Chapter 178: The Fate of a Loser
The first witness to appear was a young man Egger did not recognize. He was neatly dressed and well-groomed, striding into the center of the court with his head held high. Instead of heading straight for the witness stand, he stopped before the dais where the judge sat and offered Renly a bow. After the judge nodded back, the man turned, produced a slip of paper, and spoke in a loud voice: "Before the trial begins, by order of the King, I hereby announce an edict of pardon!"
An edict of pardon! Slynt straightened up. For a fleeting moment, he thought the King had remembered their old ties and intended to pull him out of the fire. But the hope was extinguished as quickly as it had been kindled—the subject of the pardon was not the man on trial today. The document contained much, but the gist was this: In the name of the King and the Hand, a full pardon was granted to all officers of the City Watch who had previously bribed Slynt to retain their positions or secure promotions. Regardless of the final outcome of this case, only Janos Slynt would be held accountable; there would be no wider purge. So long as they remained law-abiding and served the King with dedication to protect the safety of King's Landing, their pasts were forgiven.
As the edict concluded and the onlookers erupted into murmurs of relief, Slynt collapsed completely against the defendant's dock. Having spent years navigating the periphery of the high power circles, he understood exactly what this pardon meant. The King had abandoned him. This trial was over before it had truly begun. He was finished; all that remained for the trial and Renly's final verdict to determine was the degree of his downfall.
Now, his only hope was to keep his life and live out his remaining years in obscurity with the small fortune he had hidden outside King's Landing.
In the gallery, Egger's eyes lit up with approval. A brilliant move. In these turbulent times where chaos loomed, this pardon could rapidly stabilize the situation in King's Landing and soothe the people's hearts. It achieved a measure of justice by giving the common folk an explanation, while prioritizing the big picture to avoid total institutional collapse. It was a textbook display of excellence. As long as Littlefinger was kept away from stirring the pot and Eddard was given the freedom to operate, the political acumen of this Northman was truly not to be underestimated.
He only wondered... what was that other great pot-stirrer, Varys, plotting at this very moment?
Having read the King's pardon, the first witness finally stepped onto the stand and produced another document-like item. Shifting roles, he began to testify.
Seconds later, Egger realized what it was: the official results of the judicial department's investigation into Janos Slynt.
The former Commander of the City Watch was a thoroughly practical man. From the numerous residences he maintained for himself, his family, and his mistresses throughout King's Landing, search parties had unearthed staggering amounts of money.
Indeed, there were no jewels, gold or silver plate, or fine art. In chests, under beds, in cellars... there was nothing but coin. Stacked high and separated by Gold Dragons, Silver Stags, and currency type, the money formed a dreamlike, impenetrable wall of metal. When the Gold Cloaks sent to move the illicit gains stepped inside, they almost suspected they had entered the royal treasury. In truth, because of the Crown's massive debts, taxes for King's Landing and the Crownlands usually only passed through the treasury long enough to be sent to creditors; even the Crown's vaults did not always hold this much liquid cash year-round.
When the final tally was completed, converting the Silver Stags into Gold Dragons, the total came to approximately 12,600 Gold Dragons. Combined with real estate and a small number of other assets, Janos Slynt's uncovered wealth exceeded 15,000 Gold Dragons.
The figure caused everyone in the gallery to gasp. Excluding fixed assets like land and castles, an ordinary lord would struggle to produce such a sum of cash. Compared to this, the subsequent revelation of three mistresses and two bastards was a mere trifle.
The young man who had appeared first wasn't really a witness at all, but an otherworldly version of a public prosecutor. Since Westeros lacked such a concept or title, Renly simply called him the first witness.
One could never truly know how terrifying a man without a bottom line could be at hoarding wealth until his house was searched.
