“What bad thing have you done, Master!”

Arya rushed into Aegor’s room, dragging him as she breathlessly tattled. Though still young, she could tell from the tone of her brothers and the sworn swords during their discussion that they were dissatisfied with some of her master’s secret actions. This matter was serious and could not be taken lightly.

After listening for a few minutes to Arya’s vivid recounting, Aegor frowned, sensing at once that something was wrong. Things seemed somewhat different from what he had imagined. “Are you sure your brother said that?”

“Are you doubting my memory?” The girl put her hands on her hips, displeased. “Although I can be… well… a little careless sometimes, I would never remember something wrong if I really wanted to remember it!”

There was no time to think. Less than a minute after Arya repeated the conversation of the nobles in that room, the Stark guards arrived at the door, knocked, and told him that the Warden of the North wanted to see him.

“Stay here until I am gone. Wait a while before going out, so they do not see that you warned me,” Aegor said as he pushed Arya to the side. After giving this instruction, he dared not delay and went out, following the grey-clad soldiers towards Lord Stark’s chambers and the meeting hall.

—

That mysterious visitor turned out to be Yohn Royce, who was supposed to be trapped in Castle Black by the Gift Army. This madman had actually taken a long detour from Beyond the Wall, risking his life to appear here unexpectedly, all to deliver a message and ruin his plan?

Aegor had to admit that no matter how much he planned, there was no way to be completely foolproof.

However, if that was all it was, he would not have been too worried. He had only intended to delay the military operation involving thousands of men one day at a time. He had not intended to hide it completely. In fact, on the day he issued the order, he had already prepared a retreat plan and an explanation. The incident coming a few days earlier than expected was bad, but it was not beyond control.

But the discussion between Robb and the Northerners, relayed to him by Arya, had made him vigilant.

Roose Bolton speaking up for him again was an unexpected surprise. This time, it was not a simple show of goodwill. To argue so carefully and reasonably in his defense in an unforeseen situation, without any prior communication, was something only a very solid political ally would do, and yet he and the Old Flayer were clearly not in such a relationship.

For the moment, Aegor did not fully understand what this man was thinking, so he could only assume it was a case of clever men appreciating one another. But without Arya adding fuel to the fire, Robb’s statement was worth thinking over: “Ability is important, but humility, loyalty, and a sense of honor are also indispensable.”

If one does not think too deeply, it is easy to dismiss this as political pleasantries. But if you dig into it, there is much to consider.

“Ability is important” is an acknowledgment of his capability, which means Aegor’s efforts to demonstrate his ability had borne fruit. As for “humility, loyalty, and a sense of honor are also indispensable”… Humility and honor are abstract, so leave those aside. The key is the “loyalty” in the middle. Robb’s words, in other words, meant that what he had done this time was a matter of attitude. Hiding such military actions from everyone made the Warden of the North uneasy and caused him to doubt whether Aegor could remain loyal once he became Commander.

When he planned the Gift mutiny, all he thought about was “how to make the action flawless” and “how to ensure the objectives were achieved.” Even when planning the retreat and explanations, he thought about how to argue, how to absolve himself of responsibility, and how to deal with the aftermath to minimize the impact on himself and the Gift plan.

The belief in “ability first,” ingrained from the modern society he had come from before his transmigration, was so deeply rooted that even after several years in this world, he had not completely changed it.

Before the election for Commander, as a military officer, it was natural to value ability. But now, things had changed. Although the Night’s Watch Commander was only one rank higher than “Chief,” it was a rank with no higher superior. It was no longer a small post. The role of commanding the Night’s Watch, managing the Gift, being elected for life, and immune to impeachment, made it more like a “Lord” than a mere position.

And except for not being hereditary, the Night’s Watch Commander was, in some sense, the “Duke of the Gift,” though with fewer people and fewer resources than even the Iron Islands, Dragonstone, or the islands of the Narrow Sea.

Considering everything, the Night’s Watch Commander was more like a great vassal of the Warden of the North, distant and difficult to command.

In this age of feudal lords, such an important post could never be given simply because of familiarity, or because a sister was close to him, or because Aegor’s ability was sufficient. To ensure their own stability, rulers often preferred to place a more ordinary, even slightly incompetent man in such a post—just as King Robert had known Janos Slynt was a scoundrel, yet still shielded him.

To use a vulgar but fitting analogy: the Night’s Watch Commander is not a venomous insect that can kill the Warden of the North with one strike, but a loyal dog guarding the house. And if that watchdog is too clever and unruly, the master must worry that he has invited a wolf into his home.

