I Just Wanted to Avoid Death - Chapter 166
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At Rosaline’s muttered voice, Yeshion lowered his head again.
“…I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“Even though I read the prophecy… every time they came closer to me, I made excuses.”
He had mumbled to himself that in the original, those two had only violated Rosaline and never once said they loved him.
That if they didn’t love her, then maybe… maybe it was okay to receive the affection that should’ve gone to her.
But the more he tried to rationalize it, the clearer the original’s contents returned to him, and Yeshion couldn’t bring himself to face their feelings head-on.
‘What if I’ve ruined everything?’
He couldn’t shake off the flood of guilt crashing inside him.
“…Honestly, telling you all this, Saint Rosaline… it’s just for my own peace of mind.”
“I know.”
“……”
“But I don’t think you have to feel sorry toward me.”
Rosaline reached out and gently stroked Yeshion’s cheek. His golden eyes, once clouded with worry, now held something else as they looked at him.
Guilt, gratitude.
And also, precious affection and care.
“Yeshion… I like you more than you probably think.”
“……”
“That’s why I hate that you’re worrying like this. And I hate even more that I’m the cause of that worry.”
Prophecies or whatever, they meant nothing to Rosaline.
He was simply happy in this moment, to be alone with Yeshion in the garden, talking together.
Happy that he was sharing the prophecy he had never told anyone else, and grateful that he was speaking so frankly from the heart.
“Every second I spend with you like this is more precious to me than anything.”
“……”
“Hmm… I don’t know how to say it in a cooler way, but… to put it simply, if you’re worrying because of that prophecy, and because the two of them had feelings for me in it, you can let it all go. I really don’t care about any of it.”
As she said so, Rosaline began poking Yeshion’s cheek, playfully scolding him for not saying anything sooner when it was no big deal.
That gentle kindness, trying to lift the burden of his guilt, made Yeshion clench his fist.
“…Saintess Rosaline… do you treat everyone so kindly?”
“I treat you kindly because it’s you. Because you were kind to me first.”
“…I was?”
“Yeah, you were.”
Rosaline replied firmly and planted a kiss on Yeshion’s smooth forehead. Seeing his golden lashes tremble faintly, he added softly,
“So don’t blame yourself anymore. That’s what makes me more upset.”
“……”
“But if it still really bothers you, could you grant me one wish?”
“What kind of wish?”
“That you’ll be happy.”
At his unwavering words, Yeshion lifted his eyes to look into his. In those sparkling rose-colored eyes, there was clear sincerity and affection.
“…Okay. I’ll be happy.”
He wanted to be happy.
“Not just me, but you too, Saintess Rosaline. Let’s all be happy together.”
“Yeah, let’s do that.”
As they shared a smile, Eldis’s voice echoed from nearby. He called them over, saying the preparations for the ritual were complete.
“Ah, would you go ahead first? I’ll follow right after.”
“…You have to come quickly.”
“I will.”
Rosaline watched Yeshion’s retreating figure with a smile.
“I really don’t know who’s calling who kind here.”
Sweeping his hair back from his face as the wind tossed it, Rosaline let out a bitter laugh.
Yeshion had spoken of a prophecy, but in truth, Rosaline already knew the contents he had shared.
‘A future that might’ve come for me…’
In that one moment of death he had experienced, images had flashed through his mind like a movie reel.
From being cruelly violated by Eldis and Adelio, to a life soaked in unending misery.
“I hate that kind of future, Yeshion.”
But because of Yeshion, that future had completely changed.
And in his previous life, he had even secretly helped him avoid falling into their hands.
“I just hope I didn’t leave you carrying a burden that wasn’t yours…”
Rosaline looked up toward Eldis.
His eyes were filled with obsession, but there was also undeniable affection for Yeshion.
A face full of sincerity, something he’d never seen in those memories from his death.
“The future is something we create.”
So surely, everything could still be changed.
