Including the judge, guards, witnesses, and defendants, everyone turned to look at the person who had suddenly spoken.

The black clothes were so conspicuous, and Renly had seen Aegor during the rebellion in the Vale, so he recognized him immediately. In fact, if Aegor had not been arrested by the Hand of the King, as the first informant, he should have been a witness in this trial. After being stunned for a few seconds, Renly, remembering that he was the judge here, spoke: “So it is our White Walker slayer, Lord Aegor. You may speak.”

“I, Aegor West, in the name of the Night’s Watch Chief Logistics Officer and Chief Recruiting Officer, refuse this man’s request to don black and join the Watch.” The title of Chief Recruiting Officer was unofficial, as it had not been formally appointed by Lord Commander Mormont. However, the Lord Commander had indeed entrusted him with recruiting new men in the initial letter of commission when they parted. The situation was complicated… If anyone questioned him on it, Aegor would simply answer: write to the Wall and ask, if you are willing to go through the trouble.

“The Night’s Watch is an ancient and honorable order. We will not accept such scum, men without principle or integrity.”

—

Littlefinger’s betrayal and the subsequent second note incident had made Aegor deeply understand what it meant that “if you do not kill the tiger, you will surely invite disaster.” His conflict with Slynt over Nina had made him personally experience just how repulsive and dangerous it was to make enemies of such villains.

This kind of experience was enough for a lifetime.

Let Slynt go to the Wall and stir up trouble as he pleased? Give him the chance to “torment Jon Snow while plotting revenge on me”? Absolutely not. Because of the rebellion in the Vale, Aegor already had plenty of enemies at the Wall. If he allowed someone like Slynt to be sent there, he would be digging his own grave.

Logically speaking, the safest plan would have been to allow Slynt to join the Night’s Watch first, then quietly find a way to kill him later. But that would require too much time, effort, and caution. Slynt seemed to know quite a few of the brothers at the Wall. If anything unexpected happened, the trouble would never end… After brief consideration, Aegor decided that this time, he would take revenge openly, without fear of suspicion.

—

As the Chief Logistics Officer of the Night’s Watch and the founder of the Night’s Watch industries, he had no need for false reputations of kindness and forgiveness. How could he forgive a man who had almost killed him?

From the moment he survived that assassination attempt on the chaotic night, Aegor had sworn: never again would he give such a villain the chance to harm him. He did not wish to be cruel, but in this cold and brutal world, a good man could only survive by being more cunning and ruthless than the wicked.

Slynt must die. A dead villain is the best kind of villain.

—

“I will not accept this kind of scum!”

Aegor’s voice echoed through the throne room, reverberating around the stone pillars, lingering for a long time before finally fading.

In the past, if a brother of the Night’s Watch had stood up and said such righteous words in public, it would surely have drawn laughter—after all, wasn’t the Night’s Watch the place where scum and outlaws were sent? If a garbage dump refuses to take in garbage, wouldn’t that be a joke across the realm? But here in this court today, at least half of those present had seen the wight that Eddard Stark had put on display beneath the Traitor’s Corridor. And the man who had spoken was the legendary “White Walker Slayer,” Aegor West. Times had changed. This time, his words on behalf of the Night’s Watch did not provoke laughter. Instead, they drew a round of applause.

Only then did Slynt realize that Aegor had also come to the trial. As the head of the Night’s Watch industries and a leader of the victorious side… this bastard in black had actually come in person to cut off his last chance of escape. Did he not feel any shame?

“Aegor West, curse you! I can’t be a brother of the Watch now, but I swear, I won’t let you off even if I become a ghost—uh—”

The guard could not stand to listen anymore and stuffed the ball of cloth he had been holding into Slynt’s mouth, giving him no chance to further pollute the air with his vulgar curses.

“The Night’s Watch does not fear demons or ghosts.” Aegor stood straight and tall. A few days in prison had not worn down his bearing as Chief Logistics Officer. “If you come to me as a ghost, I’ll kill you.”

“Wait!” Aegor’s words even drew applause from several men. Just when everyone thought the trial’s outcome was already decided, another man in black, Ser Alliser, seated not far to Aegor’s right, stood up and said, “I have lived many years, and never have I heard of any law that allows the Night’s Watch to refuse a man’s request to join!”

—

Aegor frowned and glanced at his fellow brothers from Castle Black. He knew that Alliser was acquainted with Slynt, but he did not know how close they truly were. Was this just Alliser’s habit of opposing him, or was their relationship close enough for Alliser to stand up in public to save Slynt’s life?

“Who is this man? Please introduce yourself.” When the Usurper’s War broke out, Renly had still been a young boy sheltering in Storm’s End. There was no way he could recognize this former officer of the King’s Landing City Watch and now a senior officer at Castle Black.

“My name is Alliser Thorne, my lord.”

