The music Lynd played last night became the talk of Highgarden, with everyone praising the piece with various complimentary words. Highgarden, already rich in artistic atmosphere, fell into a state of frenzy, with some even proposing that Lynd should be given the title of God of Music.
Facing these restless voices, Lynd remained very calm. After tidying his clothes in the morning, he took Augustus to attend Joel's wedding at his estate outside the city.
Although Joel had a certain reputation in Highgarden as a sword master on par with Fotimo, that was all. His commoner surname already limited his development and also defined his social circle.
Fortunately, Joel didn't care about these things. In his eyes, enjoying life with like-minded friends was the most correct thing to do. Therefore, most of his friends were peddlers and commoners living at the bottom of society. Among those attending the wedding, besides Lynd, only Fotimo had a slightly more noble status.
Because Lynd was dressed very simply, and Augustus was also dressed plainly when they arrived, looking like an ordinary father and son attending a banquet, and very few people recognized Lynd, his arrival at the banquet didn't cause much of a stir.
After an unspoken greeting with Joel, who was busy entertaining guests with his wife, he held Augustus and stayed in a corner, listening to an old fisherman boast about catching a large whale in the Mander River when he was young.
"Don't whales only live in the sea? Why would one appear in an inland river?" Lynd suddenly interrupted the old fisherman in the middle of his enthusiastic boasting, asking.
The old fisherman fell silent, unable to find a suitable explanation. He could only say disinterestedly, "It just appeared in the river, how should I know why?"
After speaking, he picked up his wine glass and went to find other people to boast to.
"Old Borry wasn't lying; he really did catch a whale in the Mander River when he was young." Joel sat down next to Lynd with a wine glass and said, "That whale seemed to have accidentally swum into the inland river and couldn't get out. He and his father discovered it and tried to catch it, but his father fell into the water and drowned. He and the whale's corpse were found on the riverbank."
Lynd turned to look at Joel and asked, "Shouldn't you be preparing for the wedding now? Why did you run out?"
"Wedding? Isn't this the wedding?" Joel pointed around and said, "We're not nobles, we don't need such a formal wedding. Millis is from Lys, and she doesn't like the Westeros way either. Yesterday, we already completed the ceremony according to Lys tradition, with Fotimo as our witness."
"Congratulations!" Lynd was not displeased that Joel hadn't asked him to be the witness; instead, he was genuinely happy for Joel.
Joel smiled, a happy expression on his face.
At this moment, Fotimo also walked over and sat on Lynd's other side. He looked down at Augustus, who was in Lynd's arms, and said, "You've kept this little fellow quite mysterious. There are already rumors outside that your son is deformed, like the Little Devil of Casterly Rock."
Lynd calmly said, "People's mouths are their own; I can't control them, as long as they don't say it in front of me."
"Your personality is truly as steady as still water." Fotimo frowned and said, "I heard about what happened last night; you actually didn't make a move!"
"Do you think I should have made a move?" Lynd retorted.
"I don't know!" Fotimo shook his head and said, "I just know that if I had your current strength and status, and faced such a difficult situation, even if the other party was the King, I would retaliate."
Lynd pushed away Augustus's hand reaching for the wine glass, then said with a serious expression, "Perhaps he was waiting for me to retaliate."
"What do you mean by that?" Fotimo and Joel looked at Lynd in confusion.
Lynd recalled King Robert's behavior last night and said in a deep voice, "Our Majesty might want a war, either he destroys others, or others destroy him."
Fotimo and Joel were both stunned by his words. They then exchanged glances and remained silent.
"Oh, right! I haven't given you a wedding gift yet." Lynd suddenly remembered something, then rummaged through his clothes, pulled out a small box, and handed it to Joel, saying, "You can use this when you can't meet your wife's demands."
"My body is perfectly fine, I don't need this!" Although Joel said he didn't need it, he still honestly took the box. He didn't open it but directly asked Lynd, "Seven Mystery Medicine?"
Lynd nodded.
