To Be the Second King Who Knelt

Catelyn loved the rain in the Riverlands; the fine, misty rain felt like a mother's gentle caress on her face and body.

As for the rain in the North —good heavens, it's like ice water just melting from ice; if you try to catch it with your hands, it'll feel bone-chilling.

Her time living in Riverrun brought back some of her childhood memories, but lately she has noticed that even the rain in Riverlands is no longer so gentle. In the past, she could stay in the rain for a long time, and she wasn't even afraid of getting soaked.

But now she can't stand being in the rain for long. Catelyn doesn't know if it's because the weather has gotten colder, or because she's getting older.

Just then, a maid's voice rang out. "Madam, the lords have arrived in the hall, and His Majesty is also waiting for you."

"Hmm," Catelyn answered softly, unaware that a heated argument had already broken out in the hall.

"Who is Stannis? And Jon Snow is a traitor! Hearthgren will never surrender! We only acknowledge Robb Stark, King in the North!"

"Yes! The people of the North do not associate with traitors!" Lady Maege chimed in.

Many people in the North believe that the North cannot produce another King of Submission.

When Torrhen Stark decided to surrender, he faced Aegon the Conqueror and three dragons. What did Stannis have?

With a ravaged fleet and a nearly annihilated army, what gave him the ability?

However, this time, compared to the last time when Robb was elected, there weren't as many people responding.

Rickard was the second person after Greatjon to declare Robb King in the North, but this time he didn't move.

When Harrion returned, he brought back not only thousands of the Northern Army, but also the entire course of the war.

From Jon's coup at Harrenhal to the capture and defense of King's Landing, Harrion was involved in the entire process, and Rickard, through his eldest son's account, came to understand how terrifying Jon was.

Not only was his military strategy in no way inferior to Robb's, but he also possessed a keen political eye.

If Jon hadn't killed Joffrey in King's Landing and taken control of Tommen and Myrcella, the Lion-Flower Alliance would still exist, and these people would be stuck in Riverrun right now.

Now they at least have one option left, though it's not dignified, but it can preserve them: to give up supporting the King in the North.

Rickard first saw Roose Bolton sitting there calmly without saying a word, and thought that Harrion would stand up for himself after bringing back the army from the Dreadfort, but he didn't expect him to remain like this.

Considering that his actions and decisions have always been based on "preserving his own strength," he would certainly not agree to go to war with Stannis.

Rickard suddenly noticed a group of Riverlands nobles surrounding the young Lyman Darry, bombarding him with questions. He recalled Jon Snow's words when Jon stopped the lords from supporting Robb: "The crown is like a boat, and the heart is like water. Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it." Now, he realized that these words were indeed profound truths.

Rickard remained silent upon seeing this, but Greatjon couldn't contain himself. He angrily addressed the whispering Riverlands nobles, "You brats, what are you talking about! Is there anything you can't let us know?"

Greatjon was unaware that his words had inadvertently divided the nobles who supported Robb into two groups.

Before the other Riverlands nobles could speak, Lyman, not yet ten years old, expressed her dissatisfaction. "Brother Jon is not a traitor! He saved me! He saved the House Darry! If Brother Jon hadn't killed the Mountain, many more of us would have suffered!"

Lyman's voice shook the hearts of many Riverlands nobles. It must be said that they all breathed a sigh of relief after the death of the Mountain.

As if to echo Lyman's words, a sudden, jarring voice came from the corner. "Our enemy is the Lannister, not Stannis!"

"Who! Who said that!" Greatjon's eyes widened, like a bear standing upright, eager to find the guy who had undermined morale.

Brynden watched as conflict was about to erupt, especially since his nephew Edmure seemed to be getting restless. Brynden glanced at Queen Jeyne and her father and brother— Gavin Westerling and Raynald Westerling. The father and son were both quiet and had stone-like expressions, a perfect match for the Ice Stark.

"Gentlemen! Regardless of the circumstances, we are all now united under King Robb's banner, and we need to stay together." Brynden quickly stepped between Greatjon and the Riverlands lords, trying to quell the conflict.

