Chapter 332: Lady Greyjoy
Egger was rarely amused by his own imagination, but the mental image of Arya stuttering while trying to persuade her fiancé to join the Night's Watch—or racking her brain to create opportunities for her future husband to cheat on her with her own sister—was enough to make him chuckle.
He had provided the solutions as the second daughter had requested. However, once the girl actually tried to implement them, she would quickly realize that reality was far more complicated than theory.
The Night's Watch had indeed seen recruits far more noble than Harrold in its history, the most recent being Aemon Targaryen, who had nearly become king. But the blind Maester had joined to prevent a civil war and a split in the realm, whereas Harrold was banking on this marriage to single-handedly elevate his family's status.
The mindsets of the two men were diametrically opposed; there was no comparison.
Unless Arya had a formidable team of advisors to plot and execute a grand scheme to frame her fiancé for a capital crime, Harrold Hardyng—no matter how much she hinted at her admiration for the Watch—would at most donate some coin to the Wall to please his bride. He would never wear the black.
As for cheating with Sansa? Egger didn't know much about Harry the Heir, so he couldn't gauge the success rate, but it certainly wouldn't be high. House Hardyng was not even a little brother to the ancient, powerful, and prestigious House Stark; they were more like grandchildren. If not for the stroke of luck of having an Arryn grandmother, they belonged to the category of marginal families that wouldn't even make a primary selection list.
An upstart family like that, trying to pick and choose between two Stark daughters? Ridiculous!
Perhaps once Robert Arryn died and Harrold sat in the seat of the Warden of the Vale with actual power in his hands, he could come with polite gifts to negotiate. But now? Out of the question.
Arya wasn't unattractive, but even if she were a monster with a waist wider than her height and a face more terrifying than a dinosaur, the Hardyngs would still happily take her home and worship her. If the girl tried to set Harry up to betray her for her sister, any slip-up would likely be interpreted by the boy as a test of his loyalty, making him even more cautious and guarded.
In the grand scheme of things, marriage alliances were never something the younger generation could decide. Once Arya came to her senses, she would undoubtedly pester Egger again for a more reliable method that simply didn't exist. To avoid further harassment, he had decisively abandoned his original plan to stay longer and returned to Queenscrown, vowing that he would never again stop at Winterfell for rest unless absolutely necessary.
The newly renovated Kingsroad provided an excellent travel experience, and Egger returned to his headquarters in just a few days. Construction of the outer district was nearing its end. After building the structures that required immediate use and confirming the layout had enough redundant space for future growth, work on the outer walls surrounding the entire City of Queenscrown began in earnest. Once completed, Queenscrown would become a fortress-town with at least seven to eight hundred permanent residents and a floating population of thousands, capable of housing up to five thousand people. It would sit in the center of the Gift like a "Fixed Sea Needle," ensuring no one dared make a reckless move.
Passing through the outer district—currently crowded and chaotic due to the construction—Egger and his guards entered the headquarters through the slowly opening main gates, riding past rows of warehouses and barracks toward the core area.
There was much to do, and it had to be handled one item at a time. Currently at the top of the list was finalizing the site and breaking ground for the naval port, as well as welcoming the large group of craftsmen coming from the North. Had Robb not ordered these men sent, Egger had planned to hire experts from across the Seven Kingdoms with high salaries. Besides their primary duties, Egger intended to have private discussions with some of them, using sufficient coin to persuade them to overcome the fear of teaching the apprentice and starving the master and do some side work for the Watch—passing their skills down to the students of the Gift.
He had personally gone to Winterfell to receive these men for this very reason, only to be chased back early by Arya's harassment. Regardless, since Egger had completely secured the rights to the port construction, he would see these Northern craftsmen eventually...
Anyway, let's go see how those pyromancers are doing with the dragonglass bombs.
As he was calculating his next moves, a voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Egger West!"
No one in Queenscrown actually called him that. The Lord Commander looked up at the source of the voice and saw a tall, slender woman striding toward him. She was stopped by his diligent guards when she got within two meters.
"Ah, Lady Asha." Egger recognized the newcomer and gave her a polite nod. His gaze shifted downward to see the iron chains still locked around her ankles, confirming that nothing major had gone wrong at his home base.
Months of imprisonment had filed away the sharp edges of the Greyjoy family's golden girl, leaving her appearance and aura somewhat haggard. Fortunately, her figure remained unchanged. After sweeping a purely appreciative eye over her long legs—which were impressive even without boots—Egger coughed. "Is there something you need for your living arrangements, or have you remembered some intel to share?"
"Neither." Asha planted her hands on her hips. "Just how long do you plan to keep me locked up?"