Aegor had not grown up in noble circles, and the path he had taken to rise since leaving the Wall had been hard. In the latter half, he no longer had the guidance of an insider like Tyrion Lannister who knew all the ways of the world. This caused him to miss this seemingly small but crucial point.

If it had not been for the sudden inspiration today to let Arya test Robb and the others’ thoughts, and if he had followed his original plan, walking in full confidence before the Northerners and using his prepared speech, calling the Ironborn “pirates” and the Wildlings “New Gift People,” twisting facts, calling a deer a horse, and relying on sophistry and eloquence to muddle through—perhaps Robb could have done nothing to him today. But in the long run, it would have backfired. He would have fallen into a trap without ever knowing how.

During the walk of less than a hundred paces from his room to the main keep, Aegor quickly assessed the situation and finally made his decision: abandon all the explanations he had prepared.

He had already shown too much ability and cunning. Now was the time to show something else. Today, instead of debating with them, he would act as an honest man who had meant well but done wrong, a loyal and dependable Commander of the Night’s Watch.

—

Ice Mark City was small, and the two of them quickly entered the main keep on foot. At this time, the kitchen was delivering hot breakfast, and the hall was full of Northern soldiers in armor, with swords at their belts. It was so crowded there was scarcely room to step. Aegor followed the Stark guard leading the way and squeezed through the crowd. As he passed a table of soldiers, someone bumped into him and quietly slipped a note into his hand in the confusion.

Turning his head, he saw a table of soldiers with the flayed man sigil on their breastplates. He could not tell who had slipped him the note, but the identity of the one behind it was obvious.

Without a word, Aegor moved on. After rounding a corner into the living quarters, he waited until no one was watching, then quietly opened the note and glanced at it.

It contained just one simple line.

“Do not quibble. Tell the truth.”

…

Well then.

Aegor quietly crushed the note into a ball and slipped it into his pocket. Things were becoming more and more interesting.

He had thought it was only by chance that, through Arya’s first-hand information, he had detected the danger at the last moment. But he had not expected that even without her warning, someone else would have sent him a reminder.

Though this note was no timely rescue, it confirmed that his earlier judgment had not been an overreaction, giving him more confidence in the coming discussion. Whether he admitted it or not, he owed a favor for this.

When he arrived at the destination, entered the door, and rounded the partition wall, he stood before the Northern Lords.

He was wondering why the Old Flayer was not there when someone behind him pushed the door open. The last missing member of the group returned, his expression casual. After apologizing to everyone, he sat back in his seat.

Clearly, to arrange for his men to pass him a message, Roose Bolton had not even hesitated to take the risk of temporarily leaving, perhaps on the pretext of going to relieve himself. At this point, even Aegor began to doubt whether he and the Old Flayer had once shared a life-and-death friendship that he had somehow forgotten.

“Aegor.” Robb stared at the black-clad officer standing in the center of the room, his expression stern. After a moment, he continued, “You have been very busy these past two days.”

It was clearly an accusation. According to his original plan, Aegor would have pretended ignorance at this moment, waited for Robb to press him, and responded as needed. But this time, he chose a different approach.

Aegor sighed and put on a tired, helpless expression. “It is not that I have been busy, but that there have been too many changes. I have dealt with them one by one, and before I knew it, I caused much trouble.”

Seeing him admit it so frankly, Robb did not waste words but went straight to the point. “Explain. Those actions you took at Castle Black. Did you send men to surround it and forbid anyone inside to leave?”

“That is true.” Aegor nodded. “I had intended to report everything truthfully, but since there are already so many matters to handle during this inspection of the Wall, I did not want to trouble the Lords further. I decided to resolve it myself and report once it was done.”

“Trouble?” Rickard Karstark laughed. “Thank you for your concern, Chief Logistics Officer. We old men are not so busy yet. Why don’t you explain now—the reason for sending people to point weapons at your sworn brothers and to restrict their freedom?”

“Very well.” Aegor nodded. “A small disturbance occurred at Castle Black not long ago. Someone attempted to assassinate the surrendered King-Beyond-the-Wall, Mance Rayder, in order to provoke the New Gift People to rebel and destroy the foundation of the Gift resettlement plan. Fortunately, my men discovered and stopped it in time, and it did not succeed. The Warden should already know of this. Afterwards, I received word that the grain borrowed by the late Commander Jeor Mormont from the Iron Bank was about to arrive at Castle Black. This shipment is the most crucial supply for feeding tens of thousands of people in the Gift. If my opponents got their hands on it, the consequences would be unimaginable if anything went wrong.”

