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Chapter 1 …
Chapter 1: To the Underground City
Warm sunlight filtered in through the narrow bars. As I leaned against the wall trying to sleep, the light stabbed at my eyes, forcing me out of my brief nap.
Judging by the orange-tinted sky outside, it seemed sunset was near.
“Doctor Aubert.”
At that moment, a small boy in front of me tightly grabbed the hem of my clothes. Even though he was wearing tattered, worn-out clothing, his cuteness hadn’t faded in the slightest.
His hair was dirty and greasy, yet his platinum blond strands still retained a beautiful shine. His bright, sparkling eyes were a clear turquoise.
“Doctor Aubert.”
That was my name. Astrid Aubert. It had been a week since I ended up in this damn body, but no matter how many times I heard it, it still didn’t feel familiar.
“What is it, Rodent?”
I asked gently.
Rodent. Naming a child “Rodent”—how cruel. Apparently, it was a name someone had given to a street child who wandered around like a sewer rat.
And that absurdly named boy in front of me was none other than the male protagonist of the novel I had possessed into, The Liberator of the Underground City.
“…It’s nothing.”
Rodent hesitated, his lips trembling slightly before he shut his mouth tight.
I closed my eyes again. The sight before me was too unsettling to bear.
This place, where Rodent and I were locked up alone, was a notorious prison of the Regnumia Empire. A cramped cell so small that neither a young boy nor a petite adult woman could stretch out comfortably.
As I closed my eyes, my final memory from my previous life rushed in like a tide.
“Ma’am! Ma’am! Can you hear me?”
“Trauma patient, female, 27 years old. Blood pressure is dropping!”
“Do you know where you are?”
“Doctor, it’s V-fib!”
That was my last memory. On my way to work, I was hit by a truck and taken to the hospital. It felt like a scene straight out of the medical dramas I had loved since my school days.
Despite watching countless medical dramas for 15 years, I never imagined that moment would come for me—and that I would die.
V-fib. Ventricular fibrillation. And then, probably… expire.
Though I don’t remember it, a doctor must have solemnly pronounced my death. My life of 27 short years ended just like that.
And when I opened my eyes, I was in this damned prison.
I retained the memories of Astrid Aubert, the body I had possessed, though they were somewhat hazy, like fog.
Astrid Aubert was known as the “Angel of Aube Street.” In comparison, she was like Mother Teresa in my old world.
“An angel…”
Just hearing that title made my whole body cringe. But whether I liked it or not, that was who I was now.
Astrid was also 27, the same age I had been. But in this world, being 27 meant something entirely different.
Women here were considered adults at 18 and were practically sold off into arranged marriages. Anyone past 20 was labeled an old maid.
And yet, Astrid had remained unmarried at 27—and even went so far as to take in and treat poor street children.
“She’s basically a saint…”
Yes. The ten-year-old boy in front of me, Rodent, was one of the children she had saved.
No—he was the last one she saved.
Because she had been captured and thrown into prison along with him.
“…Rodent, what’s wrong?”
I couldn’t focus on my thoughts. Rodent was fidgeting anxiously, clearly uneasy.
“Doctor Aubert…”
Tears welled up in his mint-colored eyes.
It was heartbreaking—but also unbearably cute.
I wasn’t just into medical dramas; I had read plenty of other genres too. Among them, The Liberator of the Underground City was one I loved enough to reread multiple times.
And now, the ten-year-old version of my favorite character was right in front of me, looking up at me with tears in his eyes.
Still, as the “Angel of Aube Street,” I shouldn’t be having such irreverent thoughts.
“Ahem…”
I cleared my throat.
“Why are you crying, Rodent? Are you hurt?”
He shook his head and clutched my sleeve tightly.
“Doctor… the guards said… that you’re going to be executed tomorrow… Is that true?”
For a moment, I was speechless.
Those bastards said that in front of a ten-year-old?
Unforgivable.
Of course… they weren’t wrong.
Tomorrow morning, at dawn, I was scheduled to be taken to the gallows and hanged.
My crime: practicing medicine without a license.
In the Regnumia Empire, women weren’t allowed to have professions.
Even though Astrid inherited a clinic from her father, she was never granted a medical license.
