After going through twists and turns, Sena, having administered all the medicine, heaved a sigh of relief.
It’s so exhausting just to take medicine once.
The future seems dark, so dark.
“Remember, from now on, you must take the medicine at this time.”
-Hmm.
Meanwhile, Astria’s expression hinted at something serious.
‘I guess words won’t get through like this.’
Sena addressed the maid.
“Miss.”
“No need for formality. Just call me Betty.”
“Alright, Betty.”
He pulled out a note from his pocket and handed it to her. Betty took it, surprised.
Suddenly, he remembered what she said during their first encounter.
-Rude.
‘…Her attitude seems quite different now.’
For reasons unknown.
“The things written there are herbs needed for treatment in the future. Get them as soon as possible, and let me know if anything is impossible.”
“Yes, I… I understand.”
“And make sure to ventilate properly in the morning. The air feels stuffy.”
“T-That’s… Her Majesty said it’s cold.”
“It’s necessary for treatment. Please ventilate.”
“Yes, understood.”
“And most importantly, could you send me a list of Her Majesty’s diet? I’ll eliminate any unhealthy foods.”
“Yes!”
Betty almost responded like a soldier. Indeed, communication worked better with secretaries than with CEOs.
Sena still bowed his head slightly towards the unresponsive Empress.
“Well then.”
“Hey.”
A slightly urgent voice.
As he was about to leave, Sena turned his head slightly.
Astria was looking at him with an expressionless face.
“Can you fix it?”
But the emotion in her voice was clearly hope.
In this profession, you could read such emotions astonishingly well.
That’s why being a doctor was too much.
No falsehood was forgiven for those who hoped.
You always had to disappoint many people’s expectations.
That was professional ethics.
“Full recovery is impossible.”
You shouldn’t say you can do what you can’t.
Conversely, you shouldn’t say you can’t do what you can.
Honesty.
It was a necessary value for those dealing with human lives.
“But, at least, I can improve your legs.”
Sena half closed his eyes.
How would the Empress react?
It was somewhat rude even to think about it, and the royal physician had said, “It’s impossible.”
Perhaps he would meet an angel today, not in 76 days.
“I see.”
Sena opened his eyes slightly.
Astria was smiling.
“That’s a pleasing answer.”
**
[18]
The Empress’s time had increased by 9 days.
Seeing the increase immediately after taking the medicine, it seemed the medicine was effective.
It would be better to live longer than my remaining time if possible, he thought, putting his hand on his waist.
This would be the room where he would stay from now on. Except for being close to the Empress’s bed, it was a very nice place.
Let’s start cleaning.
“Let’s see.”
Although the palace maids cleaned every day, it seemed Sena was a bit picky.
“Here we go.”
He grunted while pulling out the drawers.
Sena’s lips curled slightly upwards.
“I found you, you demons.”
As expected, it seemed they hadn’t cleaned here. It was full of dust.
He rolled up his sleeves and grabbed a broom and mop.
“Hehe, you only have two lives.”
Each sweep of dust disappearing as he passed by was like a day’s stress melting away.
Cleaning thoroughly and then taking a nap—that was happiness, nothing else.
But perhaps he was too engrossed in cleaning.
“Cough, cough.”
A cough escaped him.
The problem was, there seemed to be no sign of it stopping.
Sena grabbed the drawer with his hand and covered his mouth.
After coughing for a while, he looked at his trembling hand. It was stained with blood.
“…”
He should be used to it by now, but it never seemed to get any easier.
It was a bitter smile that crossed his lips.
Knock, knock.
With a gentle knock, a familiar voice sounded.
-‘Sena, may I come in?’
“Just a moment!”
He shouted loudly, quickly took out a handkerchief to wipe the blood, put the used one in the drawer, and hurriedly closed it.
“Come in!”
Click.
The door opened, and Chris, holding a bottle of wine in his left hand, entered.
He looked at Sena in cleaning attire and the messy room with a puzzled expression.
“Sena, shouldn’t the maids do the cleaning?”
“What do you know? Cleaning should be done by oneself for a sense of accomplishment.”
“…Isn’t it just OCD?”
Chris placed the wine on the table.
“Oh, is it a gift for starting work?”
“Would you like a glass?”
“…Is being the Guardian Knight of the Empress not as busy as I thought?”
It was still daytime.
“That’s not true. I have night shifts this week.”
“Oh, working the second shift?”
“It’s the third shift.”
‘He looks so innocent in white…’
Sena didn’t know, but it was Chris’s usual jest.
There were no fixed working hours for the Empress’s Guardian Knight. They moved whenever needed.
So, it was appropriate to be free until the emergency arose.
“Forget the wine. I’ll just take your appreciation.”
Sena picked up the kettle from the stove and headed to the shelf.
He placed the dripper on the cup, added ground coffee, and slowly poured water over it. As the coffee dripped, he savored the moment.
