I Just Wanted to Avoid Death - Chapter 168
Did you get hooked and started binge reading too fast? IJWTAD has advance chapters now available on ko-fi! Check it out!
Adelio, eyes filled with quiet affection, looked at Rosaline.
“By the way, Saintess Rosaline. When did you and Yeshion become friends? Hm? I’m his only friend.”
“…What are you saying all of a sudden? Since when were you Yeshion’s friend?”
“I asked first.”
As their bickering filled the air, Eldis let out a silent laugh.
This person, so precious they couldn’t even say when it had started.
May you return safely, you who are as dear as life itself to us all.
That’s all he could fervently hope for.
* * *
As the brilliant light engulfed him, he fell into an endless darkness.
The sensation of floating, followed by the feeling of sinking deep beneath the sea. Just as the unknown, endless sensation began to grip him with fear, his vision burst open into light, and he could see.
“Yeshion. You should stand up straight.”
A tap to the back startled him, and as he blinked, he saw a dazzlingly ornate mansion.
What unfolded before his eyes was a scene from the real Yeshion’s childhood.
Even as a child, the real Yeshion had been beautiful, adored by all those around him.
Growing up in a noble family, he had learned proper etiquette and manners. And while he hadn’t received only unconditional love, the guidance he received on behavior and conduct had been reasonable.
Then, the scene before him changed.
Knights stormed into the mansion, armed with swords and spears.
A servant who shouted in outrage, demanding to know what they thought they were doing, was cut down in a single blow.
The Count of Azelist, Yeshion’s father, fell to his knees.
“For the crime of conspiring in treason alongside Grand Duke Rosellon to defy His Majesty the Emperor, all members shall be purged by Imperial Decree!”
As soon as the words were spoken, a knight charged at the servants, sword drawn.
The Azelist family’s private soldiers tried to fight back, but they were no match for elite imperial troops fresh from the battlefield.
“Yeshion.”
While staring in horror at the brutal slaughter, the young Yeshion’s hand was seized by his mother.
“When everything goes quiet… that’s when you come out. Do you understand?”
“M-Mother…”
“Azelist has committed no crime. That’s why you must survive. Live, and… find the chance to prove our innocence.”
There wasn’t much time to explain.
Her clear golden eyes were full of loyalty and trust toward her family. There was even a sense of fierce resolve in her, to protect the bloodline of Azelist.
Just as the Countess pushed Yeshion deep into the wardrobe and turned to leave…
“Found you.”
A voice, full of laughter, pierced the air.
As his fingertips began to tremble, a face appeared through the crack in the wardrobe.
It was a woman Yeshion had seen years ago in the capital. His aunt. She had changed completely from who she used to be. Now, that woman stood with a sword at the Countess’s throat.
“…Veronica.”
“It’s been a while, sister. Have you been well?”
“‘Well?’ You dare step foot in Azelist holding a sword and speak of such things? Step aside!”
“Step aside~? It seems you don’t quite grasp the situation, do you?”
“……”
“You’re a traitor now, sister.”
Eyes wide with madness, Veronica let out a shrill laugh. Then, without a moment’s hesitation, she drove the blade into the Countess’s abdomen, the woman she had just called ‘sister.’
The real Yeshion, witnessing everything through the crack, clamped a hand over his mouth and squeezed his eyes shut. The terror that surged through him paralyzed every limb.
As though refusing to die in front of her child, the Countess, even with the sword piercing through her stomach, shoved Veronica out the door.
“Azelist… will… forever…”
Her last words never reached Yeshion’s ears. Soon after, the screams of the servants began.
“Hhk…!”
Eyes shut tight, Yeshion clamped his hands over his ears and curled into himself. Hearing the dying screams of those he’d grown up with, begging to be spared, was unbearable. Tears streamed down his cheeks.
But there was nothing Yeshion could do.
Outside the wardrobe, not far away, dozens of heads rolled across the floor, the ground stained with thick, dark red blood.
How much time had passed?
Eventually, all signs of life faded. Only the soft patter of rain remained. When all was finally quiet, the real Yeshion slowly opened the wardrobe door and stepped out.
