* * *
"Your Majesty the Emperor."
Emperor Solter III of the Regnumia Empire gazed languidly at the messenger rushing in with a telegram. He elegantly swept back his platinum blond hair, pale and fine-textured, behind his ear.
The messenger knelt before him, trembling violently as he offered up the telegram in his hands.
"B-Brubang... has been captured by the Liberators. The governor has been taken prisoner, and Brubang's citizens have sided with the Liberators..."
The emperor crumpled the telegram in his hand. Rage burned in his jet-black eyes.
"What of Commander Roën Lectio?"
the emperor asked.
Brubang was one of the nine regions of the Regnumia Empire, each governed by a governor appointed directly by the emperor.
To prevent any governor from amassing too much power across generations, the emperors dispatched military commanders to each province to divide their authority.
The military head of Brubang was Roën Lectio, the eldest daughter of Marquis Lectio.
"...Her whereabouts are unknown, Your Majesty."
Solter III let out a deep sigh. The governor he'd personally appointed had been captured alive, and the military commander was missing...
What a pathetic affair. The Liberators, who had been building strength near Brubang, had now seized an entire region.
At least it was Brubang, the weakest force in the empire's south—small mercies.
"The 'Gray Lion' again?"
A vile smirk briefly curled the emperor's lips. The 'Gray Lion,' Rishar—a man who kept clinging to his authority, which the empire's citizens revered like a god. Utterly ridiculous.
"...Yes. He led the vanguard, but this operation was once again the work of the 'King of the Underground City'..."
the messenger stammered, shaking.
Solter III rose slowly from the jade throne. He then drew the longsword from the captain of the imperial guard's belt.
"Say that again."
"This operation was the doing of the King of the Underground City..."
But the messenger could say no more. Solter III had severed his throat. As the carotid artery ruptured, the messenger spewed blood from his mouth and collapsed.
"Ah, my Imperial Palace is dirtied again. Clean it up quickly."
Solter III staggered toward the imperial guard captain and handed over the dripping sword. As he reseated himself on the throne, his platinum hair was stained with blood.
"This empire's supreme emperor is none other than I alone. I wonder why someone who dares call himself 'King' still lives. Don't you agree, ministers?"
Solter III asked with a gentle smile, but none dared speak.
Foolish messenger. Even bringing such news, if he'd only avoided uttering 'King,' his family wouldn't have all died. He'd have sacrificed just his own life.
"Execute that messenger's entire family. By imperial decree."
He crossed his legs, rested his chin on his hand, and looked down at the ministers. The old men trembling like leaves was rather amusing.
"Certainly, three months ago, the doctor who fled the Underground City said it. That 'Jin,' that bastard's life was nearing its end. He wouldn't last beyond three months at most. No doctor in this world could save Jin."
Solter III twirled a strand of bloodied hair around his finger as he spoke.
Three months prior, the doctor who escaped the Underground City had rushed straight to the Imperial Palace and revealed its location.
Desperate to save his own skin, apparently. But the Underground City had countless entrances, and the Liberators destroyed and sealed them whenever discovered. That was why no spies planted among the Liberators could ever locate it.
He'd spared that useless doctor's life only because he'd brought the valuable news that Jin's life hung by a thread. But now even that intel was obsolete.
"Yet he dares plan and seize Brubang without my permission, so he must still be alive and well. How is that possible?"
The emperor sighed deeply. His voice grew heavier with escalating fury. The ministers merely watched each other's faces.
"Find out how. And as for that doctor—exterminate his entire clan. All. Of. Them."
Solter III emphasized the final three words with a bright smile. His radiant beauty chilled all who beheld it.
A Changed Future
"Woo-hoo-hoo, hum-hmm~"
What sound is that? Me humming a tune, obviously. Heh-heh. Hee-hee-hee!
It had been over 100 days since I arrived in the Underground City. The moment I passed the three-month mark, I started humming every day—I was in such a great mood. Why? Because Jin was still! Perfectly! Alive.
Moreover, he was incredibly healthy. Two weeks ago, after a blood clot blocked his throat and he took a full tour of death's doorstep, his health had improved day by day!
'Still a bit early to relax completely, but hey, he's still alive.'
I couldn't pinpoint exactly why, but perhaps the nebulizer I'd commissioned from Lui after that near-death scare was showing real effects.
Honestly, I wasn't even sure if that was the right name. I'd remembered seeing it used for respiratory treatments in dramas, that's all.
The nebulizer was a medical device for inhaling vaporized saline solution through an oral mask. It was pathetic that it only occurred to me after phlegm and blood had dried stickily, leading to that crisis.
