“Arya just told me,” Aegor reminded Tyrion, “Slynt was summoned to see Robert last night.”

“So what? I’m targeting this idiot who has the king as his backer.” Tyrion looked at Aegor with displeasure. “I mean, aren’t you the legendary White Walker slayer? Can you at least show a bit more murderous intent? You don’t have to do it yourself to deal with Slynt. I’ve got a plan—you just need to carry it out.”

“Go on,” Arya interrupted eagerly. “Can I join in too?”

“You think this is a game? This is a life-and-death power struggle between adults!” Tyrion glanced at Arya. Her participation made the whole thing seem like a joke, but he couldn’t ignore her completely. “Fine, I’ll give you a task. How about you play the storyteller?”

“Of course!”

“Very good. Go back and tell your father about Slynt trying to force Nina to date him. Choose a time like dinner, and don’t exaggerate, just tell him everything you know. The goal is for your father, the Hand of the King, to form a bad impression of Slynt. But don’t be too obvious, and don’t let your father know I was the one who asked you to say it.” Tyrion spoke seriously. “We won’t treat you as a child this time, so don’t let us down.”

“Don’t worry~” If Aegor hadn’t always reminded her to act like a lady, Arya would’ve jumped up and issued a military command.

Tyrion wasn’t entirely comfortable relying on a ten-year-old girl, but even if she slipped up, it wouldn’t be catastrophic, so he stopped dwelling on it and continued giving orders. “Nina, as one of the ‘victims,’ aside from managing the office’s daily operations, don’t go out for the next two days. I’ll prepare an excuse for you, and you can take time to memorize it.”

“Understood.”

…

…

…

“The commander of the City Watch may not have influence across the Seven Kingdoms, but he’s a key figure in King’s Landing. If all we wanted was to kill him, one man with one blade would do the trick. But if we want to take him down easily, cleanly, and without repercussions, it’ll take some real effort. The tasks can be summarized like this—cut off Janos Slynt’s social connections.” Tyrion turned to Aegor and squinted at him. “To put it plainly, we need to prepare all the relevant forces in King’s Landing, especially the local snakes with interests tied to Slynt, collect debts, halt gambling operations, and prepare for the next commander’s election, and so on.”

Aegor had never been directly involved in a political power struggle before, but that didn’t hinder his understanding of what Tyrion said. “I get it. Sever his ties to the power structure as much as possible—make him ‘politically and socially dead.’ Once that’s done, even if we do nothing else, he’s finished.”

“‘Politically and socially dead?’ Interesting phrase… but fitting.” Tyrion nodded. “Good that you understand. To achieve this, we need to follow the ‘general trend.’ That is, to align with the will of those who control resources both in front of and behind the scenes in King’s Landing. These people form a shadow organization—the second master of the city—operating behind Robert’s back. If you want their support, you’ll have to meet them personally. They won’t deal with lackeys.”

“But I’m not familiar with our major investors or backers.”

“Exactly. You’ve barely met these hidden powerbrokers. If you just walk in and ask for help, it’ll be a miracle if they don’t laugh in your face. So, we’ll divide the work, I’ll speak with the big players I know, and you go deal with some of the mid-level officers in the City Watch. Try to pry open a crack in their ranks.”

“Talk to City Watch officers?” Aegor looked confused. “How are we supposed to break through there?”

“The capital’s City Watch isn’t some unified force. Remember our security captain, Jeroth? His name’s similar to Janos Slynt, but they were enemies before he left the Watch. After Slynt was promoted to commander, he bullied Jeroth out of the post. That’s how he ended up working with us.” Tyrion explained, “He told me a lot about the Watch’s structure. It’s a very complicated organization…”

Arya stared at Tyrion intently, full of excitement. “Isn’t it just patrolling the streets and guarding the gates? What’s so complicated about that?”

“It’s a long story, so I’ll keep it brief. The City Watch of King’s Landing has over 2,000 men. Half of them come from the Baratheon family’s lands, and from noble houses in the capital—soldiers and officers alike.” Tyrion continued, “These men only answer to King Robert and their real patrons. Janos Slynt knows this well. He can’t actually control them, so he doesn’t dare cross them. Instead, he uses them to suppress the other half, the ones recruited from King’s Landing, who have no backing. And according to Jeroth, those men have long resented Slynt and have been waiting for someone to take him down.”

“I get it. Half of the Watch is loyal to Slynt, and the other half hates his guts. That makes him an easy target.”

“Don’t underestimate him. As long as he stays in power, we haven’t won.”

“The plan’s clear and straightforward. I have no problem with it.” Aegor actually opposed Tyrion staying in King’s Landing to stir up trouble at such a delicate time, but since he couldn’t persuade him to return to Casterly Rock, he could only support his decision. The sooner they ousted Slynt, the sooner Tyrion could leave with peace of mind. “So what’s next? Slynt’s messing with us, not those big players, why would they help us?”

“Profit. I’ll distribute this month’s dividends to all investors in Night’s Watch Industries. The amount I give will be a little higher than what they’re actually owed. Since Slynt doesn’t want the money, there are plenty of others who do. After I send it out, I’ll tell them: Slynt tried to get a cut of the Night’s Watch Industries’ profits. After I refused, he got angry and started sabotaging our operations, which hurt this month’s returns. Guess what happens next?”

“That’s a smart move. Cutting off someone’s income is worse than killing their kin. Just by saying that, you’ve made Slynt a lot of enemies without him even knowing it.” Aegor quickly grasped the core idea of this political game. Now, all that was left was to take action. “Tell me what you want me to do.”

“Creating momentum isn’t enough, we need tangible entry points. That means real-name complaints, witnesses, and physical evidence.” Tyrion said, “As a Lannister, I can’t appear in public right now. You’ll have to handle this part. First, write a formal letter of complaint to Eddard Stark. Then I’ll ask Jeroth to make a list of City Watch officers we can win over. You’ll start visiting them quietly tonight. We need some of Slynt’s subordinates to testify against him. And most importantly—we can take down the king’s man, but we have to do it cleanly and without chaos. If we anger Robert, everything could go up in smoke.”

“Got it. I’ll start right away. It’s getting late. Want to stay for lunch? Margaery should be here soon—you might as well take the chance to get to know her.”

“Margaery said she’s returning to Highgarden soon and won’t be coming back,” Arya said. “She told me to keep practicing so I can go to the Reach and teach swordsmanship to her distant cousins one day.”

She hopes you’ll marry into House Tyrell, Miss Stark. Though clever, this little apprentice is still too innocent. Aegor couldn’t help but curl his lip.

“Well, we’ll see that clever girl again eventually. I swore a solemn oath to take down Slynt in three days, so I can’t afford to waste time… I’m heading back to the industrial park. You two stay in the city, near the east camp of the Watch—be careful.” Tyrion shook his head. “That’s all. I’ll send ten men into the city this afternoon… not enough to confront the Watch directly, but enough to prevent Slynt from making a desperate move.”

“All right. Take care outside the city.” Aegor accepted Tyrion’s arrangements and orders without question, and was even glad to let someone else do the thinking. But just before they parted, a thought struck him. “By the way, Arya, didn’t Akun ask you to find more people to practice swordplay with? Starting today, you’ll go to the security team’s training ground outside the city and spar with some of your father’s guards.”

“Huh? That far?”

Tyrion looked at Aegor curiously, not understanding the reason for the arrangement. He couldn’t ask too much with Arya present, but he trusted Aegor must have had a reason, so he helped out. “It’s not far at all. Come on, how about a race on horseback, see who gets there first?”

“Okay!”

(To be continued.)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep