The castle of Winterfell.
In the banquet hall.
As time passes slowly.
The atmosphere in the originally noisy hall became increasingly lively.
A corner of the hall.
Eddard Stark, the Duke of Winterfell and the host, was leaning in an unnoticed corner, quietly looking at the noisy and lively hall.
"After all these years, you still haven't adapted to this kind of banquet."
Bunyan Stark, who was dressed in black robes and was slightly taller than Eddard Stark, looked at his brother beside him and smiled.
"I will never be able to adapt to it in this life..."
Eddard Stark shook his head.
He really didn't like such noisy banquets.
But as the Warden of the North and the Duke of Winterfell, how could such a banquet be too rare for him.
Even under normal circumstances, he tried his best to avoid attending banquets.
But he couldn't miss the reception banquet for the king and queen today.
That is to say, he only had a glass of wine with His Majesty the King and the Queen at the beginning today.
Other social activities were left to his wife Catelyn and son Robb.
He stayed in the hall and felt a little at a loss with such a noisy scene.
However, his status was high enough, and no one dared to drink with him blindly.
"By the way, do you know the young soldier I executed?"
At this time, Ed Stark thought of something, turned to look at his brother beside him and asked.
When his brother asked, Benyan Stark immediately knew what he was asking, and nodded: "I know him."
"He's an ordinary warrior."
"But he is by no means a coward, Ed. I know him better than you do."
Benjen Stark said softly.
Of course he knew about the deserter of the Night's Watch soldier.
"But you listen to the ridiculous things he says."
"He said that his companions who were traveling together were actually killed by White Walkers."
"The White Walkers have been gone for thousands of years..."
Eddard Stark shook his head.
Benjen Stark interrupted: "But those two warriors are indeed missing."
Ed Stark: "Maybe it was attacked by wildlings."
Benjen Stark: "Maybe..."
"The extremely rare appearance of direwolves south of the Great Wall, rumors of the reappearance of the White Walkers, and my brother is about to become the Lord Chancellor..."
"Winter is coming."
Benjen Stark sighed and spoke.
"Yes, winter is coming..."
Eddard Stark responded softly, looking deeply at the king who was holding the woman in the middle of the hall.
"By the way, Ed, what do you think about Jon?"
Benyan Stark looked at his brother again and said, "He has grown up."
Eddard Stark fell silent when he heard his brother mention Jon Snow.
At this time, he was the only one in the world who knew Jon Snow's true identity.
He didn't tell anyone, not even his wife Catelyn Tully, whom he had shared the same bed with for decades.
Just to protect the kid Jon.
Ed Stark was silent for a while, then looked at his brother: "Why do you suddenly ask about this?"
Seeing his brother's silence, Benjen Stark didn't have any other thoughts.
Illegitimate child.
Even the Duke of Winterfell, the illegitimate son of the Governor of the North.
Over the years, the kid Jon has suffered too many injustices.
Today, to welcome His Majesty the King to the feast, most people in Winterfell were invited, but he was excluded.
When he came back to see Jon, he could already feel Jon's extreme grievance and depression.
He had watched Jon grow up and liked Jon's character.
Now the child is begging for him.
He couldn't stand it anymore.
"Jon just told me that he wanted to go to the Great Wall..."
Looking at his brother, Benyan Stark spoke softly.
The words fell.
Eddard Stark was silent again.
Jon said go to the Wall.
That must have been intended to be a Night Watchman.
Ed Stark thought of the Oath of the Night's Watch almost instantly.
"The long night is coming, I will keep watch from now on until I die."
"I will not take a wife, I will not hold a land, I will not have children..."
This time, Ed Stark was silent for a long, long time...
...
"Morgan, aren't you bored just sitting there?"
"At the banquet, you should drink to your heart's content..."
"Here, cheers..."
Thomson, the captain of the inner castle gate guard beside him, once again greeted Morgan, who had just put down his wine glass.
"Come..."
With his current drinking capacity, he is not afraid of anyone.
I drank a large glass of wheat beer again.
Morgan put down his wine glass and looked at the two long tables at the top again.
Looking at the long table not far away.
