Being denied, Salghis made a face and upped his ante.
"...Two cycles?"
It was not the longest a cultivator had ever pledged themselves to the service of another, but it was still a significant investment. The Nalbet family was no longer a very prosperous name… but that didn't mean he had no responsibilities to them. Especially as a cultivator successful enough to rise to his current position.
Staying away for thirty six years meant all of that would fall on his remaining relatives. What holdings were left would probably be in ruin or sold by the time he could return.
"The solution isn't to get rid of you. Your ignorance of what your people were doing isn't an excuse that absolves you - and you seem to know that. But the fact that you're not trying to make excuses about it… that you want to fix things instead of covering them up? That tells me you're exactly the kind of leader more organizations need."
