I’m the Dying Emperor’s Doctor

Episode 6

Azaid suddenly recalled Serena at Anna’s words.

The commotion from this morning about changing the curtains immediately came to mind, and Azaid could now guess the reason for the curtain swap.

‘Making a fuss first thing in the morning… She went through with it.’

Feeling as though something annoying had been set in motion, Azaid gave a curt order.

“Change it back. It’s too bright.”

At Azaid’s firm tone, Anna blinked, startled.

‘Huh? Does His Majesty not understand the meaning of these curtains?’

She had assumed the matter was settled between the two, so she was taken aback. After a brief pause, Anna spoke hesitantly.

“Well… Lady Serena disposed of all the spare blackout curtains.”

“What?”

“I’m sorry.”

Anna bowed her head, flustered and unable to defend herself. She had no excuse if the emperor chose to reprimand her.

Meanwhile, Azaid let out a hollow laugh, astonished by Serena’s meticulousness. It was as if she had predicted he would order the curtains to be changed back.

:If I change them, she’ll probably try to switch them again.’

For some reason, Azaid could already foresee Serena’s next reaction, which brought a faint smile to his lips. At that moment, Anna asked in a gloomy tone,

“Should I go and get new ones now?”

“Will she really insist on changing them?”

Anna cautiously probed his intentions, and Azaid replied,

“…Leave it. Just let it be.”

The faint smile from earlier lingered on his lips, and seeing this, Anna brightened.

‘Oh, I see! He’s just nitpicking to avoid revealing that the curtains are a couple’s item!’

It seemed the emperor was more bashful than she’d thought. Struggling to suppress her amusement, Anna cheerfully responded,

“Understood! I’ll take my leave now.”

Her energetic reply made Azaid glance at her with suspicion.

‘Why does she seem unusually cheerful today?’

“Fine.”

Azaid waved his hand dismissively, and Anna withdrew.

As for Azaid, he returned to his original plan and headed toward the bed. Then something suddenly caught his eye.

Was it because Serena had been pestering him since morning?

His gaze fixed on the curtains. The violet-hued fabric reminded him faintly of Serena.

Of course, the color was paler than her hair, but it still drew his attention simply because it was purple.

Then, as he noticed the yellow flowers blooming outside the window, Serena’s golden eyes came to mind.

“Why? Are you surprised that someone like me, a mere illegitimate child, has a mana core?”

Her voice, though questioning, carried no anger, and her expression remained calm. That had left Azaid even more unsettled.

He hadn’t intended to demean her background; after all, Azaid himself was an illegitimate child of a maid. If that had been his intent, it would have been self-deprecating.

What intrigued him was the fact that someone ignored by the baron’s family could use a mana core.

Regardless of her background, it was an extraordinary talent that anyone would envy.

According to her personal records, she had left the baron’s estate to live alone in a small house while working as a doctor.

If the baron had known she was an awakened one, they wouldn’t have let her go so easily.

‘Does Baron Vincent not know?’

Azaid pondered whether he should investigate further but realized he had been thinking about Serena this entire time.

‘This isn’t the time for that.’

Azaid shook off his thoughts about her and returned to his purpose. He threw himself onto the bed and pulled the blanket over himself, intending to nap.

But the bed felt unusually cozy today. As he absentmindedly stroked the blanket, he murmured,

“What’s this? Why does it feel so soft?”

The room’s air was fresher than usual, and the blanket felt fluffy to the touch. The dampness from before was gone, just from changing the curtains and ventilating the space.

‘She’s actually somewhat useful.’

A soft smile crept onto Azaid’s lips. He had been furious about being woken up that morning, but once awake, he had to admit he felt refreshed.

Though Azaid had grown accustomed to living haphazardly, Serena’s unusual interventions weren’t entirely unwelcome.

In the imperial palace, people usually cowered whenever he expressed his temper, meekly complying with his every whim. Most feared provoking the short-tempered emperor and inviting punishment.

As a result, no one ever interfered with his idle lifestyle.

Though naturally laid-back, Azaid had another reason for his indolence as emperor.

He had learned a harsh truth from witnessing the deaths of his siblings.

‘Exceptional royals are targeted by the nobility.’

While the nobles might currently be too afraid of the emperor’s power to act, in time, they would attempt to undermine the throne.

So, he chose to play the role of a careless emperor who posed no threat.