Egger couldn't help but feel a sense of awe mixed with lingering fear. One had to remember that the Night's Watch industries had grown for months just to reach a point where assets exceeded debt. Even today, if the net assets belonging purely to the Watch were calculated after removing the investors' shares, the total likely wouldn't exceed 1,000 Gold Dragons. Slynt had over ten times that amount in cash yet had no idea how to use it; he had been forcefully toppled by the collective interest group and funds Tyrion had built through the Night's Watch industries!
If Slynt had known how to use that money to grease the right palms and find allies, even with Tyrion's Lannister name, the outcome of this struggle would have been far from certain.
The prosecutor finished reading the results, bowed to Renly, and stepped down.
Janos Slynt's face was the color of ash. He knew exactly how much money was in his homes; in the face of hard evidence of gold and silver, he had nothing to say.
The second witness was an officer from the East Barracks of the City Watch: Allar Deem, once Slynt's most loyal henchman. Before Renly and the onlookers, he used his status as a participant to provide an exclusive exposé on the procedures and rules of Janos Slynt's sale of offices and embezzlement of military pay. Simultaneously, he confessed to the former commander's use of hired assassins to kill a guard who intended to testify against him, as well as the unauthorized use of military crossbows and soldiers on the eve of the Red Keep's internal strife in an attempt to silence the Night's Watch Chief Logistics Officer, Egger West. He even produced physical evidence.
The betrayal of his own man finally drew a reaction from the deathly still Slynt. He suddenly realized: his enemies did not intend to let him go; they had pursued him all the way to the court. Before Allar could finish, Slynt began to curse ferociously, decrying the betrayal and shouting that Allar had a part in it too. He attempted to retaliate by dragging his subordinates down with him, but it was clear: Allar was determined to hand over this letter of intent to the powers that had toppled his old boss, and he was quite content to enjoy the protection of the pardon. After Renly ordered the guards to silence Slynt, the third witness took the stand.
It was a merchant Egger found somewhat familiar, accusing Slynt of charging protection fees and disrupting business if they weren't paid. Slynt's explanation was that the merchants had paid voluntarily... a pathetic defense that drew a wave of jeers.
The fourth... finally, it was Nina's turn. Egger watched with great interest as his clever subordinate stepped onto the stand. With tear-filled eyes and a face full of terror, she recounted how Slynt had once tried to force her to return home with him, and how he had signaled his men to use force when she refused.
"If Lord Egger had not happened to return from the Vale at that moment and stopped it, I... I don't know what would have happened..." Tears welled in the girl's bright eyes. Even as she spoke her testimony in court, she was too timid to look Slynt in the eye. Egger had never realized that this girl, who blushed just looking at him, was such a talented actress. If he hadn't known the testimony was an exaggeration, he might have felt the same impulse as most of the men in the Throne Room to rush forward and pull Nina into a protective embrace.
Egger remembered clearly what happened the day he returned to King's Landing. He had simply taken a firm stance to protect Nina once. How had it become a story of him arriving just in time to display divine might and stop Slynt from kidnapping a maiden?
(This testimony, laden with exaggeration and subjective bias, is clearly intended to bury Slynt. Was this Nina's own idea, or instructions left by Tyrion before he fled?)
"Lies! I never intended to use force; I was inviting her politely! It was you, you brat, who was ungrateful for the honor!"
Kidnapping a maiden and then calling her a brat—even if the hall wasn't full, the Throne Room reached a small boiling point.
"Silence!" Renly slapped the arm of his chair and roared from the judge's seat. "Janos Slynt, you are not permitted to speak without leave. If you continue, I shall have you gagged! Witness, in the name of the Master of Laws and the Lord of Storm's End, I guarantee your safety. Continue!"
"Under Lord Egger's protection, his improper designs on me failed, so he thought of another plan." Nina looked as though she were terrified by Slynt, glancing gratefully at Renly as tears rolled down her pale, tender cheeks. Shaking, she said, "He seized my brother... Neil. He sent word to me saying—if I didn't go to him that night of my own accord... after washing myself... he would hang my brother. What happened next... Lord Renly, you know."
