Chapter 89 – Cedric POV
A strange quiet settles over the streets of the capital—not the peaceful kind, but the stillness of unease, like the whole town is holding its breath. When the first cases of fever appear, the nobles dismiss it as a peasant's issue. Then a merchant's son dies. Then two guards. And suddenly, I'm summoned to a council I hadn't even known I was supposed to attend.
"Your Grace," they all murmur when I arrive, like they haven't spent the past year treating me like a ceremonial accessory.
Funny how power slips in through the cracks when no one's paying attention.
I don't waste time. The symptoms are too familiar—vomiting, fever, weakness, rash. I remember reading about this in my past life. Contaminated water systems. Open sewers. Zero hygiene infrastructure.
So I draw up a plan. One that makes every face in the room twist in confusion.
"Boil the water?" the city steward repeats, appalled.
