The following morning, King Bruno rose earlier than usual. Though the skies above Elysee were still streaked with the cool blues of dawn, the city below was already stirring—bakers lighting their ovens, street sweepers clearing debris from cobbled paths, and builders gathering near scaffolding and brick carts with fresh tools in hand. Bruno dressed in silence, choosing a plain gray tunic and worn leather boots. He fastened his belt, checked the satchel slung over his shoulder, and left the royal quarters before the rest of the palace had properly woken.
He made his way to the central district of the city—not the glamorous squares filled with boutiques or theaters, but the older neighborhoods where alleyways twisted like a maze and tenement buildings leaned close to one another. This area, once badly hit by the cholera outbreak, had become the focal point of a new urban revitalization effort. And today, something important would begin.
