Chapter 451: Petyr Baelish’s Crimes Are Being Revealed

WILOW-Ch.451: Petyr Baelish’s Crimes Are Being Revealed

Red Keep, King’s Landing

POV of Domeric Pendragon

The door of the Throne Room opened once again, and a man walked in.

"Vincent Page, step to the witness stand," Domeric said, gesturing towards the witness stand.

Vincent seemed unsure of what was happening. After all, the reason he was here today was something entirely different, but right now he was exactly the person Domeric needed.

Once Vincent took his place on the witness stand, Domeric said to him, "Declare yourself and your mission aloud for the kings and men here to hear."

"Yes, Your Majesty. My name is Vincent Page. I work for the Imperial Spy and Intelligence Agency, which operates on behalf of Emperor Domeric. I am currently the leader of the field units in King’s Landing," Vincent said.

"Vincent Page. You weren’t here, so you’re unaware, but Petyr Baelish and Catelyn Stark are currently on trial. However, Petyr Baelish denies all the charges against him. Therefore, you have been summoned here as a witness to testify and tell what you know." Domeric said.

Vincent finally seemed to understand what had happened. After Domeric’s explanation, he looked at Petyr and gave him a feral smile.

Petyr trembled at the sight of that smile. He knew this man all too well. It was the very same man who had stood over him during his interrogation and asked him the questions.

"Oh, Lord Baelish has already confessed to many of his crimes during the interrogation, Your Majesty. But when it comes to facing the consequences of his actions, I suppose his denial is normal. After all, his crimes were enough to condemn him to death many times over," Vincent said.

"LIES. All lies. This man was the leader of the men who tortured me. All of this is slander." Littlefinger began to shout, but his voice was silenced when one of the men standing beside him punched him in the stomach, causing him to double over.

"You may take over again from here and ask the witness whatever you wish, King Eddard," Domeric said.

King Eddard nodded and then turned to Vincent, asking, "What detailed information do you have about Petyr Baelish’s crimes?"

"Although it took us a while to become aware of Petyr Baelish’s crimes, after the information we gathered during the interrogation, we investigated all of his major past crimes and found a great deal of information and witnesses, Your Grace. Is there anything in particular you would like to ask, or would you prefer a historical account?" Vincent said.

"Then tell us what you know about Petyr Baelish’s role in Jon Arryn’s death," said King Eddard.

"As you wish, your grace. First, it should be known that Petyr Baelish and Lysa Arryn had been in a long-term relationship. This relationship began in Riverrun," said Vincent.

"WHAT? That can’t be true?" exclaimed Catelyn in astonishment. Although she had heard accusations that Petyr had committed adultery with Lysa, she must not have thought it would be a long-term relationship.

"That’s absolutely true, my lady. We’ve learned that Lysa Arryn slept with Petyr Baelish while he was recovering from his duel with Brandon Stark in Riverrun, and she became pregnant from that encounter. However, Hoster Tully found out and caused the pregnancy to end by giving Lysa Arryn moon tea," said Vincent.

Vincent’s words caused people in the Great Hall to start talking amongst themselves. After all, what Vincent said wasn’t a trivial matter.

"T-This can’t be true," Catelyn said in a low voice, glancing at Petyr.

But Petyr didn’t have time for her now. He was currently trying to find a way to clear his name of these accusations. But this time it wouldn’t be easy, because if Lysa confirmed these allegations, he would have nowhere to run.

"SILENCE!" King Eddard shouted, and when the Great Hall fell silent again, he turned to Vincent and said, "Go on."

"Lysa Arryn’s obsession with Petyr Baelish, unfortunately, didn’t end with her pregnancy. And they continued their relationship until the present day. But it’s important to know that Lord Baelish didn’t harbor any love for Lysa Arryn. He manipulated her by exploiting her obsession with him and used their relationship to his own power. His appointment as Master of Coin was a result of Lady Lysa Arryn requesting it from her husband, Jon Arryn, at Lord Baelish’s behest," Vincent said.

"And what about Jon Arryn’s death?" King Eddard asked.

