Chapter 370

To be honest, with how drastically the course of events had shifted, the fact that Varys still remained firmly entrenched in Daenerys’ inner circle made Aegor uneasy and suspicious. However, he had no choice but to focus his energy on winning over the Queen for now—there was no time to immediately dissect what was going on behind the scenes.

But just when he was trying to ignore Varys, the spymaster took the initiative to target him first—and landed a direct hit.

Aegor felt a wave of frustration, but he knew that Varys was unlikely to be making things up. The dragon-slaying crossbow issue was probably real—and yet, this wasn’t the fault of himself, Nina, or anyone in the Night’s Watch Industry’s upper management.

The Industry still regularly sent financial reports and operational details to the Gift without reservation. But he couldn’t possibly set aside the critical task of fortifying the Gorge to go comb through 'minor' paperwork—let alone the fact that the dragon-slaying crossbows were likely just a routine military product within the industry’s normal operations.

Even if he had seen the report, he probably would have overlooked such a minor detail.

At worst, this was just standard business operations—
At best, this could be spun as "arming the enemy".

It all depended on how Daenerys chose to see it.

The opportunity to take control of the narrative had already slipped away—
Now, all he could do was think fast and find a way to salvage the situation.

As the Night’s Watch Lord Commander scrambled to formulate a suitable response, an unexpected voice interrupted him:


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"The Lord Commander is in the Gift. He likely has little control over his subordinates in the South. The Usurper holds power in King’s Landing—his demands would be difficult for anyone to refuse. A small mishap like this is understandable."


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The statement was remarkably fair and reasonable—but the identity of the speaker was so baffling that every pair of eyes in the room immediately turned toward the source of the voice.


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Anyone had the right to express an opinion—
If these words had come from Aegor himself, from Melisandre, Moqorro, Petyr, Missandei, or anyone else in the room, it would have simply been a matter of perspective.

But the one person who had no business saying such a thing—

Was the one seated on the throne.

Daenerys Targaryen.


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As the current ruler of this castle, the queen whom Varys had sworn to serve, Daenerys was supposed to be the "host" in this meeting.

It was only natural for her advisors to question a visitor—on the surface, it was meant to ensure that the Queen was not misled or deceived, to protect her interests.

Even if she didn’t want to be too harsh on a guest, she should have at least gone through the proper steps—listened to Aegor’s explanation first, then found a way to gracefully let it slide.

But instead?

She had jumped ahead and answered on his behalf—
Publicly defending an "outsider" while leaving Varys, her own advisor, in an awkward position.


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The moment she felt the weight of the room’s collective gaze, Daenerys immediately realized her mistake.

It wasn’t that she was so lacking in social awareness that she didn’t understand the basic rules of decorum.

It was just that her mind had been elsewhere.

Part of her thoughts were still lingering on the book Aegor had gifted her.

The other part was caught up in the excitement of having such a well-known figure come to her so soon after her return to Westeros.

She had simply not wanted the meeting to go poorly—and in that moment of absentmindedness, she had blurted out her true thoughts.


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But what was said could not be taken back.

And since she couldn’t undo her mistake, Daenerys simply doubled down.

After all, who in this room would dare to openly criticize her?

Feeling her face grow warm, she forced down the awkwardness with a light cough, wiped her expression blank, and pretended nothing had happened.

"Hmm, yes… That makes sense. Lord Commander, how do you explain this?"


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Explain?

You already answered for me—what’s left to explain?!


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Aegor was completely caught off guard by this overly enthusiastic display of goodwill.

He had no idea that Daenerys had already heard about him from Moqorro and had high expectations for him.

This over-the-top friendliness left him even more bewildered than Varys’ challenge had.


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From the moment he had entered this hall, he had sensed something odd.

He was not the King in the North.

And yet, the Queen had personally and swiftly granted him an audience—
And her initial attitude was far too warm.

This was not how a seasoned ruler greeted a stranger.

And that bizarre moment just now had pushed the oddity to an entirely new level.


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If she had read his book and come to see him as a kindred spirit, this overwhelming goodwill would have made some sense—

But Aegor had seen it clearly—

She had only glanced at the cover,
She hadn’t even opened the first page.

How could she have already "taken the bait" when she hadn’t even eaten the bait yet?


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If this was some kind of ploy, it was far too much effort just to mess with a mere Night’s Watch commander.

Could it be that he himself was also some prophesied figure, and Daenerys had fallen for him at first sight?

Or was this a side effect of her Valyrian dragon blood—

An early sign of mental instability?


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Aegor shook off the stray thoughts before they could distract him further.

Since Daenerys had already given an answer, there was no point repeating it.

He had to find another angle to defend himself.


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His mind finally turned to the people around her.

Because Daenerys was so overwhelmingly attention-grabbing,
it was only now that he took the time to observe the others.


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A row of Unsullied soldiers,
all dressed identically,
made it impossible to tell if Grey Worm was among them.

The young girl who had called out his name and passed the book—

That was obviously Missandei.

Varys—he had seen from a distance before.

Petyr Baelish—he had met once.

But there was one person in the room he couldn’t place.


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The tall, dark-skinned red priest,
who stood silently in the corner,
as if blending into the shadows.


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Perhaps it was standard practice for the Red Temple to send advisors to all their "prophesied" candidates—

A wide-net approach to ensure they didn’t miss the right one.

But did this red priest and Daenerys have the same kind of connection as he and Melisandre?


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Shaking the thought aside, Aegor refocused on his response.


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"Your Grace," he began,

"Though the Night’s Watch Industry bears the name of the Watch, it is not directly controlled by the Night’s Watch military. Its staff is recruited from the Crownlands and across the Seven Kingdoms—it does not draw from the sworn brothers at the Wall."


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Daenerys had acted strangely just now,
but at least it reassured Aegor of one thing—

No matter what he said,

she was going to accept it.


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"I will take immediate steps to sever its ties to the King’s Landing garrison, ensuring that we maintain our rightful neutrality."


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Daenerys finally spoke,

"Very well. I believe that you did not arm King’s Landing by choice."

"But since you have not come to swear fealty—"

"What, then, is the purpose of your visit?"