"The people will adapt faster than the nobles," she said. "They always do. Give a merchant instant communication with her suppliers, and she'll never willingly return to courier birds. Give an awakened access to smart bracelets, and he'll defend that technology against anyone who tries to take it away."
She turned to face them both.
"You don't impose modernization. You make it indispensable. And then you let the population defend it for you."
Duke's smile deepened by a fraction. He had underestimated her. He wouldn't make that mistake again.
Bruce exhaled softly through his nose, the sound barely audible beneath the ambient hum of settling mana.
In the span of a single afternoon, the world had shifted.
