I’m the Dying Emperor’s Doctor

Episode 22

As soon as Levin spotted the man, he scurried over to him.

‘Jack? Could it be… Jack Gordon from the Gordon Trading Company?’

Serena, startled, locked her gaze on the man called Jack.

Now that she thought about it, the short, messy brown hair and striking green eyes perfectly matched the image of Jack Gordon.

In her previous life, she had never met him in person, so she didn’t recognize him right away. He was known for being elusive, and Jack had never come to the imperial palace to meet the emperor before.

While Serena remained frozen, Jack embraced Levin and ruffled his hair.

“Well, look who it is! Took you long enough to notice me!”

“Ahh! Master Jack! My hair!”

Levin flailed, trying to break free from Jack’s grip, but there was no way a child could overpower a grown man.

“Who cares about your hair? You kept me waiting, so this is your punishment!”

“I’m sorry! I won’t do it again!”

Only after thoroughly teasing Levin did Jack let him go. Levin, his eyes wide and sparkling, immediately bombarded Jack with questions.

“I heard you went to the south. When did you come back? Wait, did you even go south in the first place?”

“I did go to the south. I’ll be heading to the west tomorrow.”

“You really can’t stay in one place, can you? No wonder you don’t ha— Ow! I’m sorry, Master Jack!”

Jack put Levin in a playful headlock again, prompting the boy to whine. After giving Levin a light knock on the head, Jack finally spoke.

“Where are Genzo and Elda? I thought I’d see them before I left.”

“Wow, my parents are popular today,” Levin grumbled, catching Jack’s gaze shifting to Serena.

Unlike his earlier disinterest in her, Jack’s stare was now persistent, almost probing. Levin answered swiftly, his voice bright.

“Father went to gather herbs, and Mother went to deliver goods to the Gordon Trading Company.”

“Ah, today’s delivery day.”

“How is it that such a big trading company survives with someone like—ah! Don’t hit me! If you hit me again, I’ll get mad!”

Levin leapt backward, shaking a fist at Jack, determination blazing in his eyes.

But Jack was a step ahead, shrugging with exaggerated indifference, leaving Levin feeling flustered.

‘So he really is Jack Gordon, the trading company owner,’ Serena thought.

Jack’s demeanor was quite different from what she had imagined. She had expected someone as inscrutable as Count Harrison, but Jack seemed unexpectedly approachable.

Serena glanced at her pocket watch without thinking. Considering her next destination, it was about time to leave.

“Levin, I have other stops to make, so I’ll be going now.”

“But my parents will be back soon…”

“Just tell them I stopped by. There will be other opportunities to meet.”

“Should I send the payment to the palace then?”

“Yes, but I’ll pay half upfront now.”

Serena handed over the prepared amount, and Levin quickly scribbled out a receipt.

Even during the transaction, Jack kept blatantly staring at Serena.

She didn’t spare him a glance, though. Taking the receipt, Serena left the apothecary without hesitation.

The next place Serena visited was Nocturne’s office.

In truth, her outing today had been for the purpose of seeking Nocturne’s advice.

“I didn’t expect you to actually show up.”

Nocturne greeted her with a look of surprise.

She had sent a letter asking if she could visit the address on the business card she had received. Since she had received a positive reply, his reaction left her slightly taken aback.

“I did let you know I’d be coming. Was it a bad time? Or were you not serious about the invitation?”

“No, not at all. I’m just surprised you contacted me so soon. To be honest, I’ve been waiting for your call.”

“That’s a relief, then.”

“Feel free to come by anytime. You don’t need to send word in advance.”

“But that would be…”

“You’re the emperor’s personal physician and an accredited mage. Cooperation on this level is a given.”

“So you’ve figured out that my interest in mana cores stems from the emperor’s condition.”

Serena’s narrowed gaze met Nocturne’s, but he merely responded with a knowing smile.

He didn’t deny it.

‘As expected, he’s no ordinary man,’ she thought.

Something about his unreadable expression and calm demeanor unsettled her.

One reason Serena was particularly cautious around Nocturne, out of all the emperor’s confidants, was his status as the illegitimate son of the Greenwood Duke.

Unlike Serena, who had no dealings with her estranged family, Nocturne maintained a collaborative relationship with the Greenwood family. His office, for instance, was located within their business district.

‘I even saw him getting along with Azaid the other day,’ she thought, her eyes briefly flicking to the gold insignia ring on his finger.

It was two levels below the red Isrings given to Leonard and Lily, both imperial knights.

