I’m the Dying Emperor’s Doctor

Chapter 93

“…D-Don’t move!”

Patrick, feeling threatened, clenched the potion tightly and issued a warning.

In truth, Patrick didn’t fully understand what this potion was meant for. He could only guess that the Duke had created it as a means to keep the Emperor in check.

By the time he had been brought into the research, it was already in its advanced stages. Therefore, he didn’t completely understand the synergy between the two potions. He had only heard that they were fatal to Awakened beings.

And Nocturne, standing before him, was one of those Awakened. If things went wrong, this potion would be enough to threaten him here.

Nocturne smirked mockingly at Patrick’s warning.

“Why so tense? Can’t brothers share some information and have a little fun together?”

“D-Don’t come any closer!”

“You keep saying that, and it only makes me more curious. What exactly were you up to, Patrick?”

Nocturne showed no sign of backing down. It was foolish—an act born out of ignorance about the potion’s potential fatality to him.

Strangely, though, it wasn’t Nocturne who was shrinking back but Patrick. To Patrick, Nocturne’s soft smile looked devilish.

Patrick stumbled backward on trembling legs. Whenever Nocturne smiled like that, it sent chills down his spine.

“I didn’t want to resort to force, but it seems I have no choice.”

Nocturne used magic to tear down the blackout curtains, attempting to bind Patrick. His plan was to subdue and interrogate him.

But at that moment, the terrified Patrick hurled the red potion straight at Nocturne.

Sizzle!

As soon as the red potion made contact with Nocturne’s mana, it triggered a bizarre reaction. At the same time, the magic holding the curtains dissipated, and they dropped to the floor.

“Hmm?”

Nocturne tilted his head in confusion at the disruption of his magic. He was trying to assess the situation when Patrick’s eyes gleamed with desperation, and he threw the remaining blue potion at Nocturne. Nocturne instinctively sensed danger and blocked it with Isring.

Boom!

The potion exploded violently upon contact with the fire magic. The chain reaction caused other potions in the lab to ignite, bursting one after another.

“Arghhh!”

Patrick cowered and screamed in terror. At this rate, the building wouldn’t withstand the shock and would collapse.

“I was trying to handle this gently!”

Nocturne lunged to grab Patrick by the scruff of his neck.

“Ughhh…”

But Patrick convulsed, foaming at the mouth, before collapsing limply like a paper doll.

“What is this…?”

Nocturne approached Patrick in shock and placed a hand under his nose. But Patrick had already stopped breathing.

“…”

Nocturne’s face turned cold. At that moment, the surrounding chemicals began to bubble and hiss. There was no time to linger. With a sense of dread, Nocturne turned and rushed out the door.

KWOOM!

With an earth-shaking roar, the building where Patrick had fallen collapsed entirely. It was as if it had been designed to self-destruct in emergencies.

The barrier surrounding the building dissipated with a faint shimmer. It seemed the entrance had been intentionally destroyed.

“This is insane.”

Nocturne clenched his fist at the now-vanished evidence, a curse slipping from his lips.

He had overestimated Patrick. If he’d known Patrick was this weak-willed and thoughtless, he would have approached more cautiously.

“What a mess… tch.”

As Nocturne lifted his arm to rub his forehead, he winced in pain.

The arm that had come into contact with the potion was tingling as if struck by lightning. Strange blotches appeared and disappeared repeatedly on his skin.

“…”

The sheer potency of the potion sent a chill down Nocturne’s spine. Even seeing it with his own eyes, he couldn’t quite believe it.

The red potion had nullified magic upon contact. The blue potion had ignited explosively when exposed to fire magic.

If there were two potions, it seemed likely they were designed to create an even greater synergy when used together.

Furthermore, judging by their reaction to magic, their intended purpose wasn’t entirely unguessable.

“This stuff is seriously dangerous.”

Nocturne looked down at his trembling hand. Half of his usual gloves had been blown away. The mana core on the back of his hand vibrated erratically, almost as if it sensed danger. Just then—

“Freeze!”

Guards, responding to the explosion, arrived and surrounded Nocturne in a tight formation.

“Oh, great.”

Nocturne let out a dry laugh at the sight of the guards encircling him. He raised both hands to show he had no intention of fighting, but in that instant, a pair of shackles snapped around his wrists.

“What did you just say?”

Azaid stared blankly at the report he had just received. Leonard, clutching the back of his head in frustration, spoke.

“Nocturne, that lunatic, blew up a mansion in the middle of the city.”

