House Redwyne?
Wasn't this like being handed a pillow just when he wanted to sleep?
"Let him in!"
Myrcella, like someone caught in the act, shot up from the sofa, quickly wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, and patted her flushed cheeks to make the redness fade a little. She quickly stood by the table in the room, pretending nothing had happened.
Compared to the girl's nervousness, Aegor was much calmer. He stood up unhurriedly, slowly walked behind the table, and sat down in the chair.
A moment later, a young man with an ordinary appearance, orange hair, and a freckled square face pushed the door open and walked in. His face was flushed with anger, and he stumbled slightly, looking somewhat disheveled. He had likely also gone through questioning and a search, and was filled with resentment and humiliation.
"Who goes there?"
The man straightened his not-too-disordered clothes, glared at the two soldiers who had accompanied him into the room, then lifted his head and introduced himself proudly. "Horas Redwyne, son of the Lord of the Arbor!"
"He also has a twin brother, Hobber Redwyne. I haven't heard which of them Lord Paxter has chosen as his heir." Myrcella had completely forgotten the little incident that had just happened and, as always, fulfilled her duty. She leaned close to Aegor's ear and whispered the background information she thought might be useful. "Oh, by the way, their mother is Lord Mace Tyrell's sister, Mina Tyrell."
Aegor nodded, forcing a trace of politeness into his expression as he looked at the newcomer.
If House Hightower's position in the Reach was equivalent to House Bolton's in the North, then House Redwyne was somewhat similar to House Karstark, a branch family that had split from the main house.
This family, founded by Gilbert, the son of Garth Greenhand, was slightly lower than House Hightower in seniority and status, having never claimed kingship themselves. Even so, they were genuine and undisputed descendants of Greenhand. Besides their ancient and proud bloodline, they were also the most powerful family in the entire Reach apart from House Tyrell and House Hightower, bar none. Occupying the Arbor, though they did not rule over the population and commercial scale of Oldtown, nor the flat and fertile lands around Highgarden, they possessed a powerful fleet almost capable of rivaling the entire Iron Islands. They were the largest naval force on the western coast of Westeros and had accumulated astonishing wealth through shipping monopolies and the sale of their famous wine.
Of course, the most important factor at the moment was not how much wealth House Redwyne had, but that the Arbor was currently hundreds of miles away. The Western Expeditionary Army would not set foot on that land for the foreseeable future.
If the slave masters across the Narrow Sea had not united against Daenerys, Aegor could have stayed in the Hightower, sent ravens, summoned troops from the Six Kingdoms, and calmly assembled a large fleet to deal with House Redwyne.
But now, in order to end the Western Expedition as quickly as possible, he had to find a way to make the Arbor surrender voluntarily.
Just as he was about to speak a greeting, Horas Redwyne, angered by the rude and rough treatment from the Western Expeditionary Army's soldiers, immediately began his aggressive questioning. "Lord Commander Aegor, House Hightower voluntarily surrendered and welcomed you as a distinguished guest into the Hightower, yet you allowed your soldiers to imprison the hosts. Are you not afraid of being shamed by the people of the Seven Kingdoms and cursed by the gods for trampling on guest right so blatantly?"
...
Aegor had not harmed, and did not intend to harm, any members of House Hightower. This was a fact, and it was also the reason he was confident that he would not be reviled for generations like House Frey in the original timeline.
But as for whether he had trampled on guest right?
Undoubtedly, yes. Though only slightly, it was undeniable.
As the saying went, do not strike a man in the face, and do not expose his weaknesses. What this uninvited guest was doing at this moment was completely the opposite. If Aegor was drawn onto this prepared battlefield, he would fall into a moral disadvantage, starting with a huge handicap.
What should one do when facing an opponent standing on the moral high ground?
The answer was simple. Do not stand at the foot of that mountain.
The friendliness and respect Aegor had added to his expression vanished in an instant. Originally, he had planned to ask Ser Horas to sit down and then discuss House Redwyne's terms of peace in detail. Given that Daenerys's naval power could not immediately attack the Arbor, the terms offered to the Lord of the Arbor would definitely be better than those given to any other noble in the Reach.
But now, since someone had been given face and refused to take it...
"Maeve." After staring at Horas for a few seconds, Aegor suddenly turned to look at Myrcella beside him. "What do you think I should do with Ser Horas?"
