Chapter 331: The Legendary Broken Engagement (Part 2)
Under what circumstances, then, can a betrothal be canceled in Westeros?
Egger had never imagined that he—a man who, in theory, was sworn to take no wife and father no children—would have to consider such trivial nonsense, completely unrelated to the grand strategic board, before he had even shed his identity as a Night's Watchman. He knew precious little about the marriage customs of the world of Ice and Fire. Fortunately, perhaps out of her rapport with Arya or gratitude for Egger looking after her brothers, Myrcella proved helpful. She not only joined the discussion enthusiastically but actively offered suggestions.
The cancellation of a betrothal generally falls into two categories: voluntary and involuntary.
A voluntary cancellation occurs when one of the parties actively seeks to dissolve the bond, obtains recognition from an authoritative body—the Faith—and makes the result known to the public. This is a broken engagement in the traditional sense.
There are several examples of this; one that stood out in Egger's memory from the original plot was the situation between Joffrey and Sansa. After the Battle of the Blackwater, the Lannisters needed an alliance with the Tyrells to maintain their rule. Thus, the Small Council actively passed a proposal to cancel the betrothal between Lannister and Stark so Joffrey could marry Margaery instead. At that time, the Faith was still under the thumb of the crown; granting the annulment was a mere formality, and the legal procedures were completed without a hitch.
But currently, the one wanting to break the engagement wasn't the head of a Great House, but a young girl acting on her own whims. The front door of formal annulment was clearly closed to her. They would have to take a side path.
What exactly was this side path, or involuntary cancellation?
It occurred when a betrothal became naturally void due to specific circumstances. What were these circumstances?
Death of one party. This was indisputable. Egger, of course, wasn't going to advise Arya to commit suicide, so...
"Find a way to take out your fiancé, and you won't have to worry about the wedding."
"What?!" Arya jumped. "I want to break the engagement! I don't want to become a widow and a murderer. That one doesn't count!"
"Hey, hey, I'm just giving you ideas. Whether you adopt them is up to you." Egger wasn't about to haggle with the girl. If he let her pick and choose, he'd be there until the Year of the False Spring trying to come up with three ideas. "Whether you admit it or not, it's a valid way to fulfill your wish of 'not getting married.'"
"But if this one dies, there will just be another! Am I supposed to kill them off one by one? You're cheating!"
"Fine, fine. Since you're unwilling to adopt that plan, let's skip it and move to the second."
Regardless of the girl's reaction, he spoke to himself and forcibly marked one-third of the task as complete.
Myrcella mentioned: Religious conversion and a vow of celibacy.
There were many examples: the religiously fanatical Baelor the Blessed, or Lancel Lannister in the original timeline.
However, this plan faced a hurdle: Northmen generally followed the Old Gods, and the tenets of the Old Gods never included celibacy. If Arya, for the sake of breaking an engagement, ran off to a southern city like King's Landing to find a Septon, demand to convert, and become a Silent Sister... she'd likely be caught by her mother's men halfway there and have her legs broken.
"You could spend time getting to know your fiancé and then use your faith to influence him, convincing him to dedicate himself and convert to the Seven."
"Are you even trying to help? I don't even believe in the Seven!" Arya glared at Egger, fuming. "And even if I did, do you think I have that kind of talent?"
"If you don't have it, practice. Put half the passion you have for swordplay and riding into your rhetoric, and you'll have him in the palm of your hand."
"Actually, one doesn't necessarily have to convert to the Seven," Myrcella added from the side. "The Night's Watch isn't allowed to marry either. Lord Egger happens to be the Lord Commander; if he were to issue a proclamation calling for the nobles of the North and the Vale to join the Watch to seek honor..."
"See? Maeve is younger than you, but her mind is much sharper," Egger nodded in approval. "The Night's Watch happens to be short of well-born, educated, and trained young men. I'll issue such a proclamation later. The rest is up to your own ability."
Theoretically, this was feasible. In the early days of the Watch, when the threat of the Others had not yet faded into myth, many high-born men chose to take the black for honor. However, in any era, the instances of a first-line heir joining the Watch were pitifully few. It was usually low-priority heirs with no chance of inheriting lands or titles, or bastards, who took that desperate path.
Egger had never heard of a sane heir to a Great House voluntarily joining the Watch—for a noble, even if the sky were falling, lineage and succession remained paramount.
Of course, these secrets of the Watch were not something Arya would immediately grasp. Her face fell despondently. "Fine, I'll try. What else?"
One party enters into a de facto marriage with someone else.
In the laws of Westeros, marriage unconditionally supersedes a betrothal. As long as the union is voluntary and witnessed by a member of the clergy, it constitutes a de facto marriage. In such a case, any prior betrothals of either party are naturally voided. A famous example is Robb Stark and Jeyne Westerling in another timeline: once the Young Wolf insisted on marrying the daughter of a minor Westerland noble, his betrothal to House Frey was automatically voided without the need for a proclamation.
This point gave Egger a glimmer of feasibility.
"You said you hate this Harry because he has bastards?"
"That's right! I heard he has more than one!" Arya complained indignantly. "It's disgusting!"
"Disgusting it may be, but it shows he's clever. He's not the kind of fool who loses his head over love; he's an 'Old Driver' who knows the difference between physical pleasure and forging a marriage alliance..."
"What does 'Old Driver' mean?"
"It just means a rake, a man of the world." Egger didn't lose his train of thought. "A clever man like that, having secured a link to the Starks—unless King Stannis offers him a princess—would never be foolish enough to marry someone else and lose you. That means the solution has to come from you. Find someone you like—and enter a de facto marriage with him."
"Huh? That's so much trouble! But I don't want to get married to anyone!"