This was the only luxury Sena truly enjoyed.
“You still enjoy that tasteless tea.”
“Chris, I pity you. You’re missing out on one of life’s pleasures.”
“It’s only you who enjoys that tasteless black water. What pleasure is there in that bitter tea?”
Chris looked at Sena with a face that couldn’t understand.
He couldn’t fathom why Sena spent a fortune to drink that tasteless black liquid.
After all, Sena was the only one in the world who drank it.
“But, aren’t you going to drink it? I went to all this trouble. It’s expensive, you know.”
Chris looked at Sena with a puzzled expression as he held up the wine bottle.
‘If I drink alcohol and my life shortens by a day, what’s the use?’
Just imagining it was horrifying.
“This is enough.”
He sat at the table with the fully brewed coffee in hand.
Chris sighed.
“…Drinking coffee is fine, but next time, leave it to the maids. They’ll be assigned soon.”
“What? Do you think just anyone can do it?”
He spoke with an assertive tone, but his true feelings were different.
‘What if they see me vomiting blood?’
Sena didn’t want to let others know that his lifespan was short.
He wanted to quietly pass away without anyone knowing.
“So, there’s no need for the maids. Don’t insist.”
“Your stubbornness remains.”
Chris chuckled.
After a moment of silence.
Chris cautiously asked.
“How is Her Majesty’s condition?”
“She’s stable.”
Sena answered as if he had been waiting, placing both hands on the table.
He spoke with a serious expression.
“Honestly, it’s surprising she’s still in her right mind. Most people wouldn’t even be able to move.”
Tangled threads.
There were many ways to untangle them, but Sena’s way was not to delve too deeply. He tackled what was right in front of him, methodically. That was Sena’s approach.
The reason he deliberately didn’t delve into the Empress’s deep veins was because the Empress was a tangled mess even without looking too deep.
…To be exact, he didn’t even dare to look.
“The possibility… does it exist?”
“You won’t know unless you try.”
If asked if there was a possibility, that was the only answer he could give.
Even for a person at death’s door, there was always a slim chance of survival.
“But…”
He had to tell Chris the truth too.
Considering everything, the chance of the Empress surviving was slim.
He advised Chris to prepare for the Empress’s death in advance.
“That’s enough.”
However, Chris got up without waiting for a response.
“…?”
Sena tilted his head in confusion.
“Weren’t you here to inquire about Her Majesty’s condition?”
With a faint smile, Chris replied.
“Do you know?”
“Huh?”
“When you said that, Sena, you often saved even the dead.”
‘Did I do that?’
He couldn’t remember.
**
Astria was attending to her duties.
Currently, the Laperci Empire was maintaining one front.
Although it was halfway to pacification, the workload was piled up like a mountain.
Issues such as food shortages due to the prolonged war, and recruitment for the upcoming war effort, among others.
And on top of that, the usual tasks of the Empress.
Days were busy beyond belief. At least, if only the war issue could be resolved, things would be somewhat manageable.
‘If only my legs were fine.’
Thinking that made her regret her sorry state of legs.
For such a trivial war, she could quickly end it if only her legs were fine.
Instead, she couldn’t do that and ended up with more work in this miserable state.
“It’s a separate matter.”
“Speak.”
“It’s about the recent appointment of the physician. There’s more opposition from the church than expected. What should we do?”
Astria handed over the document to Betty, signing it briefly.
“Kill them.”
“Yes.”
Giving the order to kill without a hint of hesitation, Astria silently placed the next document on her desk.
“Your Majesty, it’s time for your meal.”
“Yes. I’ll finish this first.”
As she wrote a brief order on the document and stamped it, she suddenly felt something odd.
‘…My hand tremor seems to have lessened.’
Now that she thought about it, the tasks she had to deal with since this morning felt natural.
Was it fixed?
No, Astria immediately denied it.
It couldn’t be possible.
Even after all kinds of clergy had bestowed their divine powers, nothing had changed. How could simply taking medicine once result in improvement?
She thought it was just a strange feeling and headed to the dining hall.
Astria felt slightly better. Relieving the stress of excessive work through eating helped.
Astria’s taste was for sweet food.
Especially extremely sweet food.
Cakes filled with whipped cream, or bread overflowing with chocolate—those were Astria’s favorite foods.
As she arrived at the dining hall and sat down, holding her knife…
To enjoy her feast as usual…
Astria’s expression stiffened.
“Chef.”
“Yes, yes!”
“…Strange. Is my vision blurry? Why is there only greens?”
It was odd. There was no gigantic cake, as it should always be.
All she saw were greens, a salad she wouldn’t touch even if it were given for free.
“Uh, Sena said that, for Her Majesty’s health, sweet foods should be avoided as much as possible…”
Astria couldn’t move for a while, still holding her knife.
