Ⅱ 列王的纷争 Chapter25 提利昂

TYRION

轻柔的竖琴声透过门扉传来，混合着笛子的颤音。虽然歌手的嗓门隔着厚厚的门板听不真切，但歌词却是提利昂再熟悉也不过的：我爱上一位美如夏日的姑娘，阳光照在她的秀发……

Through the door came the soft sound of the high harp, mingled with a trilling of pipes. The singer’s voice was muffled by the thick walls, yet Tyrion knew the verse. I loved a maid as fair as summer, he remembered, with sunlight in her hair …

今晚在太后卧室门外把守的是马林·特兰爵士。提利昂的出现让他有些为难，只好含含糊糊地说声“大人”，活像个心怀不忿的孩子，随后开了门。他大步跨入姐姐的卧室，歌声嘎然而止。

Ser Meryn Trant guarded the queen’s door this night. His muttered “My lord” struck Tyrion as a tad grudging, but he opened the door nonetheless. The song broke off abruptly as he strode into his sister’s bedchamber.

瑟曦赤裸双脚，倚靠在一堆垫子上，金色的秀发蓬乱而美丽。她抬起头，一身金绿相间的锦袍映出闪烁的烛光。“亲爱的姐姐，”提利昂道，“你今晚看上去真迷人。”他转向歌手，“你也是，堂弟。真没想到，你的嗓音这么动人。”

Cersei was reclining on a pile of cushions. Her feet were bare, her golden hair artfully tousled, her robe a green-and-gold samite that caught the light of the candles and shimmered as she looked up. “Sweet sister,” Tyrion said, “how beautiful you look tonight.” He turned to the singer. “And you as well, cousin. I had no notion you had such a lovely voice.”

听见恭维，蓝赛尔爵士绷起了脸，也许他意识到受了嘲笑。提利昂觉得这小子自从被封为骑士后，似乎拔高了三寸。蓝赛尔有浓密的黄棕头发和兰尼斯特家招牌式的碧眼，上唇留了一层柔软的金色茸须。他年方十六，和其他少年一样，对一切都那么肯定，毫无幽默感和自省心。与生俱来的金发碧眼和强壮英俊的外表使他愈加自傲，最近的擢升更让他气焰嚣张。“太后陛下召唤你了吗？”少年当即质问。

The compliment made Ser Lancel sulky; perhaps he thought he was being mocked. It seemed to Tyrion that the lad had grown three inches since being knighted. Lancel had thick sandy hair, green Lannister eyes, and a line of soft blond fuzz on his upper lip. At sixteen, he was cursed with all the certainty of youth, unleavened by any trace of humor or self-doubt, and wed to the arrogance that came so naturally to those born blond and strong and handsome. His recent elevation had only made him worse. “Did Her Grace send for you?” the boy demanded.

“呵，这我倒不记得，”提利昂承认，“实在很遗憾，打搅你们的雅兴，蓝赛尔。事实上，我有要事跟我姐姐商量。”

“Not that I recall,” Tyrion admitted. “It grieves me to disturb your revels, Lancel, but as it happens, I have matters of import to discuss with my sister.”

瑟曦怀疑地看着他，“你来这儿别说是为了那些乞丐帮的家伙，省省吧，提利昂，少来烦我。我不能让他们在大街上公然散播肮脏的谋逆邪说，就让他们在黑牢里互相说教去。”

Cersei regarded him suspiciously. “If you are here about those begging brothers, Tyrion, spare me your reproaches. I won’t have them spreading their filthy treasons in the streets. They can preach to each other in the dungeons.”

“他们该庆幸有一位仁慈的太后，”蓝赛尔补充道，“换作是我，非拔了他们舌头不可！”

“And count themselves lucky that they have such a gentle queen,” added Lancel. “I would have had their tongues out.”

“有个家伙居然声称诸神将惩罚我们，因为詹姆谋害了正统的国王，”瑟曦嚷道，“是可忍孰不可忍，提利昂，我已经给了你充足的时间去料理这些满身虱子的家伙，但你和你的杰斯林爵士什么也没做，我只好把担子交给维拉尔。”

“One even dared to say that the gods were punishing us because Jaime murdered the rightful king,” Cersei declared. “It will not be borne, Tyrion. I gave you ample opportunity to deal with these lice, but you and your Ser Jacelyn did nothing, so I commanded Vylarr to attend to the matter.”

“他可真听话，”事实上，提利昂当时很恼火，红袍卫士将数个衣衫褴褛的先知拖进地牢，却根本未征求他的意见。然而此刻事关重大，不值得为此争吵。“是啊，街上平静些肯定对大家都有好处。我不是为这个来的，我刚接到消息，你急切想知道的消息，亲爱的姐姐，我们能否私下谈谈？”

“And so he did.” Tyrion had been annoyed when the red cloaks had dragged a half dozen of the scabrous prophets down to the dungeons without consulting him, but they were not important enough to battle over. “No doubt we will all be better off for a little quiet in the streets. That is not why I came. I have tidings I know you will be anxious to hear, sweet sister, but they are best spoken of privily.”

“很好，”竖琴手和笛手一鞠躬，快速退出，瑟曦礼节性地吻了吻堂弟的脸颊，“去吧，蓝赛尔，我老弟孤身一人时没能耐。假如他带了宠物，臭气我们早闻到了。”

“Very well.” The harpist and the piper bowed and hurried out, while Cersei kissed her cousin chastely on the cheek. “Leave us, Lancel. My brother’s harmless when he’s alone. If he’d brought his pets, we’d smell them.”

年轻骑士恶狠狠地瞟了一眼他的堂兄，重重地摔门离开。“告诉你，我让夏嘎两周洗一次澡，”蓝赛尔走后，提利昂说。

The young knight gave his cousin a baleful glance and pulled the door shut forcefully behind him. “I’ll have you know I make Shagga bathe once a fortnight,” Tyrion said when he was gone.

“哟，怎么回事？瞧你挺得意嘛？”

“You’re very pleased with yourself, aren’t you? Why?”

“为什么不呢？”提利昂说。日以继夜，钢铁街上工作不息，巨大的铁链越来越长。他跳上华盖大床，“劳勃就死在这张床上？真令人惊讶，你还留着它。”

“Why not?” Tyrion said. Every day, every night, hammers rang along the Street of Steel, and the great chain grew longer. He hopped up onto the great canopied bed. “Is this the bed where Robert died? I’m surprised you kept it.”

“它让我美梦连连，”她道，“好了，要说什么赶紧说，然后就滚吧，小恶魔。”

“It gives me sweet dreams,” she said. “Now spit out your business and waddle away, Imp.”

提利昂微笑道：“史坦尼斯大人已从龙石岛起航。”

Tyrion smiled. “Lord Stannis has sailed from Dragonstone.”