"How long?" Egger smiled. "Allow me to explain. You are here because you did not harm the members of House Glover after occupying Deepwood Motte, and because your uncle returned the hostages. The Northern lords have no reason to kill you, but they don't want to release you either. Winterfell didn't want to allocate jailers and guards specifically for one prisoner, so they dumped you on the Night's Watch. Although you are in Queenscrown, you are essentially still a hostage of the North. I am merely providing a free guarding service. In other words: how long you stay is up to Robb Stark."
"Meaning, if that Stark boy forgets about me, you'll keep me here for the rest of my life?"
"Er... theoretically, yes." Egger thought about it and answered honestly. "But from what I see right now, you aren't exactly 'locked up.' Who gave the order to allow you out of your room?"
"My Lord, allow me to explain..." The Warden of Queenscrown ran up to Egger. "You ordered that Lady Asha should not be insulted or mistreated. I believed that keeping her indoors long-term would be detrimental to her mind and body. Considering her brother is our archery instructor, I agreed to let her move about outside her room as a favor to Lord Theon. Of course, she is watched by at least two men at all times and is restricted to a certain area."
It was true; even prisoners had the right to smell the air. Egger was convinced. After a moment of silence, he tacitly approved the change. "Very well. Regardless, she is not to leave the inner bailey, she is not to approach the core areas—especially the small lake—and the shackles must remain on at all times."
"Yes, my Lord!"
"Damn it." Asha narrowed her eyes and gritted her teeth. "You're the Lord Commander now, aren't you? Fine—I demand to join the Night's Watch!"
"Regrettably, the Night's Watch does not accept women." Egger shrugged. "Lady Asha... not everyone would be this polite to a prisoner. You eat the same food as the soldiers in the logistics department, sleep on the same bedding, wear clean clothes, and even have the chance to bathe and take the air. This preferential treatment wasn't specifically ordered by Lord Stark; it's something I provided personally out of gratitude for your trust back when you persuaded the Ironborn garrison at Moat Cailin to surrender, avoiding a massive amount of unnecessary casualties. You should feel fortunate and satisfied, rather than pushing your luck for freedom!"
The female captain stared at Egger with eyes spitting fire, making one wonder if she was about to spit in his face again. But after her expression shifted a few times, she finally suppressed her temper and squeezed out another question: "The North is preparing to build a West Coast fleet, and they've given the port construction to the Night's Watch?"
How did she know that? Egger frowned, but then realized it was no secret in Queenscrown; after all, building a port required recruiting labor from the Gift's residents. Even if Asha knew, she had no way to send the message out—not to mention that the one currently in power in the Iron Islands was Euron Crow's Eye, the man who had driven her out and murdered her father.
"That's correct."
"I am the best captain in the Iron Islands—maybe even all of Westeros," Asha said, lifting her head proudly. "I can help train sailors, first mates, second mates... help design ships and plan the port. If it involves a ship, I know everything about it."
"Pfft—" Egger was amused. Why did the noblewomen he knew all love to indulge in such wild fantasies? Lady Stark didn't want to marry, and Miss Greyjoy wanted to command and train the enemy's navy and have a hand in the North's military port. Lady Asha, how old are you—twenty-four, twenty-five? Why do you sound as naive as a fourteen-year-old? Do you really think the Northern navy would choose an Ironborn to train their sailors? White Harbor and Bear Island have plenty of people who understand ships and port construction. They might not be better than you, but they certainly aren't far behind. I thank you on behalf of the Northern lords for your enthusiasm, but don't trouble yourself!"
"I—" Asha was momentarily silenced by the rebuttal. After a pause, she spoke again: "Then give me something to do, anything, or I'll go mad from boredom!" She gritted her teeth and added, "I'll do whatever you want!"
Whatever I want? Egger wondered if his mind was wandering into the gutter, but considering Asha was no innocent maiden, she likely understood the subtext of that sentence. But she wasn't Melisandre—the latter was, at the very least, on his side. If he went there, there wouldn't be any disastrous consequences. But this Greyjoy woman was on his list of people where he absolutely needed to keep his pants zipped.
"Queenscrown is actually quite short-handed when it comes to laundry. If Lady Asha is willing to do it, I can arrange that." His face remained cold and unmoved. "I promise you, if the Night's Watch ever expands its own navy in the future, I will consider giving you something to do. But for now, please stop pestering me. Take her back and keep an eye on her."
The two guards following Asha immediately stepped forward and grabbed her arms.
"Don't touch me!" Asha struggled briefly but couldn't break free. Before being dragged away, she made one last unwilling cry: "Fine, I get it! I'll stay put like a proper prisoner! But I have one last request: go explain to that archery instructor of yours—my brother—that invading the North without regard for his safety wasn't my decision. It was our father's command! Tell him to stop looking like he wants to kill me every time he sees me!"
None of my business, Egger thought, suppressing the urge to roll his eyes. He nodded. "I will—when I have the time."
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