Chapter 405: Weapons in Hand, the Will to Kill Arises
"A brilliant strategy, Lord Commander. Hearing your words, the fog of confusion has truly been swept away." After immersing herself in the beautiful vision of the future for a moment, Daenerys returned to reality. "But as you said, this is an optimal solution derived under extreme simplification—and under the assumption that I have already secured victory. The current problem is that the situation on this continent is far from being as simple as your drawings on this paper, and I have not won yet."
Indeed, the real world was no game of drawing circles and crossing out boxes on a blank page. For every variable added to the equation, the complexity of the situation increased exponentially. What stood before Daenerys was not the loose, fragmented Seven Kingdoms faced by Aegon the Conqueror, but a Westeros that had been unified and then fractured—a land with a legitimate king like Stannis, an Aegon of unknown origin, and the Golden Company sticking their oars in. The chaos was unimaginable.
If one factored all the realities of Westeros into the model—and then considered the lands across the Narrow Sea, specifically Braavos with its Iron Bank, Pentos with Illyrio Mopatis (Varys's partner), and Volantis, which had just clashed with the Queen over slavery—the difficulty of breaking the deadlock through pure political maneuvering would skyrocket to astronomical levels. It was far beyond Egger's capacity for analysis; even Petyr Baelish or Varys would not dare claim everything was under control.
Fortunately, he never intended to follow the conventional path. He had already prepared half the tools for a violent breakthrough; he only lacked the power to set it in motion.
"Your Majesty asked me for the second half of that book, and I have offered it," Egger said, leaning back in his chair and smiling at the Queen. "Individuals are but passing clouds in the long river of history, vanishing in an instant. Even houses and powers, though they may endure through succession, are merely fleeting. Only 'geography' is the eternal first element—the permanent obstacle that human effort cannot overcome. The strategy I offered takes 'insurmountable obstacles' as its sole consideration. It aims to provide Your Majesty with a way of thinking, a possible path toward realizing your great ideal, nothing more. If you find it reasonable and intend to proceed, you can begin to think about how to overcome the 'surmountable obstacles.' But if you expect me to provide the specific operations and implementation, you hold me in far too high regard."
"Do you mean to say a man who comes up with such a plan has no further thoughts on how to follow through?" Daenerys blurted out unhappily, entirely unaware that her subconscious had already placed complete trust and reliance on him.
Egger shrugged. "Your Majesty wanted the second half of the book. I have basically finished the oral delivery of its contents. If you require it, I can find the time to organize the material into a second volume and present it to the Queen again. But as for more specific strategies, I am afraid I am powerless. That is not something a Lord Commander of the Night's Watch should consider; it is a task for you and your counselors."
Daenerys's expression turned solemn, gradually returning to the state a Queen ought to maintain.
Although the man before her claimed to be powerless, his expression clearly read: I have thought of everything, but I simply don't want to tell you. Her experience might be thin, but her mind was sharp. She understood immediately: the free content had ended. What came next required payment.
A flash of anger sparked but quickly vanished as she recalled a fact: the man before her was not her subject or follower. This was only their second meeting.
At this realization, she felt a wave of embarrassment.
When she first met the Lord Commander on Dragonstone and offered an olive branch only to be rejected, Daenerys had truly been incensed, feeling he was ungrateful for the honor she bestowed. Now, having visited the Gift in person, she realized how ridiculous her thoughts that day had been. The garrison of the Wall was not the few hundred old and weak she had imagined. Whether it was the wide, straight stretch of the Kingsroad visible even from hundreds of meters in the air, the unimaginable scale and majesty of Queenscrown, the massive crowds she saw upon landing—orderly even in their haste—or the disciplined, well-armed soldiers in the inner keep, everything had left a deep impression.
A commander in his prime, with both fame and soldiers, and a treasury of strategy in his mind... she had previously tried to buy his loyalty with a promise not to attack the Night's Watch industries and a smile? Looking back, it was practically an insult.
After insulting him, she had met him a second time with a cold face and even tried to establish deterrence using her dragon. Under such circumstances, for him to still treat her as a guest and spend so much time explaining things to her was an act of utmost kindness—an admirable display of magnanimity. It was only natural for him to have reservations now.
