I’m the Dying Emperor’s Doctor

Chapter 51

Was Serena imagining it, or did Azaid’s smile look threatening? As she subtly averted her gaze, she mumbled a weak rebuttal.

“No, absolutely not.”

“Then why did you suddenly bite my finger?”

“That was…”

Internally screaming at her blunder, Serena fiddled nervously with her lower lip.

Seeing her obvious discomfort, Azaid’s lips curled into an amused grin. Not wanting to miss the opportunity, he intentionally hid his expression, feigning sadness as he lowered his gaze.

“I thought I’ve been treating you really well. Was I lacking in some way?”

“Y-Your Majesty…”

“I honestly thought my finger was going to be severed.”

Serena felt her insides churn as Azaid’s demeanor visibly turned dejected. Strangely, his pitiful act was harder to deal with than him getting angry.

Panicking, she grabbed his hand and exclaimed, “I-I’m sorry! I promise I won’t drink again!”

“…Why are you holding my hand?”

Momentarily forgetting he was teasing her, Azaid stared at her hand. Her small hand, barely able to cover his, oddly looked adorable to him.

‘Adorable? My finger?’

Frowning at his own absurd thought, he noticed Serena misinterpreting his reaction. She quickly withdrew her hand and began to explain.

“Oh, I just wanted to make sure you wouldn’t run away. I’ve gotten into the habit of grabbing you without thinking.”

“…”

“Are your fingers okay? No bruises or anything, right?”

When her hand slipped away, Azaid was hit with an unexpected sense of loss. He even realized he might have wanted her to hold on a bit longer. Perhaps he had grown too accustomed to Serena’s touch.

‘What a terrifying level of familiarity.’

Remaining wary of her, Azaid replied, “It’s nothing serious. No marks remain anyway.”

“That’s a relief.”

Serena awkwardly smiled back. Then, as if attempting to subtly change the subject, she asked, “By the way, was everything fine at the ball yesterday?”

“If you mean the Nocturne situation, it’s been handled. All the conspirators were captured, and the duke is likely dealing with their punishment.”

Fortunately, Azaid didn’t seem to notice anything odd and answered straightforwardly.

“So they were caught. Of course, planning a terrorist act at a ball couldn’t just be ignored.”

She had worried that the matter might be swept under the rug due to Nocturne being an illegitimate child, but thankfully, proper punishment seemed to have been served.

“It might have been simpler if Nocturne were the only target, but unfortunately, Lady Greenwood got involved too.”

“Lady Greenwood?”

Now that he mentioned it, Nocturne had said he would inform Ophelia about something. She assumed it was because of that, but Azaid continued.

“They tried to stir up chaos with a weapon.”

“What?”

“Thankfully, they were subdued and taken away, but since the duke dotes on Lady Greenwood, it won’t end easily.”

“My goodness… Why would they do such a thing?”

“Alcohol.”

“Ah.”

As the topic circled back to alcohol, Serena wanted to slap herself. She had successfully shifted the conversation, only to end up back where they started.

Embarrassed, Serena rolled her eyes, and this time Azaid redirected the conversation.

“I’m heading out for the hunt today.”

“Oh, starting right away?”

“It’s more of a formality. There’s a lake in the forest—have you ever been there?”

“Ah, Nocturne…”

She almost mentioned that Nocturne had shown her, but caught herself. Azaid smirked knowingly.

“So you’ve been there.”

She felt like she had fallen into one of his traps but smiled calmly.

“What time are you leaving? Should I join you?”

“Where else would you be if not by my side?”

“Well, there are others from the palace accompanying you, and I have books to read…”

Dragging her words, she smiled awkwardly. Azaid frowned at her clear attempt to avoid joining him.

Azaid, unusually prickly today, was hard to deal with. Normally, she would have stuck close to him, but the ball incident had been resolved, and there didn’t seem to be any more imminent threats.

She planned to spend the remaining time immersing herself in ancient texts. Recently, she had come across a record mentioning someone with a mana core but unable to use magic, just like her. Though it was a single sentence, the footnotes referenced other texts she wanted to investigate.

“Why? Do you want to rest?”

“I think I might still be a bit hungover…”

Feigning discomfort, Serena pressed her head with her hand, making Azaid shake his head.

“Tsk, I thought as much. Drinking that much, it’s no wonder.”

