I became the captured doctor of the dying empress

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-'Early this morning, Sena will probably ask to be awakened. But don't wake him.'

-'Why?'

-'Do you know the meaning behind the name Sena?'

Sylvia recalled her conversation with Chris while seated under the oak tree. In Sylvia's memory, Chris was an unusual senior.

He was a scoundrel, to put it mildly.

Sneaking into the women's dormitory at night and emerging in disheveled clothing in the morning, skipping classes to drink and coming back intoxicated—it was beyond mere mischief.

It was said that even this behavior had improved somewhat after meeting Sena. Sylvia hadn't been at the school then, but she was well aware of the story's fame.

'They said they fought tooth and nail at the beginning of the semester. Chris started it… Men are said to become closer through fighting.'

Honestly, it was hard to imagine. Chris, unusually kind to Sena, but Sena making a fist was still difficult to picture.

However, it was true that Sena had changed Chris. Sylvia had witnessed it firsthand. From some point on, Chris abandoned his rough speech and adopted a more 'knightly' manner of speaking.

He even started using honorifics with everyone. But when things got serious, his old habits tended to resurface.

Chris arrived in the afternoon, using informal speech. It signified a serious situation and hinted at something about to unfold.

-'It means 'the one who brings the morning,' doesn't it?'

-'More precisely, it means just before the morning arrives.'

-'And how does that relate to not waking Sena?'

-'Her Majesty desires the night. She doesn't want the morning to come too soon.'

-'Senior. I'm so stupid that I won't understand when you say that.'

-'Today, there's a lot of killing planned. But if Sena wakes up, she won't be able to kill anyone.'

-'Indeed, I wouldn't want to kill anyone in front of Sena.'

Chris's guess was astute. Sena had called for her. If anything happened, wake him.

But Sylvia sincerely upheld her role as a knight.

The Empress's personal guard. Currently, Sena's escort. Although temporary, her lord was Sena.

Where would you find a knight who defied their lord's orders? But to wake Sena would mean ignoring the advice of a senior knight.

When faced with difficult choices, Sylvia always chose everything.

"…Fine, let's just kill them all and wake him."

Reaching a simple conclusion, she opened her eyes, lowered her gaze that had been closed, and rose slowly, drawing her sword.

"You all have no manners, passing by while the escort is wide awake."

"We thought you looked like a suitable escort. You should've just pretended to be asleep, lady."

Two men in black robes.

Their inner garments seemed quite thick, likely armored, and their main weapon appeared to be swords.

Sylvia extended her magic to check if there were any mages nearby. If there were, she'd need to target them first.

"I'll give you a chance. If you sit there pretending to sleep, I won't kill you."

"What should we do? We could pretend to sleep and still win, but then you'd wake your dear Senior."

There was a gap among knights. Handling a sword was more important to them than anything. Sylvia intentionally moved into their gap.

"Until I kill you, you must not let Senior wake up. So, would you kindly die quietly?"

"What nonsense. You think you can kill me? You?"

"Yes. I do."

The next response was a sword strike. Sylvia deflected it at an angle almost imperceptible to the man in the black robe.

'What happened?'

The man was momentarily taken aback. Sylvia had closed in on him, even in the most dangerous position. At this range, unless there was a significant difference in skill, he couldn't block her strikes.

'Am I really at such a disadvantage against this young girl?'

He couldn't believe it. The man swung his sword several times, even trying to deny this fact. To a normal knight, this relentless flurry of attacks would have left them as a mere pile of chopped meat.

'This can't be happening.'

But Sylvia emerged unscathed. It was as if something was preventing his strikes from landing, like swinging a sword underwater.

"Don't you get it yet? Show me what you've got."

Sylvia spoke with a hint of pity. She was a much smaller figure than him, and she hadn't even used magic yet. The difference in stature was significant. Yet, he was being pushed back like this?

"This is ridiculous."

His pride wouldn't allow it.

"I didn't want to draw attention by using magic."

Vwoom! The man's longsword glowed red.

"You're an assassin sent to kill the Empress's physician. But, would it matter if your identity were revealed?"

"Hmph, no one who sees this color of magic survives anyway."

Sylvia infused just enough magic to prevent her sword from breaking. The man attacked, but Sylvia effortlessly parried every strike without taking a single step, her gaze fixed beyond him.

'A knight too.'

He was indeed a knight. Wearing a black robe and sneaking in to commit murder at night seemed inconsistent with knighthood.

Using assassination was not something a true knight would do.

'And this man.'

He used magic. Naturally, only a 'knight' could wield both a sword and magic. The problem was, his skill wasn't particularly remarkable.

An unremarkable knight couldn't infiltrate the royal palace. That meant he was an insider, and those who could engage in such deeds…

'Imperial Knight.'

There wasn't much more to discern.

Thunk.

The man's head fell.

The man whose head had flown away collapsed in the same posture as he swung his sword.

His expression was twisted in agony. He had failed to breach Sylvia's defense, and right at the moment of his counterattack, he realized he was outmatched.

"Well done."

The remaining man approached Sylvia unfazed.

"Not even a blink when your comrade died. The Imperial Knights are indeed impressive."

