Chapter 2
Serina could not logically comprehend this magical phenomenon.
Why do I keep regressing to this exact moment?
This time, she was certain she had truly died.
The first time, she had thought perhaps God had simply taken pity on her.
But now that she had begun her third life, there was no denying it.
It was a curse.
A curse in which she died and started over whenever she failed to save the Emperor.
And as if that weren’t bad enough, she had regressed to a point when she had already been appointed as an Imperial Palace physician and was waiting to enter the palace.
She couldn’t even run away.
A doctor’s fate after disobeying an Imperial decree was death, plain and simple.
“Why does everyone keep dying?!”
Serina was just about to scream at the top of her lungs when someone knocked on the door of her house.
As though she already knew who it was, a strange light flickered in Serina’s eyes.
“Serina Vincent, compose yourself and come with us.”
As expected, they had come to escort her to the Imperial Palace.
I absolutely refuse to die this time!
Even if I have to break that Emperor’s legs, I’ll keep him alive.
It was all or nothing.
If she was going to keep regressing anyway, Serina decided she was done holding herself back.
Emperor Azeid looked down at Serina from his throne.
He was still dressed in those loose, careless clothes.
There was an obvious smear of sauce across the front of his shirt, presumably from the tomato soup he’d eaten that morning.
He had probably roared at the maid who tried to change his clothes and refused.
The man had absolutely no appreciation for anyone doing something for his own good.
Azeid scratched his unkempt, shaggy hair and leaned lazily against the back of his throne.
“Are you Serina Vincent, the renowned physician who is said to be capable of saving even those whose lives are fading away?”
Thankfully, he at least bathed himself, so his appearance wasn’t completely filthy.
Still, he looked as though he could barely be bothered to be alive.
He’s definitely just going to formally appoint me again and send me away.
Why was I ever so terrified of him?
Serina straightened her back and answered.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Then you should be able to cure my illness as well.”
Azeid gave a faint chuckle and brushed his bangs back.
His blond hair shimmered beneath the light.
His blue eyes resembled not the clear autumn sky, but the icy winter sky.
There was a smile playing around his lips, as though life itself were nothing more than a game, yet his gaze remained chillingly cold.
During their first meeting, that gaze had overwhelmed Serina so thoroughly that she had made one mistake after another.
But not this time.
She had steeled herself long before entering this room.
If she failed to save the Emperor, she would die too.
Therefore, whether she died for daring to defy the Emperor or died because she failed to save him, the result was exactly the same.
I’d rather say everything I have to say and die than die an unfair death!
With an utterly shameless expression, Serina answered.
“No. That depends on Your Majesty.”
“What?”
The Emperor removed the hand propping up his chin and sat up properly.
He clearly hadn’t expected such an answer.
His blue eyes widened.
The ministers standing beside him glared fiercely at Serina.
How dare a mere baroness who had been cast out by her own family talk back to His Imperial Majesty?
The noble who had brought Serina forward took a step toward her, apparently about to reprimand her, but Azeid raised a hand to stop him.
The noble flinched and immediately stepped back.
Azeid stared at Serina with eyes full of curiosity.
There wasn’t the slightest trace of fear in her golden eyes.
Everyone around the man known as the Tyrant was always trembling in terror.
And yet this woman was so brazen.
It was strangely fascinating.
He wanted to see just how far she would go.
Serina, meanwhile, had absolutely nothing left to lose.
She had already died twice.
Was the Emperor standing before her really something worth fearing?
She had long since lost both the slightest shred of sympathy for him and any reverence she might once have held for the Emperor.
I’ll reform this bastard Emperor, survive, and walk out of this palace alive.
It didn’t matter what the Emperor said.
Even if she died right here, it didn’t matter.
She would just come back again anyway.
Might as well say everything she wanted to say before dying and starting over.
At that moment, Azeid tilted his head and murmured coldly,
“Depends on me?”
“Yes. A patient’s recovery depends on the patient, after all. No matter how skilled a physician is, they cannot save a patient who has no will to live.”
“Are you making excuses because you aren’t confident you can cure me?”
“No. I can cure Your Majesty’s illness.”
Serina paused.
“If Your Majesty cooperates with me.”
“Hmm.”
Azeid stroked his chin, looking intrigued.
Serina continued.
“Therefore, I have one condition before I enter the Imperial Palace as Your Majesty’s physician. If you refuse to grant it, you may simply have my head cut off here.”
She went even further and boldly thrust her neck forward.
A wave of horrified gasps swept through the room.
But Serina was completely serious.
If she was going to die either way, she might as well provoke him properly and start over before wasting her time suffering.
Serina brazenly presented her condition to the Emperor.
