This is why he hated perceptive members of the Imperial Family.
"Come on. What kind of doctor would do something like that? No. Of course not."
Kwon Minseong shoved Aswin toward the front door.
"Please don't abandon me. Doctor Sisi is my last hope. Please."
Aswin desperately clung to him, but Minseong deliberately looked away.
"No way. How could I possibly be your last hope when Court Physician Reiner is still alive and well?"
"If Reiner examines me, Adel will find out. And if Adel finds out, it will definitely reach my brother's ears. Adel is an Imperial Advisor."
"Then that's even better. He's about to have a nephew. What wonderful news. Now hurry home and get some sleep. The better the father sleeps, the faster the baby grows."
"I'm telling you, if my brother finds out I had a child with Crown Prince Devia, he'll kill me!"
"How could he kill his own brother?"
Wait.
"You are his real brother, right?"
"Huh...? Yes..."
"Not a half-brother or anything? Same mother, same father?"
Nod. Nod.
"It's fine. It's fine. If that's the case, he can't kill you."
"You're only saying that because you don't know how much my brother hates Devia. Even if he spares me, the child in my womb..."
"Then if you know that so well, why did you have a baby with one of Devia's people?"
Kwon Minseong pushed Aswin toward the entrance, but Aswin was no easy opponent. He plastered himself against the door and grabbed the frame. Though he was shorter than Minseong, he wasn't weaker.
"Doctor. Please. Just help me give birth. I'll spend the rest of my life repaying your kindness."
"Ah, get out already. Seriously, what do you eat to be this strong...?!"
"Doctor, then at least let me get a portrait...! Just a portrait...! I heard this hospital draws portraits of unborn babies. If I can't hold my child in my arms, then I want at least a picture. Please... just once...!"
"It's not a portrait, it's an ultras...ound...! Just because they both start with 'u' doesn't mean they're the same... Ngh! Why are you so ridiculously strong?!"
Despite the desperate pleading, Kwon Minseong didn't even bat an eyelash.
His clinic was finally thriving. There was no way he was shutting it down over some political nonsense he didn't care about.
Going bankrupt once in a lifetime was enough.
Never again.
"Take care on your way home. I won't be seeing you out."
Creeeak—
Just as Minseong reached for the handle, he heard the sound of metal striking metal in the distance.
It had come from the front gate.
Who is it?
How would I know?
You have another sibling?
No. It's just my brother and me.
Any chance your parents enjoyed a free-spirited romantic lifestyle outside the established system?
What?
I'm asking if you've got some secret sibling hidden somewhere.
No. Absolutely not.
After exchanging a quick glance with Aswin, Kwon Minseong locked the front door.
Click. Click.
The golden handle moved upward twice and downward three times all by itself.
"W-Who... Ahem. Who is it?"
Minseong cleared his throat before asking.
The suspicious stranger outside answered.
"We're closed for the day. Come back on Monday."
"Did you not hear me? I said we're closed."
Seriously, what the hell?
This wasn't a public restroom at Gangnam Station where any random passerby could walk in. What kind of security system was this? Wasn't it supposed to only allow members of the Imperial Family inside?
Kwon Minseong resumed his search for the culprit.
The Emperor's only sibling was standing right beside him.
It wasn't Adelgius.
And judging from the deep voice, it certainly wasn't Cordette.
Which meant there was only one person left.
"This is an imperial command. Open the door immediately if you value your life."
BANG!
The massive door shook before everything outside suddenly fell silent.
Minseong didn't relax.
The person outside wasn't just anyone.
It was the lunatic Emperor.
There was no way he would simply give up and leave.
As if proving Minseong's theory, the iron hinges began groaning as they tore free from the doorframe.
"Super strength must run in the family..."
"W-What do we do, Doctor...?"
Aswin hid behind him, trembling.
Faced with the situation, Minseong could only sigh.
If he was this terrified of his brother, maybe he should have exercised better judgment below the waist.
BANG!
Craaack.
The upper hinge was seconds away from coming loose.
Kwon Minseong grabbed Aswin and ran into the reception room.
"Get out."
"W-Where?"
"How should I know? Anywhere is fine. Just leave."
"B-But..."
Time was running out, but Aswin showed no intention of cooperating.
No matter how hard Minseong pushed, he wouldn't budge.
Of course, Minseong couldn't exactly use his full strength against a pregnant patient.
Still, Aswin kept glancing fearfully toward the entrance and refused to move.
"Aswin, was it?"
At this point, Minseong was the desperate one.
"I'll help you. I'll help you deliver the baby. Just please leave before my clinic gets destroyed."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Really. So hurry up!"
Aswin's face brightened instantly as he grabbed Minseong's hand so tightly that his index finger and little finger were practically pressed together.
It hurt enough to make him cry out, but now wasn't the time to marvel at this idiot's grip strength.
"I'll hold him off. While I do, run. Then come back tomorrow night at midnight. Got it?"
"Strictly speaking, tomorrow midnight is actually the day after tomorrow's midnight..."
"Oh, for the love of— Aswin!"
BOOM—
At that exact moment, a deafening crash echoed from the entrance.
Using the opportunity, Minseong shoved Aswin into the reception room and slammed the door shut.
The reception room door closed.
At the same moment, a pair of black military boots stepped into the clinic lobby.
Kwon Minseong tightened his grip on the Tooth Crusher.
Who would've thought he'd have to use this thing twice in one day?
He hid in the shadows and waited for the Emperor to approach.
The large figure strode forward without suspecting a thing.
The instant he passed by, Minseong swung the Tooth Crusher with all his strength at the Emperor's temple.
"Thief!"
SMACK!
The impact sounded solid.
He had aimed as high as possible, so it must have hit his head. At the very least, his face.
Certain of victory, Kwon Minseong looked up.
The Tooth Crusher hadn't landed a meaningful blow at all.
The long loaf had been caught effortlessly in the Emperor's hand.
Still holding the bread, Tillio tightened his grip.
The Tooth Crusher, famous throughout Elunem as the hardest bread in existence, crumbled into powder and scattered across the corridor floor.
Ah. My bread.
After offering a brief moment of mourning, Kwon Minseong looked up at the Emperor.
Now it was time to act.
"W-W-Wait, the th-th-thief was the Em-per-or?"
He covered his mouth and put every ounce of effort into a performance of shocked disbelief.
"Give me a break."
Tillio's reaction was as cold as the public watching the worst acting performance of the century.
"What exactly did you think I was saying outside the door?"
"No, I thought you were some drunk lunatic. If someone kicks down my door in the middle of the night yelling that he's the Emperor, who's going to believe that?"
"Impersonating a member of the Imperial Family is punishable by death. Nobody with their brain intact would do such a thing."
The person whose brain isn't intact is your brother.
Kwon Minseong muttered inwardly.
Then he casually picked up half of the broken Tooth Crusher.
"Feeling nauseous?"
The abrupt question made Tillio frown.
"What?"
"Have you been feeling queasy all the time, like you're carsick? Or finding it hard to eat foods you normally enjoy? Maybe your chest has gotten larger than usual..."
Mid-sentence, Kwon Minseong glanced at Tillio's impressively developed chest muscles.
"Then again, they're already so huge you might not notice."