Lann came to this world by crossing the celestial conjunction just to safely bring Alia back home.
Who knew that the news received at this moment indicated that while Alia was fine, her family seemed about to be decapitated...
In Lann’s view, Edd Stark could be considered a good man.
The Demon Hunter had more than once heard the Prime Minister and the King’s quarrels in the convoy heading to King’s Landing, about whether or not to assassinate the two children across the Narrow Sea.
Edd never compromised, whether for the sake of chivalry or personal morality.
In front of the furious Robert, he stood as unyielding as a glacier rock.
Lann didn’t dislike such people; on the contrary, he admired them.
"Let’s go back. Although I believe your father, as the Hand of the King, shouldn’t be unaware of everything, having one more piece of information is always good."
After patting Alia’s shoulder, the two walked down the slope of Steel Street, preparing to return to the Prime Minister’s Tower in the Red Castle.
On the way back, the two saw many vendors, civilians, and street performers hurrying out of King’s Landing with their livelihood tools.
Their cheerful, hurried expressions didn’t seem due to anything bad, but rather like they were rushing to earn money or have fun.
Lann remembered the tournament held for the inauguration of the Prime Minister.
Recently, there were no festivals, so this was the only event worth such excitement.
It seemed the tournament would take place outside the city.
But even Alia, who loved excitement, was not in the mood to join in; after experiencing many things in the alternate world, her basic self-control had improved significantly.
When nearing the gates of the Red Castle, Lann presented a pass issued by Edd and smoothly returned to the Prime Minister’s Tower.
It was lunchtime when Edd once more entered that somewhat empty dining hall, but Alia grabbed her father and pulled him to the corner.
"Alia, don’t mess around!"
Sansa, already seated primly at the table, called out to her sister.
In her eyes, this was just another one of her sister’s antics.
Edd initially thought the same, rubbing his tired face as he began to speak.
"Alia, if you want to play, you can look for..."
"Lord Jon Arryn’s death was unnatural, wasn’t it, Dad?!"
Edd’s weary expression froze instantly; he even had to pause to regain his composure, looking at his young daughter with disbelief.
"Never mind that, this place has too many eyes and ears, come with me."
Edd was left bewildered by his young daughter’s words.
’Eyes and ears?’ How could Alia understand such matters?
"Alia, stop bothering fa..."
Sansa tried to halt Alia’s antics, but before she finished, Edd instead turned to Sansa in the dining hall.
"Sansa, you all eat first. I’ll have a talk with Alia."
Then, following Alia’s pull, he was led to the corner outside the hall.
Sansa and the diners were all left in surprise.
Edd loved his children dearly, even if he wasn’t good at expressing it, everyone could feel it.
But now, he wasn’t just going along with Alia; he wanted to... ’talk’ with her?
At the table, Sansa opened her mouth but found no words.
Meanwhile, Alia took Edd through twists and turns to where Lann was.
It was an inconspicuous little corner.
Lann keenly noticed the slight difference in Edd from when he set out in the morning.
He had a new, ornate dagger at his waist.
The hilt was made of gold-wrapped unknown creature bones, just as valuable-looking as the Lady of the Lake’s Sword Lann carried.
The usually silent Hand of the King first suspiciously looked at the Cat’s Eye Guard assigned to his daughter, then squatted, seriously asking his young daughter.
"How did you know this, Alia?"
Knowing she couldn’t explain clearly, Alia simply pointed to Lann, shifting her father’s attention.
Lann stood against the wall with his arms crossed, shrugging under Edd’s gaze.
"We went out, and because of this sword, we were targeted by a gang of thugs."
Lann thumbed back at the hilt of Aron Dite’s sword, and Edd nodded.
In truth, this sword had been mentioned several times during his talks with King Robert; a sword that looked exquisite and outstanding was a warrior’s prized possession.
Robert even said he’d buy it for two hundred gold dragons, and that was without seeing the full blade.
"I gave those thugs a lesson; they mentioned a newly knighted person was heavily purchasing good items, and that knight used to be Jon Arryn’s attendant."
Lann shrugged: "I heard from Jorri yesterday that the former Hand passed very suddenly, leaving you overwhelmed. The knightly status of this attendant might explain it, but where did all the money come from? I found that suspicious and came to inform you."
Edd showed little reaction to the first part, merely putting on his habitual serious face.
However, when Lann mentioned they found information about a former Hand’s attendant, his demeanor suddenly became animated.
"What was that person’s name?"
"Shuofu," Lann repeated, "an attendant of the former Hand, now a knight in King’s Landing."
"Finally, a clue!" Edd muttered to himself.
Immediately, he shared all the relevant intelligence about the former Hand’s death with Lann and the eager Alia.
These two were linked to this matter now anyway, and he was indeed struggling with the investigation alone.
According to Edd, he had already received a letter from the former Hand’s widow in Winterfell, stating that his foster father was assassinated by the Queen’s Lannister family.
Moreover, the Lannister family planned to murder the King.
This news was crucial for Edd, who was inexperienced in politics, to decisively assume the position of Hand of the King.
Because he wanted to protect his brother, the King—Robert.
But in Lann’s ears, he immediately sensed something amiss.
"Why do you trust the former Hand’s widow?"
"To me, she has done many inexplicable things. For instance, she informed you of the crisis but didn’t leave staff to maintain normal operations within the Prime Minister’s Tower, people who had contact with the former Hand, who should know something. There shouldn’t be a rule that all staff of the Prime Minister’s Tower are replaced when a new owner arrives, right?"
"If it was out of fear of being silenced, fleeing overnight back to the fief, then they should travel light. Why is it that here in King’s Landing, you only learn of an attendant we happened to bump into during our strolls?"
Edd froze for a moment upon hearing this, then defended the former Hand’s widow.
"Lady Laisa is my wife’s sister."
Lann frowned slightly.
So Edd’s foster father married his wife’s sister?
Alright, that’s medieval nobility for you.
"Kinship isn’t an excuse to cover problems. You surely haven’t met many times, right? In the vast shadows this matter involves, it’s better not to trust such unreliable relations."
Lann dared to make such comments about Edd’s relatives because, firstly, he truly cared for Alia’s family.
Secondly, Lann was well aware that in Edd’s eyes, he should seem like someone who met Alia by coincidence, as who could have expected Geoffrey and Alia to have a conflict that day?
So Lann didn’t pose any deliberate conspiracy, instead being a trustworthy outside observer.