瑟曦猛地跳将起来，“什么？那你还坐在这儿笑得像个丰收宴会上的南瓜？拜瓦特集结都城守备队没有？得立刻往赫伦堡传信啊！”他大笑起来，她用力抓着他的肩膀摇晃，“停！停！你疯了还是醉了？给我停下！”

Cersei bolted to her feet. “And yet you sit there grinning like a harvest-day pumpkin? Has Bywater called out the City Watch? We must send a bird to Harrenhal at once.” He was laughing by then. She seized him by the shoulders and shook him. “Stop it. Are you mad, or drunk? Stop it!”

他费了好大劲才说出话来。“没办法，”他上气不接下气地说，“实在是太……诸神啊，这太可笑了……史坦尼斯他……”

It was all he could do to get out the words. “I can’t,” he gasped. “It’s too … gods, too funny … Stannis …”

“他怎么了？”

“What?”

“他不来攻打我们，”提利昂努力说道，“反而去围攻风息堡。蓝礼正飞骑赶去与他交战。”

“He hasn’t sailed against us,” Tyrion managed. “He’s laid siege to Storm’s End. Renly is riding to meet him.”

姐姐的指甲嵌入他胳膊，掐得好疼。有那么片刻，她难以置信地瞪着他，仿佛他所说的是全然陌生的语言。“你是说，史坦尼斯和蓝礼打起来了？”他点点头，瑟曦终于笑了。“诸神保佑，”她喘着气说，“我开始相信劳勃是他们三兄弟里的聪明人了。”

His sister’s nails dug painfully into his arms. For a moment she stared incredulous, as if he had begun to gibber in an unknown tongue. “Stannis and Renly are fighting each other?” When he nodded, Cersei began to chuckle. “Gods be good,” she gasped, “I’m starting to believe that Robert was the clever one.”

提利昂仰头狂笑。他们笑成一团。瑟曦将他从床上拖下来，跳舞转圈，以至拥抱，一时间，她疯得像个小女孩。待她住手，提利昂已经气喘吁吁，头晕眼花。他跌跌撞撞地走到餐具柜旁，伸手稳住身子。

Tyrion threw back his head and roared. They laughed together. Cersei pulled him off the bed and whirled him around and even hugged him, for a moment as giddy as a girl. By the time she let go of him, Tyrion was breathless and dizzy. He staggered to her sideboard and put out a hand to steady himself.

“你认为他们真的会打起来吗？倘若他们达成什么协议——”

“Do you think it will truly come to battle between them? If they should come to some accord—”

“不可能，”提利昂说，“他们个性如此迥异，本质却又那么相似，两人均不可能容忍对方。”

“They won’t,” Tyrion said. “They are too different and yet too much alike, and neither could ever stomach the other.”

“史坦尼斯一直觉得在风息堡一事上劳勃待他不公，”瑟曦若有所思地说，“风息堡是拜拉席恩家世袭的居城，本来该是他的……你不知道，他来找过劳勃多少次，用那阴沉委屈的声调不停地申诉啰唆。最后劳勃还是把地方给了蓝礼，史坦尼斯紧咬着牙，我瞧他牙齿都快咬碎了。”

“And Stannis has always felt he was cheated of Storm’s End,” Cersei said thoughtfully. “The ancestral seat of House Baratheon, his by rights … if you knew how many times he came to Robert singing that same dull song in that gloomy aggrieved tone he has. When Robert gave the place to Renly, Stannis clenched his jaw so tight I thought his teeth would shatter.”

“他将之视为羞辱。”

“He took it as a slight.”

“我瞧劳勃就是要羞辱他。”

“It was meant as a slight,” Cersei said.

“哈哈，让我们为姐弟之爱举杯吧？”

“Shall we raise a cup to brotherly love?”

“是的，”她气喘吁吁地答道，“噢，诸神啊，是的。”

“Yes,” she answered, breathless. “Oh, gods, yes.”

他背对着她，倒满两杯青亭岛的上等红葡萄酒，并轻易在她杯中撒了一点细粉末。“敬史坦尼斯！”他边说边把酒递给她。我孤身一人时没能耐，是吗？

His back was to her as he filled two cups with sweet Arbor red. It was the easiest thing in the world to sprinkle a pinch of fine powder into hers. “To Stannis!” he said as he handed her the wine. Harmless when I’m alone, am I?

“敬蓝礼！”她笑答，“愿他们打得难解难分，最后都教异鬼抓走！”

“To Renly!” she replied, laughing. “May they battle long and hard, and the Others take them both!”

这就是詹姆喜欢的瑟曦？她笑起来，你才发觉她到底有多美。我爱上一位美如夏日的姑娘，阳光照在她的秀发。他差点因为对她下毒而心怀抱歉。

Is this the Cersei that Jaime sees? When she smiled, you saw how beautiful she was, truly. I loved a maid as fair as summer, with sunlight in her hair. He almost felt sorry for poisoning her.

第二天早餐时她遣人过来，宣布自己身体不适，无法离开房间。应该是无法离开厕所吧。提利昂适度表示了一些同情之意，并叫来人回话给瑟曦，请她安心休养，他会照预订计划来应付克里奥爵士。

It was the next morning as he broke his fast that her messenger arrived. The queen was indisposed and would not be able to leave her chambers. Not able to leave her privy, more like. Tyrion made the proper sympathetic noises and sent word to Cersei to rest easy, he would treat with Ser Cleos as they’d planned.

征服者伊耿的铁王座布满凶险的倒钩和尖锐的铁齿，只有傻瓜才以为可以舒舒服服地坐在上面。上阶梯时，他发育不良的双腿不断抽筋，他非常清楚，这是一幅多么荒谬可笑的景象。好在它有一点值得称道，它很高。

The Iron Throne of Aegon the Conqueror was a tangle of nasty barbs and jagged metal teeth waiting for any fool who tried to sit too comfortably, and the steps made his stunted legs cramp as he climbed up to it, all too aware of what an absurd spectacle he must be. Yet there was one thing to be said for it. It was high.

兰尼斯特家的卫士在大厅一端森然站立，身披猩红披风，头戴狮纹半盔。杰斯林爵士的金袍卫士则站在大厅另一端，与他们相对。通向王座的阶梯两侧有波隆和御林铁卫的普列斯顿爵士。廷臣罗列廊中，请愿者们则聚集在由橡木镶青铜的巍峨大门边。珊莎·史塔克今早的模样特别可爱，只是她的脸像牛奶一般苍白。盖尔斯大人站在那儿咳嗽不休，而可怜的堂弟提瑞克则披着白鼬皮加天鹅绒做的新郎披风。自打三天前，他跟小艾弥珊德女士成婚以来，其他侍从就改口管他叫“保姆”，还问他新婚之夜新娘裹的是什么颜色的尿布。

Lannister guardsmen stood silent in their crimson cloaks and lion-crested halfhelms. Ser Jacelyn’s gold cloaks faced them across the hall. The steps to the throne were flanked by Bronn and Ser Preston of the Kingsguard. Courtiers filled the gallery while supplicants clustered near the towering oak-and-bronze doors. Sansa Stark looked especially lovely this morning, though her face was as pale as milk. Lord Gyles stood coughing, while poor cousin Tyrek wore his bridegroom’s mantle of miniver and velvet. Since his marriage to little Lady Ermesande three days past, the other squires had taken to calling him “Wet Nurse” and asking him what sort of swaddling clothes his bride wore on their wedding night.

