iron throne of ice and fire

Chapter 468 The Interrogation of the High Sparrow

Cersei pursed her lips, said nothing more, and walked the rest of the stairs in silence.

The place where the High Sparrow met Cersei was still the heptagonal room from last time. The faces of the Seven Gods were roughly carved on the stone walls, as if they were staring at the people in the room.

The skinny, gray-haired High Sparrow sat under the face of SkytheFather (one of the Seven Gods), examining Cersei who was brought in by the septas.

"Your Majesty, it is a pleasure to see you again."

Hearing the High Sparrow's greeting, Cersei hurried forward and knelt before him.

"My Lord Bishop, when I was lost, the merciful old woman (one of the seven gods) held up a bright light and guided me."

Cersei lowered her head very respectfully. All she could see was the High Sparrow's rough, black bare feet. She gritted her teeth secretly.

It was unknown how long it had passed before the High Sparrow's voice came from above: "I sense your willingness to repent."

He gazed kindly into Cersei's tangled hair. "The gods are watching you, your majesty."

He turned his gaze to the other side and said, "Uniya, you will record His Majesty's confession."

Writing her confession?!
Cersei's eyes trembled slightly. She saw Sister Unia sitting behind a small table nearby, unfolding a piece of parchment and dipping a quill in ink.

She looked up at the High Sparrow and said cautiously, "My Lord Archbishop, I pray that my repentance will allow me to return to my son..."

Her eyes were filled with tears: "...Please forgive a mother who loves her child deeply."

The High Sparrow looked down at Cersei, whose eyes were already filled with tears, and said slowly, "Mother will return to her child. Your Majesty, confinement is part of repentance, and so is confession. Only by confessing one's sins can one be forgiven by the gods."

Her tears were useless in front of the High Sparrow!

"I will confess my sins, and ask the Virgin Mary (one of the seven gods) to have mercy on me."

She has to get out of here!

Cersei sniffed. "Will my honesty allow me to hold my child right away? I'm sorry, Lord High Septon, I'm really worried about my child. For a mother, her child is everything."

The High Sparrow nodded slightly and said, "When you can be reunited with your children depends on whether you will be honest about your crimes. It also depends on the crimes you have committed, Your Majesty."

Damn Osney!

"I see, thank you for your patience."

Cersei looked at the High Sparrow and said, "I slept with another man. I admit that I violated my marriage contract with King Robert I."

The High Sparrow stared at Cersei. "Who are those men?"

Sister Unia's quill pen made a faint friction sound. Cersei paused for a moment. She was not sure what Osney had revealed...

But she knew that she couldn't give the High Sparrow an excuse to continue imprisoning her. She had to leave. Only by leaving here could she get revenge!
Her eyelids blinked slightly, and she choked up and said, "Lancel Lannister... Osney Kettleblack... Osmund Kettleblack..." Then she tried to explain herself, her voice filled with sadness: "My Lord High Septon, please allow me to tell you the difficulties that I have been unable to reveal to others. I am not making excuses for my crimes.

The gods have taken my husband from me... I am alone and afraid, and my children and I are surrounded by rebels and those who would take the Iron Throne.

Joffrey was killed, and I was horrified, and I didn't know who to trust... so I... bound those men to myself as I could."

The High Sparrow's deep eyes fixed on Cersei. "You mean you took advantage of your feminine side."

"My flesh..." Cersei covered her face with her hands, her body trembling, as if she was in great pain.

After a pause, she barely stopped crying and squeezed out her voice from her throat: "For the sake of my child and the stability of the kingdom, I can only do this. Girl (one of the Seven Gods), please forgive me..."

Crawling forward on her knees, she approached the High Sparrow and looked up at him with tearful eyes. "My Lord Archbishop, I am a helpless woman who has lost my husband. I only want to protect my children. They all treat me rudely. I have never been happy with them... Every time, it is more of a painful torture for me."

The High Sparrow's voice was emotionless: "Tommen is the king, and protecting the king is the duty of the Kingsguard."

"But Joffrey is dead, and the Kingsguard is doing nothing now. I don't believe they can protect Tommen. I can't imagine losing another son... The turbulent Seven Kingdoms can't afford to lose their king again..."

Cersei grabbed the High Sparrow's knees with both hands: "My Lord High Priest, I am indeed guilty, but I did it all for Tommen and the kingdom..."

With her hands she could feel the skinny body of the High Sparrow. Her tears blurred her vision. She begged in a sad voice, "Please forgive me. To protect her children, any mother can open her legs to any man. I am the same as them. I am also a helpless mother..."

At the end of her speech, Cersei seemed to be sobbing uncontrollably, but the High Sparrow remained indifferent. He and the statue of the Seven Gods on the wall stared at her intently.

After a long time, Cersei's tears finally dried up, and her eyes were red and swollen from crying.

The High Sparrow's voice came over then: "You are talking about common crimes. The wickedness of widows is well known, and all women are promiscuous, eager to use their beauty to drive men to achieve their own goals."

After a pause, he continued, "As long as King Robert did not betray your marriage while he was alive, your subsequent actions would not be considered betrayal."

Cersei suppressed her excitement, calmed herself down, and said with trembling lips: "I never betrayed Robert while he was alive. Never, I can swear."

The High Sparrow ignored Cersei's sincere response and continued, "You have admitted that Osney Kettleblack was your lover, and you have confessed another, more serious crime. He insists that he murdered the former High Septon on your orders."

Cersei shook her head: "No, this is slander! I admit... I did complain about the former High Septon in private. Many people told me that the High Septon was weak and corrupt, and that he was a stain on the Church of the Seven.

Osney...maybe he thought his death would please me...if that's the case, I am willing to take some of the blame...if I had known of his dangerous thoughts in advance, I would have stopped him, Your Excellency."

The High Sparrow stared at Cersei for a moment, then continued, "Osney also insists that he fabricated Margaery Tyrell's crimes at your command."

"No!"

Cersei shook her head again, "Osney is lying again. This is not true. Margaery and I love each other. I consider her my daughter."

(End of this chapter)