"Protector of the Realm?" Lord Linde, sitting in the vigil hall, heard Varys announce the new royal decree and couldn't help but smile, saying, "Did that little fellow not ask me to pay my respects to him?"
Varys smiled and said, "His Majesty was already quite frightened by you; how could he think so much? He hastily ended the meeting."
Lord Linde took the decree, glanced at it, and then casually tossed it aside as if it were a piece of waste paper. He then curiously asked, "Who told Cersei to cancel the engagement with Highgarden? Is she mad? Pushing Highgarden to the opposing side at this moment? Does she think she doesn't have enough enemies?"
Facing Lord Linde's question, Varys said nothing, only looked at Lord Linde.
"Me?" Lord Linde quickly realized what Varys wanted to express and said with a surprised look, "How could it be me?"
Varys said in a deep voice, "Do you still remember mentioning that witch's prophecy to Queen Cersei?"
Lord Linde was stunned, then realized, "She thinks Margaery Tyrell is the woman from the prophecy?"
"I don't know what that prophecy you mentioned to her truly is," Varys nodded and said, "I only know that last night, Queen Cersei repeatedly mentioned words like 'prophecy' and 'woman' in her room."
Lord Linde was somewhat exasperated, not expecting that his casual remark would stir up Cersei's deep-seated anxiety.
"Tonight, I want to go to the dungeon to see Eddard Stark," Lord Linde said in a deep voice.
Varys hesitated for a moment and said, "Do you intend to rescue Lord Eddard?"
Lord Linde shook his head and said, "I just want to see him one last time and hear his last words." As he spoke, he suddenly asked again, "How are Lord Eddard's two daughters doing now?"
Varys said in a deep voice, "Miss Sansa is currently in Red Keep; she is Queen Cersei's most important hostage. As for Miss Arya, she disappeared the day the incident happened, and I don't know where she went. However, my little birds say they seem to have seen an outsider girl about Arya's age in Flea Bottom. Do you need me to send someone to look for her?"
"No need; she has her own destiny," Lord Linde shook his head, recalling the scene Velas once mentioned where the Thousand-Faced God appeared in Winterfell.
In the dungeon, the former Hand of the King and Warden of the North, Eddard Stark, lay on a pile of urine-smelling straw. There were no windows, so he couldn't tell what time it was, nor were there any torches, so he couldn't see his surroundings; he was like a blind man.
And this dead silent environment, where he couldn't see or hear anything, magnified his senses several times over. He could clearly hear the sound of water droplets falling to the ground outside the cell, the sound of insects crawling over the straw, and even the faint sound of his own heartbeat, which had become very weak.
However, as his senses were amplified, so was the pain. He constantly felt the intense pain from his leg injury, a pain he had never experienced before. Even though he considered himself strong and unafraid of any pain, it still hurt so much that he couldn't help but groan.
The sweat caused by the pain, coupled with not having drunk water for a long time, left him in a state of dehydration. His consciousness also began to blur. He seemed to return to the Eyrie, where he had spent his youth, and to his carefree life with Robert.
Just as Eddard Stark fell into a semi-comatose state, on the verge of losing consciousness completely, a heavy footsteps echoed from outside the cell. Then, a light appeared outside the bars, growing brighter and brighter.
Not long after, two blurry figures appeared outside the door, followed by the sound of the door opening.
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