"Lord Baelish manipulated Lysa Arryn into poisoning her husband, Jon Arryn, with Tears of Lys poison."

"A LIE! Another slander!" Littlefinger shouted, but again one of his men silenced him.

"Do you have proof?" King Eddard asked Vincent.

"Our investigations have resulted in written testimonies from witnesses who saw Lady Lysa and Lord Baelish meet together on numerous occasions. One of these meetings was shortly before Jon Arryn’s death. We also managed to find the merchant from whom Lord Baelish bought the Tears of Lys. The merchant confessed to selling the forbidden poison to Lord Baelish. We have a written confession. Furthermore, the merchant is now imprisoned. I can have the written documents brought here in 15 minutes, your grace. But it will take some time for the prisoners and witnesses to arrive," Vincent said.

And after these words, Domeric could see the blood drain from Littlefinger’s face, his expression turning deathly pale.

Apparently, Peter Baelish finally understood the severity of his situation. He probably hadn’t anticipated that, after his confessions, Vincent’s men would follow up on every piece of information, gathering evidence from the past.

"For now, written documents will suffice," said King Eddard, and then Vincent signaled to one of his men, who quickly left the Throne Room to retrieve the papers.

"Do you know the reason behind Peter Baelish’s murder of Jon Arryn? What was his motive?" King Eddard asked.

"Lord Baelish had many reasons for wanting to kill Jon Arryn, Your Grace. One was that after Jon Arryn’s death, he planned to marry Lysa Arryn and seize control of the Vale. Another was to plunge the Realm into chaos," Vincent said.

The Great Hall was once again filled with the noise of conversations, and King Eddard had to silence them again. Then, turning to Vincent, he asked, "Why did Petry Baelish want chaos?"

"To exploit the chaos to achieve his own goals and increase his own power, Your Grace. From what we’ve learned through questioning, Lord Baelish had access to a lot of secret information through his extensive network of brothels, and he learned about the relationship between Cersei Lannister and Jaime Lannister quite early on," Vincent said.

"What? And he didn’t tell anyone?" King Eddard asked.

"No, Your Grace. But he made some allusions to this matter in his conversations with Stannis Baratheon. This deepened Stannis Baratheon’s suspicions, and he eventually brought the matter to Jon Arryn, who began to investigate," Vincent said.

"Is that why Petyr Baelish had him killed?" Kin Eddard asked, gritting his teeth.

"Not exactly, Your Grace. Jon Arryn had uncovered the truth about Cersei Lannister’s children. But Cersei Lannister also learned that Jon Arryn was investigating this matter. Jon Arryn’s death at that time would have drawn suspicion onto the Lannisters. And Grand Maester Pycelle, loyal to the Lannisters, helped conceal the cause of Jon Arryn’s death. Jon Arryn had also relayed what he learned to Stannis Baratheon, and Lord Baelish knew this. Knowing that Stannis Baratheon wouldn’t let this go, he removed Jon Arryn to sow chaos and seize control of the Vale." Vincent said.

"This is also treason against the throne," King Eddard said, glancing at Petyr Baelish. Then, turning to Vincent, he said, "Do you know why Petyr Baelish sent an assassin for my son, Brandon Stark?"

"Yes, your grace. Lord Baelish wanted to kill Brandon Stark while the Lannisters were in Winterfell, thus shifting the blame onto the Lannisters and increasing the chaos in the Realm by creating a rift between the Starks and the Lannisters," Vincent said.

"I see... Tell me about the forbidden affair between Petyr Baelish and Catelyn Stark," King Eddard finally said, his expression blank.

Domeric knew King Eddard was most interested in this matter. Frankly, he was somewhat surprised that the man had inquired about other things before directly addressing this one.

King Eddard was a man who truly took his duty and honor seriously. He likely didn’t want to neglect his duty, especially since he was also responsible for presiding over this trial.

But this honorable man was now about to learn the details of the greatest betrayal he had ever suffered.

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Next Chapters’ Name:

Ch.452: Guilty or Not Guilty

Ch.453: King Eddard is Ready to Forgive

Ch.454: The Verdict Regarding Catelyn Stark