That day, Lucien's allies did not press the liberated people for immediate answers.
They waited.
The offers remained simple, and more importantly, unchanged.
They could come under Lootwell's protection.
They could remain where they were and rebuild.
They could leave entirely and take their chances on the road.
No one would be forced.
That did not make the choice easier.
If anything, it made it heavier.
The people thought in different ways, exactly as Lucien expected.
Some looked at the cure, the order Lucien's people had restored, the sheer strength standing beside them, and reached their answer almost immediately.
Those who had suffered longest under hidden rule were often the quickest. To them, stability had value. Protection had value. A ruler strong enough to break the Exchange's grip and then refrain from caging them afterward was not a small thing.
Others were slower.
A few among the elders, traders, and more cautious minds raised the harder question.