Upon hearing this, Joel immediately carefully placed it in his inner pocket. House Tyrell had the sales rights for the Seven Mystery Medicine in the South, but they never sold it externally; they only gave it as rewards to their vassals. Therefore, the Seven Mystery Medicine in the South was priceless, with each dose being an exorbitant amount. It was no exaggeration to say that one dose of Seven Mystery Medicine could buy a small estate in the distant suburbs.
The wedding banquet continued, with people joining in continuously. Whether they knew him or not, Joel would invite them to join his wedding banquet, and the lively atmosphere in the estate never ceased.
However, in the afternoon, Lynd's subordinates who remained at the Golden Rose Garden came to report that an assassin had infiltrated the Golden Rose Garden with ill intentions.
Not only was Lynd surprised, but even Fotimo and Joel were very surprised because the timing and target chosen by this assassin revealed a hint of strangeness.
It should be known that with the heir of Highgarden getting married and nobles from all Seven Kingdoms gathered there, Highgarden naturally paid great attention to the safety of its guests, sending out a large number of people to protect them. Choosing this time for an assassination, not to mention whether it could succeed, even if it did, escaping would be extremely difficult.
Secondly, the assassin's target was Lynd, a being widely recognized as closest to a deity. This was simply seeking death.
"You don't need to come with me, just honestly continue your wedding!" Lynd refused Joel's kind offer, then turned to Fotimo, about to say something.
Fotimo immediately said, "I am the Highgarden Sword Master, and I also have a responsibility to protect Highgarden's safety."
Lynd nodded. It was indeed better to have someone from Highgarden present for this matter.
So, Lynd, with Augustus and Fotimo, left Joel's estate and headed towards the Golden Rose Garden.
Soon, the group arrived at the Golden Rose Garden. Jon was already waiting at the entrance. Without further ado, Lynd handed Augustus to the Redemption Sisters, then had Jon lead them to see the assassin's body.
Jon briefly introduced the situation on the way, saying, "The assassin infiltrated the estate disguised as a servant of the Golden Rose Garden. He was discovered and captured on the spot by the Redemption Sisters, but he seemed to be a suicide killer; after being caught, he bit down on a poison sac hidden in his mouth and took his own life."
Hearing this, Fotimo's expression became somewhat grim, because the servants inside the estate were all servants of House Tyrell. Regardless, with the assassin using a servant's identity to infiltrate the estate, House Tyrell was undeniably at fault.
Soon, the two arrived in the courtyard. A corpse lay in the cloister at the edge of the courtyard. The corpse's mouth was open, as if trying to breathe deeply, filled with frothy blood. His face was purplish-blue, and his eyes were filled with blood, turning a bizarre red.
"The Strangler." Seeing such obvious signs of poisoning, Lynd quickly named the poison used by the assassin.
Jon took out a mask and handed it to Lynd, saying, "This is the mask he was wearing when he infiltrated. It's made of human skin. The servant he impersonated is probably in grave danger."
Lynd took the mask and carefully examined it.
Fotimo, who was beside him, said thoughtfully, "Using The Strangler poison, combined with a human skin mask, this assassin should be a Faceless Man."
Hearing Fotimo's words, Lynd slightly shook his head and said, "No, not a Faceless Man. I have several human skin masks from Faceless Men, and I know very well how Faceless Men's masks are made. Although the mask in my hand looks very much like a Faceless Man's mask, in reality, the difference between the two is very great. This mask was made by someone imitating a Faceless Man's mask." As he spoke, he let out a cold laugh and said, "Using a Faceless Man's mask, plus The Strangler poison, it seems this suicide killer was trying to make us believe the assassin was a Faceless Man."
After speaking, Lynd squatted down again and carefully examined the assassin's body.
However, the person who sent the assassin was very cautious. The assassin's body had been cleaned before he came, leaving no valuable clues. The only thing that could be confirmed was that he was a eunuch, and from the scar marks, it seemed to have been a year or two old.
"Unsullied." Fotimo immediately thought of a type of eunuch famous even on the continent of Westeros.
Lynd also nodded in agreement, saying, "The person who trained him completely followed the Unsullied training methods."
