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In King's Landing, on the famed Street of Silk, dawn was already approaching.
After a full night of work, the many prostitutes were finally beginning to fall asleep.
Along the street, a few clients still hurried out of the brothels, clothes in disarray, rushing home.
Dressed in a black cloak and carrying Ice wrapped in black cloth across his back, Robb walked to a corner of the Street of Silk and knocked on the door of a small house marked with the sign they had agreed on, carved into the entrance.
Creeeak.
The door opened at once.
Robb quickly glanced to both sides before stepping inside.
The house was small, but not cramped, decorated with all kinds of sensual ornaments. Inside were three middle-aged men with fierce faces and a young man also dressed in black.
"Lord Robb!"
The moment he saw Robb enter, the young man bowed immediately in greeting.
Robb smiled, nodded, and gave him a light pat on the shoulder before saying:
"No need to be so formal, Crey. You returned before me, so I assume everything went smoothly?"
"Yes, Lord Robb. On our side, the mission was completed ahead of time. Those three were far too drunk. It wasn't any trouble."
The clean-cut young man, Crey Cerwyn, replied in a calm tone.
He was the eldest son of Lord Medger Cerwyn, lord of Cerwyn.
Back when Robb had gone to Hornwood to strike a deal with Ramsay, he had afterward traveled in secret to Cerwyn to visit Lord Medger.
At that time, already loyal and well-disposed toward House Stark, Lord Medger had, in a moment of sincerity, sought to draw his house even closer to Robb by offering his own son to serve among the direwolf guards.
But Robb had already made other plans.
After accepting Crey's loyalty, he did not bring him back to Winterfell.
Instead, he sent him to King's Landing, placing him in advance as a piece in his game.
That same night, under the protection of three guards chosen by Lord Medger, Crey departed quietly for King's Landing.
That was also the reason why, during the military review Robb held for the northern lords at Winterfell, aside from those whose sons already held positions in the city and Lord Wyman, who had come personally to deliver the Myrish ointment, Lord Medger had also appeared unusually early, in person, at Winterfell.
The mission Robb had initially given Crey was simple: go to King's Landing, settle in a busy district, and then, by any means possible, establish connections with mid-ranking officers of the Gold Cloaks.
Beyond that, he was not to involve himself in anything else.
Robb had emphasized that point repeatedly.
Because of that, when Crey learned that Eddard Stark had been imprisoned and that his attendants and servants had been slaughtered, he still held back the urge to investigate.
The previous night, after leaving the smithy disguised as a drunk, Robb had located Crey's hideout on the Street of Silk through their prearranged signal.
After assigning tasks to everyone, the groups split and moved in two different directions.
"By the way, Crey, in your last letter you told me you had already found that escape route. Is everything truly prepared?"
After hearing the report, Robb nodded and asked again.
Their secret correspondence was known only to Maester Luwin. Aside from him, no one in Winterfell knew of it.
And that was fortunate.
If the spy had discovered it, all of Robb's preparations would have been ruined.
"Based on the general information you gave us, we went out to scout the area every day for over a month.
I can guarantee there will be no problem with the escape route."
Hearing the question, Crey answered with complete confidence.
"Mm. When dawn comes, the nobles and powerful figures of King's Landing will feel threatened from all sides.
Most likely, they'll think I'm simply taking revenge at random, without realizing there's a purpose hidden within that revenge."
"Lord Robb, what if... they manage to suppress all of this? Or if someone uncovers our true objective?"
Hearing Crey's question, always considering the worst-case scenario, Robb silently praised his caution and replied:
"If they suppress it, then we still have this night—and the next.
By then, the powerful of King's Landing will already have learned to fear the coming of night.
As for uncovering our true objective... if Tywin or Tyrion were in King's Landing, I might be more concerned.
But the others? If they're perceptive enough, they might discover that Janos wrote something before he died.
Even so, it wouldn't damage our plan too much."
"Understood. I'm relieved knowing you've already considered it."
The young Crey nodded with a maturity beyond his years.
"Ah! Oh!"
Robb was about to continue when the sounds coming from the house next door—whose walls clearly offered little soundproofing—interrupted him.
He pulled a pouch of gold coins from his cloak and tossed it onto the table. Then he tapped his nose and said:
"Crey, I told you to find a busy street, but... living here? Can you even sleep at night?
This is something I happened to acquire from Janos. One hundred gold dragons. You know King's Landing better than I do. Decide how it should be used."
"Lord Robb, I chose this place for a reason.
Brothels are, by nature, the best places for information to circulate. Mid- and high-ranking nobles, as well as the Gold Cloaks, love coming here.
This is where I met the deputy commander I managed to get close to.
This money came at just the right time. It can be put to very good use."
Crey smiled as he explained his choice and, without ceremony, took the pouch of gold from the table.
"Good. After a night like this, get some rest.
Hm... if that's even possible here."
Hearing the constant sounds from outside, Robb shook his head in resignation.
"Lord Robb, in these past two months of socializing here, I've met many beauties of all kinds. If you'd like—"
"No. For now, we conserve our strength. Later... we'll see."
"As you command, my lord."
"Ah!"
When the first rays of morning sunlight touched King's Landing, a scream tore through the city, marking the beginning of chaos.
...
In the Red Keep, in the throne room.
"Your Grace, this morning it was discovered that Ilyn Payne, the royal executioner, was found dead in his home. And Janos Slynt, commander of the Gold Cloaks, was also found dead along with his entire family.
In addition, three gate captains, who were off duty, were found dead in a tavern.
All signs indicate... they were killed by Robb Stark."
With a grave expression, Varys reported to Joffrey, who sat upon the Iron Throne, the information gathered that morning.
"Didn't they say Robb Stark was hiding near the Mud Gate? Then how is he killing people all over the city?
Have the Gold Cloaks captured him?"
Hearing that his officers had been murdered, Joffrey frowned and demanded sharply.
"Your Grace, when the Gold Cloaks arrived at the scenes, they found only the bodies. Not even a trace of Robb Stark."
With Janos dead, Littlefinger had temporarily taken command of the Gold Cloaks. Hearing Joffrey's question, he answered at once.
At that, Joffrey's frown deepened.
"If no one saw anything, then how can you be so certain it was Robb Stark?"
Littlefinger turned to look at Varys. But as the Spider remained with his hands hidden in his sleeves and his expression as steady as stone, Littlefinger had no choice but to answer himself:
"Your Grace... beside every body, there was a phrase written in blood.
'Winter is coming.'"
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