Chapter 740

The sheer number hit Daenerys like a hammer.

For a moment, she completely forgot about the collateral damage suffered by the people of Braavos. She simply sat upright, her violet eyes wide with shock.

Then, catching herself, she relaxed slightly, leaning back into her chair. After a pause—one that betrayed a rare moment of hesitation—she asked a question that a queen probably shouldn’t have asked.

“…Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

Aegor fought back a smirk.

It was the right question—and the one he had been waiting for.
----


At first glance, his response had sounded reassuring.

"I ordered every possible measure to avoid civilian casualties."

But he had not said "every measure".

That was the first trick.

Because when one side of a war chooses to fight in a populated area, civilian casualties become inevitable.

His so-called "every possible measure" really meant—

Everything except outright banning pillaging.

That was the first deception.

The second?

"I have already had all the culprits arrested and put on trial for war crimes."

It sounded decisive, just, and final—as if the entire problem had been cleanly resolved.

But in reality, it was nothing more than a subtle absolution for the Queen. A reassurance—a psychological shield—to prevent her from dwelling too long on the full weight of the destruction.

To keep her from blaming herself.

To keep her from slipping into the madness buried deep within the blood of the dragon.
----


Daenerys's golden brows furrowed. "The Iron Bank…" she murmured. "But where is its money?"

Aegor sighed, shaking his head as if in exasperation.

"At first, I suspected theft," he admitted. "That someone—an insider, perhaps—had stolen the wealth and fled during the chaos.

"But after isolating and interrogating large numbers of the staff, we discovered that the Iron Bank's systems were far more disciplined than I had imagined. Even under siege, they had maintained a minimal level of operational stability."

He let that sink in before continuing.

"So we dug deeper. We reviewed every transaction, every withdrawal, every record from the past few months.

"And the truth became clear.

"The problem wasn't that the money was stolen."

A pause.

"The problem was the way Braavos operates."
----


Two million in cash.

Thirty million in debt.

Over a tenfold ratio.
----


Daenerys stared.

"This is… madness!"

Aegor chuckled.

"My first reaction was exactly the same as yours, Your Grace."

And for once, that was not a lie.

Braavos had managed to pull off something that, even with centuries-old technology, mirrored modern financial leverage—a feat that had genuinely left him staggered.

"Centuries of stability gave the Iron Bank something no other institution in the world possesses," he explained. "A reputation so ironclad, so unshakable, that it had become nearly immune to economic shocks, rumors, and even credit defaults.

"Backed by nothing but faith, it had mastered the alchemy of finance—turning credit into power at a scale far beyond what I imagined possible."

Daenerys, still struggling to process, asked again:

"Is this… good or bad?"
----


Aegor smiled.

"That depends entirely on what we do next."

He gestured broadly, his tone light, almost amused.

"My proposal is simple:

We keep the Iron Bank running.

"We acknowledge the deposits of the common people—openly, generously.

"But as for the wealthy elites?

"The noble houses of Braavos? The merchants of the Free Cities?

"We confiscate their fortunes under charges of treason, aiding the enemy, and war crimes."

He shrugged.

"Many of them are already dead or missing. The rest? We seize their assets before they can even think of a bank run.

"And once that's done?" His smirk widened.

"We take the Iron Bank’s ledgers—every debt, every outstanding loan, every contract it has ever written—

"And we go collect."
----


For the first time since she had sat down, Daenerys grinned.
----


She nodded, eyes sharp.

"Convert all recovered gold into Targaryen Bonds."

Aegor snapped his fingers in approval.

"Exactly."

"Gold in hand is never a bad thing," he admitted. "But what we do with it—that is what determines whether it is merely good or something greater."
----


He leaned forward.

"With this, Your Grace, we don't just win a war.

"We win the future."