I Just Wanted to Avoid Death - Chapter 109
Yeshion Azelist.
It had already been two months since he lost consciousness due to Edward’s reckless actions.
“Compensation, is it…”
Eldis stared fixedly at the official document that had arrived from Mishemol Duchy. The lingering rage still simmered, bringing back vivid memories of that day.
After severely wounding Yeshion, Edward had died instantly with his neck snapped. Adelio, leaping out like an enraged beast, had beaten him to death.
“They were clearly in the wrong, so why am I the one being asked for compensation?”
A similar letter surely reached the imperial palace. Since the incident had occurred in a ducal estate and had countless witnesses, things would be even more chaotic over there.
“Honestly, are all nobles like this? Ugh! They’re all insufferable snobs.”
Someone responded to Eldis’s muttered words.
The voice was so familiar, so dearly missed, that Eldis raised his head in surprise.
That voice ringing in his ears was unmistakably Yeshion’s.
“…Priest Yeshion?”
But no one was there.
…Had he woken up, stopped by briefly, then hurried away? But considering Yeshion’s condition, even if he had awoken, he couldn’t possibly have moved so quickly.
With this sudden thought, Eldis rose swiftly from his seat and rushed toward Yeshion’s room. Yet Yeshion lay there, still unconscious, exactly as before.
In fact, Eldis had experienced similar phenomena several times since that day.
Whenever he muttered to himself, that sarcastic voice would respond, though the speaker was nowhere to be found—a bitter, melancholy occurrence.
But it was alright.
Just the fact that Yeshion’s voice still lingered clearly in his memory brought some comfort.
And so another three months passed.
It had certainly been cold when they’d departed for Mishemol Duchy, yet now the oppressive heat was upon them.
“…I recall Yeshion tended to struggle with the heat.”
Perhaps it was time to switch out the blanket for something lighter. Eldis was vaguely considering this when the voice spoke again.
“It’s because these uniforms are so thick. Aren’t you hot too, Archpriest?”
Though he knew it couldn’t be real, the voice remained vivid. Initially, Eldis would always turn around when he heard it; now, he no longer did.
He worried that the moment he acknowledged the voice as a hallucination, it would vanish forever, leaving only silence.
Swallowing dryly, Eldis bit softly at the inside of his cheek, his voice trembling as he replied.
“…No, I’m not hot. People from the Taiman Principality, as you know, don’t feel the heat much.”
Almost as if it had become a habit.
When he spoke as if Yeshion were truly listening, it wasn’t long before a reply came.
“Taiman Principality? Where’s that?”
Even though he knew it wasn’t real, hearing that clear voice again gave Eldis the strength to carry on.
Yet, it was bittersweet. Though Yeshion’s body still breathed, it felt as though only his spirit lingered at Eldis’s side.
So Eldis desperately tried not to think that way.
He comforted himself by believing it was just his imagination.
“It was…a vassal state of the Medesia Empire, before we were born. The country no longer exists. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten even that?”
“…Anyone can forget a few things.”
The grumbled words, seemingly sulky, were exactly the sort of thing Yeshion would say.
The voice was so clear it made Eldis smile unintentionally, and Eldis struggled to control the surge in his emotions.
Feeling his nose sting, Eldis lowered his head deeply, breathing out a long, shaky breath before finally turning away.
Still, today too.
Still, there was no sign of Yeshion.
“…You must be planning to survive this crisis safely as well, seeing as you’re teasing me like this.”
He missed him terribly.
He wanted to see Yeshion’s startled face as he asked how much time had passed since he fell asleep.
He missed that awkward habit of scratching his head, and even the small way he pursed his lips.
He missed everything.
“I believe you’ll wake up someday.”
Yet even amidst these feelings, Eldis refused to acknowledge his heart fully. He convinced himself these emotions were merely those of someone needing another by his side.
If he ever opened that box hidden deep within his heart, everything he had carefully built would crumble down instantly.
…But today, everything finally fell apart.
