Only then did I notice the outfit the person was wearing.
They were dressed in a nightgown adorned with lace that left nothing to the imagination, revealing all of their skin.
Because of this, their thin, bony legs and dense chest hair were completely exposed to the world.
‘Oh no, what should I do…’
Samuel, who had entered the office with me, nodded with a grimace on his face.
“That’s right. Why would you order to bring in a sleeping old man like that…”
His long hair, which had been neatly styled just a moment ago, was now all messed up.
Looking at it again, it seemed that whenever the person pointed, well-kept strands of long hair were falling to the ground.
Despite the chaos, the Emperor remained calm, as though nothing unusual was happening.
“There’s someone with serious injuries.”
“There are plenty of other doctors, aren’t there?!”
“Still, your skills are the best in Hamilton. What should I do?”
At the Emperor’s words, the old man clenched his fists, trembling.
His face, already red when he entered the office, was now turning almost purple.
“If this continues, I’ll resign as the Imperial Court Physician today.”
“What if I don’t allow that?”
“Then I’ll have to go into exile. Whether I die of a heart attack or from stress, it doesn’t matter. I’ll be done either way!”
With veins popping from his neck, the old man glared at the Emperor, who lifted the corners of his mouth into a smile.
“Do as you wish.”
However, the following words were filled with a menacing tone.
“As soon as you go into exile, Hamilton’s loyal dogs will chase you to the ends of hell. No matter what country you go to, they’ll track you down whenever you try to settle. And even if you somehow manage to escape my sight, the same thing will repeat itself.”
The old man’s face was so bold as he spoke, it looked like he might collapse at any moment from the shear tension.
“I won’t stop you. Sometimes, you have to experience the truth firsthand to understand it.”
“Why are you doing this to me…! What did I do so wrong?”
“You have good skills, don’t you? We can’t lose Hamillon’s best doctor.”
I was suffocating just by listening, even though I wasn’t involved.
What could those two have possibly done in their previous lives to deserve this?
Samuel and now Hapone, both in this unbearable situation.
Hapone, whose fists were shaking, let out a deep sigh, as though the ground was going to swallow him up.
In the end, he gave in to this harsh reality.
He clenched his teeth and turned to the Emperor, asking:
“So where is the patient, the one so critical that they had to be abducted in the middle of the night?”
Every word was filled with suppressed emotions.
At this point, I wanted to explain that my legs were probably fine now.
This small injury would heal quickly with some ointment.
But the Emperor pointed at the place where I was sitting with his finger.
“They’ve been here since earlier. Right behind you.”
The old man turned his head, and our gazes met.
When I scowled, his already angry face grew even more intimidating.
He spotted the bloodstains on my leg and immediately strode over.
“What happened to you?”
“Well… something sharp grazed me…”
“How did that happen?”
His face, full of anger, made my voice shrink without me realizing.
“I… I was running away…”
“An assassin? Did they use poison?”
“That… I’m not sure…”
He naturally placed his hand on his waist, but then grasped at empty air, venting his frustration once again.
“Damn it…”
Unable to direct his anger at the Emperor any longer, he shouted into the empty air.
“You should have brought the treatment supplies if you were going to treat me!”
Upon hearing this, Sir Samuel rushed off somewhere.
A moment later, he returned panting, holding a square box.
Sir Samuel handed it over to Hapone.
“Here you go, sir.”
Hapone checked the contents inside and then asked me,
“I can’t see the wound clearly, so I may have to cut your clothes a little. Is that alright?”
“Yes, it’s fine.”
Hapone used scissors to cut through my blood-soaked pants.
Snip, snip.
A square hole formed around my calf.
It looked a bit odd, but he paid no mind to the appearance, focusing only on examining the wound.
“I’ll check if poison was used first. Please bear with me for a moment.” He then applied an unfamiliar substance to my leg.
The sting caused my body to instinctively flinch.
“Let’s wait a bit. If poison was used, the color of the medicine will change.”
