[Asch is all too aware of that possibility; she's speaking to the Number 1 Pawn, after all. He's considered it over and over, debated the chances, raged at himself for even suggesting that they just... leave him alone. It went against every goal he'd had in Auldrant for almost the entire year before he'd been brought to Luceti. But...]

If he makes that choice, we'll deal with him the way we used to. But it's better to let him make that choice with a chance of a few casualties than force him into it and put the entire village at risk.