Chapter 140

Winter has come, but in the warm South, things are still running, albeit not smoothly, yet with a semblance of stability.

As a "proper" Night's Watchman who has sworn his oath, guarded the Wall, and even slain White Walkers, the First Logistics Officer had no idea what thrilling adventures his brothers were engaged in beyond the Wall amidst hordes of wildlings and all manner of monsters. He, on the other hand, was stuck in the safety of King's Landing, in the Night's Watch First Office, overwhelmed and irritated by a mountain of tasks.

...

First of all, managing a large operation came with an absurd number of responsibilities—selling bonds, handling loans, balancing accounts, negotiating with clients, and even training the "security team," among other mundane yet overwhelming duties. Not to mention finding new ventures, expanding markets, and discovering ways to invest the four thousand gold dragons that had suddenly been injected into their coffers.

After spending a few days in King's Landing, Aegor quickly understood why Tyrion held Nina in such high regard. To be frank, her efficiency in handling matters wasn’t necessarily better than if he did them himself, but the key difference was this—she could complete tasks independently. While Aegor assigned tasks to others like young Casey, they would inevitably run back to him for decisions or solutions when they encountered problems. But anything entrusted to Nina? He didn’t need to worry about it at all. For instance, the obsidian mine he arranged through Tyrion’s old acquaintance—once the money was in place, the operation ran entirely on its own.

In the modern world Aegor once belonged to, Nina would have been at most an office worker or a boss’s secretary. Yet in this world, lacking an advanced education system where simple arithmetic was a valuable skill, someone like her who could shoulder the burdens of an entrepreneur was an invaluable resource.

After fruitless attempts to find and promote more of such "precious resources," Aegor realized that Nina was someone worth using any means necessary to keep by his side.

When it came to recognizing and utilizing talent, Aegor, who had never been in a leadership role before his transmigration, was undeniably inferior to his business partners.

...

Then there was the troublesome little she-wolf who clung to him endlessly in the office.

“She’s a very talented young girl. With proper training, she could become an excellent swordswoman... Of course, as a Stark lady, learning swordplay is more for fun than anything practical.”

That was Oberyn’s parting evaluation of Arya.

When the Prince made this comment, his expression was serious, clearly not joking. With no intention of squeezing into the Baratheon dynasty’s power core, Oberyn had no reason to flatter the Hand’s youngest daughter. Given the situation, such high praise from a martial master carried significant weight.

Unintentionally, Oberyn also did Aegor a favor. After witnessing the Red Viper’s awe-inspiring skill firsthand and being thoroughly subdued, Arya had heard from her new "best friend" Margaery that Aegor had gone toe-to-toe with Oberyn for several dozen exchanges without a scratch. With this newfound admiration, Arya’s attitude toward her "teacher" immediately became far more obedient.

Simply put, she was behaving herself now.

Aegor was relieved that he wouldn’t be outdone by his own student for the time being. But relying on his old training from Castle Black wouldn’t last more than a few months before his deficiencies showed. Driven by this sense of crisis, he decided that no matter how busy he was, he would carve out time each day to spar with Arya.

This would serve to maintain his physical fitness, strengthen the slightly strained teacher-student bond after two months apart, reinforce his authority, and maybe even improve his own swordsmanship. After all, if he ever faced a Braavosi assassin wielding the water dance, he’d at least have a fighting chance.

It was a form of unconventional learning. Thankfully, the perpetually grim-faced Jaqen H’ghar hadn’t called him out on it—Arya naively thought her teacher was simply holding back during their bouts.

...

As if those two weren’t enough trouble, the third visitor to the office was a real headache: Margaery Tyrell, who had indeed started attending "sword lessons."

Unlike Arya, who came in the morning and left by evening, the cunning little rose made her appearances precisely at lunchtime. She’d practice for a bit, share a meal with Aegor and Arya, then promptly find an excuse to leave. In truth, her time at the dining table far exceeded her time spent with a blade.

After this happened twice, Aegor saw through her intentions—learning swordsmanship was a pretense. What this little enchantress truly sought was the opportunity to dine with Arya and extract information from her.

Starting with casual discussions about swordplay, she’d move on to daily life, then family. Bran led to Sansa, Sansa to Jon, and eventually, the topic would land on Arya’s father, Eddard Stark. After inquiring about his health, Margaery, with no sign of deliberate scheming, would shift to talking about the Hand’s daily work. Before the meal was over, the conversation would inevitably touch on "rumors"—namely, the Queen.

Her trained conversational techniques far surpassed Aegor’s abilities. This rose had not given up on becoming queen. Margaery was undoubtedly hoping Eddard would uncover and confirm the truth of Cersei and Jaime’s incestuous affair, leading Robert to depose the Queen and create an opening for herself.

Although Aegor could see through Margaery’s scheming, he couldn’t stop her because, well, he was curious about these matters himself. With someone else gathering the information for free, all he had to do was sit at the same table and listen.

Reframing the problem, what had been a source of trouble became an opportunity. The bad news was that based on Arya’s vague but candid recounting, it seemed their model Hand of the King was indeed investigating Cersei and Jaime, putting the stability of the Seven Kingdoms on a knife’s edge.

...

Would Eddard, after discovering the truth, fall back into his old habits, confront Cersei, and warn her to flee with her children—only for the Queen to seize the chance to kill Robert and plunge the realm into chaos?

While Aegor fretted over the peace and stability of Westeros, not everyone was as concerned with matters of state. Some people only had personal interests on their minds.

On the fourth day of Aegor’s return to King’s Landing, during which the Night’s Watch was so preoccupied they nearly forgot about Janos Slynt, the man finally made a move.

The City Watch conducted a surprise raid on the Night’s Watch’s paper mill and arrested Neal.

“They just took him? What’s the charge?” Aegor asked, wide-eyed, as a mill worker came to report the incident. “Did they find anything?”

“No. They claimed Neal obstructed their search and left a message saying his family could come to claim him.”

“That’s impossible! I specifically warned my brother,” Nina said anxiously. “I told him to keep his temper in check and not give them any excuse!”

“Neal didn’t do anything. He just stood at the door, asking who they were. Then those two Gold Cloaks grabbed him. It’s obvious they were here to cause trouble!”

Hearing this, Aegor scratched his head irritably. Leadership came with responsibilities—there was no such thing as a free lunch. As the boss, he enjoyed certain privileges but had to bear the burden when trouble arose.

Using family as leverage was such an old-fashioned tactic... but then again, it suited this old-fashioned world perfectly.

It was just as well. You can’t guard against thieves forever. Better to face the problem head-on and resolve it once and for all. Aegor had saved Eddard once and was now busy planning how to save either Robert or Cersei. He had no time to waste on small fry like Janos Slynt.

“First, ask the brothel informants to investigate Janos Slynt’s background. I want to know what gives a Captain of the City Watch the nerve to act so boldly in the capital of the Seven Kingdoms,” Aegor said, his heart simmering with anger but his mind still racing. “Nina is my person. I won’t give her up. But if this can be resolved peacefully, it’s better not to escalate things. These are troubled times, and we must tread carefully. Notify Tyrion and see what he thinks. Also, bring Nina’s parents to live in the Night’s Watch estate and have the security team look after them.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Wait!” Aegor suddenly changed his mind.

The Night’s Watch had built a considerable network of influence and connections in King’s Landing, but using them would incur debts, and it was always better to avoid that if possible. Why not make full use of the resources that had already presented themselves?

He stopped the messenger. “Find a seat and wait. After a while—when I, Miss Stark, and Miss Tyrell are having lunch—come in and report this again, but pretend it’s the first time. When you do, say it like this…”

...