I Just Wanted to Avoid Death - Chapter 150
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He lifted his head, and standing there was a woman in a crimson dress, half her face hidden behind a fan. She looked like a noble of considerable rank.
“……I’m sorry.”
“There won’t be a second time, Priest Yeshion. Why are you late when both your legs are perfectly fine?”
She snapped and turned away, clearly signaling that the meeting would now begin.
Yeshion stood quietly in the corner, stealing glances at the woman receiving reports from others.
Her eyes, languid and bored, shone with a predatory glint. Those vivid red irises, curled lashes, and thick crimson hair were striking.
But that voice…
He’d heard it somewhere before—
‘……Ah!’
That illusion he’d seen.
When he’d died and this round began anew, she was the one standing before him.
The Yeshion kneeling on the ground, and the woman who stood before him laughing behind her fan. She was the same woman who had once threatened “Yeshion” by mentioning Eldis’s life.
“So then, Priest Yeshion.”
“Yes…!”
Yeshion jolted upright, startled.
Baine, who had been standing beside him the whole time, clicked her tongue and kicked him behind the knee.
“How dare you.”
As if asking why he wasn’t kneeling properly. Her tongue clucked again with disgust, and Yeshion’s body trembled.
“I-I’m sorry…”
The words came out before he could think, as if his body remembered before his mind did.
Seeing him shake, the woman seated at the head sighed.
“From what I hear, you’ve been making good progress with the Crown Prince. So I’ll overlook today’s disrespect.”
“……!”
“You should respond.”
“Th-thank you……”
The woman clicked her tongue again, like she was dealing with something useless. Yeshion couldn’t help but swallow dryly.
“But… the Crown Prince woke from the curse rather quickly this time, didn’t he?”
Yeshion kept his gaze fixed to the floor. If he met her eyes now, she’d see everything he was trying to hide.
“Have you no idea what’s going on in the temple?”
“N-no, I don’t…”
The air grew ice-cold in an instant.
As Yeshion darted a glance around, the woman, who had been sitting at a distance, strode toward him. And without hesitation, she lifted her leg and stomped hard on his head.
“……Ugh!”
“You don’t?”
Her heel pressed harder.
His jaw cracked painfully against the coarse floor, but she didn’t lift her foot. Instead, she pushed the stiletto harder into the back of his skull.
“It’s so easy for you to say you don’t know.”
“Ggh… ngh!”
“If you don’t, then find out. You should be vowing to bring that information to me, by any means necessary.”
…Damn it.
Yeshion clenched his fists and shut his eyes tight.
He wanted to run. Right now, this very second, but his trembling body refused to obey.
Who was this woman, that his body still remembered the fear of her so vividly?
“I-I’m sorry…”
The words came from a face twisted in pain. The woman clicked her tongue again and stepped back, but clearly still unsatisfied, she motioned toward Baine.
As soon as the woman turned away, Baine, who had been standing silently at attention, lifted her hand and struck Yeshion hard across the face.
“Ghk!”
Despite the situation, everyone present wore blank expressions, as if this violence toward “Yeshion” was expected.
“Get up.”
A cold voice.
Yeshion couldn’t even reach up to touch his throbbing cheek”.
He fumbled along the floor and slowly kneeled again.
“The punishment for your disrespect. Leave that to yourselves to settle later.”
“……”
“I’ve heard there’s a rumor going around about the Saintess.
Still bowing, Yeshion clenched his eyes shut.
He didn’t know what the rumor was, but he couldn’t let them suspect that he knew anything about Rosaline.
So he remained still, hiding every trace of doubt or fear, until the woman continued.
“They say that every time a new Archpriest is appointed, the temple chooses a new Saint.”
“……”
“But, in truth, women born with divine power are extremely rare in this world.”
She laughed, and Yeshion bit the soft flesh inside his cheek.
“Y-yes… that’s right……”
When he answered in a trembling voice, the woman spoke again with a faint smirk in her tone.
“Find out if Saint Rosaline is really a woman.”
“……”
“If not… that will be just the thing to bring that high-and-mighty Archpriest to heel.”
