Chapter 41

 Lynde was not surprised that Varys would know that he had saved the girl. After all, the entire King's Landing was full of Varys's little birds, let alone him, even Duke Tywin. He probably knows exactly what underwear to wear tonight.

  So Linde did not show any surprise, but nodded and said calmly: "It turns out to be her. She is indeed very pitiful. Fortunately, she survived."

  Wallis was a little surprised by Linde's calm mood, and his expression changed . Startled, he sighed again and said: "It is indeed good to survive, but you should not let her leave with the faceless master. She will definitely cause a lot of trouble in the future when she becomes a faceless man. Let her continue to be a faceless man." A farmer's girl is good to her and everyone else."

  Linde looked at Wallis and said solemnly: "Being a farmer's girl, Mr. Wallis, are you sure this is a good idea? She can really be a safe and sound one. A peasant girl all her life? If Lord Tywin knew that she was still alive, what do you think would happen to her?"

  After hearing Lind's words, Varys couldn't hide the look of surprise on his face. He never expected that Lind would know As for the identity of that little girl, you must know that Duke Tywin regarded the little girl as a shame and used all methods to block all news. Including the Lannister family guards who participated that night were transferred to the mines in the West overnight. In this life, don't even think about coming out again.

  He also accidentally learned about the existence of this girl from the little devil Tyrion, and he was also sure that apart from those involved, only he and the monk who held the wedding for the little devil knew about this girl among the non-Lannister people.

  However, the monk had been dealt with by Lord Tywin, so he thought that he was the only one who knew the secret. So when he heard Linde's words and realized that Linde also knew the identity of the girl, he was extremely surprised. .

  "You are more special than I expected." Wallis did not ask why Linde knew about this, but looked at Linde with a scrutinizing gaze again, and then murmured.

  Lind frowned slightly and asked: "What you said is the same as what Lord James said. You said that I am a special person, but I don't quite understand it. Lord Varys, can you explain it for me?" ?"

  Wallis swallowed the food in his hand, then stood up and said, "Don't worry, you will know what's going on later."

  Just as Wallis finished speaking, the music at the banquet suddenly After stopping, the music turned into the song of the Bear Hunter. Everyone present who knew the origin of this song was stunned, and then they all looked at Linde who was sitting in the corner.

  Then everyone's attention shifted to the entrance to the corridor leading to Maegor's Tower on the side of the hall.

  King Robert, with a bandaged hand and a bruised nose and face, led a group of Kingsguards into the hall, walked straight to his throne and sat down.

  Seeing this, everyone wanted to step forward to salute him, but he raised his hand to stop them.

  He opened his swollen eyes with force and glanced back and forth among the crowd in the hall, as if looking for something.

  He didn't know whether it was because his vision was obstructed by swelling, or because the candles in the hall were not bright enough. He glanced back and forth several times, but still couldn't find his target, so he shouted loudly towards Duke Tyrell. : "Your Majesty Duke Tyrell, where is the boy who beat me in the arena yesterday? That boy named Bear Hunter Lind. Didn't he come to the banquet? I remember that I sent him an invitation."

  Duke Tyrell quickly replied: "Your Majesty, he is here, but he is not used to participating in this kind of banquet for the first time."

  At this time, Lind, who heard the shout, had also walked away from the shadow corner of the hall. Come out and come under the light of the candle hanging lamp.

  "So you are here." Robert also saw Lind at this moment. He followed him and looked at the corner where Lind came out. When he saw the wooden plate filled with food on the ground, he smiled and said: "Look You are really not used to this kind of banquet, and I am not used to it either. Compared to being pretentious and talking nonsense to people here, I prefer to eat meat and drink with people in the military camp.

  " At this time, Jon Arryn, the Hand of the King at the banquet, stood up and said: "Your Majesty, attending the banquet can help you better understand the thoughts of the vassals and formulate appropriate national policies. It is necessary..." "

  I know, I know, I You know this is necessary, so am I here?" Robert was obviously not listening to Jon Arryn's nagging for the first time, so he interrupted him slightly impatiently, and then looked at Lind again. , waved to Linde and said: "Come here, Bear Hunter Linde."

