When Viserys arrived at Harrenhal with the royal entourage, the entire castle was already bustling with noise and excitement.
Banners of various noble houses fluttered atop the battlements: the three-headed fire dragon of House Targaryen, the Direwolf of House Stark in the North, the roaring lion of House Lannister in the West, the trout of House Tully in The Riverlands, the soaring falcon of House Arryn in the Vale, the golden rose of House Tyrell in The Reach, the crowned stag of House Baratheon in The Stormlands, and the golden spear piercing a red sun of House Martell in Dorne.
There were many other banners as well, with nearly the nobility of the entire Seven Kingdoms gathered here.
After a few days of rest and preparation, the tournament finally began.
Viserys was assigned to the best seat in the royal box, flanked by the gloomy-faced “The Mad King” Aerys and several high lords such as dukes.
The Mad King’s fingers kept drumming on the armrest, his gaze sweeping across the crowd as if a treasonous conspiracy lurked behind every smile.
This was the first time “The Mad King” had stepped foot outside the Red Keep since the Duskendale rebellion.
In truth, “The Mad King” had been relatively normal before the defiance of Duskendale; he had even participated in the War of the Ninepenny Kings back then, and his previous flaws were merely a penchant for taking other men’s wives.
Yet it was precisely because of this hobby that he set his sights on the lord’s wife in Duskendale, only to be promptly seized by the lord and imprisoned and tortured for half a year.
He was ultimately rescued all alone by Barristan.
But after that, his temperament changed drastically, taking on the tendencies of “The Mad King”.
Viserys knew the reason for his coming this time: Varys had told him that Rhaegar intended to meet with lords from all regions during this tournament and secretly discuss driving him from the throne.
Viserys had always kept Varys under surveillance.
Just as the tournament opened, “The Mad King” Aerys suddenly announced publicly that he was appointing Lord Tywin’s eldest son, Jaime Lannister, to the Kingsguard, and becoming a member of the Kingsguard meant forfeiting all rights of inheritance and marriage.
One must know how greatly Tywin valued his eldest son; now that he was cloaked in white, it was tantamount to leaving Tywin without an heir.
After all, even if Tywin were to pass his title to his brother Kevan Lannister, he would never pass it to his dwarf son Tyrion.
Therefore, the two of them, whose relationship was already unpleasant, had now completely broken ties, and Tywin left on the spot to return to the West.
Although there was such an interlude, the tournament still continued.
After the tournament began, everyone’s interest in the matches picked up, including Viserys.
After all, there were not many forms of entertainment in this world, and the only ones he was interested in could not be done right now.
Usually, he could only pass the time through training and magic, but it grew quite boring after a long while, so this tournament happened to be a great spectacle to watch; even though a war would break out afterward, it did not affect his enjoyment of the matches now.
Viserys’s gaze swept across the bustling tourney grounds, and he was suddenly drawn to a knight who had just entered the arena.
That figure looked truly somewhat comical: a diminutive frame encased in clearly ill-fitting armor, much like a child sneaking into an adult’s attire.
The armor itself was pieced together haphazardly, a rusty mail hauberk matched with a few mismatched plate pieces, and even the old horse between his legs appeared listless.
However, what truly made Viserys’s heart skip a beat was the shield in that person’s hand.
On the white field of the shield, the outline of a weirwood tree was simple and striking, and the grinning red smile on the trunk exuded an indescribable eeriness.
He was all too familiar with this sigil; it was none other than the mysteriously appearing “Knight of the Laughing Tree” from the original story.
Viserys instinctively straightened his posture.
Regarding the identity of this mysterious knight, he had seen far too many guesses on internet forums in his past life. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
The most mainstream theory held that “he” was Lyanna Stark, with the reason being that, reportedly, after witnessing Howland Reed being bullied by several noble squires, she disguised herself as a knight wishing to stand up for this diminutive crannogman.
This certainly fit her temperament of possessing the “Blood of the Wolf”.
Some people also swore up and down that the “Knight of the Laughing Tree” was Howland Reed himself.
In this version, Howland Reed obtained the help of the Children of the Forest on the Isle of Faces, became immensely powerful overnight, and returned to exact revenge in person.
There were even those who guessed it was the fourteen-year-old Benjen Stark, whose motive was identical to Lyanna’s.
At this moment, this mystery was standing alive right before him, but through the visor, no one could clearly see whose face lay behind it.
Just like in the original story, this “Knight of the Laughing Tree” relied on exceptional horsemanship and superb lance work to defeat three knights in succession—the nobles followed by the squires who had previously bullied the crannogman: the Knight of the Porcupine, the Knight of the Pitchfork, and the Knight of the Two Towers, who respectively hailed from House Brax, House Haigh, and House Frey.
After winning, “he” did not take their equipment, merely telling them to keep their squires better disciplined in the future.