Perhaps it was because the red insignia allowed its bearer to command the elite first division of the imperial knights, something only knights like them could utilize.

Still, there were rumors that Nocturne’s illegitimacy made the emperor wary of him.

It wasn’t entirely baseless, considering Azade often sent Nocturne abroad under the guise of trade missions.

The gold Isring, after all, granted the bearer authority to act as the emperor’s proxy outside the empire and ensured freedom of movement across borders—a necessary tool for someone like Nocturne, who frequently carried out diplomatic missions.

When the secretary entered with a teapot and poured green tea, Serena waited until they left before speaking again.

“I came across something in a book that piqued my curiosity.”

“What might that be?”

“They say abnormalities in mana cores typically occur due to physical trauma or psychological shock. Are there exceptions to this?”

“Hmm, I’ve heard of cases where a mana core develops abnormally from birth.”

“Abnormal growth?”

Intrigued, Serena urged him to elaborate, and Nocturne began explaining patiently.

“Yes. Typically, the amount of mana in one’s body is determined at birth, with the mana core acting as a vessel to contain it.”

“I’m aware of that.”

“Abnormal growth refers to instances where the mana core is either too small relative to the body’s mana capacity or fails to function properly.”

Adjusting his work glasses, Nocturne continued.

“What happens if you pour too much soup into a bowl that’s too small?”

“It overflows.”

Serena had already looked into this herself. She knew that individuals with abnormal mana cores often displayed fainter markings compared to other awakened ones.

‘But Azaid’s markings were distinct,’ she thought.

She had verified it every morning, so there was no denying it.

Serena posed another question.

“Are there any studies on transferring mana from one individual’s core to another?”

“You’re referring to internal mana, not pure mana from nature?”

“Yes, internal mana.”

Nocturne seemed to deliberate for a moment, as though carefully considering how to frame his response. His expression was that of a teacher faced with a particularly challenging question.

Serena waited silently for him to answer. In truth, she had attempted multiple times to assess Azaid’s mana core condition by injecting small amounts of her mana into his body.

Each time, however, the mana was absorbed before she could do anything, making proper diagnosis difficult, so she resorted to using magical tools alongside her efforts.

‘But strangely, it seemed like his condition temporarily improved whenever the mana was absorbed.’

Recently, she had stopped injecting mana and instead focused on using magical tools to monitor the state of the mana core, just in case.

It was clear that the condition of the mana core appeared better when she directly injected mana rather than relying on measurements with magical tools. Of course, it was only a slight improvement in his overall condition, so it wasn’t a definitive solution.

However, the fact that she had identified an independent variable was a significant breakthrough. Since then, she had been researching ways to eliminate extraneous variables and treat Azaid by injecting her own mana directly into his body.

But no matter how many magical studies and theses she consulted, there was no clear answer regarding the direct injection of internal mana.

In the first place, it was hard to find any documented cases of people injecting their internal mana into others.

“You’d think someone would have looked into this at least once, but apparently not. Is the Magic Bureau slacking off? Or are they just uninterested in medical applications?”

It was then that Nocturne, who had been lost in thought, finally spoke.

“Well, normally, no one would attempt such a dangerous experiment.”

“A dangerous experiment?”

“Unlike pure mana, internal mana is mana that has been adapted to an individual’s unique composition. To put it simply…”

Nocturne paused briefly, asking for her understanding, and pulled the teacup of green tea that Serena had been drinking toward himself.

“To explain this properly, I’d need water and oil, but since we don’t have oil right now, let’s assume this coffee here is oil.”

“Alright.”

“Let’s imagine this green tea as A’s internal mana, this coffee as B’s internal mana, and the water in this kettle as pure mana.”

Before long, Nocturne had neatly arranged the water, green tea, and coffee before him. He picked up the kettle and poured water into the cups of green tea and coffee one by one.

“Water can mix with both green tea and coffee without any issues, but what do you think happens when you mix A and B together?”

“Since it’s oil, I assume they wouldn’t mix?”

In response to Serena’s answer, Nocturne smiled faintly and poured the coffee into the cup of green tea.

Perhaps he had cast some magic in the process, for the coffee and green tea didn’t mix but instead formed two distinct layers. Only for a moment, though. Soon, the boundary between the two liquids began to bubble and boil.

“Uh…”

Serina hesitated, sensing something ominous. Moments later, the coffee in the cup erupted in a frothy explosion, spilling over and causing the color of the green tea to change.

Completely unperturbed by her growing unease, Nocturne spoke softly.

“The reason there are no relevant studies is simple. As you can see…”