Aegon had to admit, Melisandre was a tempting woman. With red hair, red eyes, and a beautiful face, dressed in a vibrant red robe that ordinary dyes of this era simply couldn't achieve, she was simply stunning and beyond compare. Even if the current Queen, rumored to be the most beautiful woman in the Seven Kingdoms, were ten years younger and compared herself to Melisandre, she could at most only break even... If he didn't know her identity, he would definitely be very happy to get to know such a beauty, and even consider her one of his conquest targets.
But at this current stage, Aegon really couldn't think of how this 'goddess stick', whose age was unknown, whose cultivation was insufficient, who relied on flame reactions to help her pretend to be divine, who tricked Stannis into ruin and caused House Baratheon to be almost wiped out in infighting, could help his plan... Moreover, deep down, as a transmigrator, he also instinctively feared her – not just because she would burn people alive at the drop of a hat, but also because she possessed something called 'magic' that didn't exist in his world.
People always fear things they don't understand; this is self-preservation at the genetic level, and Aegon wasn't ashamed of it – a brave person isn't fearless, they just overcome fear. He did feel some awe and fear towards Melisandre and wasn't prepared to meet this important plot character, but since she had come knocking, he could only adapt to the situation.
...
Suppressing his inner tension, reason quickly began to work: although the woman in front of him was terrifying, she wasn't like the Mad King, who was unpredictable and inexplicably wanted to kill people. If an enemy's enemy is a friend, then Melisandre, who knew about the White Walkers and was devoted to serving the Lord of Light, should theoretically be a friend of the Night's Watch, a comrade in the same camp – although he desperately wanted to leave the Night's Watch, she didn't know that.
Instantly understanding this key point, Aegon relaxed, stood up from the table, and frankly sized up the newcomer. He even couldn't help but wonder if her exquisite beauty was natural or forged by magic.
Melisandre coming to find him was likely to inquire about the situation on The Wall and Beyond the Wall, to determine the extent of the White Walkers' threat to humanity, so she could formulate countermeasures. Should he tell the truth, or exaggerate a bit to see if he could trick some aid out of her?
Wait, things should be done step by step. Let's first consider how to greet her. 'It's a pleasure to finally meet you'? If he didn't know the plot, he shouldn't know Melisandre at this moment, so he could only be conservative and pretend not to know her. A simple 'Lady' would suffice.
"Good evening, Lady."
"Good evening." Melisandre showed a soft and seductive smile: "The representative of the Kingdom's Shield has come to Dragonstone as a guest. You should be properly entertained, but unfortunately, supplies on the island are truly scarce. Please forgive any neglect."
"You are too kind. I came on official business, not for enjoyment."
Melisandre smiled and nodded, slowly walking closer to the four people at the table.
Because of the hot weather, everyone had basically rolled up their sleeves and bared their arms. At this moment, the exposed skin clearly felt a warm current that was definitely not an illusion – this made Aegon's heart tighten. Unless this priestess of the Lord of Light had a constant high fever of fifty or sixty degrees Celsius, it was impossible for her to walk around carrying such astonishing hot air. What kind of magic or trick was this, or was the 'god' she worshipped truly protecting her with this heat?
Strongly suppressing the shock and suspicion in his heart, the Night's Watchman waited for the 'goddess stick's' next question or test, and prepared himself mentally and physically for various responses, but the turn of events suddenly went beyond everyone's expectations.
...
"Huh?" The Red Priestess, who was close to Aegon, suddenly showed a shocked expression on her face. Under the gaze of the few people in the room, who were either greedy or awestruck, she recoiled as if pricked by a needle by the Night's Watchman, and at the same time cried out loudly: "Guards! Come in, seize this heretic!"
***
Two fully armed Dragonstone guards quickly burst into the room, their sharp spears pointed directly at the bewildered Night's Watchman.
What's going on?
This was the second time Aegon had been arrested since transmigrating. The previous time, unarmed, facing farmers with pitchforks and chopping knives, knowing he was in the wrong and unable to resist, he chose to surrender obediently, and was thus captured and sent to The Wall to become a Night's Watchman. But this time, what happened?
There was no time to think. A year of being a Ranger made his body react instinctively. He reached for his waist but didn't feel the hilt of a sword. Only then did he remember that the steel sword uniformly issued by the Night's Watch had been turned in to the armory the day he left Castle Black, and there was no need to carry weapons after arriving in King's Landing...