Egger ignored her naive fantasies and continued. "Remember, it must be marriage; a mere 'affair' is useless! The boy you choose must have a certain status and family background—not some minor character your brother can toss aside without a second thought. It's best to choose from the lords of the North, the Riverlands, the Vale, or the Crownlands. As long as he is loyal to King Stannis, he is an ally and supporter of your brother. Once you enter a de facto marriage, your brother and mother, no matter how angry they are, won't be able to deny it."
He emphasized this because there were plenty of counter-examples, including his former adversary and good friend Petyr Baelish, as well as Tyrion Lannister.
Littlefinger had taken Lysa Tully's maidenhead and gotten her pregnant when they were young, but because the two didn't love each other and failed to establish a marriage, the result was his expulsion by the old Lord Tully, beginning his path of twisted madness.
And the story of Tyrion and the crofter's girl? They didn't just sleep together; they were married before a Septon. Though the conditions were humble, every procedural step was followed, making it a genuine marriage. The result? Lord Tywin flew into a rage, brought the girl in, called her a whore, let his guards use her, and then she vanished—either exiled or silenced. In a world of raw power, who would stand up for a crofter's daughter?
A powerful lord can simply deny the validity of a child's or vassal's marriage. Without a certain level of strength or the protection of a peer or higher noble like the King, even a real marriage can be torn apart.
Arya knitted her brows, groaning in pain. "Why is it so complicated?"
"Actually, there is another way with a similar logic," Myrcella spoke up kindly again. "When I was little, someone told me a story of a noble lady who fell in love with her older sister's fiancé. One night, when the beloved was visiting her castle, she suddenly 'lost her way' and ended up in his room." A blush suddenly crept onto the young princess's snow-pale cheeks. "The next day, she became her former future-brother-in-law's fiancée, and to hide her growing belly, the two families rushed to hold a wedding."
"That's so mean! Who was it?" Arya made a face of disgust. "But my sister doesn't have a fiancé. And even if she did, I... I could never crawl into his bed at night."
"Has Sansa not chosen a new suitor yet?" Egger was a bit confused, but then realized Joffrey had been in the Watch for less than a year; replacing the old with the new so quickly didn't seem like the Stark way. "Maeve doesn't mean for you to crawl into anyone's bed; she's offering a reference for a possibility: making the 'raw rice into cooked rice.' If you can find a way to play matchmaker for your fiancé and your sister Sansa, let them develop feelings for each other until they can't help but do something improper... For the Hardyngs, Sansa is also a Stark, and the eldest daughter at that. For your family, to cover up the scandal, they would have no choice but to let the mistake stand and marry your sister to him instead."
Arya tilted her head, carefully considering the possibility. It was still a bit of a hassle—but at least it was simpler than secretly marrying some other noble son. "Hmm... that might actually work! Sansa is much prettier than me. If I give that Harry some opportunities, he'll definitely be interested!"
"There are no ugly women, only lazy ones." Egger raised his arm and ruffled Arya's hair, which looked like a pile of wild grass. As the girl matured into a young woman, the height difference between them was shrinking, and he rarely performed this gesture anymore as it was starting to feel out of place. "Don't tell me you walked out without even combing your hair because you hope your fiancé will see you looking a mess and want to break the engagement himself? What have I told you? Don't come see your Master without looking tidy!"
"I only forgot because I heard you were here and got too excited!"
Egger withdrew his hand. "Alright. You wanted three ideas; I've given you four. Satisfied?"
She wasn't quite satisfied, especially since the fourth one was Myrcella's. Arya pouted, her eyes darting around as she processed everything. Eventually, she decided to try the last plan first. If that failed... she'd see.
"Hmph, I suppose I'm satisfied for now. But Master, Winterfell is so boring. Stay and keep me company for two days. Wait until my name day is over, and then take me to Queenscrown, okay?"
Was the Gift really that attractive? If he hadn't found a way to chase Littlefinger off, and if her brother hadn't met his current wife first, she'd likely still have no home to return to. Now, she was failing to appreciate her good fortune, complaining that the warmest and safest place was boring.
Egger rolled his eyes, suppressing the urge to say "In your dreams." "Compared to Winterfell, Queenscrown is the front line. There's danger everywhere; you think it's a game? Stop with the wild thoughts. Stay here, listen to your brother and mother, and don't annoy the septa. When they give you permission to come to the Gift again, I'll certainly welcome you."
"They'll never allow me to go back to the Gift!" Arya grabbed his arm and shook it again. "You don't know how much effort I spent pretending to be a good girl just to get Robb to agree to let me tour the Wall last time!"
"Nonsense. Listen, I have an idea... remember that giant weirwood beneath the Nightfort? I plan to turn it into a pilgrimage site, open to all descendants of the First Men who follow the Old Gods." Egger bluffed casually. "Behave yourself in Winterfell, and you'll surely have a chance to follow your family to the Wall to worship the Old Gods in the future. When that time comes, I'll take you to see even more interesting things, alright?"
"Really?"
"When have I ever lied to you?"
The matter was, in fact, true; the Nightfort and the Pilgrims' Inn at Queenscrown were already under construction... but not so the second Stark daughter would have an excuse to frequent the Gift. In the long term, it was to lay the foundation for a future Wall tourism project. In the short term... first, it was a work for relief project; second—as followers of the Old Gods, if people really came to see the glowing weirwood and make wishes, they'd have to offer some incense money, wouldn't they? In this era, those who could afford to travel far were either rich or noble. Perhaps he could use this to rake in a little money to subsidize the Gift's economy.
To raise funds for military industrial development, the managers of the Gift were truly exhausting every possible angle.
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