Chapter 10

                    The Quack Doctor of the Rebel Army

Jin silently watched as his attending physician scribbled something intensely in her notebook. She called that notebook a “chart.”

Every time she placed the strange device Louis had invented against Jin’s chest to listen to his breathing, Astrid would let out a small groan—“Oh dear.” She did so again today.

It was almost a situation that made him want to laugh. Anyone, even without exceptional insight, could tell that Jin’s condition was worsening day by day. Astrid simply wasn’t good at hiding her emotions.

More than anything, Jin himself could feel it clearly. With each passing day, it became harder to breathe.

And yet, Astrid always lied. She said his condition wasn’t getting better, nor worse. Even though she knew Jin could see through her lie. It was probably her way of showing consideration—a harmless white lie.

Leaning lazily against the bedpost, Jin observed Astrid. Her face was half-covered by a mask, so he couldn’t read her expression completely, but watching her was still incredibly amusing.

Astrid seemed to write something in the air with her finger, then suddenly exclaimed, “Ah!” and clapped her hands. Jin smiled faintly, watching her with interest.

As if something had occurred to her, she suddenly dashed out of the room without even saying she was leaving. It was truly incomprehensible behavior. What on earth was she always thinking about?

‘She’s really an interesting person.’

The knowledge she possessed was beyond Jin’s understanding. He couldn’t grasp what she was thinking.

And yet, she was terrible at hiding her emotions, so it was easy to tell what she felt. That made her fascinating.

To Jin, Astrid Aubert was like an unsolvable puzzle.

Yes, at first, it was just curiosity. But gradually… his attention was being drawn to the lavender scent coming from her body and hair. Jin reached out his hand, trying to grasp the fading scent…

But it soon dispersed and vanished. Jin let out a soft chuckle and lay back on the bed. It was a meaningless action.

“Jin.”

It was Richard’s voice. Jin, who had been about to fall asleep, opened his eyes and leaned against the post again.

“Richard, what is it?”

The expression visible above his friend’s mask seemed quite bright. It had already been nearly two months since Jin had seen Richard’s face without a mask.

“Your complexion has improved a lot, Jin. Doctor Aubert must really be skilled.”

Richard said.

Yes… on the surface, that was true. Since Astrid had become his physician, Jin appeared to be getting better day by day. He coughed up blood less frequently than before…

But there was a secret only Jin and Astrid knew. Despite appearances, his condition was worsening—moment by moment.

“…That’s true. She’s a very strange woman. She knows I’m going to die soon, but she doesn’t give up. I’ve never seen a doctor try this hard for me.”

Jin smiled emptily, and Richard’s eyes wavered. It seemed Richard still couldn’t give up on him. But he shouldn’t hold onto hope. It would only lead to deeper despair.

“Jin, I—”

Richard’s voice trembled. Jin cut him off, finishing the words he had already heard hundreds of times.

“I told you not to say weak things. It’s okay, Richard.”

As Jin smiled faintly, sorrow filled Richard’s eyes. He was an honest friend—almost foolishly so—unable to hide his emotions.

When Jin was gone, Richard would have to lead the Liberators…

‘At this rate, how can I rest in peace, Richard?’

Jin swallowed the words he could never say aloud, silently thankful that his friend couldn’t read others’ minds.

They continued discussing matters related to leading the Liberators when a knock was heard. No one was expected. Jin gestured for Richard to open the door.

“Doctor Aubert, what brings you here…?”

When the door opened, Astrid Aubert stood there. She looked flushed, breathing heavily as if she had run all the way, her face filled with excitement.

“Oh, my mask.”

She hurriedly put on her mask. Seeing someone’s full face had become rare. In truth, it felt a bit lonely that everyone always covered half their face around him.

“I’ve thought of a good treatment method, Richard!”

Astrid said excitedly. Jin perked up his ears to listen. A good treatment method?

“Please place a bed in the greenhouse. And let Jin stay there during the daytime.”

Richard didn’t seem to understand immediately. Honestly, Jin found it hard to understand as well.

“Well… plants release substances during the day that can help Jin’s condition. If he stays in the greenhouse, it should help a little.”

The greenhouse… Jin had been confined to this room for quite a long time. It felt like a prison without bars. Though Richard hesitated even after hearing the explanation, Jin didn’t care where he went—as long as it wasn’t here.

“Richard, let’s do it. It’ll be nice to visit the greenhouse again after so long.”

* * *

Moving Jin to the greenhouse took more time than expected.

The original greenhouse was too large and difficult to maintain, so they planted new plants in a smaller, empty one nearby.

I carefully read through the “Great Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine” and found every plant that could help with respiratory conditions.

Borage, which blooms star-shaped purple flowers. Anise, with small white fan-shaped blossoms. There were also bellflowers imported from the East across the sea, and the extremely sweet honey herb said to come from the distant western continent of Okasium.

Whether it was an exaggeration or not, Richard truly seemed wealthy—he easily obtained rare plants from other continents.

In addition to the plants, we had to install a bed for Jin, a humidifier, and even an air purifier Louis hastily created. Time flew by.

“Scrub that properly. You need to clean it several times.”

I was at the greenhouse again today, overseeing Jin’s move. The canopy bed had just been installed, and people were wiping the posts with alcohol.

“Doctor Aubert.”

At Richard’s voice, I turned my head. He was leaning against the wall, watching me.

“You’re always so particular about cleanliness.”

Today again, I couldn’t help but feel like a germaphobe. But it wasn’t my fault—Jin was just too weak…

“Dust is fatal for patients with respiratory diseases. We have to clean thoroughly.”

Instead of mentioning invisible threats like viruses or bacteria, I used visible dust as an excuse. It was the result of two months of careful thinking.

“I see. Ah, Doctor Aubert, your clinic is ready. Would you like to take a look?”

The clinic was something I had requested from Richard. Besides Jin, there were many injured people from battles and underground explorations. Treating them in my bedroom had been quite inconvenient.

“Sure.”

The new clinic was located right across from the greenhouse and the laboratory. It was the perfect location. Now I could make Rick and Louis work harder—no, that wasn’t it… collaborate more in research.

Three simple beds, a bookshelf for patient charts, and shelves filled with various medicines that I had practically forced Rick to prepare—it was excellent.

“Since you arrived, the number of patients suffering from infected wounds has decreased significantly. Their recovery is faster as well. We’re grateful.”

Richard said.

Feeling awkward, I fidgeted with my fingers and looked at the floor. All I had done was enforce hygiene, so the praise felt embarrassing.

Come to think of it, Richard didn’t like me very much at first. Our first meeting hadn’t been pleasant. I still remembered him pointing a gun at my head…

Still, his attitude toward me had softened recently.

“Oh, and I heard the wheelchair for Jin… is finished. Is ‘wheelchair’ the correct term?”

While looking around the clinic with satisfaction, I lit up at his words. The greenhouse and Jin’s room were some distance apart—if he tried to walk, it could be dangerous.

So I had shown Louis a sketch and asked him to build a wheelchair.

“The greenhouse is ready, the wheelchair is ready… Shall we go get Jin now?”

At my enthusiastic words, a small smile appeared on Richard’s usually stoic face.

“Let’s. You go ahead, Doctor Aubert.”