An Understated Dominance (Dustin Rhys)

“Put the city on lockdown?” Neville was momentarily stunned, then quickly nodded. “I understand, Your Highness. I’ll handle it right away.”

As a soldier, following orders was his sacred duty. Whatever command Matthias issued, he would carry it out without hesitation.

“Hold on.”

Just as Neville prepared to leave, Matthias stopped him.

He said, “This outbreak is no ordinary crisis. All information must be completely contained, and we can’t have any more leaks.

“If any officials in Thornwick refuse to cooperate or act like they’re following orders while secretly disobeying them, they’ll be removed from their positions immediately and investigated. Anyone who stirs up trouble will be thrown straight into prison.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” Neville responded, then hurried off.

With direct orders from Matthias, he could finally act without restraint. He’d long been fed up with Thornwick’s officials-backstabbing their superiors, misleading their underlings, and playing everyone with phony politeness

When there were benefits to grab, they were the first in line. But when trouble arose, they made excuses and did nothing.

If it weren’t for these people getting in the way, the outbreak in Thornwick wouldn’t have gotten this bad.

Previously, Neville had restrained himself out of concern for disrupting Matthias’ plans. But now things were different. Anyone who dared to obstruct military orders or play games behind the scenes would face immediate consequences.

they’d be stripped of their position. At worst, they’d end up in prison. There would be no

in Thornwick was spiraling out of control, Sommertown, where Nathaniel had been dispatched,

night before.

team in advance. He immediately ordered them to

his medical team work on an antidote, he had also clamped down on all information flow. The goal

doing everything right, he’d underestimated how quickly the plague would spread. In just one night, the number of infected had jumped from around 30 to over 100. Unfortunately,

lockdowns of all surrounding towns and sealed off every major

the director’s office listening to status

is wrong with you people? How hard can it be to catch a few plague carriers? It’s been a whole day and still nothing?” he shouted at

“Your Highness, those people seem to know our every move. It’s like they’re playing cat and mouse with us. They’re so cunning that

have a

caught them by now. But there’s something else. I believe this outbreak wasn’t the result

“Are you suggesting foreign operatives

are, they know how to stay hidden. We haven’t been able to track them

my time with theories. Get out there and find them!”

subordinate didn’t dare to linger and bolted

natural. So, someone was

Even Tristan and Matthias had received similar missions. Though they were in different cities, the circumstances were remarkably similar across all

a test. It was about proving who had the