WILOW-Ch.452: Guilty or Not Guilty

Red Keep, King’s Landing

POV of Domeric Pendragon

"Tell me about the forbidden affair between Petyr Baelish and Catelyn Stark," King Eddard finally said.

"We have witnesses who saw Lady Catelyn go to Lord Baelish’s brothel the day before the tournament King Robert organized to celebrate the betrothal of Lady Sansa and his son. Although Lord Baelish keeps everyone away from his office, curious onlookers are never lacking in King’s Landing, your grace. Of course, all their testimonies have been recorded in writing," Vincent said.

Domeric had noticed the sour expression on Lord Stark’s face when Vincent mentioned Sansa and Joffrey’s engagement.

"Whores’ words. Is that what you’re presenting as evidence? Is there anyone in King’s Landing who doesn’t know that whores will do anything for enough money?" Petyr Baelish said.

Apparently, the man still hadn’t given up trying to clear his name.

"Go on, Vincent Page," King Eddard said, giving Petyr Baelish a cold glare.

"According to other curious witnesses who worked at Lord Baelish’s brothel, they heard moans coming from inside when they approached Lord Baelish’s office," Vincent said.

"Those weren’t mine. It could have been anyone there." Petyr said, but this time, at King Eddard’s signal, the men at Petyr’s side landed another punch on his stomach and told him to be quiet.

Then King Eddard signaled Vincent to continue.

"According to the witnesses and Lord Baelish’s own confessions, Lady Catelyn spent the night in Lord Baelish’s office. And she did not leave his chambers until noon on the day of the tournament. Then Lord Baelish offered Lady Catelyn moon tea and arranged for her to return to the Red Keep via a secret passage," Vincent said.

Domeric could now hear King Eddard grinding his teeth in anger.

"That’s enough for me. I want you to send me the documents you mentioned as soon as possible. Anything else about the crimes of..." King Eddard continued speaking, but Domeric interrupted him.

"King Eddard, don’t rush," he said.

"Is there anything you’d like to add, Your Majesty? If possible... if possible, I don’t want to hear the details of this matter," said King Eddard.

The man now seemed much older than he was to Domeric.

"But I think you should hear the details, King Eddard. And not just you, Lady Catelyn should hear them too," Domeric said.

The woman in question, upon hearing her name, raised her head, which she had kept bowed all the time, and looked at them. But her eyes were as lifeless as those of a dead fish.

"What do you mean, Your Majesty?" King Eddard asked.

Domeric thought that in his anger, King Eddard had overlooked an important detail.

"Vincent Page just said that Lord Baelish offered Lady Catelyn moon tea, but... considering Lady Catelyn’s condition, doesn’t that seem strange to you?" Domeric asked.

"King Eddard must have understood, for he quickly turned his head first to Lady Catelyn’s belly and then to Vincent, saying, "Is there a mistake in the information you’ve gathered, Vincent Page?"

Catelyn, upon hearing Domeric’s words, seemed to regain some of the light in her eyes. This pregnancy was one of the biggest things confusing her.

The most logical explanation she had come up with was that moon tea hadn’t worked. But this was an unprecedented situation.

"There is no mistake in the information we have gathered, Your Grace. Lord Baelish told Lady Catelyn that it was moon tea when he offered it to her, and Lady Catelyn drank it thinking it was moon tea." Vincent said, and paused for a moment.

Then he added. "But actually, what Lord Baelish offered was a drink known as Fake Moon Tea, and while it resembled moon tea in every way, it didn’t have its effects," Vincent said.

"WHAT?" Catelyn Stark shouted, rising to her feet and glaring at Petyr. "You... you... Why?"

She seemed unsure of what to say, yet her action was enough to convince everyone in the Great Hall that Vincent’s account was true.

King Eddard, now more thoughtful than angry, made a gesture; one of the men approached Catelyn and told her to sit down.

Catelyn Stark did as she was told, but her fiery gaze never left Petyr.

