Page 203 of A King's Oath

Sharan then flipped to another page in his notebook and began doodling themosquito reproductive cyclewith little cartoon eggs and larvae in speech bubbles. Samarth narrowed his eyes. The larvae were saying things like"Yay, stagnant water!"and"Let’s multiply in tables of 10!”

“Kunwar,” he clipped. He shut his book.

Vishwajeet leaned forward slightly,“Rawal, the municipal commissioner from Ward 7 is here. Regarding the dengue fogging delay.”

Samarth gave a nod.

A man stepped forward, folding his hands.“Rawal, the machines we ordered from Rajkot have not yet been dispatched. We’re relying on manual fumigation, and anyway the cases —”

“Are on the decline,” Samarth finished for him.“But that doesn’t mean we stop fumigating. I don’t want to leave any gaps for a relapse.”

“Yes, Rawal.”

Samarth rested a hand on the armrest of the throne as a brief wave of weakness passed through him. It lasted a moment. He masked it with a slow exhale.

“Cancel the order on grounds of late delivery. Procure refunds first, then blacklist them. Divert funds from the emergency contingency to acquire alternate fogging units from Ahmedabad suppliers. You have until this evening.”

The officer blinked.“Yes, Rawal.”

“And send the new outreach vans to the southern clusters. People aren’t coming to health camps. We’ll take the camps to them. What happened to covering all home wells?”

“70% wells are covered. Some people are not letting us into their homes.”

“Non-negotiable. Take a decree from court,” he nodded to the scribe. “Draft one — explaining in Kathiwadi why we need to cover the wells. Assure them that the minute this outbreak is over, their wells will again be uncovered. Also assure them thatthey will be able to use the well, only — they will need to open it every day to draw water and then close it.”

“Yes, Rawal.”

As the officer retreated, Vishwajeet handed him a file discreetly. Samarth didn’t look. Just said,“Summarise it.”

“Dr. Renu of the Infectious Diseases Society of India has a preemptive strategy for next year. She proposes a plan to mitigate this yearly hit of dengue in Nawanagar.”

“She can meet me this afternoon. Send her a window between three and three-thirty.” He hoped the blocking of a meeting would make Rajmata relent him for half an hour. Just then, a junior clerk entered hesitantly with a silver tray. A tall glass of orange-red coloured juice. Bael, papaya and only god knew what else.

Samarth gave a half-smile.“On whose instructions?”

“Rajmata,” the boy mumbled.

Vishwajeet chuckled.“Drink it, Rawal. We want our heads on our shoulders.”

He took the glass, eyeing the pulp with distaste.“If I’m still alive, tell her it worked.”

Sharan chuckled silently. He had served his time in her home remedies camp.

“Next petition.”

The court turned solemn again. A man at the far edge of the hall fidgeted nervously. Samarth's eyes zeroed in.“Is that the manager from the riding school?”

Vishwajeet nodded.“Yes, Rawal.”

“Bring him forward.”

The man approached with the energy of someone heading to their own funeral.

“Introduce yourself.”

“I am Ashwaraj Sheth, Rawal. I am the manager at Solanki Riding School.”

“You've been running the finances at the riding school?”

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