“…”

“The guards have disarmed him and are currently interrogating him.”

“Hah.”

Azaid was dumbfounded by the news about Nocturne. He hadn’t been around recently, and now he’d gone and caused this mess.

“Were there any casualties?”

“They’re still assessing, but it was apparently an abandoned house, so there shouldn’t be any.”

“And Nocturne? Is he unharmed?”

“Well… they say he’s not in great condition.”

“Not in great condition? What do you mean?”

“We’ve issued a summons to the palace. You’ll need to see for yourself…”

Before Leonard could finish speaking, a servant entered, announcing Nocturne’s arrival.

Azaid rose abruptly and made his way to the interrogation room. Upon seeing Nocturne sitting there with shackles around his wrists, Azaid couldn’t help but let out a deep sigh.

As soon as he saw him, he had intended to get angry, but seeing Nocturne sitting there so powerlessly drained all the strength from him.

“Remove the handcuffs.”

At Azaid’s command, the knight removed the handcuffs, and after that, the knights retreated, leaving only Leonard behind.

Once the three were left alone, Nocturne casually rotated his wrist. Azaid leaned his upper body against the table, staring at Nocturne as he asked,

“Nocturne. What exactly have you been doing out there?”

“…….”

“And why did you blow up the building? If you have a problem with me, just hit me. Don’t protest with your body.”

At Azaid’s growl, Nocturne, who had been silent the whole time, briefly responded.

“It wasn’t me.”

“Then?”

“It was an accident. I barely escaped with my life.”

As Nocturne tidied his disheveled hair, his unusually pale hands and the markings on them stood out. It was strange to see him barehanded, as he usually kept his mana core covered with gloves.

Azaid began carefully examining Nocturne’s appearance. When he noticed grotesque welts surrounding the markings on Nocturne’s mana core, he frowned. Noticing Azaid’s expression, Nocturne hid the back of his hand and spoke.

“The Duke is conducting some strange experiments. I was tracking that when the accident happened.”

“Experiments?”

“I’m not entirely sure, but one thing’s certain — it’s deadly for Awakened ones. I didn’t want to find out with my own body, but here we are.”

At Nocturne’s self-deprecating response, Azaid grabbed his wrist and asked urgently.

“Wait, are you really okay? Now that I look closer, you’re deathly pale.”

As Azaid pointed out, Nocturne’s face was devoid of color. Moreover, the wrist he was holding felt like it was burning with fever. Nocturne smiled faintly and muttered.

“No. I don’t think I’m okay.”

“You…”

Azaid frowned at his nonchalant answer. Nocturne chuckled weakly and spoke again.

“Friend, if you don’t hate me too much yet, could you call Miss Serina for me?”

“In this condition, you should have been treated a long time ago!”

“I don’t trust any other doctor.”

At Nocturne’s words, Azaid ran a hand roughly over his face before calling out to Leonard, who was waiting nearby.

“Leonard.”

“Yes.”

Leonard, understanding the situation, quickly left the interrogation room. Azaid released Nocturne’s wrist roughly and scolded him.

“You pick the most infuriating ways to act, yet now you call me ‘friend.'”

At Azaid’s rebuke, Nocturne let out a faint laugh. Judging by his condition, he truly seemed to be in pain.

“That’s why you’re my only friends.”

“If you think I’ll let this slide, you’re dead wrong. Once you’re healed, you’re finished, you bastard.”

“If I’m going to die anyway, there’s no point in getting treated.”

“Shut up, Nocturne.”

When Azaid growled and glared at him, Nocturne shrugged and raised both hands in surrender.

Shortly after, Serina arrived. The moment she saw Nocturne, she gasped in shock. His face was even paler than before, which was unsurprising.

“Mr. Nocturne? What happened to your face?”

“It’s been a while, Miss Serina.”

“I was briefed on the situation while coming here. Excuse me for a moment.”

As Nocturne tried to joke, Serena briskly rolled up his sleeve.

“Oh my goodness…”

She let out a shallow sigh upon seeing Nocturne’s mana core vibrating intensely.

The grotesque welts, like creeping vines, had spread up to his forearm. The cycles of swelling and subsiding were irregular, suggesting the mana core was attempting to recover on its own.

Because of this, the mana core couldn’t settle, emitting a deep, ominous hum. It was clear that the mana core alone wasn’t enough to heal him.

Serena, her expression grave, reached into her bag and pulled out something.

‘I never thought I’d have to use this on Mr. Nocturne.’