“It’s Ser Alliser,” Renly corrected. He did not know the man personally, but he had heard the name and was familiar with the Thorne family of the crownlands. Nodding with a touch of surprise, he looked at the two Night’s Watch brothers standing opposed and raised his lips in amusement. “Then tell me, between the two of you, who has the final say?”

Who has the final say? Aegor turned to face Alliser and asked with a smile, “Ser Alliser, what is your position within the Night’s Watch?”

“I am the instructor of new recruits. Aegor here is the Chief Logistics Officer. Theoretically, his rank is higher than mine, and I have no objection to that.” Alliser was no fool. He backed off strategically, readily admitting this fact to disarm Aegor’s attempt to use status as leverage. “But what I question is whether any officer of the Night’s Watch has the authority to ‘refuse a request to join.’ This has nothing to do with rank.”

(A clever move, but Ser Alliser, are you sure you want to play this game with me?)

Aegor laughed silently to himself. Aside from Margaery Tyrell, a true Mary Sue who was irrational but born noble enough to leave people speechless, there was no one Aegor feared debating. “Indeed, there has never been a law stating that the Night’s Watch may refuse an application to join. But at the same time, there has never been a law saying that we cannot refuse! Where I come from, there is a saying: ‘What is not prohibited by law is permitted.’ If the law does not explicitly forbid it, then it can be done. So, I believe that since the law does not forbid me from refusing, I am allowed to do so.”

—

Aegor was deliberately twisting the argument, taking advantage of Alliser’s limited education and lack of skill in debate. “What is not prohibited by law is permitted.” On the surface, there was no flaw in this logic, but anyone with basic legal knowledge knew how to counter it. The missing half of the statement was well known: “What is not authorized by law is forbidden.”

What is not prohibited by law is allowed—for individuals. But what is not authorized by law is forbidden—for public officials.

This distinction was crucial. The first protects individual rights. The second restricts government power—just as arrests require warrants, searches require permits, and wars require lawful authority. Aegor was speaking as an officer of the Night’s Watch, not as a private individual, so the second half applied. Without authorization from Commander Mormont, acting on behalf of the Night’s Watch, Aegor had no right to refuse a recruit in the name of the order.

—

That was true in theory. But in this world, how many people could sort out the logic fast enough to catch Aegor’s sophistry and strike back effectively? Renly could not. Slynt’s mouth was stuffed with cloth. Ser Alliser’s face flushed red with frustration. He could not find the words to argue and could only shout in the end, “There has never been such a precedent! This is against the rules!”

“No, there is precedent!” Aegor answered immediately. “In the early days of the Night’s Watch, only those skilled in archery and horseback riding, strong and able to wield at least one weapon, were permitted to join. Wasn’t this equivalent to rejecting the untrained and the weak? The Watch stands at the northern border of the Seven Kingdoms, defending all people against wildlings and the enemies of mankind. Now look at our Lord Slynt—his brutish, arrogant demeanor, his worn and aging face, his gray hair. When he reaches the Wall, how many brothers will we need to assign to watch him, to prevent him from stirring up trouble? Even if he lacks the courage to cause harm, I must ask, with a man like him, are we being protected by him… or are we protecting him?”

“Well said!” Arya clapped her hands and shouted. No one dared rebuke the Hand of the King’s daughter for disturbing the order of the court.

Alliser’s chest heaved with anger. “You’re abusing your power for personal revenge!”

I’m just using my position to settle a personal grudge! Aegor almost tore open his clothes to show the arrow wound on his shoulder and shout these words. But this bold idea stayed only in his head. When the words came to his lips, they were something else entirely: “Ser Alliser, mind your words. You are slandering your superior! Whether I have this authority or not is not up to you to decide, nor is it up to me. It should be judged by Commander Mormont. But since he is not here, the next best authority is the Master of Laws. Lord Renly, I request that you make the judgment on this matter.”

Renly opened his mouth, hesitant. It was true that he was the Master of Laws, but when it came to legal debates, he lacked deep expertise. He could recite the law, but to interpret and judge such a contentious issue… that was beyond him.

But what kind of world was this? In Westeros, under feudal law, the king’s word was law. If the king was absent, and the Hand was absent, then the Chancellor’s word was law. This was a realm ruled by personal authority.

Renly thought for a moment. He did not know the detailed laws or customs of the Night’s Watch, but he could not find any flaw in the argument, “What is not prohibited by law is permitted.” As for Slynt… Renly had no desire to save him. The outcome was clear.

“Very well. Then I will decide.” Renly tapped the armrest of his chair with his fingers. After a brief pause, he gave his ruling: “As Chief Recruiter of the Night’s Watch, you have the right to refuse an applicant. The Wall is a defense for the Seven Kingdoms, not a refuge for criminals seeking to evade punishment. The defendant, Janos Slynt, has confessed to all charges. Now, in the name of King Robert, I sentence you to death. The sentence shall be confirmed by the Hand of the King. If there are no objections, the execution will take place at noon, the day after tomorrow, in the square before the Great Sept of Baelor, as a warning to the realm.”

(To be continued.)

***

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep