Mandt, having accomplished the orders of the emperor, shook his head.
"Well?"
"Sire—"
"You are troubled, Mandt; your hand trembles. See, I have more courage than you. Come, let us have the sentence, and quickly, for I have to settle my affairs in this world, and I have a great many of them."
"Your majesty troubles yourself unnecessarily. No case is ever desperate, and with the grace of God—"
Nicholas gazed at his doctor fixedly in the eyes.
The latter looked down confusedly.
"You know, Mandt, I cannot be deceived easily. Let us have the truth now, and only the truth. Do you think that Nicholas does not know how to die?"
"Sire—"