At the same time, because of the outstanding performance of the “Knight of the Laughing Tree”, it drew the attention of “The Mad King”.
His paranoia was already severe to begin with, and now that this knight’s identity remained unclear, it made him extremely furious.
When the day’s matches concluded, Aerys ordered someone to summon the “Knight of the Laughing Tree” and commanded “him” to remove his helm so that his identity might be known.
However, this knight did not compromise just because he was the king; “he” would only reveal his true face after someone defeated “him”.
Two knights immediately stepped forward to challenge “him”.
One was from House Baratheon, and the other was a knight of House Lonmouth, with their family sigils being a crowned stag and a pattern of skulls and kisses, respectively.
When the tournament resumed on the second day, both knights were already prepared, waiting for the “Knight of the Laughing Tree” to enter the arena.
However, after a short while, a squire reported that the “Knight of the Laughing Tree” was nowhere to be found.
Aerys was furious and ordered Rhaegar to hunt “him” down and bring “him” back.
Following the hoofprints all the way into the woods along the shores of the Gods Eye, Rhaegar discovered his target in a secluded stream cove in less than half a day.
Yet the scene before him instantly left him stunned.
In the stream, a young maiden was bathing, water droplets sliding down her dark brown long hair, outlining a youthful and athletic figure.
On the grassy bank, that set of rusty armor and that shield bearing the smiling face were placed right there.
Hearing the sound of horse hooves, the maiden spun around abruptly.
When their eyes met, Rhaegar immediately recognized this breathtaking visage he had seen before: the “Knight of the Laughing Tree” was actually Lyanna Stark.
“Turn around,” the maiden shouted with a mix of shame and anger.
Rhaegar silently turned his horse around, listening to the rustling sounds of dressing behind him.
“Alright.” When he turned back around, Lyanna was already dressed, her damp long hair still clinging to her cheeks.
Her grey eyes were intertwined with emotions of embarrassment and vexation.
The two sat facing each other on the bluestones by the stream, the atmosphere awkward.
Lyanna lowered her head with her hands crossed, the tips of her ears flushing red.
“I never would have thought that knight was you,” Rhaegar said, feeling unusually at a loss.
Lyanna raised her head: “Now you know.
Are you going to take me back to confess our sins to the king?”
Silence spread between the two, but that awkwardness was quickly replaced by another emotion.
Lyanna secretly sized up Rhaegar, recalling the scene on the night of her arrival at Harrenhal, when it was this very man who plucked a harp at the banquet, his song so sorrowful and moving that even she, a northern girl who never wept easily, could not help but redden her eyes.
“The song you sang that night,” she spoke softly, with a hint of shyness, “was very beautiful, and very touching.”
The two gradually opened up in conversation.
Lyanna spoke of her betrothed, Robert, someone who had loved womanizing since he was a child, with already several bastards to his name.
He even wanted to corrupt her upright and stern brother Ned.
“Father says this is a political alliance,” she said with a tone of disdain, “but I have the ‘Blood of the Wolf’ flowing in my veins, and I will not spend my life like this.”
Rhaegar gazed at the boisterous maiden before him, recalling her courage in disguising herself to enter the tournament just to protect a crannogman.
“If you are willing, I want to be your paramour,” Lyanna stared intently at Rhaegar with burning eyes.
Rhaegar was slightly startled; this “Flower of the North” truly lived up to her reputation of being wild and unrestrained.
Yet he had to admit that he too was deeply drawn to this special girl.
After a long silence, Rhaegar replied in a low voice: “If we are only paramours, our children will forever bear the stigma of bastardy.”
Finally, he turned his head and looked solemnly at Lyanna: “If you are willing, I will break my betrothal to Elia and officially take you as my wife.”
Lyanna opened her eyes wide in astonishment.
Rhaegar continued to explain, his tone carrying a trace of obsession: “After giving birth to Aegon, Elia’s body can no longer bear children.
But the prophecy explicitly states that ‘the dragon has three heads’, so I must have three children.”
He reached out to gently touch Lyanna’s cheek: “I cannot let our children be bastards.
Even if it means breaking the law, angering Dorne and the entire kingdom, I will give you your rightful place.”
These earth-shattering words made Lyanna hold her breath.
She understood what this meant; bigamy was a grave crime in the Seven Kingdoms and would not be recognized by the Faith, but divorces without consent were likewise not permitted.
She only tried to dissuade Rhaegar, saying that secret marriage would suffice, that she didn’t care about those things, and even being just a paramour was fine.
However, Rhaegar promised her that he would definitely persuade Elia.
Then, taking the shield bearing the smiling weirwood, he returned to the camp and told Aerys that the knight was nowhere to be found, and only a shield had been recovered.
Yet Rhaegar could never have guessed that everything he had done was witnessed by a pair of eyes in the sky.