The Rebel’s Quack Doctor 22

“Um… what about Richard?”
It was time for Jin’s walk, but the person who was supposed to be guarding us—Richard—hadn’t shown up. I was holding Rodent’s hand tightly, getting ready, when I looked at Jin in confusion.
“Richard’s outside. He’s on an important mission.”
“Then who’s guarding us?”
I blinked and glanced around. There was no way Rodent and I could push Jin’s wheelchair up that long slope by ourselves.
“Just wait a little longer. The escort coming today works outside the underground city, so he’s coming from farther away.”
Right then, the bedroom door opened and a man stepped in.
“Heyyy, Jin! Sorry, sorry! I’m late!”
His attire was noticeably different from the usual underground city style—flashy, luxurious even. Mid-thirties, maybe a couple of years older than Jin and Richard. I’d seen him occasionally at executive meetings, but not often enough to remember his name.
“Taud, why are you so late?”
Jin asked in a low voice.
As Taud approached the wheelchair, a faint smell of alcohol drifted over.
Wait… had he been drinking?
“Sorry. Had a drinking session with business partners last night. Still reeks a bit, huh?”
He sniffed his own sleeve with a sly grin.
“But seriously, Jin. You can barely take care of yourself—why are you dragging a kid around too? What a hassle.”
He said it while glancing at Rodent standing beside the wheelchair.
Somehow… even though his tone and expression were perfectly friendly and polite, it rubbed me the wrong way.
“He’s someone I treasure.”
Jin replied, his voice sounding slightly deflated.
Rodent, who had been keeping his distance from the unfamiliar man, brightened noticeably at Jin’s words.
I gently patted Rodent’s shoulder. From the mention of “business partners,” he must be someone working for the trade guild the Liberators operated. But why was a merchant acting as an escort?
“Got it, got it. Then let’s head out. I’ve already made us late.”
Taud flashed a breezy smile and took hold of the wheelchair handles. Normally this would have been an exciting outing, but today it felt oddly sluggish.
Even Rodent—who usually ran around full of curiosity—seemed subdued, listlessly skipping flat stones across the lake surface.
Plop, plop, plop. Each skip sent perfect little ripples spreading outward.
Jin and I sat comfortably in the shade of a tree and watched.
“Jin… is that man a merchant? He gives off that kind of vibe.”
I asked quietly while glancing at Taud, who was yawning lazily.
“Yeah. He runs a trade guild while hiding his identity.”
Hiding his identity… like undercover work? Hearing that made him sound a little more impressive…
Still, one thing didn’t add up. Why was a merchant doing escort duty?
“Richard’s mission was so critical that we had to send almost everyone. We were going to borrow an escort from the trade guild, but Taud said it sounded fun and volunteered himself. Don’t worry—he may look like that, but he can handle simple protection duties just fine.”
Jin must have read the doubt on my face, because he explained patiently.
Even so, watching Taud’s slick, almost serpentine smile made it hard not to worry. Could someone like that really protect Jin properly?
Despite my doubts, nothing happened while we relaxed by the lakeside.
Rodent’s latest stone skipped impressively far before sinking. Thrilled by his new record, he turned to us with a proud grin.
“Leader-nim! Sensei! Did you see that?”
“Yeah, we saw. You did great, Rodent.”
I ruffled his hair. He giggled and plopped down beside me.
“Should we head back now? You look tired.”
We’d already been out for a while.
Normally Jin would whine for just a few more minutes, but today he quietly settled back into the wheelchair.
Back in the greenhouse, I was doing the usual check-up when Richard burst in hurriedly.
“Richard, you’re back early. How did it go?”
“The Masquin ducal residence operation went smoothly. All the stored wealth was distributed to the slums. But…”
Masquin ducal family… why did that sound familiar?
Oh—right. The Emperor’s maternal family. In the original story, Rodent—after reuniting the Liberators’ scattered forces—had targeted them first, eight years from now.
But now Jin and Richard had taken them down? Wait—the timeline was shifting dramatically…
“During the process, the enraged citizens… beat every member of the Masquin family to death. We couldn’t stop them.”
Of course, only the timing had changed. The flow of events wasn’t so different. In eight years, Rodent would raid the same residence, distribute the wealth, and the long-suffering people would finally turn on their oppressors with stones and violence. That was what drove the Emperor to grind his teeth and hunt Rodent down.
“It’s… unsettling, but fitting. Nobles who squeezed the blood of the common people for their own gain—reaping what they sowed.”
Jin spoke coldly.
