All Men Must Die

"Fuck you..."

At those words, the Hound was the first to roar.

But a moment later, his expression changed again, and he sneered, "Ha! You idiot!"

"That girl is nothing but my prisoner. I was going to take her to Riverrun and ransom her to the King in the North!"

"You're actually stupid enough to threaten me with her?"

"Hahaha!"

As that unrestrained laughter reached Arya's ears, she jerked her head up, a flicker of bewilderment crossing her gray eyes.

Then boundless anger and hurt drowned out her reason.

Damn the Hound!

And I'd actually wanted to speak up for this bastard just now?

"Fuck you, Hound!"

Feeling betrayed, Arya immediately screamed abuse at the top of her lungs. "You sore-faced monster! You deserved to have your face burned off by your brother!"

"You're a mad dog nobody wants! I curse you to the Seven Hells!"

Her curses were vicious, the gutter slang she had learned during her days roaming the Riverlands pouring out like rapid fire.

Even the Hound was taken aback by that torrent of filth.

The corners of his mouth curled as he put on an even more furious expression and snapped back, "Say that again, you little bitch!"

"When I get out of here, I'll strangle you first, then crack off your skull and use it as a drinking cup!"

"Come on, then! Fucking do it right now!"

Arya did not back down an inch under the Hound's verbal assault, her little mouth as sweet as honey. "Useless piece of shit! A dead dog strung up on a rope!"

"You're even more disgusting than Joffrey and Cersei!"

"Fuck! You think I wouldn't dare?"

The two traded furious insults, all manner of crude language echoing through the woods, suddenly at odds with the tense atmosphere of the interrogation.

This sudden infighting left the Soldiers of the North, who had been itching to get started, dumbfounded.

Wait, what?

This... really didn't look like they were close, did it?

They exchanged looks, at a loss for what to do.

Almost as one, every soldier turned a bewildered gaze toward Corleone.

None of them had realized that, after several rounds of back-and-forth, they had unconsciously begun relying on the advice of this "doctor-strategist."

Since everyone was looking to him, Corleone naturally took charge.

"Quiet, please, Lady Stark."

He lowered his head and spoke, enunciating every word clearly. "For such vulgar language to come from the mouth of a duke's noble daughter such as yourself is truly unbecoming of a lady."

"I'm not a lady! I'm a swordsman!"

Arya, still trading insults with the Hound, seemed to have gone into mad-dog mode. She turned toward Corleone and launched straight into him without missing a beat. "My sword master was the First Sword of Braavos! He could cut down all of you single-handed!"

"Hahaha!"

Before Corleone could answer, the Hound burst into scornful laughter nearby. "The First Sword who died at the hands of Meryn Fucking Trant!"

"My grandmother could cut down ten Meryn Trants with a sword, if she were still alive!"

Arya said, "I told you, he didn't have a sword!"

"Listen to that! A First Sword without a sword?"

The two continued arguing, seemingly falling back into their earlier rhythm.

This time, however, Corleone had no intention of letting them carry on.

"I need him quiet for a moment, sir."

He bowed slightly to Rhaegel, who immediately understood. Rhaegel stepped forward and drove a knee into the Hound's crotch, shutting him up at once.

Hmm... that was a heavy blow.

Seeing the Hound's agony, Corleone first pressed his thighs together slightly, then pointed at the furious man.

"Though I don't know why you, a loyal dog of the Lannisters, care so much about a girl from House Stark, I have to say, Hound..."

"Your acting is atrocious!"

As he spoke, Corleone straightened his back, the aura of [Dignity Lv2] quietly spreading. His gaze swept over the soldiers' bewildered faces as he slowly declared, "There is only one truth!"

"This hound is clearly trying to protect her this way. But he never imagined that such lousy acting couldn't possibly fool all of us!"

"Because... we're all quite clever!"

Silence fell over the camp for a while, the atmosphere turning somewhat awkward.

"That's right!"

Suddenly, a soldier slapped his thigh. "I knew something was off!"

"You're too slow!"

Another immediately scoffed, as though he had seen through everything long ago. "The Hound was obviously trying to protect her by arguing like that, making us think they weren't close!"

"Cunning son of a bitch! Thought you could fool these wise eyes of mine?"

The soldiers all seemed to see the light at once, scrambling to claim they had spotted it first. Not one would admit that the Hound and Arya's argument had completely led them astray.

"You..."

Looking at this sharp-tongued man who twisted right and wrong, Arya felt a chill shoot straight to the top of her head.

Even when facing Cersei, she had never encountered methods so despicable and so adept at swaying people's hearts!

"You..."

She stared fixedly at Corleone, her gray eyes, the hallmark of House Stark, filled with pure hatred. "Tell me your name, you bastard!"

Arya silently swore to put this damned man at the very top of the list of people she meant to take revenge on!

Yet Corleone did not grow angry. Instead, he slowly crouched until his eyes were level with hers, a mysterious smile appearing on his face.

"A man's name does not matter, girl."

He spoke so softly it was almost a whisper, yet every word reached Arya clearly. "Because..."

"Valar morghulis."

Those words exploded in Arya's mind, making her gray eyes widen once more in disbelief.

Because Corleone's final words had not been in the Common Tongue of Westeros at all, but... the phrase she had heard from Jaqen H'ghar!

All men must die!

This doctor... just who was he?

Watching Arya fall speechless with shock, Corleone's lips curled slightly.

He had never expected that the phrase his body's previous owner had happened to learn from a prostitute in Harrenhal two years ago would prove useful here.

The Soldiers of the North nearby understood no Valyrian. All they saw was Arya standing frozen as though scared witless, undoubtedly a sign of guilt and fear.

"Ha! The girl's got nothing left to say!"

Rhaegel shouted triumphantly, "Doctor, stop wasting words on her!"

"Come on, do it!"

"Use the cruelest method you know! Make her scream, make her cry! Let's see how long this stray dog can hold out!"

"Yes! Do it!"

"Show her what pain is!"

With him leading the way, the soldiers brandished their weapons and roared in excitement.

The atmosphere in the camp reached an unprecedented fever pitch, all their malice and anticipation focused on Corleone and the scrawny girl.

Corleone stumbled as he was shoved, his face expressionless.

He merely reached toward Arya, making as if to untie her ropes.

But just then...

"Stop right there, you damned Southrons!"

"What do you idiots think you're doing to Lady Stark?!"

(PS: I've had the worst luck. I had a fever yesterday and thought I could get through it with some medicine, but then red spots and blisters started appearing on my body last night. I went to the hospital today, and it turned out to be-fuck... chickenpox!)

(I'm isolating at home now, and the itching is absolutely unbearable. Everyone, please remember to take precautions against infectious diseases when you go out!)