"Issac, you have everything ready for my departure." Alfred turned to Issac, who sat in the council room.

"Yes. I have had Desmond send word of the regency. As of now, the nobles believe I am in charge." Happily nodding, the door opened, and Anton walked in, surprising everyone. Walking over to Alfred, he disregarded formalities and whispered in his ear.

"Excuse me, gentleman. Issac, take over for me." Getting out of his chair, Alfred followed Anton into the side room. "You hardly come to find me. What is it?"

"Chent. I’m ready to leave, but we need to talk before I do. Is there anything you need me to do during the war?"

"N..." Alfred stopped himself. Chent is an independent state. Doesn’t it take orders from any one nation?" Alfred asked, and Anton nodded in confusion.

"You know this, Your Majesty. Why else send me."

"I just needed to be sure. I think I have something you could do. But I need you to give me a day. I’ll summon you tomorrow." Anton nodded and left. Looking at the door, Alfred knew he might have to do something he didn’t want to do.

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"Anton." Alfred stood up and welcomed him. Anton looked at the old man sitting at the table and gave him a nod, getting one in return. "Esmond, I’m sorry for the short notice, but it seems we have a chance to put the final nail in the Commonwealth. Whilst I also want some protection for Anton, I need some to infiltrate the East. Someone who isn’t Horace."

Esmond looked over at Anton and nodded. "Possible. What do you need done?"

"Have someone expendable but also quite skilled. See if they can cause any problems for the Laska’s. Anton, whilst they work, tries to influence the Laska duchy. Buy them ou..." Alfred paused and covered his mouth in shock at his own idea. He couldn’t believe it came to mind.

"If we shipped food to the Commonwealth, could it be traced back to us? Is there a way to make it so we have no links to anything?" Both men looked at Alfred in confusion before facing one another.

"I have ties with a few large merchants. Esmond?"

"We can, but it needs to pass through a couple of hands that have no links to the Empire. The problem is Anton is heavily linked. Any trade he does will be seen as done by us."

Looking at Anton, the man shrugged. "I can find a way. But why, Your Majesty?"

"If we ship them food that is tainted, we could cause a collapse from within." Alfred couldn’t believe the word came from his own mouth, and it shocked the two.

"Your Majesty," Anotn said cautiously. "If we do that and are found out. No nation will trade with us again. We can’t be trusted." Even Esmond gave a small nod, seeing the consequences of such action.

"Can it be done, however?" Alfred didn’t budge, and the two looked at one another. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"Yes, but we need a lot of supplies, and we need to be able to keep many people quiet. I can set up in Chent and begin, but it’s dangerous." Anton stared at Alfred, who was deep in thought.

"Figure out a cost and plan. Either way, I need you in Chent, so prepare to leave even if you can’t make it." Alfred stood up and walked off. His mind raced, wondering if what he ordered was a good idea. He knew already it was ethical. If anyone read about it, they would call him insane. It was biological warfare. Something the world had never seen before.

It went against every human right from his old life and had the chance to spiral into an uncontrollable epidemic. Walking to his office, he saw a servant waiting outside. Bringing them in with him, he quickly wrote a letter to the headmaster of the academy and university for his immediate summons, along with the best alchemists, doctors, surgeons, and anyone interested in studying the human body. He needed to counter any diseases that he may accidentally create.

He could have done it himself if it was basic penicillin, but he neither had the time nor resources. Most importantly, he didn’t want to do it himself. He needed the world to figure things out itself, and whilst technology was hundreds of years behind, he could try to nudge them in the right direction.

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A week passed, and the palace had been constantly on the move, preparing for the coming war. Nothing stopped and deep in the Palace halls, in a room that numerous guards blocked off, Alfred stood around with the headmaster and many others. On a table were two dead bodies from his dungeon. One had multiple wounds, some infected. The other had none.

Alfred walked forward. It was a strange sight to everyone to see Alfred not wearing an outfit fit for an Empoer. Instead, he wore an outfit that covered his entire body with a thin pair of gloves. Over his face was a small mask.

It was the best he could get, but he understood the importance of not contaminating a body. The headmaster took to his side. "Why the outfit, Your Majesty?" It was an obvious question for anyone in his past world, but one Alfred had been waiting for. He couldn’t suddenly explain things like bacteria so quickly and thought on the spot.

"If we are dealing with the dead and sick, I feel it is best not to touch them with our bare hands. We don’t know what they carry or what we carry. Maybe we make someone who is ill worse off if we don’t take precautions."

"mmm." The Headmaster gave a single nod and looked at the other with him. Some had knowing looks in their eyes, and he could see they had come to similar conclusions in their studies. "Interesting. I understand not getting ill but making others even worse."