"Don't move your hands!" A soldier thrust his spear forward, looking fierce.
Aegon realized that this was Dragonstone, these were Soldier personally trained by Stannis, and this Baratheon, as a seasoned warrior and Commander, had Soldier whose combat skills were definitely no lower than his own... If it were one-on-one, it would be fine, but against two, with a mysterious witch nearby, even with a weapon, he couldn't resist.
The air seemed to freeze. The Old Mine Foreman and his son were scared sober and stood rooted to the spot; the owner of the house stood foolishly in the center of the room, holding a chair he had intended to bring for the Red Priestess to sit on; the boy sent by the Lord to guide Aegon had no idea what was happening at all – he was also a Dragonstone native, naturally loyal to the Lord of Dragonstone, but a second ago he was eating the meal Aegon paid for. If the Night's Watchman resisted, whose side should he help?
...
"I surrender, but please let me pay for the meal first." Aegon froze in place for a few seconds, his right hand, which had moved towards his waist, shifted, untied his money bag, and threw it to the Old Mine Foreman: "Go back to the ship and tell the captain I have something to do and need to go to the castle. Tell him to wait for me until tomorrow noon."
...
Aegon couldn't get into the Dragonstone castle when he visited in the morning, but now he was escorted in by fully armed Dragonstone guards. His willing surrender eased Melisandre's tension. When the Night's Watchman was securely tied to a pillar in her room within the castle, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Standing several meters away, Melisandre spoke in a calm tone: "Who sent you?"
Aegon stared at Melisandre, his expression firm and serious, but his mind was still a mess: he had fooled the Stark family, framed the current Crown Prince, and even deceived Tyrion Lannister, trying to persuade him to support his Ponzi scheme... From some perspectives, he was simply audacious and deserved death, but he had absolutely not provoked or harmed Stannis Baratheon's interests, let alone offended the Lord of Light. As for 'heretic', wasn't Westeros full of heretics to the red god? Stannis wasn't King yet, who gave the Red Priestess the courage to persecute heretics? Did Liang Jingru also exist in the Ice and Fire World?
"Night's Watch Commander, Jeor Mormont." Of course, Aegon wouldn't say that Tyrion paid to redeem him, but even if he told the truth, it shouldn't offend this follower of the Lord of Light in front of him at all – did Melisandre know the Night's Watch's situation thoroughly, and was she angry about his act of fearing the White Walkers and deserting?
"Is that so? What were you sent here to do?"
Aegon then honestly recounted the four tasks, and then, suppressing his humiliation and anger, said: "Lady Melisandre, there must be some misunderstanding here. I have absolutely never met you before..."
"We have indeed met for the first time, but I sense a powerful ancient foreign god's aura on you. Who exactly are you?"
Ancient foreign god? Aegon swore he really didn't know what that was. Was it the aura of ice magic he had picked up when fighting the White Walkers, or was it his identity as not being a native of this world that the 'goddess stick' in front of him had detected something abnormal?
He decided to play dumb: "Lady, I really don't understand what you are saying."
"Perhaps you truly don't know, but I have my ways of getting the information I want." Melisandre showed an ambiguous, meaningful smile and said to a guard beside her: "Go and bring a brazier."
A brazier? Was she going to torture him?
Aegon was a mix of shock and anger. He had always been a person who planned ahead. He had imagined how to save himself and justify himself after his lies were exposed and he was arrested by the Stark family, caught by Robert, or even fell into Cersei's hands. He had even prepared several sets of lines in his mind. The only thing he hadn't anticipated was encountering an accident this time when he came to Dragonstone to explore the dragonglass mine – heaven knows, he really didn't know what he should confess to Melisandre. This inexplicable turn of events was beyond the understanding of his little cleverness. Could it be that he could only reveal his identity as a transmigrator when a burning hot iron sizzled against his skin? Would Melisandre believe him?
The brazier was quickly brought and placed about a meter in front of Aegon. It didn't contain red-hot irons as he had expected. Instead, the Red Priestess took out a small knife from somewhere and handed it to the guard: "Go, get some of this Night's Watchman's blood. Just a few drops, not too much. I want him alive."
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