Chapter 573

Reluctantly, Arya stood with her arms crossed, glaring at Aegor for two seconds before grudgingly circling the long table to sit beside him. Even then, she deliberately left half a body’s distance between them, as if to draw an invisible line of separation.

"What did you do to Meera? Why is she suddenly leaving without so much as a goodbye and already moving out ahead of time?"

"I have no idea, I swear," Aegor replied, his face a picture of innocence. He dodged the accusation cleanly, having refused Myrcella’s earlier proposal to don black precisely to keep himself out of situations like this. "Perhaps you should ask Lady Melisandre—or better yet, Meera herself—but I can hazard a guess: she likely doesn’t feel a sense of belonging here, so far from home. That’s not your fault, nor hers. It’s the world’s fault. There’s no need to blame yourself, nor should you be angry. Do you understand what I mean?"

I treated her like a sister, but she never wanted me as one. Arya felt a pang of sadness but kept her face stoic, betraying nothing. "Even so, it has nothing to do with you. She’s a Stark, and you had no right to take her away!"

"You’re absolutely correct—I had no right to take her away. But I also have no right to stop her from joining the faith of R’hllor. The followers of the Lord of Light contributed greatly to both the queen’s return to Westeros and the Night’s Watch’s fight against the Others. Both Her Grace and I promised to guarantee their freedom and safety in spreading their faith. If Lady Melisandre deemed Meera an excellent candidate for priesthood and approved her conversion, my interference would be a betrayal of that promise—"

"Do you even know the meaning of honor?" Arya snapped, cutting him off with an indignant huff. Despite all she had been through, her habit of interrupting hadn’t changed.

Aegor swallowed the sharp retort on his tongue; he owed Arya too much to risk offending her. "Fine. If you insist, I’m willing to risk offending the Red Priestess to stop this. But I still suggest you talk to Meera first. See if she was coerced or manipulated. If not, then consider carefully—do you really intend to violate her will, restrict her freedom, and force her to stay?"

It was an empty promise. Myrcella had already earned Aegor’s initial trust by passing Melisandre’s test. Even if Arya lost her temper and pushed him to use his power to intervene, the matter would ultimately be derailed by "unexpected" complications.

No matter what, Aegor would never allow someone who had glimpsed the truth behind his manipulations to leave his sight or control.

Faced with Aegor’s counterargument from the moral high ground, Arya fell into a sullen silence. She pouted, thinking it over for a moment before deciding not to push any further. After all, she hadn’t come to speak to him just about Myrcella.

"I’ll talk to her... And about that promise you made me earlier—does it still hold?" Arya asked.

"Hmm?" Aegor wasn’t sure what she was referring to.

"A few months ago, in Maidenpool, you promised me that I’d be the first female member of the Night’s Watch."

That? Aegor blinked, suddenly understanding. Back then, when his relationship with House Stark had been amicable, and he was close to Arya, he’d agreed to this condition without hesitation. Given all the upheavals since, he hadn’t expected her to hold onto it. Was this still about her desire to escape the engagement?

Aegor had even prepared himself for years of estrangement from House Stark and Arya in particular. Now, seeing her approach him of her own accord, he was not only pleasantly surprised but also slightly suspicious. Was she truly that naïve, or had his defense of her before Daenerys earned her forgiveness? Or...

"It still holds," Aegor answered decisively, cutting off his own speculations. "If you wish, I can change the Night’s Watch’s admission rules tomorrow. But after that? Do you plan to stay by my side, or...?"

"I’ll go to the Gift. Maidenpool." Arya’s expression was stern. "But aside from amending the Night’s Watch’s laws, I have other conditions."

The Gift? Aegor turned to look at her, a hint of foreboding creeping into his mind.

"Name them. Whatever I can agree to, I will."

"If I’m the first female Night’s Watch member, I won’t settle for being just another soldier. You’ll appoint me as the first Lady Commander and ensure I hold a rank and authority second only to yours in the Gift."

"Fine." Like the ceremonial title of Chief Quartermaster in the past, granting her a nominally high rank as a young girl meant little to him.

"I don’t want to be the only female Night’s Watch member, so you’ll ensure the rule change is permanent, encourage women to join, and allow me to recruit them myself."

"Done."

"The wages and benefits you’ve introduced for the Night’s Watch will also apply to women. And you’ll cover the costs—you always seem to find a way to get the money, anyway."

...

At this point, Arya’s true intentions were clear even to a blind man. Her goal was no longer just to escape her engagement and pursue freedom. She was punishing herself while trying to salvage what she could for House Stark.

In Arya’s eyes, everything that had happened was her fault. She had misjudged Aegor, allowing him into her life, where he had ultimately harmed her family. She believed she didn’t deserve a normal, happy future. Only by exiling herself to the cold, harsh Gift could she atone for her perceived sins.

Supporting Daenerys was a gamble with a negative expected return for House Stark—a risk where success meant minimal losses, and failure meant complete ruin. The North had already paid dearly in this war and would lose much of its influence no matter the outcome. But if Arya’s plan succeeded, House Stark might regain some of its lost standing.

After years of war, the gender imbalance north of the Neck was severe, with countless widows and mothers mourning their sons. Meanwhile, the return of the Others had rekindled the Night’s Watch’s glory and necessity. Should Aegor decree that women could join the Night’s Watch, it would likely draw many homeless and desperate women to the Gift, seeking a new purpose in life.

Arya’s romantic idealism made her ill-suited for politics, but her identity as a Stark would earn her respect among mountain clans and traditional Night’s Watch members. With Bran Stark, the greenseer, also in the Gift, Arya had the potential to become a key figure in both the Gift and the newly integrated "Lands Beyond the Wall" during Aegor’s absence in the south.

By then, while House Stark remained Warden of the North, the Gift would be under the subtle influence of Bran and Arya. Aegor’s proposal of dividing the North as a strategic balance for Daenerys might encounter significant resistance in practice. The Starks could remain the undisputed rulers of the North, as they had for millennia.

Of course, given Aegor’s influence and power, sabotaging Arya’s plans would be easy. But the real question was—should he treat her as a potential enemy?

"No problem," Aegor finally replied without hesitation.

Guilt and remorse, like a seasoning to mask bitterness, settled in his heart. Arya was set on atoning, and rather than futilely trying to dissuade her, Aegor chose to support her. Let her vent her frustrations and pursue her idealistic goals. She was still young, with plenty of time to heal and rediscover the beauty of life. For now, he would let her take this path and deal with balancing the North’s politics later.

After a pause, and seeing no new conditions, Aegor prompted, "Anything else?"

"Not for now... If I think of anything, I’ll let you know." Arya seemed surprised that all her conditions had been so readily agreed to. Her eyes reddened slightly, and her voice wavered with emotion. "Lord Commander... I’ll take my leave now."

Lord Commander? Subordinate?

Suddenly, Aegor realized he might never hear that affectionate, clingy "Master" from her lips again.

"Arya—" He reached out as she rose to leave but was met with a forceful shrug that left his hand hanging mid-air. Hesitating in the face of so many watching eyes, he reluctantly let her go, watching as she walked back to her seat without looking back. A pang of loss mixed with guilt swelled within him.

His arrival in this world had disrupted the timeline, sparing Arya from the horrors of war and loss. Yet in the end, it was he who had inflicted those lessons upon her. His betrayal had wounded her so deeply that it had driven her, once carefree, to make decisions based solely on her family’s welfare, even at the cost of her own happiness.

With a sigh, Aegor allowed the emotions to wash over him. Guilt was a bitter comfort but a reminder that he was still human.

His thoughts were interrupted as another figure approached, wine in hand.