Fortunately, as time passed, the color didn’t change.
He continued treating the wound, wiping off the blood and applying something else to my leg.
While I winced from the pain, the Emperor sat at his desk, processing paperwork.
His calm demeanor was annoyingly conspicuous.
After a long period of focused treatment, Hapone finally spoke.
“The wound is fairly large, so I considered stitching it, but for now, I think it’s best to observe it. The wound might worsen, so avoid unnecessary movement. I’ll bring medication to prevent infection tomorrow.”
He finished speaking and swiftly turned to face the Emperor.
“Is that enough?”
His tone was surprisingly harsh.
Now that I think about it, I realized that, as the patient, he had been relatively kind to me.
On the other hand, it seemed that a lot of negative feelings had accumulated between him and the Emperor.
The Emperor, still reading his papers, smiled at Hapone.
“If you’re the one treating, there’s no doubt in it. Samuel, prepare a carriage so Hapone can return comfortably.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
As Sir Samuel opened the office door, the furious old man stomped out, causing the lace decorations on his clothes to flutter.
As he walked away, his determination to start preparations for exile to Tesser the next day echoed.
Once the two of them left, the office returned to its quiet state, as though nothing had happened.
Now, it was just the Emperor and me. Finally, we had time to talk.
“What’s going on?”
The Emperor, who had been signing documents, quietly fixed his gaze on me.
“What do you mean, ‘what’s going on’?”
“When we were threatened by the assassin, you didn’t do anything, but now you’re giving such detailed treatment. I don’t understand.”
“Well, maybe I just have an eccentric hobby.”
He didn’t seem like he was going to explain his reasoning.
When I clenched my teeth and stared at him, he threw out a random remark instead.
“You really managed to butter up the deputy director well.”
“…Deputy Director Reddit?”
“Yeah. He’s not an emotional person, but he kept coming because he thought there might be a misunderstanding. It’s been exhausting.”
Deputy Director Reddit had a daughter.
Maybe that’s why he seemed to treat me with more kindness than others.
Even when we parted ways, he promised to try hard, and it seemed like he really did go to the Emperor on my behalf.
At that moment, the Emperor’s blue eyes darkened, like shadows had seeped into them.
“So, what kind of devious trick did you pull this time?”
“Devious trick?”
“You don’t remember, do you? The first time you approached me.”
How could I forget?
In fact, ever since I entered this room, everything I had done and the passionate night I spent with him came rushing back in vivid detail.
I tried my best not to let it show, but the Emperor seemed to know exactly what I was thinking.
He teased me with a smirk.
“You said it was a medicine good for your health, but now you’re feeding me elephant aphrodisiacs.”
My face immediately flushed with embarrassment.
I couldn’t hold it in any longer and let out a scream.
“That’s…! It’s all a misunderstanding! I can explain everything!”
“How?”
His indifferent eyes locked onto mine.
In fact, this moment was crucial.
This could be my chance to clear the false accusation that I was an assassin trying to kill the Emperor.
With desperation in my heart, I explained to him, hoping my sincerity would reach him.
“Shapeshifters are guided by the shaman Tabiren, who follows the will of the gods. They are assigned clients who are unable to sleep and are helped by them. And for my twelfth client certification…”
“…That was me, wasn’t it?”
“Yes, that’s right. I have proof. The request letter from the headmaster is in the bag I bought.”
I wasn’t sure how much he would believe me, but I had faith in something.
While it might seem like the shapeshifters in Meadowland never interacted with anyone, that wasn’t exactly the case.
The International Shapeshifter Association.
Those qualified to be head of the clan would go there and interact with shapeshifters from various countries.
They sometimes take requests for medicinal herbs, and I had seen my father go there several times, so I knew about it well.
“If I tell them and ask them to be a witness, it should work…!”
At that moment, the Emperor, who had been smiling a strange smile, opened his desk drawer.
He took out a piece of paper and held it up with his fingers.
“Is this what you mean?”