"I've heard of you before. Sylvia the Shiver. Surviving multiple attacks, once you discern the pattern, you kill in one strike—that's how you earned that reputation."

He had been using magic from the beginning. His magic emitted a burning emerald light.

"Then if I kill you before you discern my pattern, that's all it takes."

"If that were easy, would I have joined Teutonic Knights?"

"Quite arrogant."

"Only Senior Sena can say that. And…"

Sylvia was already behind the man.

She wiped the blood off her sword as if it were dirty.

"I'll end it before I have to use my finishing move."

The man's body split in half. Sylvia gazed calmly at the corpse.

"If you're an Imperial Knight, you should be loyal to Her Majesty. Rather than letting anger over an unfounded incident drive you to serve the dukes like lackeys."

When Astria ascended to the throne,

She single-handedly slaughtered the Imperial Knights who sided with the crown prince.

That act was considered the sole disgrace of the esteemed Imperial Knights' long tradition.

Even so, isn't it rather unbecoming for an Imperial Knight to defy the Empress?

"…Then, let's go wake up Senior."

'Maybe a little praise?'

Sylvia cleared her throat once and prepared to jump to the balcony.

But then, she sensed a formidable presence and widened her eyes, gripping her sword tightly.

'They're coming.'

Sylvia gathered all her magic. She rarely felt this tense. Just from the aura, she knew. What was approaching was a giant.

At least a Master. Perhaps even more.

When her hand trembled slightly—

Thunk!

A man fell from the sky. Clad in silvery armor beneath his robe, the knight grinned cruelly as he twisted his sword. The silver-armored knight in agony spoke.

"Kill, me."

"It won't be easy."

"Yes, don't you lack even the dignity of a knight?"

"A traitor doesn't deserve a knightly appearance."

It was a face everyone knew. The name of the knight who drove the sword into the heart was Chris. And the knight who was stabbed by Chris was Lopang. He was the Commander of the Imperial Knights.

Lopang moved his impaled body. He was preparing to take his own life. Chris intentionally did not move.

In agonizing pain, Lopang screamed and soon collapsed. Only then did Chris rise. Sylvia muttered a word.

"Ugh."

Seeing Sylvia's disgusted expression was more unsettling than witnessing the orc's head explode a month ago.

Chris grinned, showing his teeth to Sylvia.

"I came to help, but it looks like I didn't need to. Excellent. As expected, you were the only one worthy of being selected by the Teutonic Knights from your ranks."

"What's going on? Please explain. I didn't hear anything properly. Also, could you wipe the blood off?"

Chris was covered in blood. However, Sylvia could bet Sena's travel suitcase on the fact that the blood wasn't his.

Above all, Chris now looked almost animalistic. It was like seeing Chris again when he first entered the Academy.

'I thought he'd changed, but it seems he was just hiding it.'

"The Duke has revealed his ambition. He mentioned tomorrow, but it seems he's preparing in advance today."

"…The timing is good. With the Teutonic Knights away on an official trip, he thought I wouldn't be much of a threat being a new knight."

It was not surprising that Duke Wilhelm would rebel.

He was already gradually devouring the empire. Most nobles were under his control, and he had even succeeded in taking over the Imperial Knights.

The person Chris had just killed, Lopang, was originally a knight of Duke Reinhardt.

"Fools, falling into the trap Her Majesty set. It was foreseen since Sena's arrival."

"…Since Senior's arrival?"

"Yeah, thanks to that, tomorrow at the ball, we'll announce the Empire's restoration. Finally, the stalled clock of the Empire will start ticking again."

Chris smiled happily. Sylvia pondered deeply.

Is everything fixed already? How long has he been a physician? How competent is he really?

"What is it that I need to do?"

"Protect Sena."

Chris replied without hesitation.

"Even with rebellion happening?"

"That's why we must prioritize protecting important people."

"…In that case, shouldn't Senior Chris be by Her Majesty's side?"

"Lord Granz is currently not at the palace."

In other words, as long as it's not Granz, Astria won't be in danger.

"The Duke won't be targeting Her Majesty today; he has no justification. Probably tomorrow, at the ball. They will attempt treason in front of everyone. Today is just a preliminary to make that gathering a bit easier."

Sylvia nodded quietly. Chris smirked towards the balcony.

"Tonight seems like it will be a long one. Sena seems to be oversleeping."

It was a joke often told at the Academy. Students used to blame Sena for no reason when the morning didn't come. Sena couldn't lie, so it was easy to tease him.

"Take care."

Chris walked away confidently. Though Sylvia didn't know where he was headed next, it was likely to be hell.

Today's Chris seemed utterly merciless.

But there was one thing. He was wrong. Tonight wouldn't be that long. Because…

Since earlier, a fluffy white lump had been visible on the third-floor balcony.

"Senior. You can come out now."

After Chris's presence completely disappeared, Sylvia stared intently towards the balcony.

"…D-Did I get caught?"

Sena smiled mischievously and peeked his head out.

It would be abnormal not to wake up after hearing that noise when Chris appeared earlier.

Chris, whose attention was completely focused on the enemy, didn't notice.

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