Chapter 132: The Trouble Caused by Lipstick
"Being beautiful is not entirely a good thing for a common girl," Tyrion had remarked just over an hour ago. Could his tongue be cursed? Otherwise, how could his words have come true so quickly? Was the little man simply a crow's mouth bringing bad luck, or had he already heard rumors of this and intentionally warned Egger during their conversation?
The trope of forcibly seizing a commoner's daughter isn't just a story fabricated in plays to portray a villain. Men with status and power using force or coercion to obtain mating rights with the opposite sex has existed since ancient times. It's just that as legal systems have improved, the forms have become more hidden, and the methods have gradually shifted from violent to more refined.
But why emphasize commoner's daughter? Simple—because people only dare to snatch the daughters of commoners.
This touches upon a concept of feudal lord society: the Chain of Protection. Liege lords and vassals have a mutual obligation to protect one another. During the vast majority of times when there is no war, protection flows from the top down. This relationship is passed through layers, extending downward until it covers even the lowest-ranking nobility.
Take the King, the supreme ruler of the Seven Kingdoms, as an example. If Robert took a fancy to the daughter of a knight serving a certain lord in the Westerlands and forced himself upon her while drunk, what would happen?
That knight would seek out his liege to complain; the lord would find the Warden of the West; and the Warden of the West—Lord Tywin Lannister, famed for his iron fist—would confront Robert and demand an accounting for the matter.
...
It wouldn't matter if the knight was favored, if the lord was wealthy and powerful, or if the current Lord of Casterly Rock was particularly stubborn. As long as the victim held noble status, the nature of the event would escalate from Robert slept with a certain girl to The King infringed upon a member of the nobility.
As long as the parents or guardians intended to pursue the matter, and as long as the King wasn't so senile as to want to emulate the Mad King, he would have to take responsibility. Aside from the stain on his reputation, he would be liable for the consequences. If he already had marriage arrangements and couldn't marry the victim, he would have to provide a dowry when the defiled girl eventually wed. If a bastard was produced, the King would have to acknowledge the child's status and arrange for someone to raise and educate them, ensuring they lived more decently than a commoner, at the very least.
Such are the rules of the Great Game among the nobility, and Robert had already learned this lesson once. At the wedding of his brother, Stannis Baratheon, and Selyse Florent, he had bedded the bridesmaid, Delena Florent. This not only infuriated the Lord of Dragonstone but also resulted in the birth of Edric Storm—the only bastard Robert was ever forced to publicly acknowledge.
It is precisely because of this Chain of Protection system that even a ruler as lecherous as Robert rarely dared to touch the daughter of even the lowest-ranking noble house.
In theory, commoners are also shielded by this system, but with one key difference: in the game of nobles, the commoner's status is not that of a person, but rather the property of their lord. Infringing upon a noble's property is far less severe than infringing upon the noble themselves. Generally, as long as compensation is paid, no one pursues the matter further.
If the King is bound by this, what about a man like Janos Slynt, who does not yet possess noble status? Although he is the Commander of the City Watch in King's Landing—a man of significant power—so long as he does not hold a title, he cannot touch any girl of status.
Aside from prostitutes, girls without status are rarely exceptionally beautiful. When he chanced upon one, he naturally didn't want to let her go.
Egger had managed to keep his own member in check with great difficulty, but he had forgotten that he wasn't the only man in the world!
The Chief Logistics Officer was used to dealing with Great Lords and wasn't intimidated by the middle-aged man before him. However, as the saying goes, "a distant official is not as effective as a local supervisor." As a partial businessman whose industries were almost entirely within or around King's Landing, Egger was naturally at a disadvantage when facing the local head of the Gold Cloaks. It was truly difficult to act tough.
If one can avoid making enemies, it is always better to do so. Despite having no fondness for the man, Egger's mind raced, and a practiced smile quickly appeared on his face. "Many thanks for your concern, Lord Slynt, but the Night's Watch office has indeed been quite busy lately. This is no mere excuse... When things settle in a couple of days, I shall personally host a dinner for the Commander to make amends!"
"No need. I don't care if your little hovel is busy or not. I'm a grown man; I've no desire to dine with a black-clad crow. Just tell me—will you give that girl of yours a day off?" As he spoke, Slynt looked past Egger with a smug grin. "Miss Nina, now that your boss is here, can you ask for leave?"
Around them, other residents of the manor came out at the sound of the commotion: Kon, Neil... and Nina herself. Having been sought out at home, the person involved could hardly hide. She gritted her teeth and walked to Egger's side, instinctively hiding half her body behind the man, refusing to look at Slynt.
"My Lord?" the girl asked in a low voice, barely suppressing her panic.
She seemed to be asking if Egger would grant her leave, but she was actually testing his attitude.
Since their first meeting in the papermaking workshop, Nina had felt that this Chief Logistics Officer of the Night's Watch was not only handsome but also very capable and powerful. But thinking back, that was just a vague, positive impression. As for exactly how capable Egger was, or whether he could protect her in a situation like this, she didn't actually know.
If Egger said, "I permit you to accompany Lord Slynt for dinner," it would mean the Night's Watch industries currently couldn't afford to offend the Commander of the City Watch. She would have to endure humiliation and disgust to dine with that greasy old man, and then, while trying not to offend him, find a way to avoid being devoured. If he used force, she would ultimately be unable to escape the tiger's den.
But if Egger gave any other answer, it would mean there was still a chance...
Only at a moment like this did she realize how powerless and small she was as a commoner. Neither the interpersonal skills taught to her by her master, Tyrion, nor her own cleverness were of any use here. Her fate rested entirely on a single word between men.