提利昂俯瞰着所有人。这滋味真不错。“传克里奥·佛雷爵士。”他朗声道，话音响彻大厅。这也挺不错。只可惜雪伊没来瞧瞧，他心想。她当然想来，但那是不可能的。

Tyrion looked down on them all, and found he liked it. “Call forth Ser Cleos Frey.” His voice rang off the stone walls and down the length of the hall. He liked that too. A pity Shae could not be here to see this, he reflected. She’d asked to come, but it was impossible.

克里奥爵士目不斜视，从红袍军和金袍军之间的长长走道行过来。当他跪下时，提利昂注意到这位表弟的头发正逐渐稀疏。

Ser Cleos made the long walk between the gold cloaks and the crimson, looking neither right nor left. As he knelt, Tyrion observed that his cousin was losing his hair.

“克里奥爵士，”议事桌边的小指头道，“感谢你为我们带来史塔克大人的和平条件。”

“Ser Cleos,” Littlefinger said from the council table, “you have our thanks for bringing us this peace offer from Lord Stark.”

派席尔大学士清清嗓子，“摄政太后，国王之手以及御前会议已经仔细考虑了由自称北境之王的人所提出的条款。很遗憾，爵士，这些条件无法接受，劳烦你将我们的答复转告北方人。”

Grand Maester Pycelle cleared his throat. “The Queen Regent, the King’s Hand, and the small council have considered the terms offered by this self-styled King in the North. Sad to say, they will not do, and you must tell these northmen so, ser.”

“以下是我们的条件，”提利昂说，“罗柏·史塔克必须放下武器，宣誓效忠，随后只身返回临冬城。他必须毫发无伤地释放我哥哥詹姆，并将麾下军队交其指挥，以讨伐叛徒蓝礼·拜拉席恩和史坦尼斯·拜拉席恩。凡曾效忠史塔克家族的诸侯贵族，都务必送出一个儿子作为人质。无子嗣的家族可由女儿代替。只要他们的父亲不再聚众谋逆，他们就将受到礼遇，并由朝廷赐予高位。”

“Here are our terms,” said Tyrion. “Robb Stark must lay down his sword, swear fealty, and return to Winterfell. He must free my brother unharmed, and place his host under Jaime’s command, to march against the rebels Renly and Stannis Baratheon. Each of Stark’s bannermen must send us a son as hostage. A daughter will suffice where there is no son. They shall be treated gently and given high places here at court, so long as their fathers commit no new treasons.”

克里奥·佛雷苦着脸道，“首相大人，”他结结巴巴地说，“史塔克大人决不会答应这些条件。”

Cleos Frey looked ill. “My lord Hand,” he said, “Lord Stark will never consent to these terms.”

我根本不指望他答应，克里奥。“告诉他，我们已在凯岩城整备了又一支新军，很快就会进发，我父亲大人将同时从东面出击。告诉他，他势单力孤，没有盟友可以指望。史坦尼斯·拜拉席恩和蓝礼·拜拉席恩正互相攻击，而多恩亲王已同意让儿子崔斯丹迎娶弥赛菈公主。”此言一出，大厅和长廊间一片低呼，既有欣喜也有惊愕。

We never expected he would, Cleos. “Tell him that we have raised another great host at Casterly Rock, that soon it will march on him from the west while my lord father advances from the east. Tell him that he stands alone, without hope of allies. Stannis and Renly Baratheon war against each other, and the Prince of Dorne has consented to wed his son Trystane to the Princess Myrcella.” Murmurs of delight and consternation alike arose from the gallery and the back of the hall.

“至于我的亲戚们，”提利昂续道，“我们愿以哈利昂·卡史塔克和威里斯·曼德勒爵士交换威廉·兰尼斯特，以赛文伯爵和唐纳尔·洛克爵士交换你的兄弟提恩。告诉史塔克，两个兰尼斯特不论何时都抵得上四个北方人。”他静待笑声平息，“但他可以得到先父的遗骨，以示乔佛里陛下的诚意。”

“As to this of my cousins,” Tyrion went on, “we offer Harrion Karstark and Ser Wylis Manderly for Willem Lannister, and Lord Cerwyn and Ser Donnel Locke for your brother Tion. Tell Stark that two Lannisters are worth four northmen in any season.” He waited for the laughter to die. “His father’s bones he shall have, as a gesture of Joffrey’s good faith.”

“史塔克大人想要回他的妹妹，以及他父亲的佩剑，”克里奥爵士提醒他。

“Lord Stark asked for his sisters and his father’s sword as well,” Ser Cleos reminded him.

伊林·派恩爵士默默地站在原地，艾德·史塔克那柄巨剑的剑柄从他肩上冒出。“关于寒冰剑，”提利昂道，“达成和议后，我们可以归还，但现在不行。”

Ser Ilyn Payne stood mute, the hilt of Eddard Stark’s greatsword rising over one shoulder. “Ice,” said Tyrion. “He’ll have that when he makes his peace with us, not before.”

“我知道了。那他的妹妹们呢？”

“As you say. And his sisters?”

提利昂瞥了瞥珊莎，感到一阵由衷的怜悯，他道：“在他毫发无伤地释放我哥哥詹姆之前，她们仍将作为人质留在君临。她们待遇如何，完全取决于他。”诸神保佑，但愿拜瓦特能赶在罗柏得知艾莉亚失踪的消息之前找到她，而且要活生生的她。

Tyrion glanced toward Sansa, and felt a stab of pity as he said, “Until such time as he frees my brother Jaime, unharmed, they shall remain here as hostages. How well they are treated depends on him.” And if the gods are good, Bywater will find Arya alive, before Robb learns she’s gone missing.

“我一定将您的口信带到，大人。”

“I shall bring him your message, my lord.”

提利昂拨弄了一下扶手边伸出的一根扭曲剑刃。接下来是今天的重点。“维拉尔，”他喊道。

Tyrion plucked at one of the twisted blades that sprang from the arm of the throne. And now the thrust. “Vylarr,” he called.

“在！大人。”

“My lord.”

“史塔克家派来的人护送艾德公爵的遗骨无妨，但兰尼斯特家的人身价不同，”提利昂宣布，“克里奥爵士是太后和我的表亲，由你负责送他安全返回奔流城，我们都能高枕无忧。”

“The men Stark sent are sufficient to protect Lord Eddard’s bones, but a Lannister should have a Lannister escort,” Tyrion declared. “Ser Cleos is the queen’s cousin, and mine. We shall sleep more easily if you would see him safely back to Riverrun.”

“遵命。我该带上多少人？”

“As you command. How many men should I take?”

“嗯，自然是带上所有人。”

“Why, all of them.”