Myrcella's spirits lifted. Not at all negatively affected by the previous heart-to-heart talk, she immediately understood that it was her turn to play the bad cop.
"That depends on what capacity Ser Horas has come here in today."
She had just conducted a simple analysis. The eldest son of the Lord of Redwyne, though a twin, the future heir of the Arbor, though only likely, should absolutely have been part of the delegation that surrendered and welcomed the royal army earlier. His status fully qualified him to attend the meeting that had just ended. But such an important person had hidden in a guest room in the Hightower and had not shown himself voluntarily until he was found by the Western Expeditionary Army soldiers searching the rooms. There could only be one reason. He had not come to represent House Redwyne in negotiations with Aegor. Instead, he had previously led troops in the decisive battle between the Reachmen's allied army and the Western Expeditionary Army, fled after being routed, run to Oldtown, and hidden in House Hightower's tower ever since.
"If he is an assassin preparing to harm my lord, then he should be executed on the spot. If he is a rebel supporting Aegon's claim to the throne, then my lord should immediately arrest him and put him on trial. As for a defeated and surrendered Reach noble, well, perhaps he can be sent upstairs to squeeze in with the Hightower family and be handed over to Her Grace for judgment later." A hint of cunning flashed in the girl's eyes. "Unless he is an envoy sent by Lord Redwyne to negotiate with you. In that case, I suggest my lord invite him to sit down and discuss things in detail."
"Very good." Not just very good, but excellent. This was why Aegor, despite not really wanting to use a Lannister girl as an assistant, still could not bear to send Myrcella away. Although Casey was just as efficient, he could never improvise such a good double act. Aegor nodded and looked back at the man standing by the door. "So now, Ser Horas, which of the situations described by this young lady applies to you? Which category do you fall into?"
Even Tywin Lannister had to meekly lower his head and don the black before Aegor. Horas Redwyne was just a young noble who had long lived under his father's wing and had just personally experienced and witnessed the second Field of Fire. Upon hearing murderous words like "executed on the spot" and "put him on trial," his legs turned to jelly. How could he still have the backbone to confront the Hand of the Queen before him?
After all, this black-clothed devil really might kill him.
"I am... I was dispatched by my father, representing House Redwyne to negotiate with the Hand of the Queen."
This "Hand of the Queen" was a sign of submission. Aegor secretly rolled his eyes and did not expose the other party's obvious lie, since he did indeed need a mouthpiece at the moment.
"Bring a chair. Please invite Ser Horas to sit."
The soldiers who had accompanied him into the room moved a chair from the wall, deliberately placing it several feet away from the table. The young noble also felt uncomfortable, but at this point, how could he dare say anything more? He simply sat obediently, not even daring to breathe too loudly.
This person's appearance was somewhat unexpected. Aegor exchanged a few whispered words with Myrcella, confirming some information before looking back at him.
"Do you know Asha Greyjoy?"
"Yes, the daughter of the pirate leader Balon Greyjoy, who almost became Lady of the Iron Islands, and was one of the first... uh, one of the first female members of the Night's Watch."
The ironborn now called Asha the Night's Watch whore. Although the Arbor and the ironborn were mortal enemies, they had accepted and also used this nickname. Of course, Horas did not say this out loud.
Aegor snapped his fingers. "Correct. Do you know where she is now?"
"Uh... I don't know."
"She is currently in the Iron Islands, representing Daenerys in accepting the surrender of the islanders and the Iron Fleet." Aegor gave the answer directly. "After the surrender is completed, she will command the new Iron Fleet flying the red dragon banner, set sail south to Oldtown, and rendezvous with the Hightower fleet, which I have taken over and finished refitting with cannons, so they can sail together toward the Arbor."
"House Hightower has surrendered to the Queen, and as a guest, I absolutely guarantee their safety. But House Redwyne... if the Targaryen Westerlands fleet arrives outside the port of the Arbor after completing the rendezvous, and you still have not sworn allegiance to the Queen, then what you will have to worry about will no longer be whether I have trampled on guest right."
(To be continued.)
Working on a book that I feel is quite unique? It's not fanfiction, but it has elements of fanfiction. I've posted it and would appreciate it if you could check it out and see if it's something you'd like to follow.
Title: A Guide to Superhuman Extinction