GOT/ASOIAF: Ruler Beyond The Ice

Chapter 572 574: The First Female Night’s Watch

Unwillingly, she stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at him for two seconds. Arya begrudgingly walked around the long table to his side. Before sitting down, as if to draw a clear boundary, she deliberately kept half a body's distance between them.

"What did you do to Maeve? Why did she suddenly want to leave, even moving out early without saying goodbye?"

"I know absolutely nothing about this, I swear." Aegor's face was blank, completely distancing himself from the matter. The reason he had refused Misaella's suggestion and request to wear black was precisely so that in moments like this, he could pull someone else out as a shield. "Perhaps you should ask Lady Melisandre—oh no, Maeve herself. But I can probably guess what happened. She doesn't feel a sense of belonging here, being a thousand miles from home. It's not your fault, nor is it hers. It's the fault of the world. There's no need to blame yourself, nor should you be angry. Do you understand what I mean?"

She treated her like a sister, but she never wanted a sister. Arya felt a little sad, forcing her face straight to show no emotion. "That has nothing to do with you either. She's a Stark. You have no right to just take her away on your own."

"That's right, I have no right to take her away. But I also have no right to stop her from joining the Lord of Light. The followers of R'hllor contributed greatly both to Daenerys's return to Westeros and the Night's Watch's war against the White Walkers. Her Grace and I have both promised to guarantee their freedom to preach and their safety. Since Lady Melisandre judged that Maeve would be an excellent priestess and agreed to her request to convert, for me to interfere would be a betrayal of faith, a violation of our agreement..."

"Do you even have any integrity left?" Arya interrupted angrily. Even after all she had been through, her habit of cutting in hadn't changed at all.

He choked slightly but couldn't get angry. Aegor owed Arya too much. "Alright, if you insist, I'm willing to offend that Red Priestess for you this once. But no matter what, I still advise you to go and talk to Maeve first. See whether she was truly forced or drugged. If the answer is no, then think carefully—are you really determined to go against her will, to restrict her freedom and force her to stay?"

It was an empty promise. Leaving aside the fact that Maeve had already gained Aegor's initial trust by passing Melisandre's test, even if Arya truly got hot-headed and forced him to intervene, the matter would eventually fall through due to various "accidental" reasons.

No matter what, Aegor would never allow someone who had stumbled upon the truth of his purging of corrupt officials to slip from his sight and control.

Faced with Aegor's righteous words, Arya fell silent, pouting as she thought for a moment, and finally decided not to press the issue.

After all, she had come to talk to Aegor on her own initiative, and it wasn't just about Maeve.

"I'll go find her... Also, that thing you promised me before, does it still count?"

"Hm?" Aegor didn't immediately recall what she was referring to.

"A few months ago, in Crown Town, you promised to let me be the first female member of the Night's Watch."

That was it? After a moment of realization, Aegor was even more confused. When he agreed to this condition back then, he was still on good terms with House Stark and close to Arya. But now, after so many changes, she still hadn't forgotten this and insisted on using it as a way to sever the engagement?

Aegor had even prepared himself not to restore relations with House Stark, especially Arya, for another two or three years. Yet now, she had taken the initiative to speak with him... Amidst his joy, he became suspicious. Was this little she-wolf truly simple-minded? Or had his defense of her in front of Daenerys earned her forgiveness? Or perhaps...

"It still counts." Shoving aside his wild guesses, Aegor answered readily. "If you want, I can change the Night's Watch admission rules tomorrow. But what about after that? Do you want to stay by my side, or...?"

"I'll go to The Gift. Crown Town," Arya said seriously. "But besides changing the Night's Watch laws, I have other conditions."

To The Gift? Aegor turned and looked at the girl in surprise, suddenly having a premonition.

"Speak. Whatever I can agree to, I will."

"Since I'll be the first female member of the Night's Watch, I can't just be a grunt. You must appoint me as the Chief Female Member of the Night's Watch and guarantee that I have status and power in The Gift second only to yours."

"Alright." Just like the Chief Logistics Officer when he was the lone Lord Commander, what use was a high title to a little girl?

"I don't want to be the only female member of the Night's Watch, so not only must this change be long-term and effective, you also need to promote the new policy, encourage women to join, and allow me to recruit them actively."

"Okay."