维拉尔顿时像个石人一样杵在原地。派席尔大学士站起来，喘着气说：“首相大人，这可不行……这些壮士是由您父亲，泰温大人，亲自送来都城，以保护瑟曦太后和她的孩子们……”

Vylarr stood like a man made of stone. It was Grand Maester Pycelle who rose, gasping, “My lord Hand, that cannot … your father, Lord Tywin himself, he sent these good men to our city to protect Queen Cersei and her children …”

“这些工作，御林铁卫和都城守备队完全能够胜任。维拉尔，愿诸神保佑你马到成功。”

“The Kingsguard and the City Watch protect them well enough. The gods speed you on your way, Vylarr.”

议事桌边，瓦里斯心照不宣地微笑，小指头一副百无聊赖的样子，派席尔则像条鱼一样张大了嘴，脸色苍白，疑惑不解。司仪踏上前来：“国王之手倾听在场诸位的请愿，有事禀报，无事退朝。”

At the council table Varys smiled knowingly, Littlefinger sat feigning boredom, and Pycelle gaped like a fish, pale and confused. A herald stepped forward. “If any man has other matters to set before the King’s Hand, let him speak now or go forth and hold his silence.”

“我有话说！”一个瘦长的黑衣人从雷德温兄弟中间挤出来。

“I will be heard.” A slender man all in black pushed his way between the Redwyne twins.

“艾里沙爵士！”提利昂惊呼，“啊，没想到您会上朝！怎不早点派人通知我呢？”

“Ser Alliser!” Tyrion exclaimed. “Why, I had no notion that you’d come to court. You should have sent me word.”

“你少给我装蒜，”索恩真是人如其名①，他年方五十左右，高瘦身材，面貌嶙峋，眼神锐利，双手有力，发色黑中间灰。“你回避我，忽视我，把我像个出生低贱的仆人一样扔进客房，不闻不问。”

“I have, as well you know.” Thorne was as prickly as his name, a spare, sharp-featured man of fifty, hard-eyed and hard-handed, his black hair streaked with grey. “I have been shunned, ignored, and left to wait like some baseborn servant.”

“有这回事？波隆，这可不对。艾里沙爵士是我的老朋友咧，我们一起爬过长城。”

“Truly? Bronn, this was not well done. Ser Alliser and I are old friends. We walked the Wall together.”

“亲爱的艾里沙爵士，”瓦里斯低声说，“您就别太苛责我们了。如今正是动荡棘手的关口，有多少人求见我们的乔佛里陛下啊。”

“Sweet Ser Alliser,” murmured Varys, “you must not think too harshly of us. So many seek our Joffrey’s grace, in these troubled and tumultuous times.”

“只怕我带来的消息比你想像的要棘手得多，太监。”

“More troubled than you know, eunuch.”

“当着他面，要称他为太监大人，”小指头讽刺道。

“To his face we call him Lord Eunuch,” quipped Littlefinger.

“好兄弟，我们该如何帮你呢？”派席尔大学士安抚地说。

“How may we be of help to you, good brother?” Grand Maester Pycelle asked in soothing tones.

“总司令大人派我来晋见国王陛下，”索恩回答，“事态严重，不能交给臣仆们处理。”

“The Lord Commander sent me to His Grace the king,” Thorne answered. “The matter is too grave to be left to servants.”

“哦，此刻国王陛下正在摆弄他的新十字弓，”提利昂道。打发乔佛里可容易多了，只需一把笨重的密尔十字弓，一次发三矢的那种。看到那玩意儿，他立刻什么也不顾了，“怎么办？你要么告诉我们这些臣仆，要么就只好保持沉默喽。”

“The king is playing with his new crossbow,” Tyrion said. Ridding himself of Joffrey had required only an ungainly Myrish crossbow that threw three quarrels at a time, and nothing would do but that he try it at once. “You can speak to servants or hold your silence.”

“好吧，”艾里沙爵士忿忿不平地说，“我来这里的目的，是要禀报国王陛下，我们发现了两个失踪已久的游骑兵。找到他们时，他们已经死了，但尸体运回长城后，却在深夜里复活。其中一个杀了杰瑞米·莱克爵士，而另一个试图谋害总司令大人。”

“As you will,” Ser Alliser said, displeasure in every word. “I am sent to tell you that we found two rangers, long missing. They were dead, yet when we brought the corpses back to the Wall they rose again in the night. One slew Ser Jaremy Rykker, while the second tried to murder the Lord Commander.”

提利昂隐约地听见人们窃笑。莫非他想拿这种蠢事来嘲弄我？他不安地挪了一下，瞥瞥下方的瓦里斯、小指头和派席尔，不知是他们中哪位搞的鬼？对他这个侏儒而言，最重要的就是那份脆弱的尊严。一旦朝廷和国家开始嘲笑他，他就完了。只是……只是……

Distantly, Tyrion heard someone snigger. Does he mean to mock me with this folly? He shifted uneasily and glanced down at Varys, Littlefinger, and Pycelle, wondering if one of them had a role in this. A dwarf enjoyed at best a tenuous hold on dignity. Once the court and kingdom started to laugh at him, he was doomed. And yet … and yet …

提利昂忆起那个群星之下的寒夜，他跟琼恩·雪诺那孩子和一头巨大的白狼并排站在绝境长城之巅，站在世界的尽头，凝视着远处杳无人迹的黑暗。当时，他感觉到——什么？——某些东西，某种恐惧，如北方的寒风一般刺骨。接着，遥遥北疆夜狼哀嚎，一阵颤栗流过全身。

Tyrion remembered a cold night under the stars when he’d stood beside the boy Jon Snow and a great white wolf atop the Wall at the end of the world, gazing out at the trackless dark beyond. He had felt—what?—something, to be sure, a dread that had cut like that frigid northern wind. A wolf had howled off in the night, and the sound had sent a shiver through him.

别傻了，他告诉自己，那只是一匹狼，一阵风，一片阴暗的森林，没什么特别意义……他倒是关心老杰奥·莫尔蒙，从前在黑城堡的短短时日，使他喜欢上了他。“相信熊老平安无事吧？”

Don’t be a fool, he told himself. A wolf, a wind, a dark forest, it meant nothing. And yet … He had come to have a liking for old Jeor Mormont during his time at Castle Black. “I trust that the Old Bear survived this attack?”

“是的。”

“He did.”

“你的弟兄们把那些个……呃……死人都杀死了吗？”

“And that your brothers killed these, ah, dead men?”

“是的。”

“We did.”

“你确定死人这次真死了吗？”提利昂温和地问。眼见一旁的波隆忍俊不禁，他明白该当如此进行下去，“千真万确的死了？”

“You’re certain that they are dead this time?” Tyrion asked mildly. When Bronn choked on a snort of laughter, he knew how he must proceed. “Truly truly dead?”

“他们早就死了！”艾里沙爵士怒气冲冲地大喊，“尸体苍白冰凉，手脚发黑。野种的狼把杰佛的手扯了下来，我把它带过来了。”

“They were dead the first time,” Ser Alliser snapped. “Pale and cold, with black hands and feet. I brought Jared’s hand, torn from his corpse by the bastard’s wolf.”

小指头开始搅和：“这件迷人的纪念品在哪儿啊？”

Littlefinger stirred. “And where is this charming token?”