"It is something I noticed on the battlefield. A soldier dies from a small wound they should have survived because dirt gets in it. An infection spreads, and they sadly pass. Surely, we are just as filthy."

The Headmaster made a mental note and took his place beside the body. Everyone watched with interest. They had been sceptical at first, but all gave Alfred a chance. He had set up the academy because he saw value in something like it.

Alfred looked at the body and grabbed a small knife next to it. Cutting into a wound, a bit of puss came out, and he scooped it up and looked at it before showing everyone else. "Infection. It’s a killer more deadly than any man. I can defend myself against a sword, but this. It’s a coin toss. We have ways to slow and sometimes counter it, but it’s not enough."

Wiping the knife clean, he put it down and turned to everyone. "I call you all here for a reason. I am willing to provide you with all the necessary resources to experiment and discover what it is. The Empire is going to war. I want to save as many as I can. Those who should live will die because of this."

"Your Majesty." The Headmaster cut in. "You know what these resources are."

Alfred nodded. "I will have the Empire begin sending bodies to anyone who wishes to discover the truth. But this brings me to the next point." Alfred looked at the next body. "This man didn’t die from any injury or infection. He was reported to be ill before he died. What killed him?"

"Disease?" Someone asked, and Alfred happily clapped his eyes, snapping onto the man.

"Exactly. What is, however?" Everyone fell into thought again.

"An imbalance in the body." Alfred didn’t say anything, thinking of the prevalent theory of medical Europe: the four humours, the balance of the body. It was a good start, but it was not what he needed.

"Had he been in a filthy place?" Someone said carefully, and Alfred gave the nod. "I noticed those in the slums get more ill than anyone. Can it be the cause?"

"Maybe. But I have rolled in dirt many times when fighting. So not all filth can be the cause." Alfred’s words were a dampener as they all tried to think again. The headmaster looked at Alfred and squinted.

"You know the answer." Leaning in, he whispered into Alfred’s ear, getting a sly smile from the Emporer.

"Do they want to be told how to find it out?" The Headmaster understood and backed off. One of the men went over to the body. Looking over its naked corpse, he saw small bites all over it and frowned.

"Rats?" Alfred smiled and nodded.

"They gave it to him, but what is it still."

"We don’t know." The headmaster answered for them. "We need to study it." Everyone nodded in defeat, and Alfred smiled.

"I will give you whatever you need to figure this out. But I expect results. I hope none of you fail me." Everyone nodded and slowly left the room, leaving Alfred with the headmaster.

"Can you give me anything? I can see what you want, but it will take years to find something without anything. Unless we are lucky."

Alfred went silent and looked at the bodies. "Look at them." The headmaster did as told. "What do you see."

"Bodies."

"Look deeper." Alfred egged him on, and the Headmaster leaned in.

"Infection, cuts, bruises. None were lethal."

"Deeper." Once again, Alfred spoke, and the Headmaster sighed, not bothering anymore.

"I need to open him to see what you want." Alfred smiled, letting out a small chuckle.

"There are some things we can’t see with the human eye. Why can’t that exist in the body? If only we had a way to look at the smaller things?" Alfred walked off, leaving the headmaster confused. Looking at the body, he leaned in as close as he could. He hadn’t noticed before, but the man had faint hairs all over his arm.

’Things we can’t see? The smaller things?’ The headmaster tried to understand. It was obvious Alfred wasn’t talking about the man’s inners. He probed the body for a while, looking at the wounds. He tried to find something but struggled. Going to his body’s head, he looked down at his face.

Grabbing his eyes, he forced open one of the eyes. It was dull, but leaning in, he saw the tiny veins. ’Smaller.’ The Headmaster leaned in deeper. Each time he did, he saw even smaller veins that were almost impossible to see normally.

Looking around the room, he saw a small pair of gloves Alfred must have prepared and put them on. Grabbing a knife, he carefully pushed it above the eye and popped it out. It slightly disgusted him, but he knew it was something he must do. As he would study a book, he was studying the body.

Carefully cutting it loose, he held it up to his face and analysed it. There was tiny detail on the back and front—things he would have missed if he hadn’t looked deeper. Gently pushing the knife in, he expected blood but was surprised. A clear fluid leaked out.

Pulling the knife out, he watched as the fluid leaked and put the eye down. ’Look deeper. Smaller.’ He knew Alfred’s words had a meaning and tried to think. He tried his best but saw all he could. Alfred wanted more. He could tell. He needed something. A way to see more.

Scooping some puss, he stared and brought it close to his face, being careful not to touch any. He saw nothing. ’What is it? Deeper. Smaller.’ The words replayed over and over, but eventually, he gave up and put it down. He was wasting his time. ’I need something. Something to see smaller.’