...
Egger was very displeased. In terms of influence and power within King's Landing, he certainly couldn't match the head of the Gold Cloaks. However, there were plenty of powerful people in this city; Slynt was the first he'd met who spoke and acted with such arrogant madness. When a person from a lowly background climbs to a high position, once their nouveau riche mentality takes over, they become incredibly energetic in bullying the weak while fearing the strong.
Villains are troublesome, and he had tried his best to avoid contact with them. But now that they had come to his door—Egger, who also had extensive connections and a god-tier teammate like Tyrion—was not afraid of trouble.
"Nina, you've worked hard lately. Now that Lord Slynt has invited you, if you agree, I'll grant you a day of rest tomorrow." Egger half-turned toward the girl. Using the last faint light of the summer evening, he quietly winked his right eye at her.
Hopefully, she understood his meaning.
"My apologies... Lord Slynt, but the office simply cannot do without me lately," Nina said, her heart settling slightly after receiving Egger's signal. She gathered her courage. "I'm afraid I must decline your kindness."
Slynt hadn't expected such a direct rejection—one so blunt they didn't even bother changing the excuse. Sensing this might be Egger's doing, he glanced at him, his face darkening. "Are you certain?"
"You're supposed to be a Great Lord, yet you have no sense of reason at all!" Nina's brother, Neil, spoke up bluntly. "My sister has said she's unwilling several times now. You're a man with a wife and children; why are you hounding her?"
"Neil, do not be rude." Several times? Fortunately, he had returned in time. Egger feigned a reprimand and then looked at the Commander of the City Watch with a helpless expression. "Lord Slynt, you see, since Nina is unwilling, even as her superior, I cannot force her to dine with you."
The air went silent. Kon stood beside Neil with his usual deadpan expression, silent and still. The two Gold Cloaks behind Slynt looked back and forth between Egger and their boss in surprise—they had never encountered this situation before and didn't know what should happen next.
This was King's Landing, after all, and in a high-end residential area; they couldn't exactly resort to violence right here.
"Fair enough. In that case, we'll speak of it another time." To Egger's surprise, the Commander didn't fly into a rage or storm off with a parting threat. Instead, as if suddenly changing his nature, he used a polite platitude: "Forgive the intrusion. Let's go."
...
Janos Slynt turned and walked toward the gate, the other two Gold Cloaks scurrying to follow. Within seconds, the three uninvited guests crossed the threshold and vanished from sight.
...
When an opponent suddenly starts playing by the book, Egger actually felt less at ease. From Neil's words, this wasn't the first time Slynt had come looking for his sister. He had just clashed with a figure who could bring him trouble without fully understanding the history of the situation; this could easily cause things to spiral out of control. "Nina, when did this fellow start pestering you? And does Tyrion know about this?"
"It only started a couple of days ago. We've been so busy I haven't had a chance to tell Lord Tyrion," Nina replied anxiously. "It was the day I first tried wearing lipstick. I ran into him while leaving the office for lunch. Lord Slynt stopped me then, complimented the color on my lips, and asked what it was... I saw that he was about the same age as my father and was the Commander of the City Watch, so I didn't dare ignore him. I answered him politely, but then, somehow, he suddenly suggested taking me to dinner. I felt something was wrong then and made an excuse to decline, but he wouldn't give up. He sought me out again after work the day before yesterday. Including today, this is the third time."
Why would Slynt be hanging around the Night's Watch office? Oh, right—the headquarters of the City Watch is right across from us... He had thought that was a convenience; who would have thought that such proximity would eventually lead to this?
As he frowned in thought, Neil crossly criticized his sister. "I told you before, don't dress yourself up so alluringly. You wouldn't listen, and now look—you've brought trouble to the Master."
Nina looked devastated. "I just wanted to test the effect of the samples the applicant sent over. I didn't think... I didn't think it would draw him in first!"
"Enough. This isn't Nina's fault." Egger felt a headache coming on. This matter clearly wasn't over. As the Commander of the City Watch, it would be all too easy for Slynt to make trouble for him. Now, he could only "meet the troops with generals and the flood with earth." "Neil, you just said he has a wife and children. How can he be so brazen in chasing other women?"
"It's like this, My Lord... Janos Slynt is the son of a butcher. He was just a common soldier in the City Watch when he married, so his wife is also a common woman of no background. Who would have guessed his career would go so smoothly that he'd climb all the way to Commander?" Neil explained. "His wife's family has no money or power; they have no way to control him now that he's the top figure in the Gold Cloaks. This old lecher has always done as he pleases in King's Landing. He doesn't provoke the Great Lords, and we commoners are completely powerless against him—he will definitely come back to cause trouble."
...
Casey returned to the manor in high spirits, carrying the purchased dinner, only to find everyone standing in the courtyard as if waiting for him. He paused, startled. "My Lord, what are you all doing?"
"Nothing. Close the gate and come in." Truly, one trouble after another. Egger couldn't help but miss the leisurely life in the coalition camp, where he had nothing to worry about except recruiting clients. But peaceful days cannot last forever. Having been away for two months, it was impossible for nothing to have gone wrong. Compared to the rapid development of the Night's Watch industries, offending a City Watch Commander wasn't an insurmountable problem.
Since he was back and now knew of the situation, he, as the big boss, had to shoulder the responsibility of the head of the household. "Don't think or worry about this anymore. I'll discuss it with Tyrion another day and see if we can settle him. Until then, none of you... especially Nina... go out alone. Take someone with you wherever you go. Alright, stop standing around. Inside, eat, and then get some rest!"
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