Chapter 141

"How can someone act like this?!" Arya exploded as soon as she heard the embellished account from the messenger, carefully guided and exaggerated under Aegor's instruction. "Just because Sister Nina refused to eat with him, he holds a grudge and arrests her brother?"

"That's an abuse of power. It's despicable." Margaery chimed in, feigning righteous indignation with a perfectly innocent yet meaningful glance at Aegor. She didn’t believe this incident was a mere coincidence. Something must be brewing in the mind of this Night’s Watchman. "You should have your father—Lord Eddard—give that man a proper dressing down."

"I’ll tell Father as soon as I get back!" Arya grabbed Nina's hand. "Don’t worry, we’ll get your brother out tomorrow!"

"Thank you, Lady Stark..."

"Don’t! The Hand of the King has too much on his plate; let’s not bother him with such trifles," Aegor quickly interjected. Eddard Stark might be a bit rigid, but his intelligence was perfectly intact—manipulating Arya so blatantly could easily incur the wrath of the powerful Hand. Such an invaluable ally should only be leveraged in times of personal peril, not squandered on a case like Neil’s, whose life wasn’t even in immediate danger. "We’ll handle this ourselves. Ah, such a headache... Lady Margaery, when are you planning to leave King’s Landing?"

"In three or four days, I suppose. There isn’t much for me to do here anyway," Margaery answered with a faint trace of melancholy, and for once, her words weren’t part of an act. Despite the Tyrells’ dominance over the Reach and their prestige as the Lords of Highgarden, they remained overshadowed by the combined influence of the Baratheons, Starks, Lannisters, and the other great houses. No one of substantial power or position was willing to openly associate with her. Among those she could talk to these days, Arya Stark was surprisingly the highest in both rank and station.

"Tch, this complicates things." Aegor slapped his thigh in apparent frustration. "Neil is my designated trainer for technical personnel. He’s tasked with preparing workers to develop the paper and printing industries in the Reach and Dorne, and he’s supposed to travel to Highgarden with Lady Margaery. If I can’t get him out in the next few days, everything will be delayed!"

Nina glanced at Aegor in surprise. That wasn’t how things were planned at all. Could it be...

Ah, so I’m the real target, Margaery thought as she narrowed her eyes at Aegor. She scrutinized him for a second and said, "In that case, I suggest you assign someone else immediately. Surely you can’t expect your paying customers to wait while you rescue your man."

"Exactly. Lady Margaery and Prince Oberyn are our first clients for this technology, and they’ve paid handsomely. I wouldn’t dare show them any disrespect. That’s why I handpicked the inventor of papermaking, the person who formulated and refined the process, someone who fully understands every aspect of the craft, to lead the team. And such individuals? I have only two—Neil and his sister, Nina, who’s standing right here."

Aegor sighed as if deeply troubled. "Aside from these two, sending anyone else would risk failure when they encounter unforeseen problems. But with Neil arrested by that scoundrel Slynt and Nina occupied assisting me here... there’s really no suitable alternative."

"What do we do, then?" Margaery asked innocently, though inwardly she cursed. She should have only paid half the fee up front. This petty Night’s Watchman seemed intent on exacting some revenge for his humiliation during their haggling sessions a few days ago.

"Well, either we wait. Lady Margaery could return to Highgarden first, and once I’ve secured Neil’s release and gotten everything in order, I’ll send the team to meet her there. Or, you proceed with incomplete staffing, but any issues would require back-and-forth communication to resolve, which would waste precious time."

Margaery glared at Aegor in frustration.

(What is wrong with this man? Just because I had a few meals here and coaxed some information out of his apprentice, he’s determined to exploit the Tyrell family’s connections before letting us go?)

Rarely did she let her emotions show, but somehow, this black-clad man seemed capable of seeing through her pretenses. Fine, then. If he saw through her act, there was no point in keeping it up—at least not with him.

Feigning ignorance, Aegor pressed further. "Lady Margaery, why not... have a word with your brother? Perhaps Ser Loras could speak to the City Watch on your behalf. Surely the honor of the Knight of Flowers would make Slynt reconsider."

Arya immediately brightened. "Yes! Margaery, my mentor is just a Night’s Watchman. Even though he’s amazing, he can’t exactly storm in and cut that guy down! We need someone more intimidating to scare him off!"

Aegor nearly burst out laughing. Finally, the little girl said something sensible.

Margaery rolled her eyes. Like herself, Loras Tyrell had some fame in King’s Landing, but his influence and clout were practically nonexistent. Janos Slynt wouldn’t hesitate to dismiss him entirely. Aegor clearly wasn’t counting on the Knight of Flowers—he wanted the leverage of Renly Baratheon, King Robert’s brother, Lord of Storm’s End, and a member of the Small Council. With Renly’s status and authority, retrieving a prisoner from the City Watch would be effortless, a mere word to resolve the matter.

For the Tyrells, this was indeed a trivial matter. What irked Margaery was the notion of doing someone else’s dirty work. If it were just her and Aegor, she would have flatly refused. But with Arya in the mix, things became more complicated.

To maintain her image in Arya’s eyes, Margaery couldn’t deploy her usual tricks and found herself cornered.

Though irritated, she knew this wasn’t worth escalating. With a subtle, threatening glance at Aegor, her expression quickly softened, reverting to that of the gentle and slightly naïve girl from Highgarden. "I suppose... I could mention it to Loras when I return."

Margaery reluctantly took on the responsibility. While unwilling, the cooperative relationship between her and Aegor ensured that this minor inconvenience wouldn’t lead to a falling-out. Once the Tyrells pulled Neil out, Janos Slynt would come to understand the depth of Aegor’s connections and backing. Afterward, Aegor could send a gift to Slynt as a "gesture of apology." A carrot and stick approach—how could Slynt refuse to yield?

If Slynt accepted the "apology," all the better. If not, so be it. As long as Aegor avoided leaving evidence behind, with his network of allies and special Night’s Watch status, what could Slynt possibly do to him?

Later, after handling business at his office and arranging production and marketing for new items like solid lipsticks and soaps, Aegor received two expected visitors.

"Sir, two strange old men have come to see you. They claim to be sages."

"Oh?" Aegor chuckled. The pyromancers had arrived. It seemed news of Robert’s promised rewards had already spread. "Invite the sages in."