Treating patients without one was why I was imprisoned.
Well, that was the official reason. In truth, they probably just didn’t like that she was revered as an angel for helping the oppressed.
But according to the original story, I wouldn’t die.
Because tonight… someone would come to save me.
“Don’t worry, Rodent. That won’t happen. Everything will be fine.”
I hugged him tightly as I comforted him. His tears soaked into my shoulder as his small body trembled.
Astrid had taken in a homeless child and treated him kindly—only to face execution the next day.
Of course it would be a shock for a ten-year-old.
Those guards really deserved to die.
“…Well, they’re going to die in a few hours anyway.”
Because the Liberators would soon arrive.
The current emperor of the Regnumia Empire, Solter III, was a tyrant.
Laughter had vanished from the streets, and the imperial army was feared.
Anyone who angered them would either be killed or exiled outside the walls, where monsters roamed.
In such a world, it was only natural that rebels would rise.
The “Liberators” were one such group—a massive rebellion.
And according to the story, today was the day they would storm this prison, kill all the guards, and rescue Astrid and Rodent.
As I waited for the coming chaos, I glared at the guard beyond the bars. He flinched at my gaze.
Soon, darkness fell outside.
It wouldn’t be long now.
I even ran a finger across my throat toward the guard, signaling his end.
Still… I couldn’t feel at ease.
Even if I avoided execution, Astrid’s future wasn’t bright.
The Liberators were rescuing me for one reason:
To save their dying leader.
The King of the Underground City—Jin.
He would become my patient.
Just thinking about it made me sigh.
Astrid wasn’t even a real doctor—she just fed and sheltered sick children.
And me?
I was just an ordinary office worker in my past life, working in product development for a confectionery company.
And now I was supposed to treat a rebel leader?
In the original story, Jin dies in three months.
After his death, the Liberators scatter—and Astrid is killed.
Meaning… I only had three months to live.
“…If I want to survive, I can’t go to the underground city.”
That was the conclusion I reached after a week in this world.
I had already died once in agony. I wasn’t going to do it again.
Just then, chaos erupted outside the prison.
“They’re here… the Liberators.”
Gunshots and screams echoed.
“Hold them off! It’s the Liberators!”
Useless.
They were all going to die anyway.
Soon, a man with ash-gray hair appeared before the cell.
“Astrid Aubert?”
His deep, steady voice carried authority.
His sharp eyes resembled a lion’s—just as described in the novel.
Long pale gray hair. Light blue eyes. Broad shoulders. A strikingly handsome man.
“…I’ll ask again. Are you Doctor Aubert?”
He asked again when I didn’t respond, just looking him up and down.
“Yes. I’m Astrid Aubert. And you are?”
I asked, though I already knew.
He was Richard—the second-in-command of the Liberators and Jin’s right-hand man.
“No time to explain. Come with me.”
He unlocked the cell.
“Over here! The Gray Lion is here!”
A guard shouted.
Gray Lion—that was Richard’s nickname.
Without hesitation, he turned and shot down the guards one by one with perfect accuracy.
An incredible marksman—just like in the novel.
Soon, all the guards lay dead.
“Come.”
He opened the cell.
Finally free, I stepped out.
We ran through the prison and into a quiet alley.
“Are you really the Gray Lion?”
Rodent asked, eyes shining.
Richard gave a small smile.
“My name is Richard.”
“Wow!”
Rodent exclaimed.
“Can I become a Liberator too?”
“Of course. Come with us.”
Then Richard turned to me.
“We need your help, Doctor Aubert. You are our only hope. Please come with us.”
His serious tone made my heart flutter despite myself.
But—
“I’m not a skilled doctor. I don’t even have a license. I can’t go with you.”
I wanted to live.
Going with him meant dying in three months.
Richard looked stunned.
“I never thought you would refuse.”
Yeah? Surprised your “angel” isn’t so angelic?
“…Excuse me.”
He said politely.
Before I could react—
Click.
He loaded his revolver and pointed it at my head.
“I’ll ask again, Doctor Aubert. Will you come with me?”
Note: The protagonist of this work is not a medical professional, and the medical knowledge mentioned in the story may differ from reality.
