Chapter 141: Plucking Feathers from a Flying Goose
"How can a person be like that!" Arya exploded the moment she finished listening to the messenger's account—a narrative heavily embellished under Egger's silent guidance. "Just because Nina wouldn't have dinner with him, he holds a grudge and arrests her brother?"
"This is an abuse of power; it is truly wicked." Margaery played along perfectly, putting on an air of innocent indignation while casting a deeply meaningful glance at Egger. She didn't believe for a second that this was a coincidence, though she wasn't quite sure what game this Night's Watchman was playing. "You should have your father—Lord Eddard—give this fellow a proper thrashing."
"I'll tell Father as soon as I get back!" Arya grabbed Nina's hand. "Don't be afraid; we'll have your brother out by tomorrow!"
"Thank you so much, Miss Stark..."
"Wait, don't!" Egger waved his hands hurriedly. Eddard Stark was pedantic, but his intelligence was perfectly normal—utilizing Arya so brazenly would easily draw the ire of the man who held the actual power. A trump card and patron like the Hand should be reserved for life-and-death situations; using it to bail out Neil, who was in no mortal danger, would be an absurd extravagance. "Let's handle this ourselves. Oh, it's a mess... Lady Margaery, I wonder when you intend to leave King's Landing?"
"In three or four days, I suppose. There isn't much for me to do here," the girl said with a touch of melancholy. This part wasn't an act; though the Tyrells ruled the Reach, they were being squeezed out by the alliance of the Stag, Wolf, Fish, Falcon, and Lion. Any official with real power was hesitant to associate with her publicly. These days, among the people she could actually talk to, Arya Stark was practically the highest-ranking.
"Tsk, now that is a problem." Egger slapped his thigh in feigned frustration. "Neil is the person I appointed to train our core technical staff. He's responsible for preparing the workers who will develop the paper and printing industries in the Reach and Dorne, and he was meant to lead them back to Highgarden with you... If I can't get him out in the next few days, it'll ruin everything!"
Nina looked at Egger in surprise. That wasn't the plan at all, unless...
...
So he's coming for me, Margaery thought, narrowing her eyes. She stared at Egger for a long second. "In that case, Lord Egger, you should appoint someone else immediately. You can't expect a client who paid a fortune for your technology to wait until you manage to fish someone out of a dungeon."
"True, Lady Margaery and Prince Oberyn were the first clients to buy the technology and paid a heavy price; I wouldn't dare dally. That is exactly why I specifically chose the inventor of the papermaking process—the one who formulated and refined the craft and mastered every principle and trick—to lead the delegation. I only have two such people: one is Neil, and the other is his sister, the girl beside me, Nina."
Egger put on a distressed look. "Other than these two, anyone else I send might not be able to solve technical issues on-site. But now Neil has been snatched by that Slynt fellow, and Nina is here helping me... I simply can't find a suitable replacement."
"Then whatever shall we do?" Margaery asked with a face of total innocence, though she was cursing inwardly. She should have only paid half the deposit. This petty Night's Watchman seemed to be holding a grudge over being out-negotiated a few days ago and was looking to settle the score.
"Either we delay a bit, and you head back to Highgarden first while I find a way to get him out and get everything ready to send them to you later," Egger offered with an equally helpless expression. "Or, the team departs shorthanded, but if problems arise and we have to exchange ravens back and forth to solve them, it will waste a vast amount of time."
Margaery glared at Egger.
(What kind of person are you? I come here for two meals and pry a few words out of your apprentice, and you won't even let that go without squeezing the Tyrells' connections to bail your man out?)
She rarely let her true emotions show, but for some reason, the man in black before her seemed able to see right through her performance. If that was the case—fine. At least she didn't have to put on a show for him.
Egger pretended not to notice her look and pressed further. "Lady Margaery, perhaps... you could try speaking with your brother? If Ser Loras were to have a word with the City Watch, Slynt wouldn't dare ignore the Knight of Flowers, would he?"
Arya immediately chimed in. "Exactly, Margaery! My Master is just a Night's Watchman; as strong as he is, he can't just go over and chop that bad man down. That guy is quite bold; we need someone even more important to scare him!"
Egger was delighted: Finally, the little girl says something useful.
Margaery rolled her eyes—much like herself, Loras Tyrell had fame in King's Landing, but he carried almost no weight in terms of influence or authority. Janos Slynt could easily ignore him. Egger wasn't counting on the Knight of Flowers; he was counting on the man behind him: Renly Baratheon. The King's youngest brother, Lord of Storm's End, and a powerful minister on the Small Council... for a man like that, pulling someone out of the City Watch was a trivial matter, a mere sentence spoken in passing.
This was indeed a small task for House Tyrell. What Margaery hated was the feeling of being used—if they were talking face-to-face, she would have told Egger there wasn't a chance in hell. But with Arya wedged between them, things became complicated.
To maintain her persona in Arya's eyes, she couldn't use her usual tactics. She had been checkmated.
Though annoyed, it wasn't a major disaster. She shot Egger a quick, threatening look... then her expression vanished, replaced instantly by that of the frail, sword-loving girl from Highgarden. In a hesitant, wavering tone, she said, "Then... I'll go back and try mentioning it to Loras."
Margaery had taken the bait. Though she was reluctant, given their partnership, Egger doubted the Little Rose would break off their relationship over such a small matter. Once the Tyrells got Neil out, Janos Slynt would realize Egger's connections far exceeded his own. Then, Egger would send someone with a gift to apologize... with the stick and the carrot applied together, was there any doubt Slynt would yield?
If the man was wise enough to accept the apology, all the better. If he still refused to play ball—so be it. As long as he didn't give Slynt any legal leverage, what could the man do against a guy with powerful friends and the unique status of a Night's Watchman?
After spending some time at the office handling business affairs and arranging the production and launch of new products like solid lipsticks and soaps, two expected visitors arrived.
"My lord, two strange old men are at the door. They claim to be Wisdoms."
"Oh?" The pyromancers were here. It seemed the news of Robert's promised reward had already spread. Egger smiled. "Please, show the Wisdoms in."
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