Whoa. I’d never heard him sound so ruthless. Maybe I’d only seen fragments, but yes—he really was the leader of a rebellion.
“Jin, that’s not the issue. The Emperor is now hell-bent on killing you. You know they were his maternal relatives.”
The conversation was turning serious. Since Jin’s check-up was finished, I started to excuse myself.
“Um… I’ll head out now. You two talk comfortably.”
I picked up my medical bag and stood—but Richard stopped me.
“Doctor, please stay a moment longer. There’s something you need to hear too.”
Huh? Something I needed to hear? I sat back down. Richard’s expression was grim.
“…Doctor Ober. A bounty has been placed on your head. It seems the Empire has identified you.”
He spoke with a deeply furrowed brow.
I blinked at him stupidly. A… bounty?
“I’m sorry. It looks like we’ve put you in danger.”
Richard pulled out a wanted poster and handed it to me.
There was Astrid’s portrait, labeled clearly: Astrid Ober.
And the bounty… 3, 300 million lumen?
300 million… how much was that, exactly? I had no frame of reference.
Astrid Ober had been fairly well-off—her miserly doctor father had left her an inheritance of 500,000 lumen. That money had kept street children fed, clothed, and sheltered for six years—and there had still been some left over.
And now my head was worth 300 million…?
It didn’t feel real.
“Three… million…”
The number slipped out of my mouth as my jaw dropped.
Jin reached out silently—wanting to see the poster too. I sighed and handed it over.
“Our dear doctor has become quite the celebrity. Same bounty as Richard.”
What—? So right now I was tied for third place on the Legnumia Empire’s most-wanted list? Suddenly I felt strangely important… and also kind of terrified.
I’d been a perfectly ordinary citizen… well, okay, my first act in this world was breaking out of prison, so maybe not ordinary. And now I was constantly surrounded by giants like Jin and Richard.
“There’s nothing to be afraid of, Doctor. I’ll protect you.”
Jin’s words nearly made me burst out laughing. This frail little sea pineapple boldly declaring he’d protect me was just too cute.
And yet… strangely, it reassured me.
“Of course, Doctor. We’ll keep you safe no matter what.”
Richard chimed in.
Wow. This was actually pretty comforting. Two incredibly handsome men promising to protect me? Hehe.
“Um… thank you. Is there anything else I need to hear? If not, I’ll head out now.”
I scratched my cheek awkwardly. Richard shook his head—no more to discuss.
“Don’t overdo it today, Jin. Your temperature’s a little higher than usual.”
I practically skipped out of the greenhouse, humming happily as I flew toward the clinic.
In the original story, Jin had died about two months ago. Just by keeping him alive an extra two months, the downfall of the Masquin ducal family had been advanced by eight years.
At first I’d only wanted to keep Jin alive for my own survival. But now…
Aside from liking him, the longer Jin lived, the sooner peace might come to this place.
I was a citizen of Legnumia now too. I wanted the tyrant Solter III gone as quickly as possible.
Of course, I felt a little guilty for stealing one of Rodent’s future accomplishments—but maybe this was a chance to raise our brilliant little Rodent properly. Maybe even make him a real doctor? Heh heh.
But when I reached the clinic, my happy mood cooled slightly.
An unexpected patient was waiting.
Rodent.
“Rodent? What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
He’d been perfectly fine during the walk. Now he looked listless, like a wilted chick.
“He said his stomach felt bad after lunch—like it wasn’t digesting properly—so I brought him here, Astrid-sensei.”
Pin said, resting a hand on Rodent’s slumped shoulder.
Oh no, our Rodent. Maybe indigestion? I touched his hand—cold.
“Come here, Rodent. Let’s take some digestive medicine.”
I gave him the medicine first. But it didn’t seem to help much. In times like this… maybe folk remedies? Like pricking the finger to release blood?
Wait—no. That was basically bloodletting.
I hated bloodletting. Jin still had faint scars on his left wrist from it. Absolutely unforgivable.
And if it got infected, that would be disastrous.
“Rodent, want to lie down on the bed?”
Instead, I decided on the classic “mom’s hand is the best medicine.” Rubbing the stomach might help.
“Pin, you can go ahead. I’ll take Rodent back to the dormitory when I finish work.”
I smiled at Pin. He gave Rodent a worried look before leaving.
Now I understood why Jin trusted him with the kids. Pin was reliable and gentle.
“Rodent… did something upsetting happen? You don’t look like you’re just sick. Is something bothering you?”
I rubbed his stomach in slow circles and asked softly. This didn’t feel like ordinary indigestion. Even when we first met—when he’d been starving and freezing—he hadn’t looked this defeated.
Rodent didn’t answer right away. His face was clouded, lost in thought.
Then, after a long silence:
“…This morning, that man Taud said I was a hassle. That I’m bothering you and Leader-nim too much when you’re both so busy…”
He spoke in a small, dejected voice.
So that was it. At such a young age, already reading the room and worrying about being a burden. No wonder lunch had sat like a rock in his stomach.
“What are you talking about, Rodent? Sensei likes you so much. And Leader-nim treasures you too.”
Rodent’s eyes grew shiny with tears.
Oh no… how starved for affection was this child?
Since I’d already changed Jin’s fate, I wanted Rodent to grow up loved and happy here in the underground city too.
Let the adults—Jin, Richard—handle overthrowing the Empire. Children should just be children. Grow up happy.
“Sensei, I feel better now.”
After rubbing his stomach for a while, color finally returned to his face. Phew. I grinned and ruffled his hair.
“Next time, no matter how upset you are, you have to eat properly. Okay? Chew well.”
Rodent nodded vigorously. Ugh… not my biological child, but was this what raising one felt like?
“Sensei is so amazing! There’s no disease you can’t cure. I want to grow up and become a doctor just like you!”
His eyes sparkled.
To a quack like me… I felt a pang of guilt. It was like I was deceiving those innocent, shining eyes.
“No, Rodent. There are so many diseases I can’t cure.”
He didn’t look disappointed at all.
“Then I’ll study harder and become an even greater doctor than you. I want to make a world without sick people. A happy world.”
Of course—even if he never became a doctor, Rodent had the power to make that world a reality. He was the protagonist, after all.
“Yes, yes. Our Rodent is so smart—he can do anything. So don’t worry about weird adults like Mr. Taud. Got it?”
Rodent nodded firmly.
“Oh—and just in case, let’s skip the walk tomorrow, okay? It’s a shame, but when you’re not feeling well, rest is most important. You can’t grow up to be an adult who keeps working even when sick, like Leader-nim. Understand?”
I ended up badmouthing Jin without meaning to. That workaholic—what was I going to do with him? The moment he got a little better, he overworked himself and ended up sick again.
“Yes, sensei.”
Rodent answered quietly, looking a little down.
But seeing him accept skipping a walk so readily made me think—maybe Rodent was actually more mature than Jin.
Honestly… Jin the child. Master of tantrums. Wasn’t that just beauty-trap tactics? He knew that pouty face would always make me cave…
Ugh. Who was I kidding? I was the one who always lost to that face.
“Sleep well, Rodent! Come by the clinic tomorrow when you have time. I need to check on you.”
I walked him all the way to the children’s dormitory and waved as he disappeared inside.
What a strangely eventful day, even though I hadn’t done much. A slick merchant suddenly appeared as an escort. I became a wanted criminal with an astronomical bounty. And Rodent—who never even caught a cold—suddenly got indigestion.
Even as I showered in warm water and sank into my soft bed, that ridiculous 3-million-lumen bounty kept swirling in my mind, leaving me oddly restless.
★
Another day began with that hellish nightmare.
Jin died again.
They say dreams are the opposite of reality—so if that was true, Jin would probably live forever. He died so often in my dreams.
Usually I woke right after he died. But today was different. I heard a woman’s voice—laughing cruelly over his corpse. Hideous.
The unknown terror of that voice jolted me awake, body trembling. Chills in the middle of summer—an ominous sign.
“Heyyy, look who it is. Our wanted doctor-sensei~”
As soon as I entered Jin’s room, he gleefully reminded me of my new bounty status. He’d clearly been waiting for the perfect chance to tease me. Ugh.
“Just open for the thermometer.”
I shook my head and placed it under his tongue. Jin watched me with mischief dancing in his eyes. What was so funny?
Oh—but his condition was surprisingly good today. Temperature at 36.9°C. Wow—the first time below 37 since we made the thermometer.
“You seem to be in good shape today, Jin. Did you sleep well?”
I asked while listening to his lungs. Breath sounds were beautifully clear. If every day could be like this, I’d have no complaints.
“Yeah. Didn’t wake up once.”
Jin always said that—so I turned to the night attendant instead.
“Jack, is that true?”
Jack answered with a beaming face.
“Yes, sensei! The Leader-nim didn’t cough even once all night. He slept deeply.”
See? My dreams were just nonsense. Bad premonition? What bad premonition? Please stay this healthy forever, our Jin baby.
…That was what I used to think.
But human intuition should never be ignored.