艾里沙爵士不自在地皱起眉头，“它……在我等候召见期间，悄无声息地烂成了碎片。你们对我不闻不问，如今除了骨头已没什么可看。”

Ser Alliser frowned uncomfortably. “It … rotted to pieces while I waited, unheard. There’s naught left to show but bones.”

嗤笑声在大厅里回响。“贝里席大人，”提利昂指示小指头，“买一百把铲子给我们英勇的艾里沙爵士，让他带回长城去。”

Titters echoed through the hall. “Lord Baelish,” Tyrion called down to Littlefinger, “buy our brave Ser Alliser a hundred spades to take back to the Wall with him.”

“铲子？”艾里沙爵士怀疑地眯起眼。

“Spades?” Ser Alliser narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

“应该把死人埋起来，他们才不会半夜出来惹事生非，”提利昂告诉他，朝堂众人轰然大笑，“铲子能解决你的困扰，别忘了，找几个青壮劳力来使用。杰斯林爵士，请带这位好兄弟去城里的地牢随意挑选。”

“If you bury your dead, they won’t come walking,” Tyrion told him, and the court laughed openly. “Spades will end your troubles, with some strong backs to wield them. Ser Jacelyn, see that the good brother has his pick of the city dungeons.”

杰斯林·拜瓦特爵士道：“遵命，大人。但牢房实在没什么人，合适的人选都被尤伦带走了。”

Ser Jacelyn Bywater said, “As you will, my lord, but the cells are near empty. Yoren took all the likely men.”

“那就多抓几个，”提利昂告诉他。“或者温和点，传话出去，就说长城上有面包和萝卜，他们该会自发报名了。”反正城里有太多嗷嗷待哺的嘴巴，而守夜人军团一直人手不足。提利昂做个手势，司仪便朗声宣布请愿结束，人们缓缓离去。

“Arrest some more, then,” Tyrion told him. “Or spread the word that there’s bread and turnips on the Wall, and they’ll go of their own accord.” The city had too many mouths to feed, and the Night’s Watch a perpetual need of men. At Tyrion’s signal, the herald cried an end, and the hall began to empty.

但艾里沙·索恩爵士没那么好打发。提利昂步下王座后，发现他就等在阶梯口。“你以为我大老远从东海望坐船赶来是为了让你这种人嘲笑的吗？”他怒气冲冲地挡住去路，“这不是开玩笑，是我亲眼所见。我告诉你，确实有死人复活。”

Ser Alliser Thorne was not so easily dismissed. He was waiting at the foot of the Iron Throne when Tyrion descended. “Do you think I sailed all the way from Eastwatch-by-the-Sea to be mocked by the likes of you?” he fumed, blocking the way. “This is no jape. I saw it with my own eyes. I tell you, the dead walk.”

“那你们怎么不早点让他们死透呢？”提利昂硬挤过去。艾里沙爵士想抓他的袖子，但普列斯顿·格林菲尔爵士将他推回去，“不得靠近，爵士。”

“You should try to kill them more thoroughly.” Tyrion pushed past. Ser Alliser made to grab his sleeve, but Preston Greenfield thrust him back. “No closer, ser.”

索恩不敢挑衅御林铁卫的骑士。“小恶魔，你真是个大傻瓜！”他冲着提利昂的脊背喊。

Thorne knew better than to challenge a knight of the Kingsguard. “You are a fool, Imp,” he shouted at Tyrion’s back.

侏儒转身面对他，“什么？我是傻瓜？你不瞧瞧大家嘲笑的是谁？”他疲惫地一笑，“行了，你是来要人手的吧？”

The dwarf turned to face him. “Me? Truly? Then why were they laughing at you, I wonder?” He smiled wanly. “You came for men, did you not?”

“冷风已然吹起，必须守住长城！”

“The cold winds are rising. The Wall must be held.”

“长城需要人手，而我已经给了你……好好想想吧，你那双耳朵难道只配听侮辱和嘲笑？收下他们，并感谢我，在逼我拿螃蟹叉子跟你再次比划之前赶紧消失。记住，替我问候莫尔蒙司令……以及琼恩·雪诺。”波隆抓住艾里沙爵士胳膊，将他强拖出大厅。

“And to hold it you need men, which I’ve given you … as you might have noted, if your ears heard anything but insults. Take them, thank me, and begone before I’m forced to take a crab fork to you again. Give my warm regards to Lord Mormont … and to Jon Snow as well.” Bronn seized Ser Alliser by the elbow and marched him forcefully from the hall.

派席尔大学士早已溜走，只有瓦里斯和小指头从头看到尾。“我真是越来越佩服你了，大人，”太监承认，“你用史塔克先父的遗骨安抚他的孩子，同时轻描淡写地一笔勾销了令姐的护卫；你给黑衣兄弟提供急需的人手，同时又替城里除去不少饥饿的嘴巴——而这一切，你都用嘲弄的方式加以实施，以防别人议论侏儒害怕古灵精怪。哦，真是天衣无缝。”

Grand Maester Pycelle had already scuttled off, but Varys and Littlefinger had watched it all, start to finish. “I grow ever more admiring of you, my lord,” confessed the eunuch. “You appease the Stark boy with his father’s bones and strip your sister of her protectors in one swift stroke. You give that black brother the men he seeks, rid the city of some hungry mouths, yet make it all seem mockery so none may say that the dwarf fears snarks and grumkins. Oh, deftly done.”

小指头摸摸胡子，“兰尼斯特，你真打算把你的卫士全部送走？”

Littlefinger stroked his beard. “Do you truly mean to send away all your guards, Lannister?”

“当然不是，我打算把我姐姐的卫士全部送走。”

“No, I mean to send away all my sister’s guards.”

“此事想必太后不会答应。”

“The queen will never allow that.”

“哦，我想她会的。毕竟我是她弟弟嘛，如果你我相交再久一点，你就会了解，我这个人说得出做得到。”

“Oh, I think she may. I am her brother, and when you’ve known me longer, you’ll learn that I mean everything I say.”

“包括谎言？”

“Even the lies?”

“尤其是谎言。培提尔大人，你对我似乎不太满意。”

“Especially the lies. Lord Petyr, I sense that you are unhappy with me.”

“怎么可能？我一如既往地敬爱着您，大人。我只是不想被当做傻子一样作弄。如果弥赛菈嫁给了崔斯丹·马泰尔，应该不能同时与劳勃·艾林结婚了，您说对吧？”

“I love you as much as I ever have, my lord. Though I do not relish being played for a fool. If Myrcella weds Trystane Martell, she can scarcely wed Robert Arryn, can she?”

“除非想制造大丑闻。”他承认，“很抱歉，我要了个小花招，培提尔大人。不过当你我谈论婚嫁时，多恩人是否接受提议尚未可知。”

“Not without causing a great scandal,” he admitted. “I regret my little ruse, Lord Petyr, but when we spoke, I could not know the Dornishmen would accept my offer.”

小指头不依不饶：“我不喜欢上当的滋味，大人。所以下次你耍什么花招，千万别把我蒙在鼓里。”

Littlefinger was not appeased. “I do not like being lied to, my lord. Leave me out of your next deception.”