  Linde seemed to vaguely guess something at this moment, a hint of joy flashed on his face, but he quickly returned to normal and walked to the open space in the hall. Standing in front of Robert.

  Robert rubbed the lump on his face, glared at Lind, and said: "In all these years, I have never been beaten like this. My head is still dizzy, so they said I did such a thing." The decision was made because my mind was not clear yet, so I said this decision was against the rules. But I am the king, and the king has no scruples. I don't need to follow any bullshit rules."

  Robert muttered a bunch of words, then stood up from the throne, He raised his hand to stop Duke Arryn who was about to say something, and said to Linde: "Kneel down, Linde of White Village!" Linde,

  who had a premonition of what was about to happen, took a step forward and knelt on one knee before Robert. in front of.

  The nobles present also realized what was going to happen and couldn't help but frowned. Even Duke Tyrell's face was full of surprise. Only a few of them smiled, seeming to be happy for Lind.

  King Robert stretched out his hand to grab his waist, but didn't catch anything. Only then did he remember that he didn't have a sword, so he shouted to the people around him: "Where is the sword? Damn it, bring me a sword." ."

  Hearing Robert's cry, Jaime Lannister, who was standing next to Queen Cersei, stepped forward, took off his sword, and handed it over.

  However, Robert frowned and said with a look of disgust: "No, Kingslayer, your sword is not worthy of being used on him." After saying that, he turned to Barristan and said: "Baristan, Give me your sword."

  Robert's ruthless approach undoubtedly caused Jaime's face to fall heavily to the ground. Even though Jaime had become accustomed to the strange looks from people around him over the past year, he was still because of this. Feeling angry at the humiliation.

  However, he did not show his emotions on his face, but looked as if nothing had happened. He hung the sword on his waist again, returned behind the queen, and placed his hand on the chair seemingly inadvertently, but from his perspective Judging from the fingers that were clasped on the chair and turned white from exerting force, he felt extremely uneasy inside.

  Lord Tywin, who was standing in the crowd, also showed no emotion. He was as cold and hard as a piece of steel, making it impossible to see any of his inner thoughts.

  Lord Barristan, who heard the king's order, felt aggrieved for James, but he had no intention of disobeying the king's order. He took off his sword and walked to the king's side holding it in both hands.

  Robert took out Barristan's sword, walked up to Lind, put the sword on Lind's right shoulder and said: "Lind of White Village, in the name of a warrior, I ask you to be brave."

  After saying this, Then he moved the long sword from his right shoulder to his left shoulder.    

  "In the name of Heavenly Father I demand justice from you."

  The sword returned to his right shoulder.

  "In the name of the Holy Mother, I ask you to protect the weak and innocent people."

  The sword moved to the left shoulder again.

  "In the name of the maiden, I ask you to protect all women."

  The Oath of the Seven Gods came out of King Robert's mouth. Even the nobles who were dissatisfied just now restrained their emotions at this moment, and the expressions on their faces became solemn and solemn. stand up.

  As the last sentence of the oath was finished, King Robert removed the sword from Lind's shoulder and said: "Lind the Bear Hunter, you are now a knight of the Seven Kingdoms. I hope you like my reward."

  "Yes, I like it very much, Your Majesty." Linde stood up from the ground, with an uncontrollable smile on his face.

  Becoming a knight is undoubtedly a crucial step for Lind, because it means that he has the qualifications to compete for the rights of the Seven Kingdoms. Otherwise, he will always be just a thug.

  In addition, at the age of fifteen, he only participated in one tournament and was canonized as a knight, and he was also canonized by the king. This kind of thing has never happened in the history of Westeros, which is undoubtedly confirmed. Considering the special words James and Varys said before, it seems that this matter should have been discussed intensely in the conference room of the Red Keep.

  Lind also had to admit that although he guessed that based on Robert's character, if he performed outstandingly in the competition, he would most likely be canonized as a knight by Robert, but he was not too sure about this guess, and even When Robert left the tournament yesterday and did not directly confer him a title, he thought his guess might be wrong and began to consider accumulating military merit to obtain knighthood.

