I Just Wanted to Avoid Death - Chapter 169
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“……Ah.”
Everything had changed.
The walls had all collapsed, and in the mansion courtyard, blood and rainwater blended into eerie-colored streams.
When he looked up, what he saw were the mutilated corpses of those he had known since birth.
And then…
“Ah… Aaaah…”
The bodies of his parents were displayed at the mansion gates for all to see.
Yeshion collapsed to his knees, the strength drained from his legs. Tears streamed down his cheeks. Fearing that any remaining Imperial Soldiers might hear him crying and come searching, he pressed both hands over his mouth.
“That woman…”
Red hair and red eyes.
Grinding his teeth, Yeshion rose from where he’d been crouched only when the rain finally stopped.
Then he entered the mansion, gathered anything that might be worth money, and slipped into a neighboring city’s slums, careful to avoid any attention. He feared imperial troops might still be searching for survivors of the House of Azelist.
Not long after hiding in the slums, a child approached him.
“Hey, are you a noble? Your clothes are kinda…”
At that question, Yeshion quietly looked down at what he was wearing. What he had considered ordinary until now was special in a place like this.
“…I’m not a noble. These clothes were given to me by my master.”
“Your master? So, you were a servant?”
“……”
“You got caught by some pervy noble, huh? No wonder, you’re pretty. But if you keep wearing those, someone’s gonna come after you. Didn’t you hear? There was a whole mess in the neighboring territory recently. They still haven’t found the kid who ran away.”
Yeshion looked silently at the child. Though the clothes were shabby, they were still relatively clean.
‘Doesn’t seem like he’s actually poor.’
Then maybe… he could use this child.
The moment he came to that conclusion, Yeshion suddenly asked,
“Do you like these clothes? Then do you want to trade with me?”
“Really?”
“Yeah. But… if someone comes looking for me, can you keep it a secret? I don’t want to go back to my master.”
Putting on his best pitiful expression, Yeshion watched as the child smiled, showing his teeth.
“Hehe, you really wanna escape that badly, huh? Sure! Not like anyone’s gonna yell at a stranger. Anyway, where are you from? You must know who gave you those clothes. I just wanna avoid going near that place.”
To the chatty questions, Yeshion gave the name of a territory that wasn’t Azelist.
And not long after, that child died. Because there were still Imperial Soldiers stationed nearby, searching for Yeshion.
“All traitorous remnants have been purged. Return to the Imperial Palace!”
“Yes, sir!”
He didn’t feel anything about the child’s death, but the will to survive was stronger than guilt.
So Yeshion buried the guilt
‘It was something I had to do to survive.’
Even so, he couldn’t reveal himself to them right away. Each day, he thought of Veronica, the woman who killed his mother, and cursed the Imperial Family that shattered his happiness.
Time passed, and Yeshion continued to drift between slums until he finally settled in a place that was at least tolerable to live in.
It was a city full of kids his age and under the protection of the temple, meaning it faced the least imperial interference.
But not long after, Yeshion heard something shocking. It became public knowledge that the information about Grand Duke Rosellon’s treason had been false.
He felt hollow. Powerless.
‘Then why… did my parents have to die?’
No compensation was given for their wrongful deaths. All they offered was a single line about restoring lost honor.
But honor could return. The dead could not. And what Yeshion had lost could never be recovered.
The Azelist Estate, left without an heir, had fallen into the hands of some unknown noble.
‘Not yet… It’s not over. If I grow a little more… if I just get close enough to the Imperial Family…’
He could take revenge.
What consumed Yeshion was not the desire to restore honor.
It was vengeance.
To kill Veronica, who had murdered his mother. To drown the Imperial Family in blood. So until that opportunity came, Yeshion resolved to live with his head down.
But life in the slums wasn’t easy.
Some, drawn to Yeshion’s beauty, had lecherous thoughts, while others lusted after the few belongings he had.
So Yeshion decided to keep someone big and strong at his side.
“You’re that Eldis guy?”
