Chapter 40 Red Castle Banquet

The Banquet at the Red Keep was supposed to wait until the official conclusion of the tourney, but King Robert held it in advance. Some people laughed and said that King Robert was beaten too hard yesterday and was confused. That group competition was regarded as the last competition of the tournament.

  Although the nobles expressed their disdain for this inappropriately timed banquet, they all dressed up to attend, for fear that they would lose to others in terms of manners.

  This banquet is not just a banquet, but more of a banquet where the court nobles of the Red Castle and the lords of the Seven Kingdoms interact with each other and exchange knowledge.

  Therefore, this banquet was not as noisy as the previous banquet celebrating the birth of the prince, and there were no performances such as circuses to add to the fun. After everyone came to the banquet, they found the people they wanted to make friends with, and then formed small groups. People gathered together and talked, which made the whole banquet very deserted.

  As the host of this banquet, King Robert was not at the banquet. Only Queen Cersei sat on her throne, surrounded by a circle of ladies from various noble families.

  There were several court jesters among these people, and they didn't know what they were talking about, but they could always hear some laughter from those women, and this laughter echoed in the hall, causing many people to move towards that direction. Look over.

  Linde was a little uncomfortable with such banquets. In his previous life, he was not a person who liked to attend banquets or gatherings, and now his personality was even more withdrawn. Attending such banquets made him feel inexplicably uncomfortable, especially those who were large and small. The nobles always looked at him with a strange look, as if they were looking at a piece of merchandise, which was extremely rude and made him have the urge to kill all these nobles.

  So in order to avoid being annoyed by these guys, after he followed Duke Tyrell and others to the Red Castle hall, he walked away alone, picked up a wooden plate with some food, and walked to an empty room. Sit down in the corner and enjoy your food quietly.

  However, even so, some nobles would still take the initiative to talk to Linde.

  Although this is a good opportunity to make friends with powerful people, Linde knows very well that his current status cannot be taken seriously by these powerful people. Even if some nobles come to talk to him, most of them are using a curiosity-seeking mentality. Come and get in touch with him. After all, he is a martial arts champion who almost killed a hundred people.

  Often these nobles would ask some excessively personal questions without considering Linde's feelings at all. It seemed to them that being able to take the initiative to talk to Linde was the greatest gift to him. Linde should be more humble. Just answer their questions honestly.

  However, Linde completely ignored these nobles. He was always immersed in the food, as if these nobles did not exist, putting them in an embarrassing dilemma. After a few times, those nobles with a curious mind They no longer run to humiliate themselves.

  However, Lind still could not enjoy the food with peace of mind, because after sending away the curious nobles, some other nobles also came to him, but these nobles did not want to make friends with Lind, nor did they They came to ask some personal questions about Linde out of curiosity. The only reason they came to contact Linde was hatred.

  "I am Sir Fili of Flowstone Town. My brother Bamet Fili died in your hands yesterday." A middle-aged man with obvious northern features walked up to Lind, his eyes filled with hatred. He looked at Linde and said, "He died from your despicable sneak attack. At that time, he was fighting with others, but you despicably came from behind..."

  "This Sir Philip, you are saying this to me now because you want to What are you going to do? To prove that your brother died heroically, or to prove that I am despicable." Linde put the barbecue in his hand back on the wooden plate, wiped his hands, and slightly raised his head to look at this middle-aged man full of hatred. The noble said calmly: "Instead of talking here, why not do something more practical, such as challenging me loudly, and then kill me in the challenge to avenge your brother."

  As he said, he Then he looked at the other nobles who were approaching for the same reason, and said: "The same goes for you. You can challenge me directly here. I can duel with all of you at the same time. With so many people besieging me alone, I want you to do it for me." The chance of revenge for my relatives and friends should be very high."

  Linde's direct and almost rude words made the northern noble in front of him not sure how to answer, and his face became extremely gloomy. In addition to hatred, there was also a look in his eyes. There was a hint of fear, and the other knights and nobles around him who had the same thoughts also showed the same expression.

