I Am The Dying Emperor’s Doctor

“Get out now.”

“Oh, aren’t you going to take it? It’s going to be very bitter.”

When Serena blinked with surprise and asked, Azeid glared fiercely and bit into the chocolate with its wrapper.

“Oh! Don’t eat it with your hands!”

Serena scowled and licked her fingers along with the bag. The spot where his teeth grazed was slightly numb.

‘What’s wrong, why act like an animal and eat with your mouth.’

As Serena silently grumbled, Azeid spoke up, pointing at the door.

“Enough now? Go out.”

Pointing at the door, Azeid ordered Serena to leave, causing her to pout. She had tried giving him chocolate coated with sugary affection before starting her strict diet, but his response was too bland.

The Emperor seemed in a foul mood when he woke up.

‘Maybe it’s because of the nightmare.’

Deciding to report swiftly and depart, Serena spoke up.

“Just a moment, I have something to report before that.”

“What is it?”

“Today, I received a list of foods and herbs that His Majesty often consumes, but his nutritional status is worse than I thought.”

“Are you planning to interfere even in what I eat now?”

Azeid looked disgusted as he stared at her. Serena’s expression clearly showed her determination as she continued.

“The food he eats is too much. Especially, he consumes too many desserts.”

“So, I can’t eat what I want now?”

“No. If you keep eating as you please, you’ll end up with diabetes and meet the underground gods.”

Azeid grumbled about those underground gods, yet Serena paid no heed.

“Even if you don’t like it, I have to do it. This is also part of the treatment.”

“Is there a point in reporting if you’re going to do as you please anyway?”

“First, I have to say it so there are no regrets later.”

Serena shrugged casually and flashed a mischievous smile. Whether that looked malicious was Azeid’s misconception.

Azeid let out a weak sigh and rubbed his forehead. Interpreting it as acquiescence, Serena pressed on.

“I’ll double-check the herbs first. If necessary, I’ll prescribe different medicine from what he’s been taking.”

“Different medicine?”

“The current medicine doesn’t seem to be helping His Majesty much. I briefly checked earlier, and it mostly focuses on energy recovery.”

“Well, it’s probably trying to fill the energy since we don’t know the cause of my illness.”

“That seems overly complacent, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Even if I know I’ll die in a year, can I say that so lightly?” Azeid countered Serena’s sternness with a retort.

“Are you trying to say the other court physicians are incompetent?”

“Indeed they are. They’ve yet to determine the cause of His Majesty’s illness.”

The current physicians found it easier to examine Azeid, whereas Serena, at the bottom of the hierarchy, faced more challenges. Despite this, they still had access to him.

However, they had been unable to determine the cause of Azeid’s illness for an extended period. Serena had been selected as the attending physician, hoping she might find something useful in their existing data.

This observation came to her right away. Their data showed little progress compared to what she had seen previously. In fact, it was worse than she had expected.

‘Could this be sheer negligence in their work?’

Seeing Azeid’s indifference toward his own illness, Serena couldn’t help but wonder how comfortable their lives must be with such indifference.

If Azeid were to pass away, would their positions be at risk? Serena was adamant about not facing such consequences.

“You’re very critical of your colleagues.”

At that moment, Azeid chuckled and looked at Serena.

“Objectivity is crucial in evaluations.”

“Now you’re making more doctor-like prescriptions.”

“Wasn’t what I’ve been doing doctor-like? Do you think I had ulterior motives?”

“Well…”

Azeid chuckled and mumbled something.

‘Right! That’s it! He must be misunderstanding!’

Surprised, Serena coughed lightly and firmly stated, “No, I don’t have ulterior motives.”

“….”

“His Majesty doesn’t suit my style.”

“Well, I’m grateful for that.”

Azeid offered an ambiguous smile and leaned back in his chair.

His earlier gentle demeanor had vanished, replaced by clear displeasure.

‘It seems people adore handsome individuals regardless of other factors.’

Despite his irritation, Serena brushed it off.

“I’ve noticed that when His Majesty’s body gets cold or hot, it’s dangerous. The fainting episode before was probably due to his body getting too cold.”

“Is that so? I haven’t heard such a thing before.”

Azeid replied dryly, showing signs of boredom as he rubbed his eyes. Serena continued calmly.

