I Just Wanted to Avoid Death - Chapter 154
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“Don’t laugh, you idiot. I’m insulting you right now.”
“I didn’t laugh.”
“If you lie, you’ll be punished, you know.”
At that, Yeshion avoided his eyes and shut his mouth. Rosaline grumbled and stomped lightly on his foot.
After a long silence, he finally let out a deep breath and spoke.
“Do you want to run away, Yeshion?”
“…What?”
“I’ll… send you far away.”
Rosaline raised his head slowly, eyes firm. But his lips trembled, and his gaze wavered, like he didn’t mean a word of it.
“Running away… all of a sudden? What are you talking about, Saintess?”
“I’ll send you away. No matter what it takes, I’ll help you escape.”
Rosaline spoke in a desperate voice. He reached out as if to grasp Yeshion’s shoulders, but when he saw the bruises marring Yeshion’s arms, he only bowed his head in defeat.
Rosaline squeezed his eyes shut. He prayed that Yeshion would say yes.
He wished he would say he was scared. That he wanted to run away.
If Yeshion ran far enough that no one could find him, then he wouldn’t have to hurt anymore.
He wouldn’t have to be beaten. He wouldn’t have to suffer for things he hadn’t even done.
Adelio and Eldis would be furious, sure, but Rosaline didn’t care about their feelings. As long as Yeshion was safe, that was enough.
“……”
Yeshion stared at Rosaline in silence for a long time.
Rosaline, unable to lift his head after saying those words, kept his gaze fixed on the floor. Yeshion gently placed a hand atop his head.
“I don’t want to.”
“Why…!”
If he took Rosaline’s hand and fled the temple, yes, he probably could escape.
If he truly resolved to run, he might taste freedom, even if just for a moment.
But right now, he didn’t want that kind of freedom.
That wasn’t the kind of freedom Yeshion wanted.
“I want to create a happy future where no one disappears.”
He had already resolved to twist the original story to build a true future where everyone could be happy.
Yeshion didn’t want Rosaline to cry like this. He didn’t want Adelio to be executed. He wanted Eldis to live.
Even in that far-off day never written in the original, he wished for everyone’s happiness.
“…That ‘future where no one disappears’ includes you too, right?”
“Of course. Obviously. Don’t you dare think you three can be happy without me. Even if you tell me to leave, I’ll stay right here.”
“How could I be happy without you.”
At Rosaline’s earnest answer, Yeshion blinked wide-eyed. But then he smiled brightly and ruffled Rosaline’s hair.
Yes. I’ll stay by your side. I’ll stay here, help you, help the Archpriest, and play with the Crown Prince when he drops by now and then.”
“Why are you helping us but playing with him?”
“…Huh?”
“Play with me too!”
Yeshion burst out laughing at how quickly Rosaline’s mood shifted to teasing. Rosaline, blushing in embarrassment, pouted and poked him in the waist.
“Stand still. I haven’t finished applying the medicine yet.”
“…Ahem. R-right.”
Rosaline muttered as he spread ointment over the bruises on Yeshion’s abdomen, tilting his head.
“Huh? This doesn’t look like a bruise from getting hit… Wait, did they bite you too?”
“What? I wasn’t bitten. Where?”
“Here.”
Rosaline dabbed the salve near Yeshion’s collarbone.
“I don’t remember getting hit there…”
Yeshion blinked, then suddenly let out an “Ah!”
If there was a mark there, it could only be from Eldis. At some point, he had started nipping at his skin…
As the memories of last night came creeping back, Yeshion’s face turned bright red. Rosaline narrowed his eyes.
Now that he was suspicious, it wasn’t just the bite. There were several red marks scattered irregularly across Yeshion’s body…
“You… wait, did you sleep with Eldis—mph!”
Yeshion clamped a hand over Rosaline’s mouth in a panic. What if someone outside heard?
Rosaline blinked wide, lips twitching under Yeshion’s hand, then gave a wicked grin.
“So you’re finally dating?”
“W-what are you talking about?! Who’s dating who?!”
“Who else? You and Eldis… Wait, wait. Don’t tell me… you two did it without even dating—mph!”
Yeshion’s face flushed red, like an apple.
Rosaline, seeing it all, just burst into a childlike, innocent laugh.