  Although the duel conditions proposed by Linde were very tempting and seemed to really give them an advantage, each of them knew very well that based on Linde's performance in yesterday's competition field, even if all of them besieged Linde, in the end I'm afraid they were the ones who died.

  For a moment, the atmosphere here became a little awkward. The nobles who came to challenge the enemy were suspended in mid-air by Linde's words. They could neither advance nor retreat.

  The surrounding dignitaries were obviously aware of the commotion here, but they had no intention of intervening. Instead, they seemed to be watching the fun and waiting for subsequent reactions.

  "What are you doing? This is the king's banquet. It's not a banquet in a small place where you can do whatever you want." At this moment, a slightly lazy voice came from not far away, and then he saw a man in gorgeous armor. Jaime Lannister came over with a flagon in one hand and the hilt of his sword in the other.

  If it were normal, Jaime Lannister's words might make them dissatisfied, but now they are more grateful, because Jaime Lannister's appearance just relieved the tense atmosphere around them and allowed them to find a way to step down. steps.

  As a result, I saw these nobles glare at Linde one by one, and then turn around and leave. Each of them showed arrogant expressions, as if they had taken the initiative to challenge Linde, but Linde did not accept the challenge because he was timid.

  "A bunch of insects!" James looked at the backs of these nobles with disdain, then turned to look at Lind, and said bluntly: "Lind the Bear Hunter, you remind me of someone."

  "Who is that person? "Lind could feel that James in front of him had no ill intentions, so his tone calmed down and he asked.

  "Arthur Dayne, Sword of Dawn." Jaime replied.

  Lind was silent for a moment and asked: "Is it Arthur Dayne who died during the siege?"

  James couldn't help but show a look of displeasure on his face when he heard this, and said in a deep voice: "You are really a lovable person. The guy who can't get up!"

  James admired Arthur Dayne extremely, and although Lind's question was stating the facts, it also had a meaning of looking down on Arthur Dayne, and there was a hidden meaning in the words. It is nothing more than saying that Arthur Dayne died in the siege, but I, the bear hunter Lynd, survived the siege. This will naturally cause James' displeasure.

  Lind looked at James calmly and said: "Arthur Dayne is a hero. I admire him very much, but his death is not worth it. It is not worth dying for someone like the Mad King."

  James heard that After speaking, the unhappy expression on his face also faded away, and the look he looked at Linde became more intimate. Apparently, the disdain for the Mad King in Linde's words gave him a sense of recognition.

  "Would you like a sip?" James asked, passing the wine bottle in his hand towards Lind.

  Lind shook his head and said, "I don't drink."

  "Then you will lose a lot of fun!" James curled his lips and said.    

  "I also suggest you drink less," Linde said bluntly: "Drink too much, and your hands will tremble uncontrollably. If a swordsman can't even control the hand holding the sword, then he is not far from death. "

  When he heard Linde's words, James couldn't help but froze. Then he looked at Linde and said, "Someone has told me what you said."

  Linde thought for a while and asked, "Arthur Day. Yeah?"

  "Yeah." James nodded, then smiled to himself and said, "It's a pity that Arthur Dayne, who didn't drink much, died, but Jaime Lannister, who liked to drink, survived. What an irony."

  "Choice determines fate." Lind said with a hint of emotion: "He chose death himself."

  "No, he died of a sneak attack, a shameless sneak attack!" James lifted the wine bottle, He took a big gulp into his mouth, then turned to look at the people in the north in the hall, and gritted his teeth.

  Lind did not refute James' words, but he did not agree with James's views, because in his opinion, there was no meanness or despicability in the battle of life and death. Survival and victory were the most important things.

  And through these words, he could also see that Jaime Lannister still has some chivalry spirit at the moment, but these chivalry spirits may gradually fade and hide in the next ten years, otherwise, he would not do what he did. When it comes to throwing Bran off the tower, at least now, he can't do it so decisively, and he will definitely hesitate.

