I Just Wanted to Avoid Death - Chapter 185
Did you get hooked and started binge reading too fast? IJWTAD has advance chapters now available on ko-fi! Check it out!
The festival came to a successful close.
And throughout its duration, Yeshion tended to the sick at the entrance of the temple.
“……Priest Yeshion, tending to the sick? Am I dreaming?”
“They say he turned over a new leaf. It must be true.”
Perhaps because they valued helping the weak as a virtue, the priests responded with both surprise and warmth to the sight of Yeshion no longer turning his back on the vulnerable.
When he even began healing the sick using his divine power, murmurs spread that the rumors about him having no divine power must have been false.
“Th-That person cleaning over there… isn’t that Priest Yeshion?”
“It seems so. Someone said they saw him hanging laundry yesterday too.”
“Do senior priests normally do that kind of stuff?”
“No… not usually……”
Today again, Yeshion yawned as he overheard the murmurs around him.
Of course, cleaning wasn’t part of a senior priest’s duties. The reason he had cleaned the underground prison in the previous timeline was because Eldis had ordered it as punishment.
But Yeshion liked cleaning the temple courtyard in the early morning. The breeze blowing from above and the blazing sunlight felt quite pleasant.
At first, Eldis told him he no longer needed to clean, but Yeshion, whose day had always been filled with cleaning and temple duties, found himself with too much empty time and nothing to fill it.
So now, he had taken to finding things to do on his own.
“Yeshion.”
He had just finished sweeping the courtyard and was stretching wide when a low voice sounded behind him.
It was Adelio.
He had come to the temple with business for Eldis, and the moment he arrived, had kissed Yeshion and gone straight to Eldis’s office. Now, after quite some time, he had finally emerged.
“Your Highness.”
When Yeshion approached, he noticed how tired Adelio looked.
“……Are you alright?”
“There’s no reason I shouldn’t be.”
“Liar……”
Yeshion mumbled as he glanced up at him.
Eldis had extracted more information from Veronica than expected.
The Empress had first eliminated those who denied her authority. The first to disappear was Grand Duke Rosellon and his followers.
The Grand Duke had criticized the Emperor, who had lost his wits over the multitude of women the Emperor had distracted himself with, and tried to remove the current Empress back when she was just a concubine.
The Empress, in turn, had labeled Duke Rosellon a traitor and had him removed. After that, she secretly orchestrated the deaths of other nobles as well.
Soldiers, accidents, slips and falls. Various ‘incidents’ were fabricated.
Those who survived were still under her control, trembling in fear, never knowing when they might be next.
Everyone who opposed the Empress found themselves at risk of death.
And there was only one thing she sought:
‘To make the child in her womb the Crown Prince.’
Yeshion bit his lip as he studied Adelio’s expression.
Since hearing all of that, his face had gone ghostly white.
The greed of the Empress, who had ousted her predecessor and seized power, now aiming not only for the title of Crown Prince but the entire Empire, left him sickened.
“We’ll be able to stop it.”
“……”
“You won’t lose your title as Crown Prince, and you won’t die.”
At Yeshion’s words, Adelio gave a faint smile. Then he naturally reached out and pulled Yeshion into his arms.
Gasps could be heard from those around them.
But Yeshion’s attention was fixed solely on Adelio in front of him.
“I don’t care if I lose the title of Crown Prince.”
“……”
“What really hurts is seeing so many people continuously suffering, all because of one person’s greed.”
Adelio let out a deep sigh and buried his face in Yeshion’s shoulder.
Yeshion, gently patting his back in comfort, spoke softly.
“You can yield it, but don’t let them take it from you.”
“……”
“And reclaim everything that’s been stolen from you.”
At that, Adelio took a deep breath and nodded.
Then, he leaned down and bit the collar of Yeshion’s robe.
“What are you doing?”
“……I just love you so much. I want to devour you… but I’m holding back.”
He said it shortly and tightened his arms around Yeshion.
Since his return, Adelio hadn’t touched Yeshion more than necessary. But every time he brushed against him or embraced him, he clenched his fists tightly.
As if trying to restrain the urge to get even closer.
“When everything’s over……”
Yeshion trailed off, his lips parted but unsure what to say. He wanted to make more memories together. He wanted to leave the temple, to see more of the world.