"Lies! When did I ever say I'd hang your brother—"
"Slynt!" Renly was livid, cutting the prisoner off with a sharp shout. He did indeed know what happened next. If he remembered correctly, Loras had come to him, and it was through his own hand that this girl's brother had been released. At the time, he thought someone from House Tyrell had simply broken a law; he hadn't expected this to be the truth of it. As the Master of Laws, someone had dared to be so audacious under his very nose without him knowing for a long time. He felt he had lost face, and his anger grew. "Enough. The witness may step down to rest. Who is next?"
This was the fate of a loser.
Like a group of fully armed elite rangers encountering a common wildling, this trial was a one-sided slaughter—there were no turnarounds, no highlights, and nothing spectacular about it. One witness after another took the stand, exposing and accusing Slynt of appalling arrogance and mad methods. Though Tyrion had fled, his pre-arranged plans and the web he had woven continued to function perfectly. Among these witnesses, how many were arranged by the Night's Watch industries and its allies? How many had exaggerated Slynt's crimes under the direction of Tyrion and the Crownlands lords who had invested in the industries?
Egger didn't dare judge blindly, but it was certainly more than just Nina. He was most curious: did the allies of the industries want him dead, or were they simply trying to vent their anger for him being wounded in the assassination attempt?
Capital was indeed a fierce beast, and Slynt, this poor fool who didn't understand the nature of power, had unfortunately become the first victim devoured by it.
The trial continued, but the outcome was no longer in doubt. Slynt tried to defend himself at first, but soon realized... every accusation brought against him had witnesses and evidence. Every deed was indeed something he had done, only without exception, they were exaggerated by thirty percent. By the end, he was huddled in the dock like a dead man, looking like a soul resigned to fate.
(There's nothing left for me here,) Egger thought, looking at his enemy's pathetic state. He hadn't bathed in days and felt wretchedly uncomfortable. He decided: once all the witnesses for the Night's Watch industries had finished, he would leave early and go home to rest.
But just as the thought crossed his mind, Slynt suddenly looked up from the dock, interrupting the testimony of a River Gate officer: "Lord Renly... enough. Enough. Tell him to stop, and don't call the next witness. I confess... I confess!"
"Oh?" As the King's brother, Renly—who spent most of his time cultivating noble ties and political allies—was perhaps one of the most hands-off Masters of Laws in the history of the Seven Kingdoms. He was enjoying his rare turn as a judge, but he hadn't expected the defendant to break so quickly. Despite a slight disappointment, he was happy to save the effort, so he looked down with interest at Slynt. "There are still witnesses for several crimes who haven't appeared. Do you intend to confess to all of them?"
"I confess, to all of them. I was momentarily muddled to commit so many crimes..." Slynt understood that if this trial continued, he would certainly die. He knew he couldn't just wait for the end; he thought of his old acquaintance, Alliser Thorne. "I... request to take the black and serve the realm to wash away my sins! I beg Lord Renly to allow it!"
As long as he lived, there was hope. With his rank and status, he would automatically be an officer at the Wall. Many Crownlands lords and City Watch officers had been forced to take the black after the Usurper's War; he knew far more than just Alliser Thorne. Once at the Wall, with his methods and talent, he could start fresh, making friends and building a following. In three or five years, he would be the Commander of the Night's Watch, and then he would collect on every debt!
"Hmm, since you were in the cells, you likely didn't see the wight Ser Alliser brought," Renly said, his lips curling into a smirk. He remembered that ghostly thing Eddard Stark had gathered him and the other high officials to see; he had suffered two days of nightmares before shaking the shadow. If there were truly thousands of those things beyond the Wall, guarding the Wall might not be much better than death. "The Wall is short on men. If you have made up your mind, I have no reason to refuse."
"Wait!" Just as everyone thought the trial was about to end early with Slynt taking the black, a voice rang out from the gallery. A man in black stood up. "I have something to say!"
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