Looking at Robb Stark, the eldest son of Winterfell, sitting there, as well as the two sisters Sansa Stark and Arya Stark, as well as the prince Joffrey Baratheon from King's Landing, Jaime Lannister, the Kingsguard and the Queen's brother, and others.
Morgan was thinking about whether he should do something to make his presence known a little bit.
But soon, he thought again.
This is not Middle-earth.
Apart from his reputation as a marksman who has not yet spread to Winterfell, he has not achieved any other achievements or fame in this world.
In this hierarchical world, step forward rashly.
It does no good except come across as impolite and rude.
When Duchess Catelyn Tully and Queen Cersei Lannister came over just now.
He responded quickly by raising his glass, which must have left a certain impression on the queen.
"Too much is not enough..."
Thinking of this, Morgan immediately calmed down.
at this time.
Morgan suddenly found that his host, Ed Stark, had left the corner of the hall at some point and was walking towards him.
at the same time.
Not far away, on the long table, the Kingsguard Jaime Lannister, who was drinking alone, suddenly stood up.
He was striding towards the road beside him.
No surprises.
Eddard Stark and Jaime Lannister met head-on when they walked onto the crowded road behind Morgan.
Looking at the figure in front of him.
Ed Stark just looked at the other party with a dull expression and was about to pass by.
Just this move of his.
Jaime Lannister in front of him immediately started to move.
Whichever way Ed Stark goes, so goes Jaime Lannister.
He seemed to realize that the guy in front of him was doing it on purpose.
Ed Stark looked calm and said: "Give me."
Jaime Lannister, who came well prepared, immediately looked at Eddard Stark in front of him and said, "I heard you are going to King's Landing?"
"is this real?"
"That way we can be neighbors."
Hearing the other party's seemingly excited tone, Ed Stark glanced at Jaime Lannister again and said calmly: "Your news is correct, the king does have this intention."
The words fell.
Jaime Lannister smiled and said immediately: "That's great."
"It's such a good thing, but it needs to be celebrated."
"If you don't mind, let's hold a tournament."
"It's okay here, it's okay in King's Landing..."
"How about congratulating you on your new appointment?"
"It's just the two of us. I've wanted to have a real competition with you for a long time."
Jaime Lannister looked at the Duke of Winterfell in front of him and said quickly.
Hear what the other person is saying.
Only then did Ed Stark take a serious look at the Kingsguard who was born in the Lannister family, but he never had a good impression of him.
As a member of the "Kingsguard", an elite legendary guard solely loyal to the king and created specifically to protect the royal bloodline.
But he betrayed his oath and killed Jaime Lannister, the king he was loyal to, "Mad King" Aerys Targaryen II, in a sneak attack from behind.
This is from the perspective of Ed Stark, who values honor and chivalry very much.
Jaime Lannister, who bears such a bad name as "Kingslayer", cannot be forgiven.
This is also the reason why Eddard Stark has always hated the queen's brother.
As for Jaime Lannister, who has always been at odds with Eddard Stark, the Duke of Winterfell, and hates him very much.
He originally killed the Mad King who tortured Ed Stark's father and brother.
Not only did Ed Stark not thank him, but he even reported a crime against him.
How could Jaime Lannister tolerate this?
This is also the reason why Jaime Lannister has always hated Eddard Stark and targeted him.
"I will not participate in the tourney."
Looking at the "Kingslayer" Eddard Stark in front of him, he chuckled and shook his head.
"Why?"
Jaime Lannister immediately asked and challenged: "Do you think you are too old?"
"Afraid of losing to me?"
Ed Stark continued to shake his head and said: "I will not participate in the martial arts tournament, but I don't want to expose my strength when I am actually fighting with others."
Looking at the calm-looking Eddard Stark, Jaime Lannister became increasingly unhappy.
"That's very well said."
"But don't you think this is due to your lack of confidence due to being too old?"
Looking at the Duke of Winterfell in front of him, Jaime Lannister was provoking as much as he could. He looked at the frank person in front of him and mocked word for word: "You are still worried, you are afraid that you will lose to me."
The words fell.
Morgan, who was sitting aside and had been eavesdropping, finally couldn't help but stand up, looked at the two people in the confrontation and said: "Lord Stark..."
"If you agree, Morgan is willing to fight for my lord."
