GOT/ASOIAF: Ruler Beyond The Ice

Chapter 650 - 652: So-called Destiny (Part 1)

The two Lannisters, one big and one small, met each other's eyes. After two or three seconds, both realized they could not acknowledge each other in public, so they pretended that nothing had happened. One looked around, surveying the courtyard, while the other ran to Aegor and began reporting the newly rearranged schedule. They walked into the house as they spoke. Only after Aegor dismissed everyone and left them alone did Tyrion seize Myrcella's hand, his voice trembling uncontrollably. "By the Seven Gods, how are you here?"

Myrcella, whose hand was being held by her little uncle, whom she had always been close to but had not seen for years, felt the strength and warmth of his palm. Sensing his overflowing shock and concern, she was both excited and uneasy. She timidly glanced at Aegor, and seeing him smiling with no unusual expression on his face, she relaxed. After sniffing, she slowly began to speak, simply but clearly recounting the entire course of her story, from the upheaval in King's Landing where she personally experienced the "war between father and uncle," to being controlled and placed under soft house arrest by the then Hand Eddard Stark, then passed through several hands before being sent to Winterfell, changing her name and becoming the Stark family's adopted daughter "Maeve Snow," then, through "a twist of fate," getting to know Aegor, and finally riding south with the Night's Watch expedition back to King's Landing.

Among the three famous "Lannister bastards," the whereabouts of the two boys, Joffrey and Tommen, had been announced throughout the Seven Kingdoms. They had donned black and forever lost their claim to the throne. Only the little princess Myrcella had completely disappeared from everyone's sight after leaving the Red Keep, as if she had vanished into thin air, with no news of whether she was alive or dead. Although Tyrion knew in his heart that this was most likely the result of Eddard hiding her identity to protect her, as a Lannister, the thought of his niece and grandniece having to rely on the goodwill of an opposing house for protection was truly bitter.

Although Cersei was not a good sister, her daughter Myrcella had always been Tyrion's favorite family member since childhood, without question. Among all the Lannister descendants in the world, this girl was the one who gave him the strongest sense of "family." It would not be an exaggeration to say that they were as close as father and daughter. Although she skipped over the unpleasant parts of her wandering life and the cold treatment she had endured, so as not to make her uncle blame himself or worry, how could Tyrion, who had also suffered hardships, fail to imagine the heartache and misery of a girl in her early teens living alone under another family's roof for several years without a single relative by her side?

The Lannister family had once been so prosperous, powerful, and influential, yet it had once fallen so low that it could not even protect the personal freedom of its younger generation. Thinking of this, Tyrion felt as if a great hand were squeezing his heart, and his eyes suddenly stung. It took all his effort to hold back his tears. Even with his usual eloquence, he stumbled over his words for a moment and became incoherent. "Good... good that you're all right. Gods... look at you, it feels like I only blinked and you're already taller than me. That's good, that's excellent!"

"When she came to the Gift to see her brother, I hosted her, and I got some interesting suggestions from this girl, so I owed her a favor. Later, when Daenerys and I were temporarily resting in Winterfell on the way south, Myrcella came to find me and said that she was unhappy living with the Stark family and hoped I could take her away from the North. She has stayed by my side all this time, doing some clerical and assistant work," Aegor said with a smile as he watched the touching reunion between uncle and niece, explaining from the side. "But she is a girl after all, and her identity is sensitive, so it is ultimately not appropriate for her to remain by my side forever. I thought... since you are her uncle, and you have always been more reliable than her parents, you should be a qualified guardian. It could not be more fitting for you to arrange her future and her path."

---

Arranging for Myrcella and Tyrion to meet was not an impulsive decision born of Aegor's carelessness or whim. The former was his assistant and secretary, and the latter was the Master of Coin of House Targaryen and also his old friend and capable helper. It would have been impossible to keep the two from ever meeting when they were constantly so near each other. Rather than being overly cautious and defensive, it was better to find a suitable opportunity and openly arrange a reunion under controlled circumstances, which would be better for everyone.

He had been waiting for the right moment, but who could have guessed that it would suddenly fall right into his lap.

Aegor had indeed taken Myrcella away from Winterfell, but the reason was not the kindness he had just mentioned. It was because she had accidentally discovered him getting up and moving about while he was supposed to be gravely ill, forcing him to decisively detain her and keep her by his side.