Then, to her surprise, he gently placed his hand on her forehead, as if checking her temperature. Startled, Serena blinked. His hand was larger than she had expected.

“You don’t have a fever.”

“Seems that way.”

“I think I’ll feel better after some rest… But I guess I should still go, right?”

Please say I don’t have to.

Her silent plea must have reached him because Azaid said, “It’s fine. We’re just scouting on the first day anyway.”

“Thank you! I’ll join you next time, I promise.”

“You’re answering a bit too quickly.”

Before he could change his mind, Serena hastily added, “Oh, and about your heart racing—it’s likely stress-induced arrhythmia.”

“Stress-induced arrhythmia?”

“When people are frequently startled or stressed, their blood pressure can spike, causing their heart to race temporarily.”

“There hasn’t been anything particularly stressful.”

“Recently, Jack’s injury startled you, and considering Nocturne’s incident yesterday, the constant dangers around you might have caused subconscious stress.”

“I’m not that fragile.”

“That’s your opinion, but your body doesn’t lie. You should listen to it.”

Returning to her usual assertiveness, Serena’s firm words made Azaid fall silent.

“It’s good to care for your friends, but your health comes first.”

“Enough with the nagging.”

“Unfortunately, I still have more to say. I’ll prescribe a sedative just in case. Take it if your heart races too much.”

Ignoring his complaints, she continued to speak firmly. Defeated, Azaid nodded.

“Hopefully, it’s just temporary, but if it persists, it could be dangerous. Let me know if the symptoms worsen.”

Ending with a sly smile, she added, “Alright, lecture over! I’ll go rest now. Be careful out there!”

Watching Serena briskly walk away, Azaid chuckled. She was such a peculiar presence, but undeniably amusing to have around.

The hunting festival progressed smoothly. With no incidents, Serena spent her days commuting to the archives. She even befriended the librarian, who started preparing snacks for her visits.

The librarian was a kind person. The wisdom that radiated from someone who clearly loved books and had read extensively was one of the traits Serena admired and wanted to emulate.

“You’re here again today.”

“Yes, I came again. If I want to read diligently before I leave, I need to come every day.”

“Are you, as a doctor, particularly interested in magic?”

“I feel like magic and medicine are only a hair’s breadth apart. I thought it might be helpful, so I’ve been reading about it.”

“And has it been helpful?”

“Hmm. I’m not sure. Finding the exact information I need in this vast library feels harder than finding a friend in the capital.”

Serena let out a deep sigh. Unlike last time, when she’d been overjoyed to find a single clue, she was now back to square one.

The book cited in the footnote wasn’t in the library. Just in case, she checked with a bookstore, but to her surprise, they said the book had never been sold there.

Although the author’s other works were available, that particular book was nowhere to be found. It seemed likely that the excerpt had been taken from a personal copy owned by the author.

“There’s a book I’m looking for, but it seems the author only made a limited number of personal copies. It’s not sold anywhere.”

“If it’s a private edition, I’m very interested in those too. If you tell me the title, I might be able to help you find it.”

“Really?”

When Serena’s eyes sparkled with excitement, the librarian smiled warmly and nodded.

“It’s a book called The Birth of Magic. The author is…”

“Linda Quilton, right?”

“Yes, that’s right! Do you know the book, Librarian?”

Serena asked in an excited tone as the librarian mentioned the author. The librarian smiled gently and replied,

“Of course. That author was my younger sibling.”

“What?”

Serena gasped in surprise, and the librarian burst into laughter.

“I never expected you’d be talking about my sibling’s book. Since they were such an obscure author, that book didn’t get picked up by any publisher. They ended up making a few copies themselves and selling only a handful.”

“Would it be possible for me to meet the author, if it’s not too much trouble?”

“Unfortunately, that’s impossible. My sibling passed away last year.”

“Oh.”

Serena blinked, unsure how to express her condolences at the mention of their passing. However, the kind librarian offered her a warm smile and said,

“It’s alright. In fact, it comforts me greatly to know there’s a reader out there who remembers my sibling.”

“No, it’s an honor for me instead.”

When Serena waved her hands, flustered, the librarian, as if reminiscing about the past, began to speak with a fond expression.

“The Birth of Magic was my sibling’s greatest pain. We have plenty of copies at home. They didn’t sell well, so they’re all piled up in the storage room.”