

"A deserter?!" Roose Bolton feigned surprise. "It seems he inherited only Eddard's appearance, not his honor.

Still, even if he is a deserter, he brings shame upon House Stark."

Roose Bolton continued pressing the issue, ensuring that Rickard would stand with him and pressure Robb at the crucial moment.

Just then, Jon suddenly moved. Step by step, he walked toward the thick-necked man.

Seeing the anger on his face, Roose Bolton and Ramsay nearly laughed with delight.