I’m the Dying Emperor’s Doctor

Episode 48

“…You’ve arrived?”

“Yes. I heard there was some commotion while I was away.”

Leonard, failing to sense anything unusual from Azaid, stepped closer. Azaid responded lightly, pretending as though nothing had happened.

“It was nothing significant.”

Then, as he fanned his coat to cool off for no reason, Leonard moved even closer.

“Have you been drinking?”

“Oh, I had a bit of whiskey chocolate earlier…”

Only then did Azaid recall how Serena had forced him to eat the whiskey chocolate.

“You don’t usually like whiskey because it’s strong, yet you ate it just because it was sweet?”

“Well, roughly speaking, yes.”

Azaid avoided mentioning that it was Serena who had made him eat it.

So, that’s why…

He convinced himself that his still-racing heart and the heat he felt were merely the effects of the alcohol, nodding to himself in conclusion.

He reasoned that the way he had been mesmerized by Serena’s face earlier was simply because he was dazed by the alcohol. Just then, Leonard, who had checked on the sleeping Serena, asked:

“Why is Miss Serena asleep?”

“She ate over ten pieces of that chocolate.”

“You didn’t stop her?”

“She was already intoxicated before I could.”

While Azaid was explaining, Leonard moved to lift her. But an abrupt surge of resistance made Azaid stop him.

“Wait.”

“Yes?”

“I’ll carry her.”

“There’s no need. Your Majesty, it would be more fitting for you to rest…”

It was unusual for Azaid, who never took initiative in such matters, to volunteer, so Leonard tried to decline. However, Azaid subtly pushed him back, leaving himself to carry Serena instead.

Lifting Serena in his arms, Azaid adjusted her position to make sure she was comfortable. For some reason, she seemed to emit an unusually pleasant scent today.

Her softly resting head looked round and oddly endearing. It felt as though he was noticing for the first time that a person’s head could be so round, and he found himself staring at Serena for quite a while.

“Are you not leaving? Outside, it’s practically a drinking party.”

“I should go.”

Azaid responded slowly and began to walk. Strangely, his heart seemed to beat faster with each step. Perhaps the alcohol was taking full effect now.

The place, often referred to as the “sealed chamber,” was a small, windowless room with walls on all sides. Inside, there was only a chair, a table, and a single candle barely illuminating the surroundings.

James sat alone in the chamber, awaiting the duke’s punishment. Presumably, the other two were also confined to their respective chambers, awaiting their fate.

Damn it. Why did that bastard Patrick have to cause such a scene all of a sudden?

If he had lost control, he should have only targeted Nocturne. Instead, he had also attempted to attack Ophelia, who was standing nearby, escalating the situation.

The duke cherished Ophelia. As the sole legitimate daughter and a woman groomed to become the future empress, she was considered exceptionally precious.

Even though Patrick’s attempt had been thwarted, James doubted the duke would let the matter slide.

As James anxiously awaited the duke, the sound of footsteps echoed faintly from afar, growing louder and nearer. Instinctively, his shoulders tensed, and his muscles contracted.

Click.

The footsteps stopped precisely in front of James’s room. Through a small gap in the door, the duke’s cold, ash-gray eyes were visible. The duke spoke.

“James.”

“M-My Lord, t-this matter…”

Standing before the duke, James’s lips trembled. His eyes, filled with servility, resembled those of a dog afraid of being abandoned. The duke clicked his tongue softly in disapproval.

“You’ve done something unnecessary.”

“…”

“Did Nocturne displease you that much?”

“I just… I just didn’t want to see a traitor like Nocturne acting so brazenly…”

James raised his voice, seemingly spurred on by the duke’s words. But the duke’s sharp, cold expression caused him to quickly lower it again.

“I apologize, My Lord.”

Eventually, unable to withstand the mounting pressure, James bowed his head. The duke reprimanded him in a low tone.

“It would’ve been better not to act at all if you couldn’t do it properly, James.”

“…”

“Look at yourself. You don’t seem any different from the day you lost to Nocturne.”

James bit his lower lip at the harsh criticism, his fists trembling beneath the table.

Among the young men of Greenwood, James was currently the most favored by the duke. When Nocturne had been around, James was always second-best. Now that Nocturne was gone, he was first.

Yet he could never shake the feeling that he was still second.

Thus, every time he saw Nocturne, he was consumed by rage and the desire to torment him.