Unable to hold himself back, Marquis Lavery finally spoke.
“How dare you! How dare you presume to bargain with the Emperor in His Majesty’s presence!”
“If you don’t like it, then kill me. I have no attachment to my life.”
“Y-you insolent little—!”
“Enough.”
When the Marquis’s face reddened and his words became tangled, Azeid intervened.
His expression had changed.
He slowly ran a hand over his lips and fell silent.
The entire room followed suit.
Silence descended.
Then one particularly bold noble, assuming the Emperor’s mood had soured, angrily spoke up.
“Your Majesty. You should have this arrogant physician executed immediately. There are plenty of doctors in the Crotten Empire!”
“Indeed! This is nothing less than insubordination! How dare a mere baron’s daughter place conditions upon the command of His Imperial Majesty?”
The nobles around him joined in, their voices growing louder as their outrage spread.
The room erupted into another commotion.
Serina paid them no attention.
She simply stared straight at Azeid.
Her expression practically said,
Well? I’m waiting for your answer.
At that moment, the hand covering Azeid’s mouth began to tremble.
A moment later—
“Pfft.”
“Your Majesty?”
“Hahahaha!”
Azeid could no longer hold back.
He burst into loud laughter.
His hearty laughter stunned the nobles into silence.
They all stood there dumbfounded, staring up at their Emperor.
Serina, however, looked at him with an irreverent expression that seemed to say,
Has he finally lost his mind?
Azeid spoke with laughter still lingering on his face.
There was no trace of anger in his expression.
If anything, he looked genuinely amused.
“I like you.”
“……”
“What is the condition you speak of? Since you’re willing to put your life on the line to make this request, I’ll hear you out.”
“Thank you.”
Serina first lowered her head in a quick bow.
She did feel somewhat relieved after finally saying what she wanted to say, but deep down, she was still a little intimidated.
She raised her head and spoke bluntly.
“I have only one request.”
“Go on.”
“Please allow me to touch Your Majesty.”
“Fine. I’ll grant whatever you ask—”
Azeid answered out of habit before abruptly stopping.
His eyes went round.
“W-wait. What did you say?”
Her request sounded exceedingly strange.
Whispers immediately erupted among the assembled nobles.
“Gasp!”
One person’s eyes widened like saucers as they let out a shocked cry.
“Cough!”
Another choked and began coughing violently.
“Urgh!”
Yet another seemed to bite their tongue, clenching their teeth with a bright-red face.
Everyone appeared utterly traumatized by Serina’s bombshell declaration.
Everyone except Serina.
She was perfectly calm.
Azeid opened and closed his lips like a fish before finally managing to speak.
“That is your condition?”
“Yes.”
Serina answered shortly, as though she had made the most perfectly ordinary request in the world.
A faint ripple passed through Azeid’s blue eyes.
He had intended to humor her for a while before sending her away.
But the woman standing before him was completely impossible to predict.
A woman he had met for the first time today had boldly marched in and laid down conditions before the Emperor himself.
And that condition was…
Azeid couldn’t bring himself to finish the thought.
His lips merely twitched.
Of course, Serina meant nothing of the sort.
But no one else in the room knew that.
Azeid cleared his throat several times before finally regaining his composure.
“Are you not a physician?”
“I am.”
“Then why…”
Are you trying to seduce me?
Could she have joined hands with one of the nobles?
Azeid swallowed the rest of his words and stared intently at Serina.
The amusement had disappeared from his blue eyes.
Ever since he had ascended the throne, the position of Empress had remained vacant.
Using the Emperor’s illness as an excuse, Azeid refused to take an Empress, leaving the nobles willing to try anything.
They had sent women into his bedchamber or deliberately arranged for them to approach him, hoping to earn the Emperor’s favor.
But Azeid had no intention of fathering children.
Nor did he intend to take an Empress.
Because all that would accomplish was unleashing another storm of blood.
Just as Azeid was about to dismiss Serina, she spoke with an innocent expression.
“I’m saying this because I’m a physician. If Your Majesty refuses all physical contact, it will be difficult for me to treat you.”
“Treatment?”
“Yes.”
Serina began matter-of-factly listing the kinds of physical contact required for medical treatment.
“Besides taking your pulse, there may be massages, stretching, and other things. If something unavoidable occurs, I may even have to make an incision.”
“Oh.”
As Serina casually rattled off one example after another, explaining that they were all simply part of medical treatment, Azeid let out a quiet sound of realization.
Only then did he realize that he had completely misunderstood her.
He covered his face with one hand and turned his head away.
In an instant, the tips of his ears grew hot, and his cheeks flushed red with embarrassment.
