Those who knew Ian well understood that this was not leniency. This was reform through fire. Only Currey, out of the lot in the room, knew Ian well enough to understand this. He looked at his brother with pity, and the other two in the room wondered why that was so. It would take some time in the distant future before they would also come to understand the same.
For Murray, even as he thanked Ian, his lips parted in disbelief.
Shelby also watched all this with wide eyes and then turned to her husband, with a hand instinctively over her heart. He had done this for her, she realized. He had heard the silent plea and acted even before she said anything.
Ian met her eyes and gave the faintest nod.
'Don't worry,' it said.
Then, kneeling, Murray continued to bow, lifting his head and banging it on the floor, his voice thick with emotion.
"Your Majesty… I am undeserving. Yet… thank you. I will not fail again."
