I’m the Dying Emperor’s Doctor

Episode 79

“What?”

Serena blinked at the unexpected reaction. She had anticipated Zed would ask what was going on, so she had prepared an appropriate response. But for him to simply tell her to continue? As Serena stared at him blankly, Zed continued speaking.

“I don’t know what the matter is, but there’s an empty pergola over there.”

His tone was clean and polite, but the suggestion sounded like something a broker would offer when pointing out a good spot to dispose of someone.

“Oh, thank you.”

Serena thanked him with a bewildered expression. Lydia’s scream earlier had already made her worried about drawing a crowd, so the suggestion came as a relief.

“Well then, I must be off. I’m busy.”

With a faint smile, Serena began dragging Lydia off to an unknown destination. She needed to interrogate her first and then decide whether to let her live or not.

Lydia, seeing that Zed had no intention of helping her, looked shocked. She cried out pitifully as she was being dragged away.

“Please, help me! Sir, my sister is trying to kill me!”

“Oh dear, you’re family? Family matters should be resolved within the household.”

“Sir…!”

“Surely a sister wouldn’t actually kill her sibling. Please stop causing a scene and go quietly.”

Zed bowed politely and walked past Serena and Lydia—or so it seemed. Suddenly, Zed took off the coat he was wearing and draped it over Serena’s shoulders.

“It’s getting a bit chilly in the evening. Wear this.”

In that moment, a familiar scent wafted past Serena’s nose. But too preoccupied with restraining Lydia, she stammered awkwardly.

“Oh, you really don’t need to—”

“Just wear it. I tend to run warm anyway.”

Zed grinned and stepped back before she could refuse further.

“Then let me know where you’re staying. I’ll retrieve it later.”

At Serena’s request, Zed stepped closer and whispered softly, so only she could hear.

“Room 7 on the 6th floor. Or you can just leave it at the counter—it’s fine either way.”

His sweet voice carried the familiar fragrance once again. Zed finished speaking crisply and disappeared without hesitation.

Thanks to Zed’s intervention, Serena was able to drag Lydia to the secluded pergola.

“Let me gooo!”

Lydia struggled and thrashed, but Serena, who had been exercising regularly with Azaid, was too strong for her.

“If you don’t want to get beaten up, just cooperate, will you?”

“You wretched brat! Do you think you’ll get away with this?!”

“Instead of worrying about me, you should start worrying about yourself today.”

Serena ignored Lydia’s defiance and shoved her into the pergola.

“Explain.”

“Explain what?!”

“Everything you remember.”

At Serena’s commanding tone, Lydia bit her lower lip, her pride wounded. She hated how the situation had flipped against her so drastically.

‘And all because of her, my family is suffering!’

Tears of frustration welled in Lydia’s eyes, but she refused to show weakness in front of Serena. Instead, she raised her voice even more.

“Why should I remember something like that?!”

“You should remember at least what you’ve done.”

Serena had no intention of going easy on her. Previously, she had avoided dealing with Lydia altogether because she hated being entangled with her.

The whole ordeal at Vincent’s estate had been exhausting, and ignoring Lydia’s existence had felt like the easiest solution.

But she just kept provoking her.

“Did you think I’d let you off if you claimed not to remember?”

‘Why does she keep meddling in my life?’

Serena had already lost most of her composure. Her claim of wanting to hear the full story was just an excuse; she simply wanted to do something to Lydia.

Lydia’s legs trembled at Serena’s chilling demeanor. She couldn’t help but think she hadn’t done anything terribly wrong.

After all, she was an illegitimate child—a poison to her family. The harmony in their home had shattered the moment Serena appeared.

“If only you hadn’t existed, our family would’ve been happy!”

“Is that so?”

Serena grabbed Lydia by the collar and pulled her close.

“Let’s get this straight. It wasn’t me, but Viscount Vincent who caused all the problems in your family.”

“You—you…”

“Unhappy because of me? Don’t be ridiculous. Why are you blaming me for something caused by his infidelity? It wouldn’t have happened otherwise.”

“…”

“Admit it. You just needed someone to torment. Stop using flimsy excuses.”

“What did I do so wrong?!”

“Do you really not know, Lydia?”

Summoning every last bit of patience, Serena continued.

“For any reason, relentlessly tormenting someone is wrong. It destroys a person’s soul.”

“…”

“You crossed the line, Lydia.”

Lydia bit her lower lip tightly to hold back her tears at Serena’s harsh words. Though Serena wanted to beat her up out of anger, doing so would only make her no different from Lydia.

What was more important was to make Lydia remember the events of that day that she had forgotten. After all, Lydia was the only one who knew the key to unlocking those awakened memories.

