I Am The Dying Emperor’s Doctor

“!!!”

Jack turned around in surprise, his heart pounding. Serena was already standing up, staring at Jack. She spoke calmly.

“Who told you to get up?”

“…Yes?”

Jack replied politely before furrowing his brow. He felt overwhelmed by her presence for a moment.

‘Who is this woman?’

She seemed different from when he first saw her in the apothecary. Should he not resist?

As Jack hesitated, Serena approached him and pointed at the bed.

“Why did you spill so much blood yesterday and try to leave?”

“No, I just…”

“No excuses. Don’t you know the patient’s condition?”

“…”

“If you don’t want to reopen your wounds, lie down and rest. The person who treats you will also burst if you don’t.”

Serena gestured towards his abdomen and spoke firmly. Her expression was fierce, unlike the indifferent demeanor he saw in the apothecary.

Jack nodded hesitantly and headed towards the bed, bewildered but unable to refuse her command.

—

After Serena helped Jack lie down, she smiled proudly. It was already 1 p.m., much later than she expected.

‘Oh no! It’s too late…’

She had planned to go straight to the palace in the morning, but she had stayed up all night nursing Jack and had fallen asleep.

“Excuse me, Mr. Jack Gordon.”

“Just call me Jack.”

“Okay, Jack.”

Serena switched to informal speech, surprising Jack.

“I didn’t ask you to use informal speech.”

“You’re already using it without my permission.”

“I guess so.”

Jack chuckled, finding her reaction refreshing. He pointed to his coat hanging on the chair.

“It’s in the pocket.”

Serena quickly found the communicator in the coat’s pocket.

She hadn’t felt the need for a communicator while at the palace, always on standby for Azeid. But now, facing this unexpected situation, she briefly regretted not having one. She should have bought or requested one as a supply.

After a signal beeped, the palace official answered.

– Hello?

“Oh, Chief of the Palace, it’s Serena.”

– Se, Se, Lady Serena?! Where are you right now?!

The chief of the palace yelled in surprise upon hearing Serena’s name. Jack, standing nearby, heard everything.

‘Is he really that mad?’

Jack raised an eyebrow at Serena’s explanation.

“I found an emergency patient on my way back from an outing. I was just trying to treat them, but it took too long and I missed the curfew. I’m sorry, Chief of the Palace. If I go back, I’ll accept the punishment…”

– No, it’s okay. As long as you’re safe, that’s what matters!

“Really?”

Serena was surprised by the unexpected response. She remembered the reprimands from her past life when she missed curfew due to a mistake.

‘Is the Chief of the Palace in a good mood today?’

Maybe he’s in such a good mood that he’s willing to overlook something like this.

But the chief’s next words were even more unexpected.

– More importantly, haven’t you met His Majesty?

“His Majesty? How could I meet him when I’m outside the palace?”

Jack also perked up at the chief’s words. After a moment, the chief spoke again.

– Uh, well, His Majesty has left the palace to find Lady Serena.

Huh? Who?

* * *

Serena was in a daze after the call. She couldn’t quite grasp what she had just heard.

‘His Majesty left the palace… It seems he went to Viscount Manor.’

The chief of the palace sounded extremely anxious and perplexed over the communicator.

Even Serena, who heard the situation, couldn’t fathom what was going on. Why would he do such a thing? As Serena stood frozen, still holding the communicator, Jack asked,

“Do you have time to stand there? It’s going to be chaotic if we don’t go.”

“Oh, right. Yes.”

Serena snapped out of her reverie and hurriedly packed.

In her confusion, she didn’t even realize she was using formal language with Jack. The thought of dragging the Emperor here from Viscount Manor dominated her mind.

‘I acted distant on purpose, why would he go there!’

Even without going, she could feel trouble brewing. At that moment, Jack also started putting on his coat to follow. Serena stopped abruptly and said,

“Wait. You need to rest properly today.”

“I don’t want to miss this interesting spectacle.”

“What spectacle… Just come along.”

When Serena asserted herself, Jack shrugged. It was a clear sign of defiance.

He was following her orders just fine earlier; now, he seemed to have changed his tune. Just as she was about to say something more, Jack made an enticing suggestion.

“How about we call the Emperor and Leonard here?”

“Call them?”

“I know Leonard’s private communication code.”

“Oh.”

“I don’t want to miss the spectacle, and you don’t want to compromise the patient’s stability. It’s a win-win, right?”

Jack grinned mischievously while shaking the communicator. Serena hesitated, conflicted.

Going to the mess that Viscount Manor had turned into just minutes ago seemed headache-inducing. She didn’t want to show a defeated front in front of Viscount Vincent.

‘No way, is he seriously coming to apprehend me for one night out? Am I a criminal or something.’

Serena chewed on her lower lip. Normally, it took her all day to muster the courage to step out of bed, yet today she felt unusually agile.

“Fine. Let’s call them here.”

With Serena’s consent, Jack chuckled and activated the communicator. After a brief connection tone, they were connected.

“Leo, where are you?”

– Clang! Clatter!

Instead of Jack’s voice, a chaotic noise erupted from the communicator. It sounded incredibly noisy around him. Shortly after, Leonard spoke,

– Jack, sorry, it’s a bit difficult to communicate right now so I’ll…

His voice was frantic. As Leonard tried to end the call in a hurry, Serena exclaimed in surprise,

“Don’t hang up, Lord Leonard!”

– …Lady Serena?

Leonard was startled by Serena’s voice and called her name. Then, surprisingly, the chaos subsided.

“Serena?”

Azeid’s voice came through the communicator. After a moment of confusion, he asked with a hint of concern,

– Where are you?

But his voice carried an undertone of worry. After all, it wasn’t every day that someone who was always seen was absent without leave.

“It’s me. I’m currently at an inn.”

– An inn? Why an inn…?

“Hey, Your Majesty. It’s Jack. How have you been?”

Jack interrupted and spoke through the communicator. His playful tone made Serena grimace as she looked at him. Azeid, hearing Jack’s voice unexpectedly, asked sharply,

– What? Why are you with my personal physician?

Azeid seemed even angrier than before. His cold voice through the communicator made the atmosphere prickly.

Even though she only heard the voice, the air around her felt tense. But Jack, without a care, replied in a joking tone,

“Oh? Ah, we’ve been together all night.”

– …What?

“She was looking for her personal physician. I’ll send you the coordinates, come over. We’re both in a difficult situation to move right now.”

– Difficult to move…?

“You’ll understand when you come. Hurry up.”

With that, Jack abruptly ended the call. Serena couldn’t hear Azeid’s voice after that. She panicked and asked,

“Can you just hang up like that? His Majesty was in the middle of saying something…!”

“It’s fine. Would he cut my throat just because a friend chewed him out a bit?”

Jack chuckled and sat on the edge of the bed. His shirt was still disheveled.

“Don’t worry. We always do this when we meet privately.”

“But you ended the call like that, will His Majesty come?”

“I ended it like that, so of course, he’ll come.”

“Really?”

“Wait and see. He’ll come running like an arrow.”

Jack smirked confidently. And not long after, just as he said, Azeid arrived. With a very grim face.