"Does anyone in the Seven Kingdoms know the Unsullied training methods?" Fotimo asked in doubt.
Lynd stood up and said, "The Unsullied training method is not difficult; many people in the Seven Kingdoms know the Unsullied training method. The real difficulty lies in patience and time."
Fotimo said with a grim expression, "So, you mean we have no clues to find the person who sent the assassin?"
"It's not entirely without clues." Lynd gave a vague response, but he didn't intend to elaborate further, seemingly wanting to investigate it himself.
"How do you plan to handle this?" Fotimo vaguely guessed Lynd's thoughts, but he didn't say much more, then asked.
Lynd thought for a moment and said, "Lord Fotimo, please inform the Duke about this matter and see how he wants to handle it. I will keep the news sealed to prevent it from getting out."
Fotimo nodded upon hearing this and quickly walked out of the Golden Rose Garden, heading towards Highgarden Castle.
Duke Mace was greatly alarmed upon hearing the news. He knew better than anyone the severe impact this matter would have on Highgarden if it spread. Therefore, he immediately ordered the corpse in the Golden Rose Garden to be secretly brought back, and at the same time, had his subordinates investigate who sent the assassin and who wanted to cause trouble at his heir's wedding.
Although Lynd and Duke Mace both wished to keep this matter quiet to avoid affecting Garlan's wedding, the person behind the scenes was unwilling to see the matter covered up like this.
That very evening, rumors of Lynd's assassination spread from a tavern in the town outside Highgarden, quickly circulating throughout Highgarden and reaching the ears of all the nobles who had come to Highgarden for the wedding.
At first, these nobles all found it somewhat absurd, as in their eyes, assassinating Lynd was no different from seeking death. However, the more they heard such rumors, the more they gradually began to doubt their own judgment.
Nevertheless, as Highgarden spoke out, denouncing such rumors and sending people to arrest some of the rumor-mongers, and Lynd also cooperated with Highgarden in investigating the rumors, everything quickly settled down. They clearly understood that whether this matter was true or not, they had to treat it as false.
Garlan's wedding was held as scheduled in the Great Sept, with guests arriving to witness the ceremony. With the arrival of King Robert and Duke Tywin, the wedding ceremony officially began.
What puzzled the guests, however, was that the wedding was not officiated by the Archbishop of the Great Sept, but rather by an ordinary bishop.
Although there were questions, seeing that House Tyrell had no objections, none of the guests said anything.
Under the witness of the Seven, Garlan and his wife each exchanged vows. Everything was completed smoothly, without any mishaps, and Duke Mace and the others also breathed a sigh of relief.
Ever since the assassin appeared at the Golden Rose Garden, House Tyrell had become extremely nervous, doubling the number of guards stationed in Highgarden and increasing inspection intensity. Even the Duke's personal attendants had to undergo strict checks, all to prevent any further incidents.
At the banquet after the wedding, Duke Mace and his wife looked much more relaxed, chatting and laughing with the guests, unlike before the wedding began when their faces had been constantly tense.
At the banquet, Lynd received attention second only to Duke Mace and his wife and King Robert. Many people actively showed him goodwill, gathered around him, and praised Augustus effusively.
While dealing with these people who were deliberately trying to curry favor with him, Lynd searched the banquet, found his target, then excused himself to those around him and walked towards his target.
Upon reaching them, Lynd said to the crowd, "Gentlemen, I wish to speak with Lord Renly about something. Could you please allow us to have some time alone?"
The people gathered around Lord Renly were all stunned, because they knew very well that Renly and Lynd's relationship was not good.
However, everyone still complied with Lynd's request and dispersed.
Lynd looked at Loras Tyrell, who showed no intention of leaving, and said, "Lord Loras, I believe the Duke might need your care right now."
Loras wanted to say something but was stopped by Renly, who gestured for Loras to leave for a moment.
Loras affectionately touched Renly's hand, then coldly glanced at Lynd, and turned to leave.
After Loras left, Renly looked at Lynd with a complex expression, but his face remained calm, carrying a faint, endearing smile, as if the man who had almost completely sidelined him from the Stormlands was a long-time friend.
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