Overlapping shouts turned the grand hall into a wall of noble outrage after King Atheron announced Hajin's title and land.
Hajin kept his face neutral while every thought searched for the purpose beneath that public reward.
The King never acted from simple kindness, while raising a common exile into nobility created a deliberate political earthquake.
Major Houses outside the capital would learn within days, recognizing the decree as a challenge to the hierarchy protecting their influence.
The title placed Hajin inside that struggle while giving every hostile family a reason to measure him as the Crown's new weapon.
Land created taxes, tenants, borders, and legal duties he had never once asked to manage.
A noble name also made every future failure public property, allowing rivals to turn one damaged Gate into evidence against royal judgment.
Atheron had offered protection that only worked after Hajin accepted a place inside the system creating those threats.