“Of course, this is just my speculation. When I examined His Majesty’s Mana Core status before, I noticed symptoms once when his body temperature changed.”

“Ah.”

Azeid seemed to recall something as his eyes lit up, and he asked Serena.

“By the way, when were you able to use Mana Core?”

“Well, I don’t remember the exact moment because it happened when I first manifested.”

Serena scratched her cheek as if embarrassed by the difficult question.

“You don’t remember?”

Azeid looked puzzled as he stared at her. His reaction seemed natural. Usually, the day a sentence manifests remains vividly in one’s memory like it happened yesterday.

Serena wasn’t lying; she genuinely couldn’t recall the moment of manifestation.

“Yes. It just appeared suddenly like a birthmark. And I couldn’t use magic either,”

“So you didn’t tell Viscount Vincent either?”

“Did you even investigate me that far?”

Wide-eyed, Serena asked in surprise.

“It’s natural for a trusted subordinate to conduct thorough investigations.”

“Unbelievable.”

Serena exaggeratedly staggered back, covering her mouth with both hands.

Her timid rebellion stemmed from Azeid’s earlier dismissive demeanor. Azeid frowned, perceiving her behavior akin to that of a spoiled child.

“What’s with that look in your eyes?”

“Is there something wrong with my eyes?”

“It’s the look of contempt.”

‘Did I get caught?’

“What?”

“No.”

In an attempt to recover quickly, Serena stepped forward. Her subsequent smile seemed even more irritating. Azeid, wearing an uncomfortable expression, posed a question.

“Despite not being able to use magic, you seemed to handle Mana quite well?”

“Well, that’s a bit different. Instead of being able to use magic, I can manipulate Mana itself.”

“Manipulate Mana?”

“Yeah, for example, I can send or extract Mana from Tain.”

This peculiar ability was discovered during the second encounter by chance. At that time, Serena had been involved in the Emperor’s outburst due to Mana Core overload.

Thinking she might die, a sentence engraved on her side shone brightly, and when she opened her eyes again, the Emperor’s outburst had stopped.

The shining sentence meant she could use magic.

Serena wondered if she had awakened late and tried to use magic, but she couldn’t find any magic she could handle.

She had the sentence but didn’t know what magic she could use, or perhaps she couldn’t use any magic at all.

Nevertheless, she felt her Mana had become more flexible after that day. Like a tiny crack appeared in a blocked place.

After that, Serena had been researching how to manipulate Mana on her own. Since she had managed to stop the Emperor’s outburst once, she had some optimism that she could survive this time.

But before she could try anything, the Emperor suddenly got a fever and died, leading to the current situation.

‘Although it’s a rather insignificant ability compared to other awakened ones, it could be quite useful for the Emperor’s illness.’

Serena planned to use her Mana Core to heal the Emperor’s illness.

The condition she proposed with confidence for a year was not just empty talk. However, Azeid wouldn’t know about her intentions.

“It’s a pretty useless ability.”

Azeid suddenly criticized her ability.

‘Should I just leave him to die?’

Such a desire surged in Serena’s mind, but she suppressed it. There were so many things she wanted to do while alive, so she had no choice.

‘Someday, I’ll make that full head of hair into a bald one.’

As Serena imagined herself tearing out the Emperor’s hair in her mind, Azeid suddenly grabbed her hand and sniffed it. Without even allowing her to touch him, he sniffed and fiddled with her hand.

“Who did you meet before coming here?”

“What?”

Suddenly, the Emperor’s blue eyes glimmered sharply. Serena, acting foolishly, repeated his question with a pout.

He abruptly grabbed her hand, sniffed it, and accused her of meeting someone, despite her having washed her hands.

‘Why this sudden interest?’

FSensing the tense atmosphere, Serena withdrew her hand and instinctively lied.

“I didn’t meet anyone.”

She realized her mistake, but it was already said and done. Awkward about the unfamiliar sensation of his touch, Serena fidgeted with her fingers.

Given that Azeid had never initiated contact in her previous encounters, it felt extremely unfamiliar. Azeid muttered suspiciously.

“Your hand smells like a cat burglar.”

“Oh! How did you know about the cat? I washed my hands.”

Surprised, Serena brought her hand close to her nose. However, there was no smell of a cat.

‘What’s going on? He acted like a dog and now he’s sniffing like one too?’