"All the rules you previously reformed—salaries and benefits for the Night's Watch—must also be fully effective for female members. You pay the money. You always have a way to get it anyway."

...

By now, even a blind person could see what Arya was trying to do. Her goal was no longer just to break off the engagement to pursue free love, but also self-punishment, and to recover as much as possible for House Stark.

In Arya's eyes, things had come to this point probably entirely because she had been blind and misjudged people, bringing in a white-eyed wolf as a friend, which gave Aegor the chance to retaliate and harm House Stark... She felt guilty. She no longer deserved a normal and happy future. Only by exiling herself to a cold and harsh place like The Gift could she atone for the deep guilt in her heart.

The compelled support for Daenerys was a gamble with negative returns for House Stark. The Queen's success or failure in her southern campaign only meant the difference between "not a great loss" and "losing everything." The wolf family was already destined to suffer heavy losses and a sharp decline in prestige in the storm sweeping across Westeros. But if Arya's ideas were fully realized, the wolf family might actually turn a loss into a gain.

After years of war, the male-to-female ratio north of the Neck had become severely imbalanced, with widows and bereaved mothers everywhere. Now, with the return of the White Walkers, the honor and value of the Night's Watch had reemerged. If Aegor truly issued a decree announcing the recruitment of female members into the Night's Watch, it was easy to imagine that many helpless women would flock to The Gift, taking the black as their hope and support for the rest of their lives.

Arya's innocent and romantic nature was completely unsuited for politics, but her identity as "Lady Stark" would make her immensely popular among the mountain clans and the old guard of the Night's Watch. In addition, there was Bran Stark, possessed by the Greenseer, in the army... It was easy to foresee that in Aegor's absence, while he followed Daenerys south, Arya, as the Chief Female Member of the Night's Watch, would have every opportunity to become a pivotal figure in The Gift and in the lands Beyond the Wall soon to be incorporated into the kingdom.

By then, House Stark would still be Warden of the North, and The Gift would have the covert support of Bran and Arya, the Stark siblings outwardly loyal but inwardly loyal to their family. Aegor's strategic plan to partition the North, which he had once proposed to Daenerys, might end up completely ineffective in practice. North of the Neck would remain Stark territory, just as it had for a thousand years.

Of course, with Aegor's power and influence, it would be easy to secretly hinder Arya. But the question now was, did he really have to guard against and deal with her as a potential enemy too?

"No problem." Without a moment's hesitation, Aegor replied.

Guilt and a sense of sin were like spices used to mask the stench of rot. Sprinkling some could actually help cover other pains. Arya was now single-mindedly seeking atonement. Instead of trying to convince her not to torment herself, it was better to go along with it. Prevention was not as effective as guidance. After all, she was still young and would have plenty of chances to walk out of the trauma and rediscover the beauty in life. Let her struggle for now, and he would find a way later to balance things in the North and compensate for the hurt he had caused her.

After a brief silence, when the girl didn't speak again, he had to take the initiative to ask, "Anything else?"

"The rest... I haven't thought of them yet. I'll tell you when I do." With her whole list of demands fully agreed to, Arya was caught off guard. Her eyes began to sting, and her voice turned choked. "Lord Commander... please take your time. Your subordinate takes her leave."

Lord Commander? Your subordinate?

The man suddenly realized that he might never again hear that sticky, affectionate... "Master."

"Arya—" The girl stood up and turned to leave. Aegor reached out to grab her but was forcefully shaken off. His hand remained frozen mid-air. In the end, fearing the many eyes and ears in the hall, he could only watch her return to the main seat without looking back. Besides feeling lost and disappointed, he was also engulfed by a sudden wave of guilt and remorse.

It was his appearance that stirred the timeline, sparing Arya the cruel pain of family ruin and death. But in the end, it was also him, unexpectedly jumping in as the villain, shoving the societal blows she had escaped back onto her. This betrayal had hurt her so deeply that it forced a once carefree wild child to begin thinking and making decisions for her family, even to the point of sacrificing her own happiness.

Sighing, Aegor didn't suppress his emotions but let that same bitter seasoning soak into his heart, seep into his blood, and spread throughout his body. Though it didn't feel good, at least it reminded him he was still a living person.

His reflection and remorse didn't last long, because the second person approaching him came over, wine glass in hand.

(To be continued.)

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