Moqorro fooled me with his wordplay, Daenerys thought bitterly. The first volume of The Prince, The Way of the Monarch, and the second, Ruling the Seven Kingdoms, were indeed of immense help. But the author of this book—a living man, not a dead object—was the most powerful follower she was prophesied to obtain!
The emptiness of returning from a beautiful vision of the future to the cold reality could only be filled if this man knelt immediately and swore fealty!
"What do you want?"
Daenerys sat back in her chair, returning to the persona of the proud Queen with arms crossed. She was prepared to be exploited—because she believed the hidden contents of The Prince in Egger's mind were worth any price she had to pay.
She's asking for my price, Egger thought, half-amused and half-exasperated. Daenerys was still too young and naive. Even a man visiting a brothel uses flowery language to mask the transaction; how could she be so blunt when seeking a man's support?
Months ago, during that night talk at Icemark, he had indeed conducted an open and unrestrained exchange of power and interests with Denys Mallister, which ended the long, tedious election and opened a new chapter for the Gift. That was the most satisfying negotiation of Egger's life; even job interviews before his transmigration hadn't been so exhilarating.
But that same level of bluntness and lack of reservation could never be used in a conversation with the Queen.
Imagine if Merlin, when invited by King Arthur to leave his seclusion and assist him, had said bluntly: "I can help you, but once we succeed, I want to be a general and a Lord, and I want my descendants to enjoy wealth and glory forever." It's safe to assume their relationship wouldn't have been quite so harmonious, and the story would never have become a legend.
How did Master Merlin actually do it?
He referred to himself as a simple forest hermit at every turn and had the bards market him as the Prophet of Avalon. He repeatedly declined Arthur's personal invitations during the three perilous journeys to his crystal cave, only relenting when Arthur invoked the salvation of the realm. Remember, My King, I am helping you not for profit, but for the common folk of Camelot!
How brilliant!
Egger wouldn't dare presume to judge a gentleman by his own lower standards; perhaps Merlin truly cared for the people. But the relationship between himself and Daenerys was fundamentally different from the one he had with Denys Mallister. As commander of the Shadow Tower, Denys was technically a subordinate, but they were more like colleagues. The old man could state clearly what he wanted and what he offered, and could even plot against Egger afterward—he didn't fear retaliation.
But a Queen was different. Once he boarded her ship, she was the sovereign and he the subject. To live long and go far, he not only had to be valuable to the monarch but also maintain a positive, consistent persona. He had to earn her trust, her favor, and her respect, never showing a hint of his true depths until the moment he decided to turn foe.
What did he want? He wanted the Queen to kneel before him; he wanted to be the master of the world; he wanted to be the supreme authority, unchecked by anyone!
When one holds a weapon, the will to kill arises. Power is indeed the strongest catalyst for desire. Just a few years ago, Egger was a minor character who only wanted to run away from the Wall. Who would have thought his ambition would one day grow large enough to swallow the heavens?
But these thoughts were things he would never reveal to anyone, not even a single word. He would not state his conditions.
But if, in the end, the Queen lacked any sense of self-awareness and failed to properly reward her most meritorious official... well, it was hard to say what he might do!
Egger wore a calm, breezy smile. "I want nothing but to see Your Majesty's great ideal realized in my lifetime—peace across the four seas and a people living in harmony. That is all."
Daenerys frowned.
She hadn't asked him for his price out of some complex desire to probe his depths or find his bottom line; she truly didn't realize he had thought of so much in a single instant. She simply wanted to bring Egger into her fold. When the man responded with such evasive answer, she found herself at a loss.
"You are a man of the Night's Watch, yet you understand the situation of the Seven Kingdoms so clearly. Was it merely to offer a strategy when you met me, and then contentedly go back to watching the Wall? Do you not understand that no matter how noble or beautiful an ideal is, it can never be realized without taking action yourself!?"
"If Your Majesty did not exist in this world, I would naturally have the will and motivation to act." Since the Queen was now appealing to his reason, Egger feared that a constant refusal would let the hooked fish escape. He decided to play a game of releasing to catch. "But since Your Majesty is here, I believe you can surely rule the world and achieve these goals."
"Fine, since you say so." Daenerys lifted her head, and the regal aura she had momentarily set aside reappeared in full force. "In the name of the Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, I pardon your past crimes and command you to immediately cast off the black, enter my service, assist me in reclaiming the Seven Kingdoms, and establish the Greater Crownlands—to break the wheel of history!"
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