Still, anger was anger. Unable to suppress her fury, Serena violently shoved Lydia away.

Lydia fell to the ground with a thud and began sobbing loudly. The unpleasant sound of her cries filled the gazebo.

“Waah! What do you want me to do if I can’t remember? If it was such a terrible incident, I would have remembered it! Hic!”

“Does it not occur to you that you bullied me so much that I’d rather forget it? Or do you want me to give you a taste of your own medicine before you stop spouting nonsense?”

“Sniff…! But you fought back so fiercely! Your attitude made me even angrier…”

Bang!

When Serena struck the gazebo pillar with her fist, Lydia gasped and held her breath. Blood began to seep from Serena’s right hand, crushed against the wood. After a chilling silence, Serena spoke.

“Don’t you dare blame this on me, Lydia.”

“…….”

“This is all because you’re just a horrible person.”

Blood dripped from Serena’s hand. It was reckless for a doctor to act this way, but it was a testament to how furious she was.

Lydia was startled, her mouth agape. From her expression, it seemed unlikely that questioning her further would yield any meaningful answers.

“Lydia, the next time we meet, you’d better remember exactly what happened that day. This is the only time I’ll give you any leeway. Next time…”

Serena glared at Lydia with piercing eyes as she warned her deliberately.

“I won’t hold back. Who knows what I might do?”

“…….”

“Get lost. I don’t even want to look at you.”

At Serena’s command, Lydia stumbled to her feet and disappeared. Even Lydia could tell that Serena’s state of mind was unstable.

Serena stood still for a long time, lost in thought. Honestly, she regretted striking the pillar the moment she did it.

It hurt more than she expected, and she immediately remembered how much she relied on her right hand for work.

“Ugh, this is a disaster,” she muttered, burying her face in her hands. She had let her emotions get the better of her, which was unlike her. Lydia’s inability to remember anything, combined with her audacity to shift the blame, had infuriated her.

“I should’ve hit Lydia instead of the pillar.”

“You really should have.”

“!!!”

Startled by the sudden intrusion, Serena turned around to see Zed standing there.

“…I didn’t know you had a habit of eavesdropping.”

Serena looked at Zed with a hint of annoyance. It was even more frustrating because he was the one who had shown her this place.

‘I should’ve dragged her to my room instead.’

While Serena briefly regretted her decision, Zed approached her and carefully took out a handkerchief from his pocket. Gently, he began wiping the blood from her hand.

“I was worried about you,” he said softly.

“Who? Lydia?”

“No, you.”

“…….”

“I’ve never seen that expression on your face before.”

She wanted to retort, “This is our first meeting today,” but held her tongue. Instead, she frowned at his cryptic remark. It seemed even a stranger could tell her expression was out of the ordinary.

After a brief glance at her face, Zed focused on her hand. He methodically wiped the blood away before loosening his tie and wrapping it around her wound. His first aid skills were surprisingly competent.

‘He’s better at this than His Majesty.’

Serena watched as the deep navy tie was neatly secured around her hand. Judging by its quality, it must have been quite expensive. Feeling a pang of guilt, she murmured, “If blood stains it, you won’t be able to use that tie again.”

“It’s fine. I have plenty at home.”

“…Must be nice.”

Having nothing else to say, Serena silently let him finish. While she could have tended to the wound herself, rejecting his offer to help would have been awkward for both of them.

Once he was done, Zed looked at her and said, “It’s not good to make a habit of hurting yourself.”

For some reason, his words felt scolding, and Serena replied hesitantly, “This is my first time. I already regret it.”

She had chastised Azaid for doing the same thing, and now that she had acted similarly, she could somewhat understand Azaid’s feelings.

‘He must have been unable to bear it, even as the Emperor.’

Serena clenched and opened her hand to check the tie’s tightness, wincing at the pain.

“It hurts more than I expected.”

“Does it hurt a lot?”

When she nodded silently, Zed frowned in concern and brushed a hand over his mouth.

After a moment, he said, “Would you wait here for a moment? Just for a little while.”

“You’re not planning to fetch medicine, are you?”

“I am.”

“No need. I have plenty in my room. I’ll take care of it myself.”

“Still…”

“Just the first aid is enough. Thanks to you, I feel a bit less angry now.”

“…If that’s the case, I’m glad.”

Zed’s reply was hesitant, almost shy, as he pressed his lips together. Serena watched him in silence before an idea struck her.

She had been wondering why Zed’s voice felt so familiar. Now it clicked—his voice reminded her of someone she knew.

‘Now that I think about it, he sounds like Azaid. Except his tone is a bit lower and more formal.’