I Am The Dying Emperor’s Doctor

The next morning, Serena woke up in her bed, startled.

‘Huh? I didn’t drink, so why do I have a hangover?’

It wasn’t as bad as the day after heavy drinking, but her head was throbbing just like a hangover. If Azeid hadn’t given her a hangover cure, she’d probably be crawling around right now, but Serena didn’t know that.

Feeling a mild hangover, she stretched. It was strange to have a hangover without drinking. She couldn’t remember how she got back to her room last night. She remembered calling Azeid to the terrace, but after that, her memory was hazy.

“That’s odd. I must have been really tired lately. I don’t even remember what I did the day before.”

Serena shook her head lightly to wake up. Waking up at the same time every day without an alarm was easy for her.

She got up, washed, and changed clothes for her morning checkup. Then she headed to Azeid’s bedroom, familiar with the routine.

Today, there was no maid blocking her way. She smoothly knocked on Azeid’s door.

“Your Majesty, it’s Serena.”

Bang, crash, thud.

Huh?

Serena heard a commotion inside and tilted her head in confusion.

“Your Majesty? Is everything okay?”

“……”

“Your Majesty?”

When there was no response, Serena felt uneasy. It seemed like he was awake, but there was no reaction.

She was about to grab the doorknob, wondering if the noise she heard was Azeid falling, when he spoke urgently from inside.

“Wait a moment.”

His voice sounded slightly hoarse, probably because he had just woken up.

‘His sleeping habits are strange.’

Serena chuckled, thinking he might have fallen out of bed while sleeping. In the meantime, a maid brought in washing water, and soon, permission to enter was granted.

Serena blinked, seeing Azeid sitting on the bed, looking quite refreshed for the morning. It was different from his usual just-woke-up face during morning checkups.

It seemed he had washed up, causing quite a fuss early in the morning. Serena sat by the bed casually and spoke.

“What’s the occasion? You washed up this morning.”

“You wouldn’t know, but I’m actually quite neat.”

Azeid mumbled, avoiding her gaze. Serena was surprised by his answer and asked again.

“What? Are you joking this morning?”

She knew Azeid’s natural laziness from past experiences. It was funny to see him suddenly act so neat.

‘What’s gotten into him?’

Serena smiled at Azeid’s strange behavior. Azeid, with a lot on his mind, mumbled.

But he couldn’t say, ‘I’m embarrassed to show you my bare face suddenly.’ He couldn’t define this strange feeling himself.

“There was some noise earlier. Did you fall out of bed?”

“Well, sort of.”

“Do you have any scrapes? Let me see.”

As Serena fussed, Azeid pulled the blanket closer, shaking his head.

“You see me as too fragile.”

“To me, you are fragile.”

It was natural since he could collapse at any moment if she wasn’t careful. But Azeid, looking displeased, firmly said,

“I’m not fragile.”

“Yes, yes. Understood.”

Serena chuckled and took out a small magical tool for the checkup. It fit perfectly in her hand. Seeing her long fingers, Azeid’s heart started pounding again, recalling the events of the previous night.

‘Here we go again.’

Azeid frowned slightly. Serena had just placed her hand over Azeid’s Mana Core.

“Serena.”

“I told you not to talk during pulse checking.”

Serena glanced at him, but Azeid didn’t stop talking.

“I think something’s wrong with me.”

Serena paused at his words and looked at him, forgetting the pulse check.

“What do you mean? Where do you feel uncomfortable?”

Serena waited anxiously for his next words, ready to prescribe something if he felt unwell overnight. Azeid shook his head.

“It’s not discomfort; it’s more like confusion. I’ve never felt like this before.”

What on earth is he talking about?

Serena urged him, frustrated by his hesitation.

“You need to describe your symptoms accurately for a diagnosis.”

“My heart seems strange.”

“Your heart?”

“It keeps beating fast for no reason, feels like it’s dropping, and sometimes it feels like my blood is boiling.”