The boy he had once been able to trample on at will had suddenly become the best, abandoned his place as heir, and left the family entirely.

If that wasn’t rebellion, what was?

James couldn’t stop his body from trembling. The duke, gazing at him, knew James’s temperament better than anyone and had intentionally left it unchecked.

He had allowed it to fester, waiting for it to boil over into chaos, but the outcome was nothing more than childish antics. James’s actions were embarrassingly crude.

That was why he had yet to secure the duke’s acknowledgment as heir, always treading on eggshells. In terms of potential, Nocturne was far more suited to be the Duke of Greenwood.

The duke clicked his tongue, lamenting the loss of Nocturne, and delivered his verdict sharply.

“It would brighten Greenwood’s future more if we begged Nocturne to return to the family.”

“…”

“I suppose I expected too much from you.”

“M-My Lord…! I…!”

James leapt to his feet, unwilling to remain the discarded dog of the duke, and shouted. However, the duke abruptly cut him off.

“How much longer must I cover for you? A foolish dog is bound to lose even its own food bowl.”

“…”

“Remember this. The only reason you’re unharmed right now is because you haven’t dared to lay a finger on Ophelia.”

“Th-that means…”

“Patrick will soon be disowned. Whether he returns to his family’s home or continues living here as a servant, he is no longer a Greenwood. Treat him accordingly.”

“Gasp!”

James inhaled sharply at the duke’s merciless declaration. Among all the heirs of Greenwood, none were the duke’s biological children.

Technically, Nocturne was an exception, but as an illegitimate child of low birth, he, like Ophelia, wasn’t treated as a direct heir. Thus, all Greenwood heirs were essentially from collateral branches.

For generations, the family had adopted promising children from collateral lines, and their number was countless. The problem was how many survived the ordeal.

Most didn’t last three years before being expelled or leaving of their own accord. Patrick was one of the duke’s adopted heirs who had endured the longest.

Though timid and overly cautious, Patrick’s exceptional talent had kept him in the duke’s favor. He had authored dozens of academic papers under his name alone.

Greenwood valued scholarly pursuits over martial prowess, making Patrick a prized asset.

Yet today, he was disowned for a single reason—attacking Ophelia. James was terrified. What had happened to Patrick could just as easily happen to him.

“Please give me a chance to make amends!”

James cried out in desperation, causing the duke, who was about to leave, to halt his steps.

“Well, do you think you can even touch a hair on Nocturne? I doubt it.”

“…”

“You can’t even open this door. What could you possibly accomplish?”

At the duke’s mocking words, James collapsed to the ground. Only after further tormenting James’s pride did the duke finally disappear.

James stared silently at the melting candle before him. Its wax dripped like tears, burning away until it was nearly gone—just like the hope fading from James’s heart.

“A foolish dog is bound to lose even its own food bowl.”

The duke’s scathing remark lingered in James’s mind. The meaning was clear. The foolish dog was James, and Nocturne would be the one to take his food bowl.

James was seething. It was evident the duke still favored Nocturne. The thought that Nocturne might become the next Duke of Greenwood made James’s blood boil.

If only he had done things better. If he had gone beyond petty pranks and struck Nocturne with something more decisive…

No, if he had outright killed Nocturne, the duke might have praised him instead.

A glint of icy resolve suddenly flickered in James’s eyes.

Whoosh. Crack.

At that moment, the candle’s wax completely melted, extinguishing the flame. Darkness engulfed the room. Then, the duke’s voice echoed once more in James’s mind.

“You can’t even open this door. What could you possibly accomplish?”

‘Could it be…’

James murmured blankly, as if struck by a hammer, and slowly rose to his feet. He reached for the doorknob.

Creak.

The door opened effortlessly, as if it had never been locked.

‘It wasn’t locked to begin with.’

James’s lips twisted into a bitter smile. All Greenwood heirs were familiar with this confined space.

Since childhood, they had been locked here whenever they made mistakes. Because the door was always locked, no one had ever attempted to open it after becoming adults.

They had only focused on avoiding being confined, never on escaping once inside. Conditioned helplessness had blinded them to the fact that the door was open all along, trapping themselves.

Just like circus trainers tying a rope around a baby elephant’s leg to keep it from running away.

‘This time, it will be different, Your Grace.’

Clenching his teeth, James slowly stepped out of the chamber. Outside, there were no guards in sight.