这不过是礼尚往来，提利昂心想，他瞥瞥小指头挂在腰间的匕首。“如有冒犯，我深切致歉。大家都知道我们有多爱您，多倚重您，大人。”

Only if you’ll do the same for me, Tyrion thought, glancing at the dagger sheathed at Littlefinger’s hip. “If I have given offense, I am deeply sorry. All men know how much we love you, my lord. And how much we need you.”

“你最好记牢一点。”语毕，小指头转身离去。

“Try and remember that.” With that Littlefinger left them.

“跟我来，瓦里斯，”提利昂说。他们从王座后的国王门离开，太监的拖鞋在石板上轻擦。

“Walk with me, Varys,” said Tyrion. They left through the king’s door behind the throne, the eunuch’s slippers whisking lightly over the stone.

“你知道，贝里席大人说的没错，太后绝不会允许你遣走她的卫队。”

“Lord Baelish has the truth of it, you know. The queen will never permit you to send away her guard.”

“她当然会。而且这事由你负责。”

“She will. You’ll see to that.”

一抹微笑滑过瓦里斯丰厚的嘴唇，“我？”

A smile flickered across Varys’s plump lips. “Will I?”

“嗯，那是当然。你要告诉她，这是我营救詹姆的大计划的关键部分。”

“Oh, for a certainty. You’ll tell her it is part of my scheme to free Jaime.”

瓦里斯摸摸扑粉的脸颊，“毋庸置疑，这跟你的波隆费尽心机在君临市井各处找到的四个人有关：盗贼，施毒者，戏子，外加一个杀手。”

Varys stroked a powdered cheek. “This would doubtless involve the four men your man Bronn searched for so diligently in all the low places of King’s Landing. A thief, a poisoner, a mummer, and a murderer.”

“让他们穿上深红披风，戴上狮盔，就跟其他卫士没什么区别。这阵子，我一直在思考，不知怎么将他们送进奔流城，最后决定不如让他们大大方方地混进去。他们将从正门列队骑马而入，高举兰尼斯特的旗帜，护送着艾德公爵的遗骨。”他狡猾地微笑道，“单单四个人必会惹人疑心，可一百个当中的四个，应该无人注意。所以我必须把真假卫兵一起送去……这番话，你一定得向我姐姐剖析清楚。”

“Put them in crimson cloaks and lion helms, they’ll look no different from any other guardsmen. I searched for some time for a ruse that might get them into Riverrun before I thought to hide them in plain sight. They’ll ride in by the main gate, flying Lannister banners and escorting Lord Eddard’s bones.” He smiled crookedly. “Four men alone would be watched vigilantly. Four among a hundred can lose themselves. So I must send the true guardsmen as well as the false … as you’ll tell my sister.”

“为了心爱的弟弟，她纵然心存疑虑，但应该会同意。”他们沿着一条废弃的柱廊往下走。“不过，失去红袍卫士定会令她不安。”

“And for the sake of her beloved brother, she will consent, despite her misgivings.” They made their way down a deserted colonnade. “Still, the loss of her red cloaks will surely make her uneasy.”

“这正是我想要的效果，”提利昂说。

“I like her uneasy,” said Tyrion.

克里奥·佛雷爵士于当日下午出发，由维拉尔率领一百名兰尼斯特红袍卫士负责护送。罗柏·史塔克的人在国王门外与他们会合，一同踏上漫漫的西行之路。

Ser Cleos Frey left that very afternoon, escorted by Vylarr and a hundred red-cloaked Lannister guardsmen. The men Robb Stark had sent joined them at the King’s Gate for the long ride west.

提利昂在兵营里找到提魅，他正跟他的灼人部手下玩骰子。“午夜时分，到我书房来。”提魅用仅存的眼睛狠狠地瞪着他，略略点头。他是个沉默寡言的人。

Tyrion found Timett dicing with his Burned Men in the barracks. “Come to my solar at midnight.” Timett gave him a hard one-eyed stare, a curt nod. He was not one for long speeches.

当晚，他在小厅里宴请石鸦部和月人部，但这次他没有喝酒。他必须保证头脑清醒，“夏嘎，今晚月光如何？”

That night he feasted with the Stone Crows and Moon Brothers in the Small Hall, though he shunned the wine for once. He wanted all his wits about him. “Shagga, what moon is this?”

夏嘎皱起眉来很可怕，“乌七八黑，什么也瞧不见。”

Shagga’s frown was a fierce thing. “Black, I think.”

“在我们西境，这种夜晚被称为叛逆之月。今晚尽量别喝醉，再把斧子磨利点。”

“In the west, they call that a traitor’s moon. Try not to get too drunk tonight, and see that your axe is sharp.”

“石鸦部的斧子永远锋利，其中夏嘎的斧子最锋利。有次我砍了一个人的头，他自己还不知道，一直等他梳头才掉下来。”

“A Stone Crow’s axe is always sharp, and Shagga’s axes are sharpest of all. Once I cut off a man’s head, but he did not know it until he tried to brush his hair. Then it fell off.”

“难怪你从不梳头！”提利昂的话惹得石鸦部众人边嚎叫边跺脚，夏嘎吼得最响亮。

“Is that why you never brush yours?” The Stone Crows roared and stamped their feet, Shagga hooting loudest of all.

到了午夜，整个城堡漆黑而宁静。他们出了首相塔，毫无疑问，城上几名金袍卫士发现了他们的行踪，但没有作声。毕竟他是御前首相，没人敢来多管闲事。

By midnight, the castle was silent and dark. Doubtless a few gold cloaks on the walls spied them leaving the Tower of the Hand, but no one raised a voice. He was the Hand of the King, and where he went was his own affair.

随着一声如雷的巨响，薄木板门崩裂成千千碎片，散落在夏嘎靴下。木片也朝里飞去，提利昂听见女人惊恐的喘息。夏嘎抡起斧子，三板斧就将门给劈了，随后踢开碎屑走进去。提魅跟在后面，接着是提利昂，他走得小心，以免踩上碎片。炉火已成发光的余烬，卧室内黑影憧憧。提魅一把扯下床上的厚帷，只见一丝不挂的女侍抬起头来，瞪大眼睛望着他们。“求求您们，大人，”她哀求，“别伤害我。”她缩着身子，又羞又怕，想尽办法远离夏嘎。她极力遮掩身上引人遐想的部位，只恨两只手不够用。

The thin wooden door split with a thunderous crack beneath the heel of Shagga’s boot. Pieces went flying inward, and Tyrion heard a woman’s gasp of fear. Shagga hacked the door apart with three great blows of his axe and kicked his way through the ruins. Timett followed, and then Tyrion, stepping gingerly over the splinters. The fire had burned down to a few glowing embers, and shadows lay thick across the bedchamber. When Timett ripped the heavy curtains off the bed, the naked serving girl stared up with wide white eyes. “Please, my lords,” she pleaded, “don’t hurt me.” She cringed away from Shagga, flushed and fearful, trying to cover her charms with her hands and coming up a hand short.