But when he inadvertently caught Rickard's gaze, he couldn't help but look away.

Fortunately, just then the announcement rang out. "Robb Stark I has arrived!"

Upon hearing that Robb had arrived, Greatjon reluctantly returned to his seat. Roose Bolton glanced back and then sat up straight. Lyman and the Riverlands lords also tidied their appearance, and Brynden stepped forward to greet them.

The hall, which was on the verge of erupting into an argument or even conflict, quieted down. Soon after, Robb arrived in the hall with Catelyn and his newlywed wife Jeyne Westerling, who was just pregnant.

As Jeyne passed by a prince, she overheard someone saying something like, "It should be Margaery's," which weighed heavily on her mind.

She still remembered the uproar and controversy that erupted in the Northern Army when Robb announced his intention to marry Jeyne as queen, and how much pressure Robb had withstood for her sake.

I heard that Robb's illegitimate brother is engaged to Margaery. Everyone thinks that if Robb had been engaged to Margaery, they wouldn't be in this predicament.

Jeyne felt guilty and wronged. She felt guilty because perhaps she shouldn't have met Robb that day and had so much contact with him. She felt wronged because she didn't know any of this at the time, and only knew that she had married the person she wanted to marry.

She would rather not have this so-called queen.

As Robb returned to his throne, and Catelyn and Jeyne had barely settled down, Greatjon began shouting, "Your Majesty, we must not surrender to Stannis! By what right does he have? His army is smaller than ours! The House Frey dare to block our way! We'll just attack them!"

As he spoke, he stood up again. "I heard that Stannis has even abandoned the Seven and believes in some bullshit Lord of Light! We must not enthrone such a king!"

Robb watched Greatjon jumping around and couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. Greatjon had indeed been a capable lieutenant on the journey, a reliable general on the battlefield, but beyond that—

Sometimes he even thought that it would be better if it were Jon, who was not only reliable on the battlefield, but also capable of handling other matters well.

At this moment, Brynden stood up and said, "Your Majesty, we are not yet in a hopeless situation. Tywin hasn't surrendered to Stannis, and we have no need to! Moreover, Lord Eddard's blood feud has been settled. We can use hostages as an exchange, perhaps—"

Brynden was still thinking about trading Jaime for the Westerlands Alliance. In his view, as long as Jaime was returned to Tywin, Tywin would be happy to fight against Stannis with them.

"Perhaps what?!" A low, sinister voice rang out; it was Rickard. "My two sons died at the hands of the Kingslayer. Isn't that a grudge?"

Brynden was questioned by Rickard and didn't know what to say for a moment. The king's revenge, the lord's revenge, if this continued, wouldn't it also involve revenge on the knights, revenge on the commoners? Wouldn't that be endless?

He also knew that Rickard was still angry about him letting Tywin go.

But Brynden couldn't say anything harsh. He hoped the North would stay and support Riverrun, because he knew that if the North withdrew, even if Stannis couldn't do anything to the North, he would still suppress Riverrun, and then the Tully would have a hard time.

Just as the lords of the North and the Riverlands were whispering amongst themselves, a servant rushed in and said, "Your Majesty!"

Jon, Jon is here, along with Miss Sansa and Miss Arya.

The lords in the hall were concerned about Jon's arrival, while Catelyn was more interested in her daughters. When she heard that Jon had brought her daughters back, she jumped to her feet.

The other lords erupted into a heated discussion, like a hundred crows opening their mouths at once. Jon's arrival was quite sudden; they had received information that he should still be in the Twins.

"That traitor? How many men did he bring?!" Greatjon asked, brandishing his ugly greatsword.

"He brought with him an envoy of Stannis, a guard, and a squire; no one else."

"Your Majesty, please allow me to cut off this traitor's head for you!"

"Enough!" Robb finally couldn't stand Greatjon's yelling any longer, and he took a deep breath to calm himself down.

"Go, bring Jon here—be polite."