He was ordered to stand watch here.
His current identity was that of an unknown free rider who had come to the North with the King.
He served only for money and food, with no loyalty.
This identity had its pros and cons.
On one hand, he didn't have to constantly follow a certain noble, allowing him more freedom and stealth in his actions.
But at the same time, he lost Winterfell's trust, and many important places would not be open to him, including the location of his target.
He could only rack his brains every day to get closer to his target—Maester Luwin of Winterfell.
It was said that someone was secretly plotting to frame the noble Lannisters. His task was to monitor the target, preventing the malicious villain from transmitting even a single word of slander to Maester Luwin, and even more so, preventing the Starks from hearing such rumors.
This was not easy.
The tower where the Maester resided was near the city wall, not far from the bustling Hunter's Gate, and the Bell Tower, Kitchen, Kennels, and Stables were also nearby.
It was fine during the day, as many people were active throughout Winterfell, and he wasn't conspicuous. But what use was that? The malicious villain wouldn't act during the day; his battlefield would surely be at night.
What reason could he have to stay here at night? None.
He could only hide his tracks.
Fortunately, he had undergone rigorous training and knew how to sneak quietly without alarming people or animals.
The only thing he wasn't confident he could hide from were those few direwolves.
Every time he got close to those eerie creatures, he was intimidated by their eyes. He had no doubt that if he took a few more steps forward, those wolf cubs would pounce directly.
Luckily, those wolves were kept by their wolf masters, even sleeping in the Main Keep far away.
The Gods be praised.
His actions this evening were very easy.
He only saw three guards before climbing onto the hidden stone ledge outside the window of this two-story building.
He knew it was because His Highness the Crown Prince and the two Little Wolves had gone deep into the Crypts, and Catelyn Tully had sent a large number of people in to search, who were probably just coming out now.
The defenses on this path were naturally much fewer.
Thank you, Your Highness the Crown Prince.
Just as he thought of this, a gust of cold wind blew, and he almost couldn't help but cough out loud.
Winterfell at night was truly too cold; having been born on the summer coast of the Sunset Sea, he had never experienced such severe cold.
He tried hard to stretch his limbs and press against the wall beneath him.
The underground hot springs of Winterfell flowed within the walls, and faint warmth seeped out from the stones, providing him with his only comfort.
Truly amazing.
He thought of the "Glass Gardens," which could even grow fruits and vegetables and bloom beautiful flowers.
He heard it was as warm as spring in the South inside.
The target inside the room stood up, and he quickly held his breath, burying his body completely in the dark corner.
The target took a book and sat back down.
The target fell asleep on the desk.
He was not surprised; the old Maester who read and wrote by candlelight often worked late into the night, so a nap was quite normal.
He was just a little frustrated.
There had been no movement during these days of surveillance, and he was beginning to doubt how important the position Lord Tyrion had arranged for him actually was.
After all, his other dozen or so companions also had their own targets.
Although Maester Luwin should be one of the few people the Starks trusted most, and the Main Keep was heavily guarded, the probability of someone wanting to deliver a message coming to Maester Luwin was high, but the fact was he hadn't found anything.
Sigh.
Joffrey on the other side was also quite helpless.
He didn't know if his demands were too high, or if the Lannisters' intelligence capabilities were indeed insufficient.
In short, over a month ago, Tyrion had given him over a dozen names, people Tywin had instructed Tyrion to use to prevent anyone from sowing discord between the Lion and the Grey Wolf.
This meant that Joffrey still had to deal with Lysa Tully's secret letter incident in Winterfell.
After finally gaining the favor of a few Little Wolves, House Stark was about to become a strong ally. How could a single letter ruin all of this?
That hateful Littlefinger, truly the source of all evil.
Although he knew the Lannisters were prepared, he was completely uneasy.
Every night, he used Mind Runes and Scout Runes to monitor Maester Luwin and the Eddard couple, fearing that he might accidentally miss the secret letter and fail completely.
Fortunately, he no longer needed long hours of sleep to recover his energy, otherwise, he would have died suddenly long ago.
Even so, the nights were still difficult to endure.
His only diversion was observing these few targets of his.
The Duke and Duchess Stark were full of energy.
This Lannister spy, whose real name was unknown, could lie in wait all night. He was a talented individual.
Maester Luwin was a typical maester. The thin old man with gray hair and gray eyes had no private entertainment. He spent his days reading letters, writing letters, reading books, feeding ravens, and handling various tasks assigned by the Duke.
After observing Maester Luwin's daily routine for several days, Joffrey couldn't help but feel sorry for the second sons of Westerosi nobles.
To avoid too much conflict in the family inheritance, most second sons without inheritance rights became maesters, monks, or members of the Night's Watch.
These professions all required them to remain unmarried and childless, giving up their lands and titles.
Even the Kingsguard, the most glorious existence among knights, which Bran had dreamed of since childhood, also happened to require celibacy.
This showed how much noble lords valued the complete inheritance of their family lands.
Joffrey decided to fight for the rights of second sons. The more dispersed and weaker the noble power, the more at ease the King could be.
A figure suddenly entered Joffrey's sensory range.
Joffrey's spirits immediately lifted.
Finally here?
The figure in his "vision" moved haltingly, constantly observing the surroundings. Clearly, he wasn't just passing by.
The figure held a finely carved wooden box in his arms, containing a lens and a letter in a hidden compartment.
Joffrey watched him walk step by step towards the Maester's tower.
Didn't that spy notice?
Joffrey's vision returned to the spy. This guy was actually asleep at a time like this!
His luck is too bad, isn't it?!
The ravens in the rookery suddenly flew up in a flock, circling silently above the tower.
Something's not right! Joffrey felt something.
Three-Eyed Crow?
He quickly activated the Information Rune and wove a dream for the spy.
The spy suddenly woke up.
I fell asleep? And had two strange dreams?
He believed his professional standards wouldn't allow him to make such a mistake, but at this moment, he didn't have time to think about the strangeness of it.
A figure appeared in front of his target.
The figure quietly put down a wooden box and was about to leave.
The target opened his eyes.
The figure immediately fled frantically.
He waited quietly. That guy ran to a spot a few meters below him.
He gripped his dagger and jumped down.
A cut to the throat.
A perfect strike, but he didn't succeed.
He looked towards Maester Luwin on the tower side. The old maester had already picked up the wooden box.
He had no choice but to go over and end it all.
The ravens became more and more agitated, gradually emitting hoarse, sharp cries.
Joffrey encountered an invisible enemy.
He "looked" towards Bran's bedroom. Bran was sleeping very quietly, with a strange power lingering around him.
Three-Eyed Crow!
Joffrey added this bastard to his blacklist.
Provoking Bran, daring to disturb my subordinate's work, and trying to sow discord between the lion and the wolf.
You're finished!
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