Then, a person walked to his side, helped him up from the ground, and then brought a water skin to his mouth. He could smell the scent of wine coming from the water skin.
He swallowed hard, and in a hoarse and weak voice, he said, "Are you here to poison me? Just like you poisoned Robert and Jon."
"I'm sorry, Lord Eddard, but I'm afraid I cannot grant your wish, for neither the King nor the Prime Minister was poisoned by me," Varys's voice reached Eddard's ears. For the first time, he found this voice, which usually disgusted him, very pleasant.
Then, Varys raised the water skin in his hand and slowly poured it into Eddard's mouth. At first, Eddard was somewhat resistant, but as the cool wine moistened his parched throat, he felt an unprecedented comfort. He began to drink actively until the entire skin of wine was consumed, and he gradually awoke from his semi-comatose state, looking at the other person behind Varys.
"Lord Linde?" Eddard exclaimed when he clearly saw the person.
"I'll wait outside," Varys stood up and walked out of the cell.
Eddard struggled to prop himself up, leaning against the wall. After regaining a little strength, he said with a bitter smile, "I didn't expect to meet you in such a state; it's quite embarrassing!" With that, he formally said to Lord Linde, "Lord Linde, my life and death are irrelevant, but the legitimacy of the kingdom should not be tainted. I hope you can for King Robert…"
"Wait, Lord Eddard, wait," Lord Linde interrupted Eddard Stark, squatted down, and looked Eddard in the eye, saying, "I have a few questions I want to ask you first."
"Please ask," Eddard said in a deep voice.
Lord Linde asked seriously, "Who exactly was the heir to the throne designated in King Robert's will?"
Eddard hesitated for a moment and said, "It was Joffrey." Then, he immediately defended himself, "That's because he didn't know Joffrey was actually the illegitimate son of the Kingslayer and Queen Cersei's incestuous relationship, and not a descendant of Baratheon at all."
Lord Linde asked again, "On what basis do you believe Joffrey is not King Robert's descendant?"
Eddard replied, "Because of his eyes and hair. I've seen all the descendants of the Baratheon family and other families combined, and without exception, they all have black hair and blue eyes."
"So you're judging whether someone is another person's descendant based solely on hair and eye color," Lord Linde looked at Eddard and said, "Bloodlines are far more complex than you imagine. Appearance is not enough to be a basis for judgment. Only by starting with the bloodline can one determine if someone is another person's descendant."
"Impossible, I cannot be wrong," Eddard's face showed a hint of confusion, then he said with a firm expression.
Lord Linde continued to ask, "Even if what you say is true, why didn't you tell King Robert about this?"
Eddard replied, "I couldn't tell Robert. Given Robert's character, he would have killed those children if he knew, and those children are innocent. They shouldn't bear their parents' sins."
Lord Linde shook his head dismissively and said, "Since that's the case, why didn't you tell Robert the truth before he died? If Robert had known then, he should have made another will, and it wouldn't have harmed those children, right? Why didn't you say anything then?"
Eddard said with a sorrowful expression, "I didn't want to see Robert die with regrets."
"Very interesting, Lord Eddard, you are very interesting!" Lord Linde looked at Eddard Stark and said with a smile, "Although all your intentions were good and well-meaning, if you think carefully about the whole process, you'll realize your current predicament is entirely deserved."
Eddard looked at Lord Linde with eyes full of anger, wanting to question why Lord Linde was mocking him so.
"You don't need to look at me like that, because I'm not wrong," Lord Linde stood up, looking down at Eddard, and said, "You deceived your friend, concealed something important to him, and let him die full of regret. You violated the will of a king and a friend, arbitrarily changing the heir in the will. You also desecrated the laws of a country, arbitrarily choosing a kingdom's heir according to your wishes. Lord Eddard, you still believe you did nothing wrong, that you were always right?"
Eddard sat there stunned, his soul seemingly drawn out of him.
Lord Linde asked with a hint of pity, "Lord Eddard, when you did these things, did you consider the consequences of your actions?"
"I…" Eddard was completely unable to answer, staring blankly at Lord Linde.
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