  "Bear Hunter, you are a very special person." After James drank more than half of the wine in the bottle, he burped rudely, and then said something incoherently.

  Lind was stunned, looked at Jaime Lannister with some confusion, and said, "Should I take this as a compliment? Lord Jaime."

  Jaime said seriously: "No, you can take it as a compliment. Take this as a prophecy, because every special person will inevitably encounter various twists and turns in life, and your twists and turns have just begun."

  Lind felt that there was something in James' words, and it sounded like he was hinting at something.

  However, James did not continue talking, took the wine bottle, turned and walked away.

  Lind didn't follow up to ask, he didn't think James would answer him, and he couldn't figure out what the twists and turns in James' mouth were, but he felt that this might not be a bad thing for him. After all, people's statuses are different. Views are also different. People of James's status may view certain things as twists and turns, but it may be different for him.

  James came and chatted with him for a few words, but it did not change his situation at the banquet. On the contrary, because of the indifferent attitude he showed when talking to James, people could not help but guess that he and James, the regicide, were acquaintances.

  One was a regicide, and the other was a king-fighter. They were a perfect match. In addition, Linde's sneak attacks in the competition field made some nobles who were already a little disgusted with Linde feel even more contemptuous.

  The strange sights around him did not have any impact on Lind. The Tyrell family seemed to have noticed that Lind was excluded from the banquet, and they could not do anything.

  However, Garland, Fortimo, and Bachelor Moras found an excuse to talk to Linde, hoping to help Linde ease some of the awkward atmosphere.

  However, they soon discovered that Linde did not seem to be affected by the surrounding environment. His thoughts were all on the exquisite food at the banquet, so they felt relieved and went to other noble groups to complete their respective tasks. Quest to befriend the new nobles of the Baratheon dynasty.

  Just when Lind finished the last piece of barbecue on the plate and was about to get some more food, a plate full of food was brought over and placed in front of him.

  Linde looked up at the person in front of him and saw a fat bald man with a smile on his face. He was wearing a silk robe and a pair of soft leather boots, which allowed him to move around silently. In addition, his His hands are always placed in his sleeves so that no one can see what he is holding.

  In the Red Keep, only Varys, the intelligence chief of the Iron Throne, looks and dresses like this, and this person is also one of the people Lind least wants to see.

  If Littlefinger is the top conspirator of the Seven Kingdoms, then Varys is the master of conspiracy in the Seven Kingdoms. All the intelligence of the Seven Kingdoms is in the hands of this intelligence chief. No one knows what this person is thinking, and No one knows what he can do with so much information. The only thing that is certain is that he will never have descendants.

  Although Wallis is also on Lind's list of dangerous people, compared to Littlefinger, who has no possibility of cooperation, Lind feels that Wallis is among the kind of people who can talk and cooperate, but there is a prerequisite for this. , that is, there will be no conflict between oneself and his goals.

  However, at this moment, Wallis actually took the initiative to contact him, which was completely beyond Linde's expectation and caught him off guard.

  Although he was extremely surprised, Linde's face did not show it. He picked up the wooden plate that Wallis put in front of him, picked up the food inside and ate it, while thanking him and saying, "Thank you very much, Wallis." Lord Reese."

  Varys was not surprised that he was recognized by Lind. After all, his image in the Red Keep was so unique that it was difficult to admit his mistake.

  He walked up to Linde, and regardless of the dirty ground, he sat cross-legged on the ground in a vulgar manner like Linde. He also took out a piece of food from the plate, and while eating, he said: "Master Linde, you are a kind-hearted person." You are incompatible with this hall. This should not be your place."

  "Kindness?" Lind put down the food in his hand, looked at Wallis, and said with a smile: "Lord Wallis, are you mistaken? Yesterday, But nearly a hundred people died in my hands."

  "I was not mistaken." Varys shook his head and said, "The kindness I am talking about refers to the poor little girl you saved outside the Lion's Gate."

  (End of chapter)