The four village heads had not shown themselves earlier, but seeing the new lord's authoritative stance, they were now anxiously loitering outside the castle. Danny quickly brought them before the lord.
Ivan found that all four were robust young adults, likely hunters from their villages.
"Let's start with the refugee issue. The refugees have been screened by you, so I can trust you. However, they cannot use their original names. They need someone to guarantee for them, with each refugee requiring the guarantee and signature or thumbprint of three households of my subjects. If there's a problem, you'll bear the responsibility together. Can you manage that?"
He had chosen to turn a blind eye to the refugee issue in his new territory, which was a mess anyway. As the new lord, if he didn't bother to verify whether they were refugees, other nobles wouldn't be able to quibble.
"Rest assured, my lord, we will make sure of it."
