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Chapter 2 …
…Right now, there’s a gun pointed at my head… Cold sweat began running down my spine. Ugh, of course. There’s no way I could escape this easily.
“I-I’ll go! I’ll follow you, so please put the gun down!”
I whimpered. Richard lowered the gun with an expressionless face. Then he pulled out a piece of black cloth from his coat. W-what is he trying to do?
“I’m sorry. Until we reach the underground city, I’ll have to cover your eyes. You might try to run away, and we can’t risk revealing the location of the underground city.”
Richard said as he blindfolded me with the black cloth.
…Was Astrid in the original story also dragged away like this, blindfolded? Probably not. Richard isn’t the kind of person who would do that to an angel who walked willingly into a tiger’s den.
And so, unable to see anything, I was dragged along by Richard. Ugh… I tried so hard not to end up going to the underground city, but my plan has completely fallen apart.
Now it was time to think of Plan B. Either I use the medical knowledge I’ve built up over 15 years of fangirling to save Jin, or I wait for a chance to escape from the underground city.
Of course, I knew the latter was almost impossible. I had already refused once, so I’d definitely be under strict surveillance from now on.
Then the only option left was…
‘I’m not even a doctor—how am I supposed to save a patient who’s going to die in three months?’
I let out a deep sigh. I felt a small hand beside me gently hold my sweat-soaked hand.
Ugh… Rodent… as expected, you’re the only one I can rely on.
I briefly thought about Rodent’s future. In the original story, Astrid, Jin, and Richard weren’t major characters.
After Jin dies in three months, the Liberators—having lost their leader—collapse due to the “Black Spider,” and many of them die.
The Black Spider is a dark organization led by a woman named Arachne. Like the Liberators, they oppose the imperial army.
However, the difference is that the Black Spider is a group that has “become evil to fight evil.” They didn’t hesitate to commit crimes like assassination and smuggling to grow stronger. After Jin dies, Astrid is also assassinated by one of their killers.
Having lost Astrid and Jin—whom he followed like parents—and everyone he considered family, Rodent is consumed by revenge.
After hiding in the shadows and building his strength for years, he restores the Liberators to their former scale eight years later and frees all citizens under imperial rule. That was the original story.
Astrid, meanwhile, spends three months nursing the dying Jin and eventually falls in love with him. Jin, however, keeps pushing her away until the very end.
Before he dies, Jin leaves Astrid with these last words, in a sorrowful, fragile voice:
“My death is not your fault. So I hope you won’t suffer too much because of it.”
Though it wasn’t explicitly stated in the original, it was clear that Jin loved Astrid too.
After sending off the man she loved, Astrid accepts her own death as if it were a blessing—because it means she can go to him.
…It’s a beautiful relationship, really. But thinking that I might have to go through it myself made me feel a little sad.
Of course, I’m not Astrid, so I probably won’t fall in love with Jin. But if Jin dies, there’s a high chance I’ll die too. That part likely won’t change.
Judging from the illness described in “The Liberator of the Underground City,” it seemed to be a respiratory disease. He had severe coughing, coughed up bloody phlegm, and eventually started vomiting blood.
By the time Astrid became his physician, he was already too weak to even walk on his own.
Severe coughing and vomiting blood… I tried to recall everything from the works I’d obsessively consumed over the past 15 years. Unfortunately, respiratory illnesses weren’t that common in medical dramas, so I wasn’t very familiar with them.
What illness could it be? No matter how hard I thought, only two came to mind: tuberculosis… or lung cancer.
If it were late-stage lung cancer, there would be nothing I could do. It would have already metastasized throughout his body. Honestly, even the best doctor couldn’t save him in that case.
But lung cancer became more common with increased smoking and air pollution. Before that, it was rare. A 32-year-old man who doesn’t smoke… surely it’s not lung cancer… Please, let it not be that.
There was no mention of severe pain, so I hoped it wasn’t cancer and considered tuberculosis instead. But… it didn’t seem like tuberculosis either. Tuberculosis is contagious.
If Jin had tuberculosis, wouldn’t Richard or others nearby have caught it too? Then what on earth is his illness? I’m not even a doctor…
Still, as long as it’s not lung cancer, maybe—just maybe—there’s a chance. If I maintain strict hygiene and provide him with nutritious, high-quality food, maybe I could improve his condition. Even if I can’t cure him completely, maybe I could extend his life a little.
Thinking that far gave me a small sense of hope.
After walking for who knows how long with my eyes covered, we passed countless stairs before finally reaching flat ground. It seemed we had arrived at the underground city.
‘I thought the air would be stuffy down here, but it’s actually quite fresh.’
I couldn’t help but be surprised. The air was far better than the foul-smelling alleys above ground. Somewhere, I could hear the sound of a massive ventilation system running.
The “underground city” was a civilization built by dwarves thousands of years ago. No one knew where they had disappeared to after creating such an incredible place.
“We’ve arrived, Doctor Ober. Please wait a moment. I’ll remove the blindfold.”
As Richard untied the cloth, a burst of bright light hit my eyes, and I couldn’t see anything at first.
After a moment, my eyes adjusted, and the underground city came into view.
“Wow…”
It was truly breathtaking. Golden metals and colorful gemstones decorated everything, and streetlights illuminated the roads. The city was far more beautiful than I had imagined.
Overwhelmed, Rodent and I looked around in awe. Could this really be a city beneath the ground?
Perhaps the dwarves had a civilization even more advanced than the modern world I came from. Or maybe… they were actually aliens?
But our sightseeing was short-lived as we were soon led to a massive, magnificent door.
Right. If Jin is the ruler of the underground city, it makes sense he’d live somewhere like this. Just how many jewels are embedded in this door? If I could somehow take it and run, I could live comfortably for the rest of my life. Though… it looked far too heavy to carry.
Suddenly, the sheer scale of the place made me nervous. When a king dies, doesn’t the royal physician have to die too…? If I fail to save Jin, am I going to die as well?
In the original story, Astrid wasn’t harmed even after Jin died—but that was because Jin loved her.
Right now, I’m not Astrid. I still have the same warm brown hair and sparkling green eyes, but my personality is completely different. There’s no way Jin would fall in love with me.
Standing before the door, I recalled Jin’s first impression from the original. He was described as looking like a living skeleton—so frail he couldn’t even wield a weapon.
His long black hair covered his pale, bloodless face, and only his deep blue eyes showed he was alive. Just how thin was he to be described like that?
“Please, go in, Doctor.”
Richard pushed the heavy door open. With a trembling heart, I stepped inside.
Soon, I heard a weak cough that sounded like it could fade away at any moment. That must be Jin.
“Jin. I’ve brought Doctor Ober.”
Behind the curtains, someone lay on an ornate bed. Just as described—his silhouette looked incredibly thin.
The coughing grew worse. Is he going to die like that?
Richard walked over to the bed. It seemed Jin couldn’t even sit up on his own.
And when Richard helped him up…
I nearly stopped breathing.
‘W-wait… Author…? You never said Jin was this handsome?!’
He wasn’t much different from the original description. He was emaciated to the point of being skin and bones. You could even see the outline of his chest muscles through his loose clothing.
But!
There was something the original had left out.
How could they not mention he was this handsome? His skin was dry and lifeless, and he looked pitifully thin, but…
A sharp nose, long eyelashes framing beautiful blue eyes—and a small beauty mark beneath his right eye that added a seductive charm.
I can say this with confidence: if he just gained 5—no, 10 kilograms, he’d be handsome enough to conquer the entire world with his looks.
No wonder Astrid fell in love with a dying man.
With a face like that, how could she not?