In the modern world, they dilute medications in saline for inhalation... But nothing like that here, so sterilized saline would have to do.
Anyway, doesn't this give me a bit of hope? He's survived past three months, unlike the original story.
"Ober Teacher, you seem to be in a great mood!"
Rodent said from the clinic chair, swinging his legs vigorously. He'd grown closer to me lately, now calling me Astrid Teacher instead of Ober Teacher.
Hee-hee-hee, yes! This teacher's in an excellent mood! I bobbed my head along with the humming.
I was reviewing the patient charts I'd compiled over the past 100+ days. The volume was staggering. Sure, some were for other patients, but just Jin's records filled about ten notebooks.
Comparing the first and last volumes really showed how much healthier Jin had become. The early ones detailed multiple hemoptysis episodes and respiratory distress daily, but lately, those had dwindled sharply.
The one nagging concern was the recent unexplained tachycardia—rapid pulse—observed frequently.
'Ugh, just fixed the respiratory issue, and now it's circulatory! What can I even do about the heart?'
My great mood plummeted to subzero. If it was a heart problem... No way a quack like me could fix that.
This delicate tofu of a man. Crush him with a squeeze! Why so fragile, wahhh.
So lately, Betty and I had been adding heart-healthy ingredients to his meals.
Folk remedies, sure, but I couldn't perform heart surgery or an echocardiogram here... No choice.
Of course, some ingredients might horrify Jin into a heart attack if he knew... Ignorance is bliss.
"I'm heading to Jin now—want to come, Rodent?"
I gathered the charts and stethoscope, asking Rodent. It was nearly his tutoring time anyway... He hated being apart from me these days.
"Yes! Let's go together, Teacher!"
Rodent beamed, grabbing my hand tightly. Ironically, this behavioral change started after 'that day' when I truly aged a decade.
After Jin's near-death, everything changed. People treated me not as a master physician, but as an angel descended from heaven, a saint! Who revived the dead.
Rodent asked if I'd really brought Jin back, then begged to learn CPR.
No reason to refuse. More people knowing CPR was always better.
Rodent, Rishar, Lui, Rick, Finn—I taught everyone who asked.
"Doctor, you're here?"
As handsome as ever... Entering the Greenhouse, Jin looked up from his bed where he sat reading documents.
This was underground—where did the breeze come from? A perfectly timed gust fluttered his hair and the curtains, amplifying the impact.
Health is wealth, truly. A bit of weight made him even more stunning... Losing my gaze daily was inevitable.
With Jin's immunity seemingly improved, I'd lifted the mask mandate for visitors. Our flounder endured without major setbacks—impressive.
"Let me finish reading this. That okay, Doctor?"
Jin smiled faintly. I nodded, mesmerized.
Whatever. So he reads my mind—so what? He's handsome, that's fact.
I sat bedside, watching him read. His serious profile was so sexy. This is why they say working men are hot.
Furrowed brow, flipping pages—how so effortlessly cool... Ah, drooling? I wiped my mouth, gaping at him.
"Teacher!"
Suddenly, Rodent dashed back with a flower crown of white and purple blooms. ...All medicinal for Jin when dried.
"Made it for you, Teacher!"
Rodent placed his tiny-handed creation on my head. I'd lamented the waste of herbs, but melted at his cuteness.
Waaah, Rodent as a healing character... Saving Jin was right. Better him growing innocently than losing us and burning with revenge.
"...Leader, you okay?"
Rodent tilted his head worriedly at Jin.
Thinking something happened, I whipped around.
Jin looked dazed. What? First time seeing him so blank. Even fever-delirious, his blue eyes sparkled keenly—now just vacant.
"Jin, what's wrong?"
At my call, he shook his head, refocusing on papers. But not really concentrating.
"Jin. You look tired—don't push. Checkup first."
Grabbing his document-holding hand, Jin startled. It felt hot. Feverish...
"I-I'm fine. Fine, Doctor."
Repeating 'fine,' but he didn't look it. I sighed, yanking the papers away.
"Unbutton your shirt now. Stethoscope time."
I commanded firmly. Jin glanced at us, then complied.
'Ah, tachycardia again.'
Worse than usual. Way over normal. Forehead to his brow—flushed, feverish. Thermometer would help.
"L-Leader! Nosebleed!"
Rodent yelped. What? Nosebleed? He'd spit blood orally before, never nasal. Panicking, I looked—blood flowed from his nose.
"Jin, you okay? Sudden nosebleed why..."
I crammed gauze in hastily. Then Jin's body went limp, collapsing backward.