At the time, that accident had truly frightened both of them badly, but nearly a hundred days had passed, and their unease and fear had gradually faded by seventy or eighty percent with time. After spending these days together, Myrcella was able to experience even more deeply Aegor's personal charm and the vigorous vitality radiating from the reformist faction he represented. Aegor, too, was able to move beyond the distant and superficial perspectives of a reader, an audience, and an "uncle's acquaintance," and understand this little princess's intelligence, courage, and composure in greater depth and detail.

Illyrio and the combined force of Aegon and Jon Connington were the only two groups in the world who might dig deeply into Varys's murder and seek revenge. Of those two, the former had publicly died at River Gate half a day ago, while Aegor himself was about to lead troops to wipe out the latter. At this moment, Aegor no longer worried that Myrcella would expose what she had heard and seen.

Aside from his emotional impression that she was reliable, trustworthy, and capable of keeping her mouth shut, he also believed that she possessed the rational judgment to understand that "revealing this matter would do no good to herself or the Lannister family." Myrcella would not do something foolish that harmed others while benefiting no one simply because she was nervous or panicked. Even if one day she truly chose to reveal everything to Tyrion, it would have to be because something unforeseen had happened, causing a rift between him and Tyrion so deep that the Lannister family, led by the latter, had resolved to deal with him by any means necessary.

If matters truly reached the point where Myrcella had to come forward as a witness and accuse him of murdering Daenerys's subordinate, then without revealing her identity, her testimony would be ineffective. If she did reveal her identity, she would first be the descendant of the Kingslayer, the man who killed Daenerys's father, and only then a witness. That was nearly a mutually destructive method, harming the enemy a thousand while costing oneself eight hundred.

Not to mention that, by his principles, if conflict and opposition ever truly reached that point, he would never allow his opponent to gain the upper hand.

When his status and power had still been unequal to others, he had already dared to strike first and draw his sword. Now that he stood second only to one man and above ten thousand others, would he instead fear trouble?

---

"Hmm..." Tyrion naturally could not guess what thrilling story had taken place between his friend and his grandniece. Hearing that Aegor intended to hand her over to him, he thought it perfectly natural, so he nodded and looked back at Myrcella. "Good girl, I am not some old-fashioned or pedantic man. I will let you decide this matter for yourself. Where do you want to go, and how do you want to live? Just tell your uncle, and as long as I can do it, I will satisfy you at any cost!"

The question came too suddenly, and she, wholly unprepared, was stunned. After standing there in a daze for a moment, she turned her head, eyes glistening with tears, and looked at Aegor. "My lord, is it because my work has not met your expectations and standards, so you want to send me away?"

Aegor put away his smile and solemnly shook his head at her. "No. You are a smart and clever girl. You are very capable as an administrative assistant, personal secretary, and even a junior advisor. I even doubt whether I will be able to find another assistant as qualified as you after you leave. But this should not be your destiny. I cannot decide your future out of my own selfishness. Later, you will simply hand over your work, eat dinner, and then leave with your uncle tonight."

He answered decisively, leaving no room for negotiation, because if he had raised the matter by asking for her opinion, then given this girl's caution, she would only have thought it another test or trial, and would probably have grown frightened and aggrieved. And if, out of nervousness, she had refused to leave and insisted on remaining by his side, it would have made Tyrion suspect that he was keeping Myrcella hostage. That would have completely gone against his original purpose in bringing Tyrion here today.

What he hoped was that Tyrion, out of gratitude, would devote all his energy and effort to containing the crisis on the eastern front for him, rather than feeling that he was being forced to do Aegor's dirty work.

The truth was that Aegor had already fully trusted Myrcella's reliability, but he simply could not get past one thing in his own heart. Timid and suspicious, and wanting to balance the power and influence of the military faction and the old noble faction, he simply could not tolerate the feeling that his entire schedule was known in full by a young Lannister girl, and was even gradually beginning to be directly arranged by her.

Having received a clear answer, Myrcella sensed Aegor's good intentions and determination. Realizing that he genuinely wanted her to leave with Tyrion, she thoughtfully turned her head back and stared blankly into the air for a moment. When she looked up at Tyrion again, her gaze had become firm and clear once more.

(To be continued.)

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