“你走吧，”提利昂告诉她，“我们要的不是你。”

“Go,” Tyrion told her. “It’s not you we want.”

“夏嘎要这个女人。”

“Shagga wants this woman.”

“这座妓女之城的每个妓女夏嘎都要，”提魅之子提魅埋怨。

“Shagga wants every whore in this city of whores,” complained Timett son of Timett.

“是的，”夏嘎一点也不害臊，“夏嘎要给她一个强壮的孩子。”

“Yes,” Shagga said, unabashed. “Shagga would give her a strong child.”

“很好，等她想要一个强壮孩子的时候，她知道去找谁，”提利昂道，“提魅，送她出去……尽你的可能温柔一点。”

“If she wants a strong child, she’ll know whom to seek,” Tyrion said. “Timett, see her out … gently, if you would.”

灼人部的提魅将女孩拽下床，半拖半推地将她领出房间。夏嘎目送他们离开，像只小狗一样伤心。女孩在碎门上绊了一交，随后被提魅用力推出去，进到外面的大厅。头顶，渡鸦厉声尖叫。

The Burned Man pulled the girl from the bed and half marched, half dragged her across the chamber. Shagga watched them go, mournful as a puppy. The girl stumbled over the shattered door and out into the hall, helped along by a firm shove from Timett. Above their heads, the ravens were screeching.

提利昂将床上的软被拉开，露出下面的派席尔大学士。“告诉我，学城准许你跟女侍同床吗，大学士？”

Tyrion dragged the soft blanket off the bed, uncovering Grand Maester Pycelle beneath. “Tell me, does the Citadel approve of you bedding the serving wenches, Maester?”

老人跟女孩一样光着身子，当然他的裸体远没有女孩的吸引力。他沉重的眼睑此刻却睁得大大的，“这——这是干什么？我是个老人，是您忠诚的仆人……”

The old man was as naked as the girl, though he made a markedly less attractive sight. For once, his heavy-lidded eyes were open wide. “W-what is the meaning of this? I am an old man, your loyal servant …”

提利昂跳上床去。“多么忠诚！我给你两份抄本，你将一份寄给道朗·马泰尔，另一份倒不忘给我姐姐过目。”

Tyrion hoisted himself onto the bed. “So loyal that you sent only one of my letters to Doran Martell. The other you gave to my sister.”

“不——不对，”派席尔高声尖叫，“不对，这不是实情，我发誓，不是我走漏的消息。瓦里斯，是瓦里斯，八爪蜘蛛干的！我警告过您——”

“N-no,” squealed Pycelle. “No, a falsehood, I swear it, it was not me. Varys, it was Varys, the Spider, I warned you—”

“难道学士说谎都这么差劲？我告诉瓦里斯要把侄子托曼交道朗亲王抚养；我对小指头说的则是把弥赛菈嫁给鹰巢城的劳勃公爵；至于将弥赛菈送去多恩的打算，我从没给任何人提过……这件事从头到尾只写在我托付给你的信件里面。

“Do all maesters lie so poorly? I told Varys that I was giving Prince Doran my nephew Tommen to foster. I told Littlefinger that I planned to wed Myrcella to Lord Robert of the Eyrie. I told no one that I had offered Myrcella to the Dornish … that truth was only in the letter I entrusted to you.”

派席尔扯紧毯子一角。“鸟儿会迷路，信会被人偷走，被人出卖……一定是瓦里斯干的，关于这个太监，我有好些事要告诉您，保管让您的血液冰凉……”

Pycelle clutched for a corner of the blanket. “Birds are lost, messages stolen or sold … it was Varys, there are things I might tell you of that eunuch that would chill your blood …”

“我的女人喜欢我热血沸腾呢。”

“My lady prefers my blood hot.”

“您不要太自信了，那太监每在您耳边吹嘘一个秘密，他自己其实隐瞒了七个。至于小指头那家伙……”

“Make no mistake, for every secret the eunuch whispers in your ear, he holds seven back. And Littlefinger, that one …”

“我十分了解培提尔伯爵，他跟你一样靠不住。夏嘎，把他的命根子剁掉喂山羊。”

“I know all about Lord Petyr. He’s almost as untrustworthy as you. Shagga, cut off his manhood and feed it to the goats.”

夏嘎举起双刃巨斧，“半人，这里没山羊。”

Shagga hefted the huge double-bladed axe. “There are no goats, Halfman.”

“砍了再说。”

“Make do.”

夏嘎怒吼着跃上前来。派席尔尖叫一声，尿了床，他拼命向外爬去，尿液四散喷洒。原住民一把抓住他波浪般的白胡子，斧子一挥就割下四分之三。

Roaring, Shagga leapt forward. Pycelle shrieked and wet the bed, urine spraying in all directions as he tried to scramble back out of reach. The wildling caught him by the end of his billowy white beard and hacked off three-quarters of it with a single slash of the axe.

“提魅，依你看，等我们的朋友没法躲在胡须后面的时候，会不会合作一点呢？”提利昂拉过床单来擦拭靴上的尿。

“Timett, do you suppose our friend will be more forthcoming without those whiskers to hide behind?” Tyrion used a bit of the sheet to wipe the piss off his boots.

“他很快就会说实话，”提魅灼伤的空眼眶里一片幽暗，“我能嗅出他的恐惧。”

“He will tell the truth soon.” Darkness pooled in the empty pit of Timett’s burned eye. “I can smell the stink of his fear.”

夏嘎将手中的须发匆匆扔进地板的草席，然后抓住剩下的胡须。“别乱动，大学士，”提利昂劝道，“若是惹得夏嘎生气，他的手可会抖哦。”

Shagga tossed a handful of hair down to the rushes, and seized what beard was left. “Hold still, Maester,” urged Tyrion. “When Shagga gets angry, his hands shake.”

“夏嘎的手从来不抖，”巨人一边忿忿地说，一边将巨大的弯刃贴紧派席尔颤抖的下巴，又锯断一蓬胡子。

“Shagga’s hands never shake,” the huge man said indignantly, pressing the great crescent blade under Pycelle’s quivering chin and sawing through another tangle of beard.

“你替我姐姐当间谍有多久了？”提利昂问。

“How long have you been spying for my sister?” Tyrion asked.

派席尔的呼吸短浅而急促。“我所做的一切，全是为了兰尼斯特家族。”一层闪亮的汗珠覆盖了老人宽阔的圆额，几缕白发附在皱巴巴的皮肤上。“一直以来……多年以来……去问您的父亲大人，去问问他，我一直都是他忠诚的仆人……正是我让伊里斯打开了城门……”

Pycelle’s breathing was rapid and shallow. “All I did, I did for House Lannister.” A sheen of sweat covered the broad dome of the old man’s brow, and wisps of white hair clung to his wrinkled skin. “Always … for years … your lord father, ask him, I was ever his true servant … ’twas I who bid Aerys open his gates …”

啊！什么？君临城陷时，他不过是凯岩城里一个丑陋的男孩。“所以君临的陷落是你的所为？”

That took Tyrion by surprise. He had been no more than an ugly boy at Casterly Rock when the city fell. “So the Sack of King’s Landing was your work as well?”

