The Emperor Always Knows (Annoyingly)

Used to fixing problems and cleaning up his master's messes, Sir Roderick rushed over to Riona, fully expecting some minor inconvenience to solve. 

Of course, that's never how it works, is it? He tried holding her down to stop the seizure, but that went about as well as trying to stop a storm with a handkerchief. Desperately, he yanked the knife out and tossed it aside like it was a dirty sock.

Then came the fun part: sickly, dark pus bubbled from the knife. The smell was horrible, clawing at his nostrils. Then, the knife melted away as if ice had met an open flame.

"What in the world was that…?" Sir Roderick muttered, trying—unsuccessfully—to suppress the urge to vomit. 

He'd seen a lot in his time serving the emperor and the previous emperor, including things that would make most people's stomachs revolt. Yet this… this was beyond anything in his considerable experience.