Chapter 454: The Verdict Regarding Catelyn Stark

WILOW-Ch.454: The Verdict Regarding Catelyn Stark

Red Keep, King’s Landing

POV of Domeric Pendragon

Contrary to Domeric’s wishes, Catelyn Stark continued to speak and recount the details of that day.

"Then Petyr came to me and offered me orange juice for my headache. After I drank it, Petyr tried to convince me. He said that what had already happened had happened and that a little more wouldn’t change anything." She said.

’Oi! Oi! Woman, you’re going in the wrong direction.’ Although Domeric listened expressionlessly from the outside, he could see King Eddard’s face harden beside him. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Then Petyr said that you had already betrayed me in the past and brought your bastard child into our house. And he said this was the best opportunity to get revenge for the betrayal you committed against me. So that we would both be equal. I don’t know why I listened to him. It must have been because of what Petyr gave me to drink," Catelyn Stark said.

Domeric no longer thought Catelyn Stark’s words were involuntary outbursts. They were planned words.

Even if Catelyn Stark wasn’t found guilty in this trial, she knew her reputation was already ruined.

Whether under the influence of drugs or not, willingly or through rape, she would ultimately be a woman who slept with another man and became pregnant with another man’s child.

And she knew how the nobles of Westeros would look at her and speak of her afterward. Being a queen meant that these conversations would only be held behind her back.

Therefore, Catelyn Stark apparently aimed to lessen her own shame by using her husband Eddard Stark’s past betrayal and bringing a bastard into their home.

She was trying to make people see her and King Eddard as two husband and wife who had wronged each other, rather than just her as the one who had made a mistake.

And she didn’t seem to care much that King Eddard hadn’t actually betrayed her and that Jon wasn’t his bastard.

But to Domeric, Catelyn’s plan to gain this little bit of prestige was quite dangerous. She had just thrown away the forgiveness she was sure to obtain.

Did she think King Eddard would forgive her anyway?

Or that King Eddard would be ashamed of his past mistakes and treat her more leniently?

But what she forgot was that King Eddard had never betrayed her or tarnished his honour.

’In Westeros, the political games really never end. Even between husband and wife,’ Domeric thought.

"I never betrayed you. I neither slept with another woman and impregnated her, nor did I bring a bastard child home. Jon was entrusted to me by my sister Lyanna, and I kept my promise to her, raising him as my own son," King Eddard said, grinding his teeth.

"But you never bothered to tell me. For years, all of Westeros talked about your honourless act. And I became a woman forced to raise her husband’s bastard in her own home," Catelyn Stark now stood up and spoke loudly to King Eddard.

Domeric was increasingly thinking that this was turning into more of a husband-wife argument than a trial. For a moment, he considered intervening.

But then, seeing the people in the Great Hall watching this drama with a glint in their eyes, he gave up on intervening.

If that’s what King Eddard and Catelyn Stark wanted, and if that’s what the people here wanted too, why would anyone interfere?

"And you can’t exactly be described as merciful in this matter. Everyone knows how you treated Jon all these years. What would have changed if I had told you the truth? You would have thought you were wronged in everything you went through. Then only the Old Gods would know what you would have done. Perhaps you would have arranged for Jon’s death and said it was for the safety of House Stark," King Eddard said, raising his voice.

"So, you were right in everything you did, and you didn’t make any mistake at all, Ned. I was the guilty and evil one, in your eyes, a monster who kills innocents, is that right? Maybe sleeping with Petyr was actually a good thing. Maybe it’s your punishment from the gods. Because Seven knows you have no intention of admitting your own mistakes," Catlyn Stark shouted.

From then on, voices began to rise slowly from the Great Hall.

But King Eddard, without hearing them, shouted back at Catelyn Stark in the same manner, "Do you hear what you’re saying, woman? You don’t know what you’re talking about!"

"What’s wrong, Ned? Did it bother you? You know what? I don’t remember much about our first time having sex, but I know I moaned with pleasure. And the sex we had after I woke up, that was definitely the most pleasurable sex of my life. I did things with Petyr that you couldn’t even imagine, and Petyr gave me more pleasure than you could ever give me. He came inside me so much that I’m sure I would have gotten pregnant even if I had drunk real moon tea. And believe me, I even prayed to Seven that this pleasure would never end, because I knew you could never give me such pleasure." Catelyn Stark shouted.

Following Catelyn’s words, the Great Hall fell into complete silence.

Catalyn Stark was silent, King Eddard was silent, Petyr Baelish was silent, and even Domeric was frozen in place by Catelyn Stark’s unexpected words.

Domeric didn’t know if Catelyn had said these words out of anger or for some other reason. Perhaps the hormonal imbalance brought on by her pregnancy had caused such a reaction.

But what Domeric knew was that Catelyn Stark was totally fucked up at the moment.

After a while, Catelyn Stark must have remembered that this was not her chambers at Winterfell, but the Throne Room of the Red Keep, and she tried to speak again. "I... I..."

But the few words she uttered, without knowing what to say, were lost amidst the sounds of conversation rising from the Great Hall.

King Eddard, having recovered from his shock, his face became expressionless and blank, and he sat on his throne for a while, lost in thought.

Regardless of Catelyn Stark’s past crimes, the words she had just spoken in public were enough to warrant a trial for treason against a Royal House.

After all, the reputation of houses was highly valued, and Catelyn Stark had just jeopardized the honour of the Royal House Stark.

Domeric didn’t believe King Eddard could let such a thing go unpunished.

A few moments later, as if he had made a decision, King Eddard looked at the people in the Great Hall with a stern gaze and shouted, "SILENCE!"

After the Great Hall fell silent, King Eddard began to speak. "Catelyn Stark, accused of adultery, has admitted her guilt and the infidelity she committed against the Royal House Stark in her defence. And it appears she shows no remorse for these crimes."

"Therefore, I, King Eddard Stark, as King of the Kingdom of Honour, find her guilty of adultery and infidelity."

"Ned..." Catelyn Stark tried to speak, but King Eddard ignored her and continued to pronounce his verdict.

"As punishment, the High Septon will annul the marriage between Catelyn Stark and King Eddard Stark, and Catelyn Tully will be forbidden from ever setting foot in the Kingdom and Honour again."

"Following the annulment, Catelyn Tully will be sent to her father’s House, the Tullys, and allowed to remain there until she gives birth to the child she is carrying."

"After giving birth, Catelyn Tully will be sent to the Silent Sisters and will live the rest of her life as a Silent Sister."

"No..." Catelyn must have begun to understand the consequences of her actions by then, but it was already too late.

For many noblewomen, being sent to the Silent Sisters was a punishment worse than execution, or perhaps even more severe.

For them, it was a relentless torture to spend the rest of her life without speaking to anyone, only preparing the dead for burial.

"The bastard child born to Peter Baelish and Catelyn Tully will be cared for by the Tullys." King Eddard said, finishing announcing Catelyn Tully’s punishment.

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Next Chapters’ Name:

Ch.455: Veritaserum

Ch.456: Do You Have a Champion?

Ch.457: Camelot – Home Sweet Home