“Are you saying your heart feels like it’s malfunctioning at random times?”

“Yes, exactly. I think I have a heart problem.”

When Azeid lowered his eyes, Serena asked for permission and placed her bare hand on his chest.

Thump, thump, thump-thump.

As soon as her hand touched him, his heart started racing again. Serena observed his heartbeat with a serious expression. It was beating too fast for a calm morning.

‘It’s true. He does seem to have a heart problem!’

He seemed fine, so why this sudden heart issue?

Serena carefully asked,

“Have you been very angry lately?”

“Angry…?”

“Even small things are fine.”

Using a gentler tone than usual, Serena coaxed him. Azeid thought back over the past few days. It seemed he was more irritated than angry.

Especially yesterday, Leonard’s report was quite distressing. The choice of Duke Greenwood’s territory for the hunt festival was a pretext.

It was actually a plan to investigate the Duke’s activities discreetly.

Thanks to Jack’s risky investigation, they learned that a manager directly involved in the smuggling lived in Greenwood’s territory. But the manager, protected near the Duke’s castle, was hard to approach.

Jack insisted on trying to get close, but Azeid stopped him. From the attack on Jack, it was clear the Duke had some idea of their movements.

Approaching recklessly could result in losing everything and their allies. So, they had eagerly awaited the hunt festival.

The plan was for Leonard, under the guise of the emperor’s escort, to collect evidence by secretly contacting the manager. But the cunning Duke had already cut ties.

‘When I got there, the family had been dead for a while. The Duke must have acted first.’

‘That’s strange. To kill such an important manager overnight, it’s as if there’s information we shouldn’t know…’

‘There’s something more suspicious.’

‘Tell me.’

‘There were no signs of struggle on the bodies.’

‘Are you saying they committed suicide?’

‘There were no signs of suicide either. It was like sudden death, with just the heart stopped.’

‘Any traces of poison?’

‘None.’

‘…What a baffling case.’

Azeid was frustrated at having to start over. What were the odds of an entire family suddenly dying at the same time?

No signs of poisoning, murder, or suicide. Just hearts stopped, as if cursed.

Was the Duke lucky, or was this intentional? If it was the latter, the Duke was hiding some power.

Azeid leaned toward the intentional theory. Too many suspicious points for it to be mere coincidence.

It was Duke Greenwood. With his sharp mind, who knew what kind of strange poison he could create.

‘What is he hiding? Why kill his subordinate so urgently?’

Azeid had always found the Duke unsettling since childhood. There was a sinister vibe about him.

Despite his kind face, he committed cruel acts behind the scenes. Something was definitely up, but he kept it hidden, leaving Azeid puzzled.

‘Should I tell Nocturne?’

Azeid hesitated but then shook his head. Involving Nocturne in uncertain matters would only complicate things.

‘This isn’t a simple issue.’

Azeid concluded. There must be a bigger conspiracy behind this smuggling case.

“What’s with the serious look on your face?”

Serena’s voice interrupted his thoughts. Realizing Serena was still there, Azeid mumbled.

“Not really anything…”

Just as he was about to say nothing was wrong, he noticed how close she was.

Serena’s hand was still on his chest. Her eyes were so bright and clear, it felt like he might spill everything. Azeid coughed and moved her hand away.

“Must be overworking myself lately.”

“Really? You seemed quite relaxed though.”

“Unlike my busy physician.”

“I’m always busy.”

“Really? Yet you find time to walk with Nocturne and even attend a ball with him as your partner?”

Azeid’s sarcastic remark made Serena blink. It was annoying to think about it. Walking was an unspoken task between Serena and Azeid.

Hearing about her walking with someone else through a third party was irritating.

‘Only I should walk with Serena!’

Azeid didn’t realize he was fixating on something odd. Serena, feeling slightly annoyed, replied,

“There’s no reason I should only walk with you.”

Azeid’s eyes narrowed instantly.