  However, now that Robert canonized him as a knight at the banquet, he felt like he had regained something, and the joy in his heart was naturally even stronger.

  At this time, the surrounding nobles also came to congratulate Linde one after another. Whether it was sincerely or ceremonially, they had to show their proper demeanor.

  "I didn't expect you to become a knight so quickly. It has only been a few months since you became my attendant." Fortimo also walked up to Linde, patted Linde on the shoulder, and said sincerely: "Becoming a knight is just a matter of months." It's just the first step. You still have a lot to learn in the future. I hope you won't forget your original intention."

  Linde did not change his attitude towards Fertimo because of his change in status. He still responded as a knight's attendant: "I would like to listen to your teachings, Master Fotimo."

  Fotimo nodded with satisfaction. It seemed that he still had something to say, but he felt that the occasion here was not appropriate, so he did not say it until he returned to the camp. Tell Linde later.

  Garland also walked up to Lind, congratulated him, and was about to lead Lind to see Duke Tyrell.

  At this time, Robert stopped Lynd who was about to leave and asked: "Lind the Bear Hunter, are you willing to become a Kingsguard?"

  Although Robert's voice was not loud, the people in the hall were But everyone could hear it, and everyone fell silent instantly, and their eyes were focused on Linde.

  Lynd was also surprised by Robert's question. Although he had never considered becoming a Kingsguard in his mind, he had to admit that for most knights, becoming a Kingsguard was their lifetime. glory.

  The Kingsguard is not just a simple guard for the king, he also represents the center of power of the Seven Kingdoms. After becoming a Kingsguard, you not only have the opportunity to influence the politics of the Seven Kingdoms, but at some times, you can even represent the king himself, and more importantly The only thing is that the Kingsguard has the opportunity to become the Hand of the King or even the Regent, so a knight becoming the Kingsguard can be said to be a step to the top.

  If Linde was a knight from a noble family, he would not cause much commotion if he became the Kingsguard. However, the problem is that Linde is just an ordinary hunter and his status is even lower than that of a farmer. It is difficult for a person with such status to become a knight. They are already breaking the rules of rights in Westeros. Letting such people become the Kingsguard is simply throwing the rules of rights constructed by the nobles on the ground and trampling on them.

  Jon Arryn was well aware of the negative impact this matter would have, and wanted to persuade Robert, but was stopped by Robert, and Robert repeated his inquiry to Lynd.

  "Sorry! Your Majesty, please forgive me for not being able to follow your kindness. The identity of the Kingsguard is too heavy for me." Lind felt the invisible pressure from around him. He quickly made a decision before anyone else could speak. He responded: "And the Red Keep is not suitable for me. I prefer the freedom outside."

  "Freedom outside?" Robert also showed an obvious look of disappointment on his swollen face, and at the same time he sighed and whispered He said, "Why am I not?"

  After saying that, he seemed to have lost all interest in the banquet, and turned around and left the hall.

  The surrounding nobles also breathed a sigh of relief at this moment, and looked at Lind with much more kindness, especially Duke Jon Arryn. Apparently they believed that Lind gave up becoming the Kingsguard because he knew that there was order in hierarchy and no arrogance. of breaking the rules.

  However, in fact, Lind had never considered becoming the Kingsguard at all. In his eyes, the Kingsguard, which was regarded as an honor by countless knights, was just a shackles and a cage in his eyes.

  The fact that Lind was canonized as a knight was just a small incident and did not have much impact on the banquet. The banquet soon returned to normal.

  However, compared to when everyone turned a blind eye to him just now, some minor nobles and knights are now willing to contact and talk with him. It is obvious that these people have gradually accepted his change in identity.

  Duke Tyrell's attitude towards Lind has also changed somewhat, but not too much. After all, Lind's identity has only changed from a knight's squire to a knight, and the gap between the two identities is still very large.

  But I don't know if Duke Tyrell misunderstood. He seemed to regard Lind's rejection of King Robert's invitation as Lind's loyalty to the Tyrell family, so during the conversation with Lind, he also promised to Linde reused it and hinted that Linde did not have to worry about the negative consequences of selling cavalry quota without authorization.

  (End of chapter)