I Just Wanted to Avoid Death - Chapter 125
‘…You killed your father?’
The moment he heard those words, Yeshion recalled everything he knew about Eldis. But among them, there was nothing about Eldis having killed his parents.
Eldis opened and closed his mouth several times, unsure how to begin, then let out a sigh. What followed, after much hesitation, was a piece of his past.
“Do you remember that we lived in the same slums?”
At that question, Yeshion’s hand trembled slightly.
‘If it’s about the slums…’
Was it related to that vision he saw in the darkness? In that illusion, ‘Yeshion’ and Eldis were in the same slums.
“…Yes, I remember that we met there, at least.”
“Then do you also know about my family circumstances?”
To that follow-up question, Yeshion shook his head.
All he’d seen was Eldis’s body covered in wounds. He knew nothing about the circumstances of Eldis’s household.
“Back then, I was just… just poor. Well, living in the slums, that’s a given, I suppose.”
“……”
“But it wasn’t just poverty. It was a level of destitution that can’t be described so simply. As you can see, I’ve inherited more of the Principality’s blood than that of the Empire.”
At Eldis’s words, Yeshion tilted his head. He didn’t quite see what poverty had to do with having inherited blood from the Principality.
But soon, he remembered what that ‘Principality’ likely referred to.
The Principality of Taiman.
A name he recalled from skimming a history book.
Roughly seventy years ago, it was a nation that had gone to war with the Medesia Empire. Originally, it had been a vassal state of the Empire. But the Principality, desiring liberation, rose up in rebellion on a certain day and…
Was crushed.
The war claimed the lives of many imperial citizens, and all those who had been subjects of the Principality were enslaved.
Those who weren’t enslaved wandered through refugee camps or slums, becoming the targets of imperial scorn.
Seventy years passed.
Many had since shed their status as slaves, but that didn’t mean discrimination against the people of the Principality had vanished.
In developed areas like the capital, overt oppression was rarer. But in lowly, filthy places, the situation was different. The citizens of the Empire, whose suffering had only worsened after the war, continued to harbor deep hatred toward those of Principality descent.
And Eldis, who lived in the slums, had no choice but to endure all of that scorn.
“Well, yeah, just looking at you, it’s pretty obvious what bloodline the Archpriest inherited.”
At Adelio’s muttering, Yeshion silently observed Eldis’s face.
Eyes gleaming like those of a predatory bird—so golden they seemed almost bestial. His dusky skin, which Yeshion had once found exotic, bore every hallmark of someone from the Principality of Taiman.
“…That’s right. And because of that, I was persecuted all the more. Me, and my family too.”
At the time, those in the slums severely ostracized people from the Principality. If there was food, they didn’t share it with others in need—instead, they stole it from those with Principality blood.
Eldis had experienced that even more harshly than others.
He’d approach hoping for just a scrap of bread, only to be beaten while hearing, “Filthy Principality brat.”
“So my parents hated me deeply. I was the only one in the family who clearly showed the traits of Taiman blood.”
At first, they believed they could endure together. That someday good fortune would come, and they clung to hope. When they were driven from one slum, they moved to another. If they starved there too, they searched again for a different place.
But that hope was short-lived.
When they were driven out of their second settlement, Eldis’s father raised a hand against him.
“If not for you… if only you weren’t here!”
That first strike didn’t end with just a day or two. His father, who was the first to abandon him, would resort to violence every time their eyes met.
Poverty turned people into monsters. It painted life in the colors of hell.
It wasn’t just the hunger in their bellies—it made even the closest people in one’s life into objects of hatred.
But young Eldis kept his mouth shut and endured those cruel words and beatings. He believed that someday, things would get better. That when they did, they could all be happy together.
However, the more time passed, the worse things became. His father grew to hate even the sound of Eldis breathing, and at one point, even tried to kill him.
“And in the end, my parents abandoned me.”