“我是为了国家！雷加一死，战争大局已定。伊里斯疯了，韦赛里斯太小，而伊耿王子还是个吃奶的婴儿，但国家需要国王……我本希望由您高贵的父亲来承担，但劳勃当时实力太强，史塔克公爵又行动迅速……”

“For the realm! Once Rhaegar died, the war was done. Aerys was mad, Viserys too young, Prince Aegon a babe at the breast, but the realm needed a king … I prayed it should be your good father, but Robert was too strong, and Lord Stark moved too swiftly …”

“我很好奇，你到底出卖了多少人？伊里斯，艾德·史塔克，我……劳勃国王？艾林公爵？雷加王子？派席尔，你什么时候变成这样的？”好在他知道将在何时结束。

“How many have you betrayed, I wonder? Aerys, Eddard Stark, me … King Robert as well? Lord Arryn, Prince Rhaegar? Where does it begin, Pycelle?” He knew where it ended.

斧子刮过派席尔的喉结，蹭着他下巴抖动的软肉，削掉最后几根毛发。“您……您当时不在场，”斧刃上移到脸颊，他趁机喘口气，“劳勃……他的伤……如果您看到了，闻到了，就不会怀疑……”

The axe scratched at the apple of Pycelle’s throat and stroked the soft wobbly skin under his jaw, scraping away the last hairs. “You … were not here,” he gasped when the blade moved upward to his cheeks. “Robert … his wounds … if you had seen them, smelled them, you would have no doubt …”

“噢，我知道野猪替你完成了任务……就算它办事不力，相信你也会加以协助。”

“Oh, I know the boar did your work for you … but if he’d left the job half done, doubtless you would have finished it.”

“他是个可耻的国王……虚荣，酗酒，荒淫无度……他要撇下您的姐姐，他自己的王后……求求您……蓝礼密谋将高庭的明珠带到宫中来诱惑他哥哥……诸神作证，这是千真万确的事实……”

“He was a wretched king … vain, drunken, lecherous … he would have set your sister aside, his own queen … please … Renly was plotting to bring the Highgarden maid to court, to entice his brother … it is the gods’ own truth …”

“那艾林公爵又有何罪呢？”

“And what was Lord Arryn plotting?”

“他知道了……”派席尔说，“关于……关于……”

“He knew,” Pycelle said. “About … about …”

“我明白他知道什么，”提利昂打断话头，他不想让夏嘎和提魅听到这些。

“I know what he knew about,” snapped Tyrion, who was not anxious for Shagga and Timett to know as well.

“他要把妻子送回鹰巢城，将儿子送到龙石岛作养子……然后采取行动……”

“He was sending his wife back to the Eyrie, and his son to be fostered on Dragonstone … he meant to act …”

“所以你抢先毒死了他。”

“So you poisoned him first.”

“不对！”派席尔无力地挣扎起来。夏嘎咆哮着抓住他的头，原住民的巨手如此有力，学士的头颅简直像蛋壳一般脆弱。

“No.” Pycelle struggled feebly. Shagga growled and grabbed his head. The clansman’s hand was so big he could have crushed the maester’s skull like an eggshell had he squeezed.

提利昂不耐烦地“啧啧”两声，“我在你的置物架上见过里斯之泪。你遣开艾林公爵的学士，自己去治疗他，妙啊，这样就能确保他一命呜呼。”

Tyrion tsked at him. “I saw the tears of Lys among your potions. And you sent away Lord Arryn’s own maester and tended him yourself, so you could make certain that he died.”

“这不是实情！”

“A falsehood!”

“给他剃干净点，”提利昂催促，“脖子上再清一遍。”

“Shave him closer,” Tyrion suggested. “The throat again.”

斧子又从上往下滑行，锉过每一寸皮肤。派席尔的嘴不住颤抖，唇上泛起一层薄薄的唾沫，“我尽全力拯救艾林公爵，我发誓——”

The axe swept back down, rasping over the skin. A thin film of spit bubbled on Pycelle’s lips as his mouth trembled. “I tried to save Lord Arryn. I vow—”

“小心，夏嘎，你割到他了。”

“Careful now, Shagga, you’ve cut him.”

夏嘎咆哮道：“多夫之子当战士，不当理发师。”

Shagga growled. “Dolf fathered warriors, not barbers.”

老人感到鲜血从脖子流下来，滴到胸口，情不自禁地发抖，最后一丝力气也离他而去。他看上去仿佛小了一圈，比他们闯入时虚弱得多。“是的，”他呜咽着说，“是的，柯蒙要帮他排毒，因此我把他送走了。王后想要艾林公爵死于非命，但没有说出口，不能说出口，因为瓦里斯在听，他一直都在听。不过我只需看着她的眼睛，就明白该如何行动。但下毒的不是我，千真万确不是我，我发誓。”老人泪流满面，“去问瓦里斯，应该是那个男孩，他的侍从，叫做修夫，一定是他干的，去问你姐姐，去问她。”

When he felt the blood trickling down his neck and onto his chest, the old man shuddered, and the last strength went out of him. He looked shrunken, both smaller and frailer than he had been when they burst in on him. “Yes,” he whimpered, “yes, Colemon was purging, so I sent him away. The queen needed Lord Arryn dead, she did not say so, could not, Varys was listening, always listening, but when I looked at her I knew. It was not me who gave him the poison, though, I swear it.” The old man wept. “Varys will tell you, it was the boy, his squire, Hugh he was called, he must surely have done it, ask your sister, ask her.”

提利昂一阵作呕。“把他绑起来带走，”他命令，“扔进黑牢。”

Tyrion was disgusted. “Bind him and take him away,” he commanded. “Throw him down in one of the black cells.”

他们将他拖出碎裂的门。“兰尼斯特，”他呻吟道，“我所做的一切都是为了兰尼斯特……”

They dragged him out the splintered door. “Lannister,” he moaned, “all I’ve done has been for Lannister …”

等他们离开，提利昂从容不迫地搜查房间，又从他的架子上取走几个小罐。在此过程中，渡鸦一直在头顶嘀咕，声调却出奇地平和。在学城派人接替派席尔之前，他得找人照看这些鸟。

When he was gone, Tyrion made a leisurely search of the quarters and collected a few more small jars from his shelves. The ravens muttered above his head as he worked, a strangely peaceful noise. He would need to find someone to tend the birds until the Citadel sent a man to replace Pycelle.

我本指望能信赖他。他心里清楚，瓦里斯和小指头的算盘打得更精……他们更难捉摸，因此也更危险。或许还是父亲的办法最好：传唤伊林·派恩，将三人的脑袋用枪尖插着，挂上城墙，一了百了。这不是很悦目吗？他想。

He was the one I’d hoped to trust. Varys and Littlefinger were no more loyal, he suspected … only more subtle, and thus more dangerous. Perhaps his father’s way would have been best: summon Ilyn Payne, mount three heads above the gates, and have done. And wouldn’t that be a pretty sight, he thought.