Chapter 248

Aegor returned to his room and sat quietly under the flickering candlelight, deep in thought.

After giving Jon instructions, he had carefully considered every person at his disposal on the way back, weighing their potential. Yet, the conclusion was frustrating—there was no one truly suitable to put forward as a candidate except himself.

The idea of being the power behind the throne, an uncrowned king, sounded appealing. But such a role required strength to back it up, and the reality was grim: even if he rolled up his sleeves and entered the fray himself, his chances of winning were slim at best.

He had allies—fellow rangers from his early days, the pitifully few sworn members of the logistics corps, Jon’s friends on the Wall, the guards Jaime brought with him when he joined the Watch, and a group of Crownland nobles who’d backed the wrong side in the Baratheon conflict and ended up donning black.

It seemed like a decent number, but against the nearly thousand sworn brothers of the Watch, it was barely a fraction, far from the two-thirds majority required to win.

Would there be time to win hearts and minds now?

He pulled out the account books and did some calculations. While the financial reports of the Watch’s industries were promising, the resettlement of the Gift was a bottomless pit that made those funds look like a drop in the ocean.

Bribing votes would undoubtedly be the most efficient method—but also the riskiest. While Westeros lacked comprehensive laws, the idea of buying an election was something no self-respecting Westerosi would publicly accept, except in certain eccentric Free Cities across the Narrow Sea. If such an act were exposed, the fallout would be endless.

Aegor wouldn’t do anything where the risks outweighed the benefits. But without money to pave the way, what other advantages could he leverage to win quickly?

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door.

“Come in.”

The door creaked open halfway, letting in a gust of cold wind that made the candlelight flicker. A large figure squeezed into the room and hastily shut the door behind him.

“Aegor, my lord.”

“Sam,” Aegor acknowledged, nodding at the newcomer. “Good evening. What brings you here?”

Samwell Tarly—son of Randyll Tarly, the famous general of the Reach. Sent to the Watch for his cowardice, Sam was a significant character with plenty of screen time. But Aegor didn’t see much use for him since his transmigration.

In terms of knowledge, Aegor, with a modern education, far surpassed Sam. Intellectually, Sam was clever, but not significantly more so than himself. As for physical ability or courage, the less said, the better.

After returning to the Wall, Aegor hadn’t gone out of his way to interact with Sam, for a simple reason: the cost of time and effort to engage with him outweighed the potential benefits. As the head of the Watch’s industries and logistics, Aegor had too much important work to waste time on personal preferences.

Sam looked nervous, standing at the desk and stammering for a good while without managing a coherent sentence. Aegor resisted the urge to be impatient, reminding himself that in a crisis, every person might hold value.

“Sit,” he said, gesturing to a chair. “You’re Jon’s friend, and Jon is my friend. That makes us allies. Speak freely.”

Sam took a deep breath, finally managing to organize his thoughts. “My lord... I heard from Jon about the crisis the Night’s Watch is facing. Regardless of what others say, I think your resettlement plan for the Gift is excellent. You have my support.”

“Thank you,” Aegor said with a polite smile, resting his arms on the table and waiting for Sam to continue.

“But,” Sam hesitated, “Jon said he wants to support you as the next Lord Commander... To be honest, I think the odds aren’t great.”

Did you need to remind me? Aegor sighed. “You’re right. Do you have any suggestions?”

“Not suggestions, exactly. Consider them reminders.” Sam seemed to grow more confident in the face of Aegor’s calm demeanor. “My lord, how much do you know about the history and election rules of the Night’s Watch?”

“Not as much as you, I’d wager. All I know is that every sworn brother has the right to vote, and the winner needs two-thirds of the votes. I was just about to ask someone for more details—would you be willing to explain?”

“No need for that, my lord,” Sam said, encouraged by Aegor’s friendly tone. “That’s why I came to see you. There’s a key rule in Night’s Watch elections: brothers stationed at Castle Black vote directly, while those at other fortresses have their votes cast by their respective commanders or designated representatives.

“There’s also a critical detail: if no one gets two-thirds of the vote, the election continues the next day... and the day after that, if necessary. There was even one instance where the voting dragged on for over 700 days—nearly two years.”

“Two years?” Aegor raised an eyebrow. He hadn’t heard this story before, and Sam clearly had a purpose in bringing it up. Two years without a Lord Commander—it was unthinkable to Aegor, who came from a world where leadership was crucial. “How did the Watch function without a leader during that time?”

Sam anticipated the question. “During those two years, the Watch essentially split into factions, each operating independently. They repaired the Wall, patrolled beyond it, defended against wildlings... Whatever their effectiveness, they managed to keep the Wall standing and the Others at bay.”

“So, until a new Lord Commander is elected, the brothers follow the orders of whoever they prefer, but the institution as a whole continues to function?” Aegor’s mind raced, suddenly grasping the implications.

“Exactly. But there’s something even more important,” Sam added, looking pleased that Aegor understood quickly. “To overturn the orders of a previous Lord Commander, you need a new one. If we want the resettlement plan to continue, we don’t necessarily have to win the election right away. We just need to prevent anyone else from securing two-thirds of the vote.”

Sam had uncovered a loophole Aegor hadn’t considered. He stared at Sam for a moment, then grabbed his shoulders with excitement. “You’re a genius!”

“You’re too kind, my lord,” Sam stammered, his face flushing. “As for how to stop a new Lord Commander from being elected, it’s actually quite simple. No one ever wins on the first ballot. Once the first round of voting is over, we just need to shift votes to the second-place candidate, closing the gap between the frontrunners. If they both think they have a chance, we can prolong the election and buy ourselves time to maneuver.”

Aegor felt a weight lift off his shoulders. The solution had practically fallen into his lap. Though implementing it wouldn’t be easy, it gave him a clear direction.

Exploiting this loophole to delay the election while continuing the resettlement plan would mean losing direct command over many of the brothers. But at least the settlers provided manpower, even if not all were equally reliable.

No matter the challenges, Aegor now had a plan. The rest would depend on execution—and his ability to outmaneuver his opponents.