After a moment of thinking, King Eddard turned to Vincent and said, "Why did Petyr Baelish do such a thing? No matter how much I think about it, I can’t make sense of it. Tell everything you know, Vincent Page."

"Because, just as Lysa Arryn was obsessed with Petyr Baelish, Lord Baelish had been obsessed with Lady Catelyn since their years in Riverrun. And behind many of his plans, his ultimate goal was to obtain Lady Catelyn. When Lady Catelyn visited him in his brothel, he seized the opportunity and added a concoction to her wine," Vincent said.

"What?" This news surprised Catelyn Stark again.

"A concoction? For what purpose?" King Eddard asked, but Domeric knew from the way King Eddard gripped the armrests of his throne that he guessed what it was for.

"According to Lord Baelish himself, this concoction not only aroused the person but also caused them to lose touch with reality. Furthermore, those who drank it remembered almost nothing after falling asleep and waking up," Vincent said.

This information must have shocked everyone, as the Great Hall fell silent for a while.

Then King Eddard broke the silence. "YOU DID RAPE MY WIFE?!!" he roared. But before he could get up, Domeric grabbed him by the arm.

As a king and the judge of this trial, it would be inappropriate for him to attack Petyr Baelish here.

But Catelyn Stark apparently had no such intention, and suddenly she rose to her feet, lunging at Petyr and shouting, "I’LL KILL YOU! I’LL KILL YOU WITH MY OWN HANDS!!!"

Domeric had to give her credit. The woman was quite agile for a pregnant woman, and by the time the men reached her, she was almost about to strangle Petyr.

But before Catelyn could do it, the men restrained her and sat her back down in her chair. If they hadn’t held her there, the woman, thrashing in her chair, would most likely have lunged at Petyr again.

Meanwhile, King Eddard, under Domeric’s unwitting calming spell, had managed to regain his composure.

King Eddard nodded in thanks to Domeric, then turned back to Vincent and asked, "Are you telling me my wife is innocent in this?"

Domeric couldn’t help but hear the hopeful tone in King Eddard’s voice.

But alas, the reality wasn’t so sweet. And Vincent’s next words would likely take away some of that hope.

Frankly, Domeric himself didn’t know what to think about this "crime" of Catelyn Stark.

Even though he had previously warned House Stark about Petyr Baelish, and Lord Eddard had relayed the warning to his wife, Catelyn Stark had still gone to visit him.

And in a brothel, no less.

But did that make her guilty?

No.

Perhaps a fool, but not guilty.

And Petyr had certainly drugged her and raped her in their first intercourse. At that point, Catelyn Stark was a victim.

Domeric didn’t know this in the information his agents initially gathered and relayed to Lord Eddard. After all, the only person who knew at the time was Petyr Baelish himself.

At the time, with the information he had, Domeric was certain that Catelyn Stark had cheated on Eddard Stark. But now? After hearing everything Petyr Baelish said during his interrogation?

He wasn’t sure.

The real complication began with Catelyn Stark waking up the day after Petyr Baelish raped her.

Petyr had given her another aphrodisiac after she woke up. But this time it was a classic aphrodisiac, one that didn’t completely break her connection to reality.

According to Petyr’s own words, he wanted to have sex with Catelyn while she was sober and willing.

And Catelyn Stark hadn’t resisted.

No one knew how much of what happened afterward was Catelyn’s consent and how much was due to the aphrodisiac.

Petyr Baelish said that Catelyn continued even after the aphrodisiac wore off, but if she had initially done the deed under the influence of the aphrodisiac, could she have stopped when its effect wore off?

Even Domeric didn’t have an answer to that.

Therefore, this matter needed to be brought to the forefront and resolved as soon as possible.

And the only person who could decide the fate of Catelyn Stark was King Eddard himself.

Guilty or not guilty.

Forgiveness or punishment.

It was entirely up to King Eddard.

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Next Chapters’ Name:

Ch.453: King Eddard is Ready to Forgive

Ch.454: The Verdict Regarding Catelyn Stark

Ch.455: Veritaserum