while king aedar suffered from the effects of the poison, many toiled away to actually ensure justice was served and not used as another political stunt to instill fear and flash power.
master of laws willas marbrand worked through his grief over the loss of his family member alongside several others and finally a name was found. the grand maester of the north, lord walder bolton was accused. elements of the poison, including eranthis  blossoms which are only found in the north, were discovered in his quarters, the lord quite content to never be caught.Â
but what was his plan ? why, the best kept secret throughout all of this. as it turns out, king tylon stark consumed much of the wine, and suffered near death for the days after the ball. under the tender care of the maester his condition never improved, the initial cause of suspicion as the maester assured many the king was fine and merely wished for no guests. for days the king went unvisited, many blindly believing the maester. until prince harrion starkâs suspicion outweighed his desire to listen to his fatherâs wishes. pushing open the doors the maester was caught, delivering another tea meant to poison the king further.
it seems the boltons never did quite forgive the starks.
and so the trial was held, prince rhaegar targaryen relinquishing control to the northern council and the starks. the entire keep gathered to witness the events, but the smug maester never did deny his actions. in fact, he seemed proud, even admitting to organizing the attack on the draconis ball in attempt to kidnap princess alexia stark and murder prince harrion and king tylon.
in less than a day the judgement was delivered, a sentence to death at the next daybreak to be carried out by prince harrion.
the grand maesterâs head rolled at sunrise, and shortly after king aedar awoke and was informed of the events. enraged to have been left out, he went into a fit of irrational madness. the southern maesters were quick to offer sedation teas, and once again the kingâs state was taken advantage of. the hand, prince rhaegar announced the release of all that had been stuck over these tense few months.
they were freed.