“Loan grain? I have heard of it. But the grain from the Iron Bank is sent to Eastwatch-by-the-Sea. Why did you send troops to surround Castle Black?”

It seems they do not yet know what happened at Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, Aegor thought, but outwardly, his face was serious. “Because the man who tried to attack Mance Rayder at Castle Black was none other than Cotter Pyke, Commander of Eastwatch-by-the-Sea. I am busy leading the Lords on this inspection of the Wall, and I have no time to deal with his open and hidden schemes. To prevent him from taking advantage and ruining this critical matter, I took this drastic step to prevent him from returning to Eastwatch-by-the-Sea and to ensure he could not meddle with the shipment.”

Aegor had originally concealed the identity of his opponent, saying only that “a small group” had threatened Mance Rayder, for fear that naming them would affect Robb’s judgment. But now that he had decided to tell the truth, he held nothing back. This open and detailed confession, like pouring beans from a sack, unsettled Robb’s planned approach. He had intended to interrogate and admonish Aegor forcefully, but now his pace faltered.

That was right. After the Alliance of the Righteous was crushed by King Robert, all the leading lords of the Vale had been exiled to the Wall and sent to Eastwatch-by-the-Sea. With such a group, it was only natural for Cotter Pyke to be hostile to Aegor. It seemed that Yohn Royce’s complaint just now had also been influenced by personal feeling and was not entirely true.

Only…

As Robb pondered this and the other lords remained silent, Roose Bolton shook his head, dissatisfied. “I can understand that you wished to make sure the Braavosi grain arrived safely. But there are many ways to do so. And in the end, you chose the most inappropriate—sending troops to surround Castle Black and preventing Cotter Pyke from returning to Eastwatch-by-the-Sea? What were you thinking at the time?”

“I realized there was a problem, but I was a Ranger by birth and have little experience with handling such matters. I needed a solution quickly, and I could not delay the inspection… Somehow, this idea came to me. At the time, I did not think too deeply. I only thought that keeping Cotter Pyke at Castle Black would prevent him from harming the King-Beyond-the-Wall and also make it impossible for him to go to Eastwatch-by-the-Sea to interfere with the shipment. I thought it was killing two birds with one stone, and in the heat of the moment, I gave the order.”

Aegor explained, looking remorseful. For a moment, there was no sound in the room. The Old Flayer shook his head regretfully. “Killing two birds with one stone? Yes, indeed, two birds with one stone. But what trouble did your actions bring to the brothers you surrounded at Castle Black, and what impression did you leave with everyone? Did you consider that? The negative effect of that far outweighs the ‘two birds with one stone.’ The loss is greater than the gain.”

…

It sounded like a criticism, but in truth, it shifted the focus and eased the pressure on him.

Aegor quickly grasped this and replied at once. “Lord Bolton is absolutely right. But the mistake has already been made, and I bear full responsibility for what has happened. The consequences can only be mine to bear now.”

Aegor confessed everything honestly, his expression serious, his manner sincere, though he still held something back. At the time he made the decision, he had considered everything Roose Bolton had just said. Besides preventing Cotter Pyke from causing trouble, the most important purpose was to show strength through a large-scale deployment, to deter and win over wavering voters in the Watch, and to seal the victory.

Adding that purpose, this mutiny had been killing three birds with one stone, and even if it made people think him overbearing, it was by no means a loss outweighing the gain.

Of course, even though his plan today was to tell the truth, Aegor would never reveal that last point. It was not what the Northerners wanted to hear.

Karstark was a little lost. What was going on? A fierce accusation had been met with a frank confession, and suddenly the rhythm was broken?

The old lord noticed something strange, but could not understand how it had shifted without him noticing. At length, he realized that it had something to do with the Old Flayer. “Roose Bolton, what are you and he playing at? Singing in harmony, trying to brush this aside? Bear it alone? It is not so simple!”

The Lord of the Dreadfort, being named, naturally refused this accusation and countered at once. “Lord Karstark’s words are strange. The Chief Logistics Officer has explained the cause and admitted that the mistake was due to insufficient thought. What we should do now is resolve the problem and minimize the impact of the mistake. How does simply blaming him help the current situation?”

(To be continued.)

***

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep