Chapter 198: Retreat at the Peak

What should have been a quiet and uneventful attempt to hide from the war had become unexpectedly tense with the addition of one small "unofficial" member. Before Renly's forces even entered the city, the Red Keep had already fallen to a mutiny within the garrison, and Stannis's chances of victory had become slim. If Renly entered the city and discovered that Aegor was hiding Lady Stark...

It would be like tattooing a direwolf on his forehead to declare his allegiance. At that point, it wouldn't even be a question of whether to accept Renly's offer. He'd be lucky just to keep his life.

Inside the mansion, Nina used her old skills to tailor a proper black outfit for Arya and cut the girl's hair down to an inch long. Aegor had always wanted her to be ladylike, to dress properly, to act with elegance. But in the end, he had to personally order her to disguise herself entirely as a boy. In life, there are always such unpleasant necessities.

After personally overseeing Arya's transformation and fabricating "his" origin and identity, the long-dreaded search never came. Two full days and nights of martial law passed, the streets reopened, and the battle for King's Landing was over.

The Night's Watch office reopened as well. Thanks to many friends and a vast web of connections, Aegor quickly gathered information from all directions and pieced together the general events that had unfolded across the city.

…

The afternoon before last, just as Aegor had smuggled Arya out from under the rebels' noses, Stannis also led his cavalry back into the Red Keep to retake it. At the time, the fighting inside the Keep hadn't ended. Soldiers loyal to Stannis still held key locations, including Maegor's Holdfast. In that precarious state—besieged from inside and out—Stannis quickly regained control of the south gate and most of the territory within the red walls.

But the battle soon reached a deadlock. As Renly's army entered the city from the north, broke through the reserves stationed along the inner ring, and marched on the Red Keep, a brutal tug-of-war began. Fighting broke out over every gate, hall, and side passage.

In terms of troop quality and leadership, Stannis's men far outmatched the rebel reserves and Renly's forces. But the enemy had an unending flow of reinforcements pouring into Aegon's High Hill. Stannis found himself at a growing disadvantage: he had to reclaim every gate and corridor to retake the Red Keep, while the enemy only needed to hold a single door long enough for reinforcements to arrive and solidify their position... The battle dragged on until the sun disappeared behind the horizon. After repeated attempts to retake the Keep failed, and realizing that further delay could trap him inside completely, Stannis finally made the painful decision to abandon the Red Keep.

He led his forces out of King's Landing to the south, breaking through before the enemy had completed their encirclement. Escaping through the River Gate, still held by the lords loyal to the Narrow Sea, he defeated an enemy force at the Blackwater Rush and signaled the Dragonstone fleet to dock. He evacuated his soldiers, supporters, and their families, and retreated to Dragonstone.

---

Compared to the legendary battles for cities in the histories of the East, the battle for King's Landing was a contest between two weak rivals. The weaker side just happened to win thanks to popularity and superior numbers. But for Aegor, the most troublesome outcome of this clash between two Baratheon stags was that neither side died.

If Stannis had slain Renly, the civil war in Westeros would have effectively ended. The Night's Watch industry would only need to comply with the new regime's reforms, shutting down brothels and ceasing the sale of erotic books and business could continue as usual.

If Renly had killed Stannis, Aegor could have shed his black robes, pledged himself to the new king without fear, secured a seat on the Small Council, and instantly become a powerful figure in the Seven Kingdoms.

But unfortunately, both Baratheons lived.

With the situation between the two kings unresolved, Aegor now found himself in a dilemma, facing several problems at once:

The first, and most urgent, was what to do with Arya Stark, who was hiding under his roof.

Hand her over to Renly and Margaery? The theatrical couple likely wouldn't harm her. But doing so would lose him a devoted apprentice and ally, while simultaneously offending the entire northern alliance—and Stannis. If he didn't hand her over, he couldn't simply keep Lady Stark in his house indefinitely. There were guards living in the building. While they were generally loyal, human nature is unpredictable…

The second problem: when Renly offered him a position on the Small Council again, should he refuse and risk offending the king, or grit his teeth, stand against Melisandre, and serve a monarch who might die at any moment?

Compared to the first two, the third issue was less life-threatening but still a major blow to the Night's Watch's business: Stannis's return to Dragonstone meant the war wasn't over. With Dragonstone and King's Landing now on opposing sides and no safe shipping routes between them, the dragonglass trade faced supply interruptions. Even though Aegor had tons of inventory at the industrial park, it would only last half a month if supplied to King's Landing alone—let alone his grand plan to distribute dragonglass across the realm.

And there was also an unconfirmed rumor: former Hand of the King, Eddard Stark, had failed to escape when the city fell and had been captured by Renly's forces in the Red Keep.

…

"You got to run free. Your sister Sansa and King Stannis escaped safely. But your father ran back through the River Gate and got caught. You think he did that just to look for you?"

"I, I, I…" Arya stammered, face full of guilt. She had finally learned a painful lesson. "What do we do? Will they hurt my father? Master… I know I was wrong. Please, save him!"

"The Night's Watch does not interfere in the internal affairs of the Seven Kingdoms!" Aegor raised a sign in front of her face like a shield and snapped back, "And how exactly would I save him? Your father is the Lord of House Stark. He'll be eating well and sleeping fine in the Red Keep's cells. Nothing will happen to him. Me? I'm trying to save myself right now!"

Stark was the leading house in the North. With its patriarch in custody, the captors held the lifeline to the North, Riverlands, and Vale. Renly and Margaery wouldn't be foolish enough to kill him.

What Aegor was truly worried about was that if Renly and Margaery realized Arya had vanished and suspected him of hiding her, they'd come knocking...

"My lord, I don't understand why you're so hesitant to join Renly's council… but there is a way to solve both problems at once." Nina glanced at Arya, who sat silently behind the desk, her expression troubled. The girl had contributed so much to the Night's Watch's growth, yet now posed a serious threat to Aegor's life. "You could go north under the guise of a business trip assigned by the Night's Watch, quietly send Lady Stark home to her family, and take the opportunity to avoid the political storm for a while. Wait until Renly's council fills up—he can't exactly kick someone out just to give you a seat, can he?"

Of course Aegor had thought of that. But Renly wasn't a fool. It would be obvious he was fleeing if he suddenly decided to leave King's Landing the moment Renly arrived. Aegor had heard all the old stories since childhood all those famed recluses who supposedly "refused the call to serve." He'd long thought those tales were just made up by people trying to raise their price. Pretending to be noble, waiting to be begged. Who would've thought he'd end up in the same position one day?

Only by living through it does one realize that avoiding court service and retreating from politics isn't always about lofty ideals. Sometimes, it's just about cold, complicated, and hard-to-explain realities.

He had a massive business in King's Landing. "Running away" had never seemed like a real option. But now, with the added duty of sending Arya safely out of the city, it was starting to look like a wise choice. Aegor stared at Arya for a long moment, then hardened his heart.

"Fine. I'll leave King's Landing for a while… To be honest, being in this capital full of lords and schemers, always watching every step, is exhausting. As the Night's Watch's chief quartermaster, I really should return to the Wall to solidify my presence there… and take a look at the construction progress of Crown Town while I'm at it."

(To be continued.)

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