Chapter 540

Aegor felt the dampness of his undershirt clinging to his back—cold sweat, just a little, but enough to make him uneasy.

Even the so-called chosen of R'hllor was still human, and humans had instincts. And the instinct of a guilty man, no matter how powerful, was to feel a jolt of panic when confronted with his own crime resurfacing years later.

His reaction wasn’t just a small jolt. It was a damn hammer to the gut.

Even with all his experience, with all the discipline he had developed since arriving in this world, Aegor couldn’t deny that he was tense.

But it wasn’t Petyr he feared.

It was what would happen if the truth of this paper became known.

When he had first come to King’s Landing, he had nothing—no power, no allies, no money. Chaos had been his greatest weapon. Disrupting the established order had been necessary for survival.

But now?

Now he was powerful.

Now he had armies.

Now he was the order.

And that changed everything.

Now, chaos was his enemy.

If this little alliance with Petyr were to fall apart now, if this paper became a tool for division, then his entire carefully planned war strategy could collapse before it even began.

He took a deep breath. Calm down.

You’re overthinking this.

He had been careful.

The paper itself was written on ordinary parchment—nothing distinct, nothing that could be traced. His handwriting had been deliberately altered to avoid identification. From conception to execution, no one had been involved except him.

Unless some supernatural force—perhaps a Greenseer—had been spying on him at the time, there was no way to link this to him.

And besides—if Petyr had suspected him, would he be calmly presenting this letter now, like some puzzle they could solve together?

Aegor’s mind had gone from panic to rational in a matter of seconds.

But outwardly?

All he had done was pause, study the paper with a frown, then lift his gaze to Petyr with a look of puzzled curiosity.

“My lord… what is this supposed to mean?”

His voice was calm, even slightly innocent.

Meanwhile, his mind was already preparing a contingency plan.

If Petyr did suspect him…

If there was even the slightest sign that he had made the connection…

Then Aegor would kill him.

A Greenseer and a master schemer working together to undermine him?

That was a nightmare.

If it came to that, he would rather burn everything to the ground and rebuild from the ashes.
----


“I exhausted every effort,” Petyr sighed, “but I couldn’t find even a scrap of evidence pointing to the author of this letter.”

Aegor’s heartbeat spiked—but then Petyr continued.

“However, while I cannot say with certainty that Varys was behind its first appearance, I can say with absolute confidence that he is responsible for it resurfacing now, here in Winterfell, among your forces.”

Aegor raised an eyebrow.

So this wasn’t something Petyr had personally held onto?

“This was planted?” he asked.

Petyr nodded.

“A cruel little trick,” he said smoothly. “One, it disrupts my focus, forcing me to waste time and energy on old grievances. Two, it reminds Catelyn of… past events, reinforcing the divide between me and House Stark. And three…” His lips curled into a smirk. “It is a not-so-subtle attempt to poison our cooperation.”

Aegor said nothing.

Petyr studied him carefully.

“But of course,” he continued, voice casual, “Varys made one miscalculation—he assumed we are the kind of men who let personal matters distract us from our goals.”

His eyes gleamed in the dim light of the oil lamp.

“We are not.”

There was something deep in that look.

It was a test.

Aegor met his gaze evenly.

If Petyr was fishing for a reaction, for some hint of guilt or panic, he wouldn’t find one.

After a moment, Petyr chuckled.

“The truth is simple,” he said. “Yes, this letter contains real events—I did have a relationship with Lysa Tully. I did give her poison. Foolish things, done in youth, for the sake of ‘love.’” He gave a mocking shake of his head. “I won’t deny it. But let me ask you, Commander—does this really change anything?”

Aegor let out a short laugh.

“I couldn’t care less,” he admitted.

He meant it, too.

What did he care about Petyr’s past lovers?

He just wanted to know if this letter was going to cause problems.

“That’s what I thought.” Petyr smirked. “Which is why this attempt to shake us apart only proves one thing—our enemies are desperate.”

He leaned in slightly.

“They are losing. And they know it.”
----


Aegor gave a slow nod.

Petyr’s logic was solid, and if this was his biggest concern, then Aegor had nothing to fear.

“Varys will escalate,” Petyr continued. “This is only the beginning. Which is why we need to be prepared. We must increase our security in all aspects—food, drink, accommodations. If he cannot defeat us in the open, he will resort to more… delicate means.”

Aegor nodded again.

Petyr smiled.

“Of course, beyond simply defending ourselves, we must also counterattack.”

Aegor raised an eyebrow.

“We must keep him occupied, force him to spend his energy defending rather than attacking.”

There was an almost predatory gleam in Petyr’s eyes.

“I know Varys better than anyone,” he said smoothly. “I will take the lead in dealing with him. But you… you should track down who in your army was responsible for distributing this paper. If we can catch one of his little ‘birds’...”

His smirk widened.

“That would be very useful.”

Aegor chuckled.

“I’ll handle it.”

“Good. Then there’s only one more thing I require…” Petyr said, voice casual.

Aegor gave him a questioning look.

“I need men,” Petyr said simply. “Loyal ones. My Unsullied guards protect the Queen, not me—and I cannot use them for… shall we say, off-the-books matters.”

His smirk deepened.

“So, Commander—lend me some reliable men. Quiet ones. The kind who can… help me handle things.”

Aegor chuckled.

He was beginning to enjoy watching Petyr and Varys play their little game.

“Fine,” he agreed. “I’ll send them to you before midnight.”

“No need to rush,” Petyr waved dismissively. “Let them report to me after breakfast.”

He stretched slightly. “Well, I think we’ve had enough late-night scheming for one evening. The longer we stand here, the more likely Varys’ spies will notice.”

Aegor nodded.

“Good night, Commander.”

“Good night, my lord.”

And with that, they parted.