What left Aegon somewhat speechless was that while he was racking his brain to scheme against Littlefinger behind his back, the latter sent someone the morning after he dropped the rumor paper to deliver one hundred golden dragons as "defense funding"... This contrast made him feel a bit like the villain himself.
Of course, he didn't feel any guilt because of this: even without mentioning Petyr Baelish's personal character and actions as a troublemaker, just looking at the matter itself, he took this money without any psychological burden. Although these one hundred golden dragons might have come directly from Littlefinger's private pocket, they would eventually be counted as treasury debt through his abuse of office, to be repaid by the current king, the next king, the king after that, and even the new king after a change of dynasty—unless that new ruler was powerful enough to conquer and secure the realm solely by strength, overcoming the double resistance of refusing to repay the Iron Bank's loans and the Lannister family's debts. Otherwise, these one hundred golden dragons would ultimately have to be borne by the bottom-level "taxpayers" of Westeros, especially the Crownlands.
The Night's Watch is fighting against a hundred thousand Wildlings and humanity's natural enemies north of the North, protecting all of humanity in Westeros, yet those being protected passively produced a mere one hundred golden dragons only under Eddard Stark's "care." How ironic!
...
One hundred golden dragons, delivered directly into the hands of the Night's Watch, would only be enough to sustain all members for about a month, and that's without calculating weapon consumption or paying death benefits. But in Aegon's hands, it was enough to make the newly established Night's Watch Office's funds much more ample, allowing it to gain a foothold extremely smoothly...
Furthermore, these one hundred golden dragons were not proceeds from selling bonds but a special allocation from the Hand of the King to the Night's Watch Office. Logically and legally, they belonged entirely to the Night's Watch. This was "public money," and in the Hand of the King's eyes, Aegon happened to be on "official duty"... Therefore, as the head of the Night's Watch Office, he could openly use this money without needing to hand it over to Tyrion for safekeeping as agreed, nor could he use it to repay personal debts.
With this first sum of money that he could use openly, Aegon finally got rid of the days when he only had a handful of silver stags in his pocket and felt a psychological burden even eating a decent meal.
...
He had actually basically mastered the common language and script of Westeros, but for a series of considerations—mainly fearing that the handwriting on the rumor paper would be recognized—he concealed this fact from everyone. Even in front of Tyrion, he deliberately pretended to be able to understand and speak but still have difficulty reading, especially writing.
Under these circumstances, in the Night's Watch Office and the entire fundraising plan, almost all places requiring writing, except for signatures, were written by Tyrion himself. He posted the Little Imp's handwritten notices for recruitment, conscription, and calling for donations at the door. After teaching Arya sword fighting for a while and telling "adventure stories," the customized sign finally arrived.
Several workers busied themselves and together installed the wooden plaque above the door. The Night's Watch Office finally had a facade and was fully equipped and ready to open. On the base painted a deep black, a row of large golden characters "Night's Watch Office" shone brightly in the sunlight—among the colorful signs on the whole street, which rarely used black due to customs, it stood out unexpectedly.
***
Aegon didn't know how effective the rumors he spread were, nor did he dare to deliberately ask or investigate. The mock conscription and material collection work had begun, and the first gamble—the first batch of sample paper from the paper-making siblings—hadn't been produced yet. Having no knowledge of this, he couldn't do it himself and could only await the results. The dragonglass mine on Dragonstone had started operations, and the father and son introduced by Tyrion should be reliable... Until he recruited someone who could manage the office for him, Aegon seemed to have no choice but to open the door on time every day like going to work, waiting for Tyrion to bring in bond buyers and likely non-existent spontaneous donors and volunteers, and waiting for the situation to ferment and change on its own.
Having been as busy as a ghost recently, suddenly becoming idle, Aegon began to be glad that he had agreed to Arya's request to learn swordsmanship. Otherwise, in this sudden vacuum period of having nothing to do, he really wouldn't have known what to do.
...
After two days of repeating the routine of opening the door, waiting for Arya to arrive, spending most of the day together, and then closing the door to return to the inn to sleep, Tyrion brought the first real bond buyer, Ser Lyk. This nobleman, born in the Crownlands, was clearly not interested in the specific details of the bonds and came here purely to give face to the Lannister family. After clarifying the interest he would receive, he readily bought the minimum amount of one hundred golden dragons and left with the bond.
The rate of return Tyrion offered this first customer was a full three times what the two of them had initially discussed, but for a fundraising plan that might have found a way out, it wasn't outrageous.
After seeing off the first buyer, Tyrion didn't leave: "The first batch of sample paper is out. Let Jack watch the shop... uh, the office for you. Want to go take a look now?"
"Out?" Hearing this, Aegon's spirits immediately lifted: "Let's go! Arya, you follow..."
"I'm not going back! Wherever you and the Little Imp are going, take me with you!"
"Hmm..." Aegon looked at Tyrion, and seeing that he didn't object, he shrugged and compromised: "Alright, let's go."
***
Arya, born into the ruling family of the North, was a cunning and clever girl. Noble in status and always energetic, she possessed a wildness and easy familiarity that ordinary girls simply didn't have. In just a few days, under Aegon's deliberate guidance, she had become inseparable from him, as close as if they had known each other for years, like sticky candy that couldn't be shaken off.
In the step of winning over Arya, Aegon actually didn't expend any effort: honestly, what this girl liked was neither Syrio Forel, the First Sword of the Sea Lord, nor himself, Aegon Westerling, the Night's Watch Quartermaster, but simply her "sword fighting coach" and "partner." To put it bluntly, given this girl's nature of not being picky about friends and accepting anyone who comes along, as long as someone practiced swordsmanship with her and chatted with her, anyone could become her friend—and he, merely by relying on his understanding of her and a belly full of adventure stories, greatly accelerated the speed at which their friendship was established.
Besides indulging and satisfying her requests, Aegon didn't forget to establish authority and incidentally please the girl's Father: he set rules for Arya—to come to learn swordsmanship, she must be dressed appropriately and behave politely. From the mouths of the Stark family guards, Aegon learned that Eddard was very satisfied with his youngest daughter's changes these past two days, and accordingly, he tacitly allowed Arya to run out every day.
***
Paper making was not some secret that couldn't be seen, especially since the Stark family members couldn't be someone's business spies. Even if Arya and her guards told Eddard what they saw and heard, it wouldn't harm his and Tyrion's interests. Without much hesitation, Aegon took the girl and the guards responsible for escorting her to and from "school" and set off with Tyrion.
The cheap house Tyrion had mentioned earlier was in the northwest corner of King's Landing. After riding around for several tens of minutes, they arrived at the first paper mill in King's Landing that did not use animal skins as raw material.
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