Since ascending to the throne, Azaid had maintained this facade, and it proved effective. He was quietly handling various affairs out of the nobility’s sight. Whenever suspicions arose, he would throw a tantrum, acting like a spoiled child to divert attention.

“Ah, there he goes acting out again,” they’d mutter, clicking their tongues.

Of course, this role suited his personality well, and he enjoyed the duality of his life.

As he sprawled on the bed, another memory came to mind—a funny expression Leonard had made when Azaid had unexpectedly shown up for state affairs earlier than usual.

“Your Majesty, are you feeling unwell?”

Azaid had never seen Leonard’s eyes grow so wide before.

Since becoming emperor, he had never arrived early for state matters, so his appearance was understandably shocking.

Normally, after a check-up, he would feign exhaustion and return to sleep.

But today, his head wasn’t aching, so he had managed to tackle a good amount of pending work.

Even a reckless emperor needed to fulfill his duties occasionally.

If word got out that his early start was due to an eccentric doctor, it would only add to his reputation.

Whether he could keep up this morning routine was another matter entirely.

With drooping eyelids, Azadeh blinked slowly before drifting into slumber.

Meanwhile, Serena was making the most of her third life. This time around, her circumstances were markedly different from her previous ones.

As soon as Serena entered the imperial palace, she was selected to join the line of royal physicians and was even granted an Isring. This new position offered her far greater freedom of action and the ability to intervene compared to her previous role, which had clear limitations.

‘If I had known it would turn out like this, I would have acted more boldly sooner.’

Serena was determined to make full use of her newfound authority.

In truth, during her previous two lives, she had uncovered clues about Azaid’s illness. The primary one was that the initial symptoms were related to body temperature.

This revelation came as a result of her selfless intervention during a rampage, where she saved him and earned recognition. However, as a mere lower-tier palace physician in her second life, Serena had neither the means nor the influence to investigate the emperor’s illness thoroughly. She simply followed orders, prescribed treatments, and met her end as dispensable as a severed tail.

‘Last time, it seemed like the mana core was the cause…’

She had one year—if she couldn’t resolve it within that time, it would become impossible to act. While she confidently requested one year from the emperor, in truth, that was all the time she had left.

Determined to use her time wisely, Serena visited the department responsible for managing the emperor’s food and medicinal concoctions. She wanted to check if anything he consumed might be triggering his mana core.

“I’d like to review the medicines and foods His Majesty regularly consumes.”

“Ah, one moment.”

The steward managing the herbs and food ingredients responded briefly as he sifted through some documents.

After a while, the steward handed Serena a magically replicated list of the recent foods and medicines Azaid had consumed.

“Thank you.”

Serena responded curtly, gathered the documents, and headed toward the garden—it was too far to return to her room to read them.

The weather was clear, making it a good day to review the documents outside. Serena found a suitable bench, sat down, and began examining the papers.

She first unfolded the list of foods Azaid had eaten over the past month. Being the emperor, every action of his was meticulously recorded, resulting in an incredibly detailed account.

Before she even turned the first page, Serena clicked her tongue.

‘My goodness, he eats way too many sweets. At this rate, he’ll end up with diabetes.’

The sheer quantity of desserts astonished her. It seemed he was given whatever he asked for without hesitation.

‘To think his diet was this poorly managed.’

She wondered what the palace nutritionists were even doing.

Eating such salty and sweet foods so frequently explained why he struggled to sleep at night. And without proper rest, it was no wonder he was lethargic and irritable in the mornings.

‘This household is full of weak-hearted fools.’

Shaking her head, Serena ignored her own humble beginnings and scorned the situation.

‘I’ll have to start him on a sugar fast immediately.’

Clicking her tongue in disapproval, Serena continued reading through the documents. She was about to move on to the list of medicines the emperor was taking when she heard it.

“Meow.”

The sound of a cat’s cry made her look up.

“Hmm?”

Somehow, a gray cat had appeared at her feet, staring at her intently.

“When did you get so close?”

Serena found the sudden appearance of the cat fascinating. Judging by its well-maintained, glossy fur, it seemed to be someone’s pet.

As she debated whether to reach out and pet it, the gray cat wagged its tail like a dog and leaped onto Serena’s lap.

“Ah!”

Before she could react, the cat landed right on top of her documents and began scratching them vigorously.

“No, stop!”

“Meow!”

Serena shot to her feet, holding the documents high above her head.

Perhaps dissatisfied with this, the cat suddenly grabbed one of the documents in its mouth and darted off.