I Am The Dying Emperor’s Doctor

An hour ago.

Ishid stared blankly at the ceiling, deeply lost in thought. He pondered over how to do nothing while still being present, perhaps contemplating a way to simply exist without engaging in anything.

On that particular day, he vehemently didn’t feel like doing anything. However, there was no way Serena would let him stay idle.

“Let’s escape.”

Ishid swiftly left the bedroom before Serena arrived.

In his search for a suitable hiding place, he ended up at the Star Palace. It was purely coincidental that he stumbled upon the rarely used reception room.

“That should do it; she won’t find me here.”

Without hesitation, he entered the reception room. Although he could have simply lounged on the sofa, he opted to head to the terrace in case Serena showed up unexpectedly. Fortunately, there was a comfortable chair on the terrace where he could recline and relax.

“Perfect.”

Ishid chuckled softly as he lay back in the chair. And then, he did absolutely nothing.

How long had he been sitting there quietly?

Slowly succumbing to drowsiness and ready to drift into a pleasant slumber, he heard the sound of someone entering the room.

“Oh no.”

Ishid tensed, feeling awkward. Fortunately, all the curtains were drawn, and they were thick enough that nothing could be seen from outside.

Still, just to be safe, he buried himself deeper into the chair and waited for the intruder to leave.

But…

“I think I’ve had enough answers.”

“!!!”

Realizing that the voice belonged to Serena, Ishid held his breath. He almost let out an involuntary gasp.

Ishid felt as though his impending nap had been rudely interrupted. Whether caught or not, the situation was uncomfortable.

After much hesitation, Ishid decided, “Forget it,” and buried himself even deeper into the chair.

He resolved to stay still, as he had originally intended when coming here.

“Yeah, there’s no way she’ll catch me unless she comes here.”

With such casual thoughts, Ishid tried to drift off to sleep again. However, contrary to his wishes, the conversation continued, and his ears perked up at the unfolding dialogue.

“Even so, considering our past, can’t we have a meal together? Viscount is really looking forward to seeing you,” said Viscountess.

“I didn’t ask for your sympathy,” Ishid muttered to himself, realizing that the speaker was Viscount Vincent’s wife.

According to his previous investigations into Serena, their relationship with the Viscounty was less than favorable.

Despite being of noble blood, she had been treated as if she didn’t exist, simply because she was a bastard child.

“Did she ever want to see me debut as a debutante?”

Through Leonard, Ishid had learned that Serena had refused to debut.

Although he hadn’t intended to do so and hadn’t been the one to suggest it, he had taken her debutante’s place.

“I even went as far as preparing the dress and jewelry so meticulously, but… she probably didn’t even notice.”

Thinking of all the efforts he had made for Serena, Ishid listened intently to the conversation.

It seemed like Viscountess had come to visit because she regretted Serena’s success.

“She rejected,” Serena said, her tone cutting.

“Your visit shows your sincerity, but I will decline.”

Ishid smiled inwardly at Serena’s straightforwardness. She seemed like someone who always spoke her mind.

He realized there was no need for him to intervene; Serena could handle herself well.

“That’s how my personal physician should be,” he thought to himself, smiling softly. And then…

“Are you expecting my understanding?” Serena’s voice suddenly turned cold, a tone he had never heard before.

It happened right after Viscountess made her excuses.

“At that time, I was only seven years old.”

Though Serena spoke calmly, there was a hint of emotion in her voice. Like a hedgehog with its spikes raised, or a frozen pond suddenly hit by a sharp chill.

Ishid couldn’t help but smile gently at her reaction. It was a side of her he hadn’t seen before.

“A child is innocent,” he remarked softly.

He already knew about her difficult childhood. She had been resilient and cheerful despite the hardships, which he had overlooked.

Ishid unconsciously gripped the armrest of the chair tightly.

Crack—

“Huh?”

It wasn’t until the armrest broke that he realized he had been exerting too much force. It was now charred from his grip.

“I got too carried away,” Ishid realized.

He couldn’t help but feel differently about Serena’s situation; it didn’t feel like someone else’s problem. His own childhood wasn’t much different from hers.

Life as a bastard child meant being constantly looked down upon for merely existing.

Ishid had disliked the constraints of such a life and had tried to escape the palace several times. But even as a half-blood, he was still royalty.

All he could do in rebellion was sneak out of the palace occasionally for some fun. And each time, he worried about his deceased mother.

‘I wonder how she’s doing now.’

Thinking of his past attempts to run away, he remembered a childhood friend he had met then. Not the group of four he usually hung out with, but a commoner boy he had befriended separately.

The pretty troublemaker who dared to throw a punch at him, not knowing he was a prince. They had engaged in playful fights, typical of boys. Eventually, they would meet when Ishid snuck out of the palace, sometimes even venturing out to meet him.

‘I wonder what happened to him when he suddenly disappeared.’

He had felt quite close to him, but apart from his name, he knew nothing about him and couldn’t find him.

‘His name was Lewin, wasn’t it?’

Ishid never searched for Lewin even after becoming Emperor. He realized that the name could have been fake, considering how secretive the boy always wanted to be.

Ironically, it was perhaps due to their casual relationship that Ishid could meet him comfortably.

“Maybe I should try looking for him once.”

He was contemplating this thought when he heard the sound of the conversation ending and the door opening and closing.

“It’s over.”

Thinking that everyone had left, Ishid cautiously emerged from the terrace, ready to leave.

But there was someone waiting for him.

“Here you are?”

It was Serena, smiling brightly with her arms crossed.

“Oh!”

Ishid, not realizing Serena was still in the room, gasped loudly and blinked in surprise.

His body, stiff as a statue, might have been mistaken for one at that moment. He had noticed that his body tended to freeze up when he was startled.

He had considered just pretending not to notice and leaving, but out of curiosity, he stayed to see what kind of reaction he would get. And Ishid’s reaction was beyond what Serena expected.

“Eep!”

He even let out a squeak, which was quite unexpected.

Ishid seemed quite startled. He tried to stop the squeak, took a deep breath, and even thumped his chest.

Then, realizing how awkward the situation was, he awkwardly covered his mouth with his hand.

Serena, seeing his reaction, couldn’t help but smile and approached Ishid.

“It seems Your Majesty can be startled too. Why eavesdrop like that?”

“It’s not like that… Eep! I-I mean…”

Ishid struggled to stop his squeaks, showing signs of nervousness. He seemed aware of his own overreaction.

“Hmm, hiding and eavesdropping, and then squeaking like that… How embarrassing.”

Serena approached him, patting his back to help him calm down, her face full of playful mischief.

“Are you very surprised? Our Majesty shouldn’t be startled like this.”

Serena joked playfully as she patted his back, trying to calm him down.

Thinking to himself, “If I die of a heart attack, so will she,” Ishid couldn’t help but feel amused by Serena’s teasing.