Robb watched Viserys's expression. His lips moved as though he wanted to say something, but in the end, he merely nodded in agreement.
"Very well, I agree. But..." he said firmly. "Sansa and Arya are in your hands, aren't they? You must let them return to the North with me."
"They can leave whenever they wish," Viserys said. "They have never been hostages, only my guests. I assume you received their handwritten letters as well. Otherwise, you might not have come in person."
Robb was taken aback again. Besides Viserys's letter, he had indeed received one from Sansa, and it was her letter that had finally convinced him to come to King's Landing to negotiate.
He had expected Viserys to use Sansa and Arya as bargaining chips, or at least demand more concessions. He had even prepared himself to pay a steep price for their release.
Yet Viserys had casually said they could leave whenever they wished, calling them guests rather than hostages. His tone truly sounded as though he were stating an established fact.
The Targaryen king before him was remarkably forthright, nothing like the southerners his father had described, and Robb found that very much to his liking. Yet that frankness also left him faintly uneasy. It was harder to fathom than the devious schemes he had expected to face.
He could not help wondering whether some deeper design lay behind it, or whether Viserys possessed such absolute confidence that he disdained petty tricks altogether.
"That's all? It's that simple?" After considering it for a while, Robb finally voiced his question, still hesitant.
"Yes, that's all," Viserys said calmly. "As I said before, I did not come here to perpetuate hatred. The Long Night is coming. We need to unite the strength of all the living."
At the