章 604: Chapter 604: Joffrey Waters
The ripple of shock that surged through the crowd upon Cersei's admission, despite many having already suspected the truth due to the golden hair of King Robert's children, Joffrey and Myrcella, was palpable. Even the nobles on the trial stand couldn't help but exchange whispers.
Many of the Seven Kingdom's dignitaries on the judgment seat were unaware of this truth until Cersei's sudden confession.
"Could this actually be?"
"Robert…"
Eddard Stark's seasoned face tightened as he looked towards his dear friend Robert, the complexity in his eyes undeniable. The revelation that Joffrey and Myrcella were not his children must have struck Robert hard. Eddard's mind drifted to Mya Stone in the Vale; although Robert had left behind his lineage, they were all bastards, none could carry his name.
"This is astonishing."
Meanwhile, the expression of astonishment on the face of Jeffrey Bracken, the Governor of the Riverlands, was quite evident. Having been busy exterminating bandits around Twin River Town, restoring the abandoned castle, and attending to duties in King's Landing upon return, he had no leisure to catch up on street rumors.
"Yes, Lord Bracken, this is the first time I'm hearing of this too,"
Petyr Baelish, the Governor of the Vale, clad in a black cloak and leaning back in his chair, chimed in, his voice clear and articulate.
"Queen Cersei does not belong to the noble true dragon bloodline, yet she bore two bastards."
"It seems Prince Joffrey and Princess Myrcella shouldn't bear the Baratheon name."
Aiming to foster good relations with the top nobles of the Seven Kingdoms, Baelish's path to ascendancy was somewhat peculiar, relying on betrayal. Unlike the others with family names and influence, the Baelish clan was rootless, making his footing more precarious.
"Indeed, poor children."
"What should be their surname then? Lannister?"
"Perhaps it should be Joffrey Waters."
Jeffrey Bracken, not quite savvy with the political machinations, engaged politely with Baelish. His focus had always been on naval leadership, having relinquished the post of Prime Minister out of exhaustion.
As Baelish and Bracken casually conversed on the stand, the majority of the attendees cast their gaze upon the two children.
As Lord of Twin River Town had pointed out, the most pitiable were these two children, who had done nothing to deserve this massive sin now looming over their heads.
Everyone looked at Joffrey and Myrcella, and the golden-haired boy, too, was momentarily blank, struggling to accept that the man he had called father all these years wasn't really his father. He was only holding onto his mother's instructions - to protect his sister.
"This scene seems familiar, Viserys,"
The brunette girl seated to the left of Viserys suddenly said.
"Hmm?"
Viserys was momentarily startled, then turned towards her.
"Don't you think he resembles you? We fled King's Landing just like that."
Renys pointed at Joffrey and Myrcella below, the boy holding his sister's hand, reminding her of how Viserys looked back then.
However, Viserys' situation was more dire; with only a handful of soldiers and countless people wanting him dead, his head bore a hefty bounty. Viserys and Renys, two children back then, were also caring for their infant sister Daenerys.
Viserys, a bit speechless at the comparison with Joffrey, retorted,
"No, not at all."
"Joffrey is not of my seed. Cersei was barely in her early teens when he was conceived."
His not-so-amusing sarcasm made Queen Arianne, seated to his right, burst into laughter, covering her mouth with her hand.
At this moment, Robert, who had been the center of mockery and scorn, second only to the focus on Joffrey and Myrcella, spoke up.
"Enough."
His voice was deep, trembled, and oppressive, his breathing heavy, much like a dormant volcano ready to erupt.
His fists clenched, head slightly bowed making it hard to discern his facial expressions, but the chains binding his arms and legs trembled under the strain, resonating through the room.
"I said… enough!"
Robert had anticipated mockery and insults from his foes today, but he had resigned himself to death. In fact, he had been ready to die since his imprisonment and had earlier impatiently urged Viserys to get it over with.
Death didn't frighten Robert, but what he hadn't anticipated was this colossal surprise before his demise.
He had been cuckolded for ten years, the greenery on his hat was glowing bright, and the children he had raised for years weren't his, but bastards borne of Cersei and Jaime's adulterous affair.
In his trust, Robert had never suspected. Now, retrospecting, he realized that perhaps they had been rolling on his bed, exchanging special glances filled with affection right under his nose.
He had never wondered why both his children bore golden hair like their mother, while all other Baratheon family members, including his bastards, had black hair.
Robert Baratheon, albeit fallen, was once a king. His voice still carried a weight of authority, like a volcano on the brink of eruption. It evoked a sense of danger among the Seven Kingdom nobles, especially the war-hardened generals, who straightened up and toned down their expressions.
The cacophony around gradually subsided as everyone's attention now focused on Robert.
"Cersei."
"Stop it."
Robert Baratheon, head lowered, chains clanking, fists clenched, arms trembling slightly, and muscles on his shoulders taut, stopped Cersei.
On the other end, Cersei on the witness stand, hearing her husband's voice, turned her head. The smile of vengeance still curling on her lips, she was ready to continue her taunts.
However, seeing the state Robert was in, the words at the tip of her tongue suddenly halted, and she swallowed them back.
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