Chapter 86

"What?"

I look at the Lord of Winterfell and take a sip of the wine in front of me.

"My nephew, my lord. I want to see the son of Lyanna Stark and my brother. I believe his name is Jon Snow. I'm a little bit insulted that you decided to claim him as your bastard, to be honest."

"H-How do you know?"

Lord Stark looks at me with a shocked expression and maybe fear. His wife, on the other hand, was shocked and disbelieving.

"Getting my hand on the certificate of their marriage is not that hard. They store it inside the Citadel."

"How do you know that Jon is her son? I never once told anyone about him."

"Do you think we are stupid, my lord?"

"After you come back from the Tower of Joy, you come back with a child and you claim him as your bastard. Eddard Stark, the most honorable man in the world, has a bastard? Don't make me laugh. Anyone with a brain should be able to see it."

I hold myself from chuckling at the sight of Lady Stark twitching at my words. Bakir has told me that Lady Stark has made Jon's life harder than necessary. I don't want to antagonize her blatantly, but I will call her out now and then.

".... I see."

"Anyway, can I see him?"

"Of course…"

After waiting for a few seconds, a young man walked inside the dining room. I look at him from head to toe before nodding my head.

"Now I know why many people thought that you were a Lord Stark bastard."

"What?"

"Oh? He never told you? You are not his bastard but his nephew. You are also my nephew."

"What?"

"Haaaaa. Are you stupid? You are not Lord Stark's son but rather his nephew and Lyanna Stark, Lord Stark's sister, is your mother."

"How? Don't say something outrageous! I may be a bastard but I still have the honor to uphold!"

Oh, I guess I understand the reason why people think of him as his bastard. He is just like Lord Stark. Not only in his appearance but also in his behavior.

"Heh. Then ask your beloved father about your real identity."

I can see Lord Stark sigh before starting his explanation.

~A minute of explanation later~

"I intend to tell you when you reach your age of adulthood. This information is too dangerous for you to know. There are many people who want you to die. Even the king will kill you if he knows about your real identity. The only reason why he allows Lunarians to trade in Westeros is that Viserys already takes away all of his claim to the Iron Throne."

I can see Jon look at his uncle in shock before placing his head on the table. I don't blame him. You are just being told that your father is not your birth father but rather your uncle, and you are just being told that you are a royal family instead of a bastard that the others hate.

It is just like you are being told that you are adopted with an extra step.

"Here is the marriage certificate between my brother and your mother."

Jon takes the parchment and starts to read it. After reading the parchment, he looks at me and says,

"So, what do you want me to do?"

"Choose. You can stay with Lord Stark and continue your identity as his bastard or you can come with us."

I can see him hesitate and think about his choice. Lord Stark looked at Jon with a shocked expression because he never thought that John would consider it. Well, I cannot blame him. The stigma of him being a bastard his entire life must have weighed him down.

Unlike Lunaria, where a bastard is seen as a normal child rather than an unwanted child, we don't really care if he is a bastard or not. There is a reason why I built many orphanages around the kingdom.

I don't want the other children to experience what I experienced in the past. I want them to grow just like any children. Grow happy and content before they face adulthood.

".... C-Can I visit them every now and then?"

"Sure. You can visit them every four months. I will let you go with one of the merchants coming here."

"T-then I want to come with you."

Lord Stark's eyes get even wider at Jon's answer. Does he not think that Jon will not break from all the insults thrown at him? No matter his mental strength, he is just a child. It will crack eventually.

Maybe not now, but it will definitely crack in the future and leave them behind. He will not leave them forever because he thinks they are his family, but he will not stay for long. He will stay in his second home longer than his family.

"Can I talk to Jon? Alone"

I snap from my thoughts when I hear Lord Stark's voice.

"Sure. Dany, Rhae, Ari. Come on. Let's take a walk."

"Yay~"

"Okay!"

"Awwww~ It was cold."

I chuckle a little and pat Ari's head before saying.

"So, you want to stay?"

"No! I wanna come!"

"Hahahahaha! Then I will cast more warming spells."

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|Eddard Stark - Lord of Winterfell and Lord Paramount of the North|

"Are you sure you want to go?"

"Aye. I-I want to see the world."

I can see his eyes looking at my wife briefly, and I know the reason why he wants to go away from Winterfell. It looks like I'm messing things up. Jon never sees this place as his home, just like Lyanna tells me, huh?

Give him a family, but I end up creating an enemy for him. What makes matters worse, the enemy is my own wife, who sees him as nothing but a dead weight.

"Do you not want me to?"

"No. You can go with them and get closer to your family."

"You are also my family, Lord Stark."

"And it is time for you to see your other family. I will prepare some money for you to use. Take care of yourself and learn something from Viserys."

I put my hand on his head before walking away from the dining room. I know that he will learn a lot of things in Lunaria. He will learn a lot of things when he is with his family.

Surprisingly, I'm not feeling sad or disappointed when he decided to go with his family. I'm surprised at his choice, but I'm not disappointed. I even feel like a heavy boulder has been lifted from my shoulder.

The only thing I can do for now is to make sure he is welcomed in Winterfell when he decides to come back.

"My lord, Lady Stark has arrived in your office."

I look at Maester Luwin and nod my head. I need to have a talk with my dear wife—a really long talk with each other.