An Understated Dominance (Dustin Rhys)

Grace’s messengers quickly delivered the plague prevention prescription to Tristan, Matthias, and Nathaniel, though each reacted quite differently.

Tristan was naturally overjoyed. He immediately consulted with Icarus and Lenora to review the prescription. When both praised its effectiveness, he put it into action without delay.

His team began preparing the tonic and distributing it to patients. While it wasn’t a complete cure, it helped alleviate the symptoms and kept conditions from worsening. In a race against time, even this level of relief was a tremendous help in his eyes.

Matthias, on the other hand, couldn’t tell whether the prescription was genuine or not when he first received it. None of the people around him could make sense of it, either.

Given the circumstances, he decided to give it a shot. To his surprise, the prescription proved remarkably effective. He quickly ordered it to be distributed across the city and arranged large-scale purchases of the necessary medicinal herbs.

To his surprise, the herbs he had intended to distribute for free ended up in the hands of Thornwick’s bureaucratic officials, who quickly turned them into a means of personal profit.

Instead of handing them out, the corrupt officials began selling them at inflated prices. The outbreak in Thornwick was already spiraling out of control, and their profiteering only fueled the chaos.

As news spread, panic buying broke out across the city. Wealthy merchants and capitalists began hoarding the herbs and reselling them at outrageous prices.

Under these circumstances, ordinary people couldn’t afford even basic preventative medicine. Even those already infected were unable to access timely treatment.

Anyone looking to buy medicinal herbs faced prices dozens-sometimes hundreds – of times higher than the regular price. Those who couldn’t afford them were left with no choice but to wait for death at home.

In this climate of fear and greed, Matthias not only failed to contain the plague but also inadvertently fueled widespread panic and suffering throughout the city. By the time reports reached him, Thornwick was already in turmoil.

the crisis. Even the wealthy merchants who had inflated prices and taken advantage of the national emergency were arrested

the corruption, but they created a new set of

administrative breakdown only accelerated the

He had not only brought his own medical team but

corruption. As a result, when the outbreak began spreading, most

Matthias, Nathaniel didn’t rush to use the

team begin developing their own antidote. His decision wasn’t driven purely by distrust but by deeper strategic reasons

patients in the warehouse the following morning, Sadie

Linsor, we’ve captured Lauren. Do you

nodded approvingly. “Well

Take me to her.”

from Lauren, Grace intended to

way,

through several security checkpoints. Eventually, they arrived

prevent anyone from getting

It creaked loudly, and sunlight streamed

to find Lauren bound tightly to a

harmless. Anyone unaware of her