The sudden sound caused the expressions of the two people in the confrontation to change.
However, the moment Eddard Stark heard Morgan's words, he remembered Morgan's identity as a marksman and his powerful swordsmanship that tormented all the warrior leaders in Winterfell, and his face immediately started to smile.
James Lannis' expression changed, and the expression on his handsome face immediately turned gloomy.
Morgan stepped forward and came to the two of them.
Ed Stark turned to Morgan and smiled.
Then he looked at Jaime Lannister and continued to smile: "Let me introduce you to Morgan, our best swordsman in Winterfell and a marksman."
"We could indeed hold a tourney, if you don't mind."
"It's OK here, it's OK in King's Landing..."
Seeing the face of the "Kingslayer" in front of him turn ugly, Ed Stark smiled even more happily and continued: "Of course, if you are afraid of losing, you can find someone else to take your place."
"I don't mind..."
Ed Stark looked at Jaime Lannister in front of him with great joy and smiled.
Use the other person's words to counterattack and mock the other person.
This feels so good.
Looking at Ed Stark's increasingly disgusting face.
Jaime Lannister is not easily fooled.
"A sharpshooter, a swordsman..."
Thinking about Ed Stark's words, he turned his head and glanced at the strange man beside him who answered the question.
Handsome in appearance and cold in temperament.
There doesn't seem to be anything particularly different.
But based on his understanding of Ed Stark.
Although this old guy is annoying, he is definitely not the kind of person who shows off.
The strange man in front of me should be quite strong.
He is the "Kingsguard", the "Kingslayer", and the "Lannister Lion".
Although it has a bit of a bad reputation now.
But it is definitely not comparable to the unknown and strange man in front of me.
He never thought about becoming someone else's stepping stone, especially when the other person was under the command of Eddard Stark, whom he hated most.
"This is between me and you, Lord Stark."
"If someone else had played, there would be no point in competing."
Jaime Lannister looked at the Duke of Winterfell again and said.
"Are you Lord Jaime Lannister?"
At this time, Morgan's voice sounded again.
The gaze quickly shifted from looking at Ed Stark's face to the tall and handsome blond man in front of him.
"it's me."
Jaime Lannister nodded expressionlessly.
Morgan continued: "I know that you want to challenge Lord Stark."
"But Lord Stark's identity is extraordinary."
"You see, as Lord Stark's first competitor, as long as you defeat me, you can challenge Lord Stark."
"Similar to the rules, you can also bring one person with you to join the battle."
"Of course, if I defeat you, I can challenge Lord Stark. If I defeat your companion, I can also challenge you."
"What do you think of this kind of competition?"
Morgan watched Jaime Lannister finish speaking in one breath, and then looked at Eddard Stark who didn't say hello in advance.
I saw the other party looking at the deflated Jaime Lannister with a smile on his face.
"I also think the method Morgan mentioned is good."
Looking at Jaime Lannister who was hesitant to speak, Eddard Stark immediately answered.
He had not thought of participating in a tourney.
But I don’t blame Morgan for being talkative.
Maybe Morgan had other thoughts, but his original intention was to help himself.
Eddard Stark knew this very well.
But Morgan dared to say such words, which also shows that Morgan is very confident in his own strength.
That being the case.
How could he not dare to challenge the Lannister family with Morgan?
Although Gregor Clegane, nicknamed "The Mountain" and loyal to the Lannister family, is indeed very strong.
But he has already seen Morgan's strength.
What's more, he's still here.
"I'll think about it carefully."
Hearing Eddard Stark's words, Jaime Lannister glanced at the two people in front of him, then stepped aside to get out of the way and walked forward.
"Sorry Lord Stark, I was a little impulsive."
As soon as Jaime Lannister left, Morgan immediately bowed and apologized to Eddard Stark.
"No, Morgan, you did nothing wrong..."
Ed Stark looked at Morgan and shook his head with a smile, and continued: "The Stark family has never been afraid of trouble."
"But if you say so, the possibility of them agreeing to hold a martial arts tournament is not small."
"If this is the case, you need to remember one person, he is probably your biggest opponent..."
Morgan asked, "Who?"
Eddard Stark: "Gregor Clegane, nicknamed "The Mountain."
