Chapter 196
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“…Let’s begin.”
At Rosaline’s words, Eldis and Adelio each moved to the edges of the magic circle.
The offerings were their bodies and Rosaline’s divine power.
‘Yeshion.’
Rosaline quietly closed his eyes and summoned his face.
The smile he once showed.
The warmth he once radiated.
And the love he felt for him, wrapped under the name of friendship.
* * *
All around was pitch black.
Yeshion stood with his head bowed in a place where nothing could be seen.
But no matter how long he stayed there, nothing happened. The darkness did not lift. Rosaline’s sobs didn’t reach him.
“…It’s over now.”
What happens next?
It was his first time experiencing a life that wouldn’t repeat. Would he simply vanish like this, without a trace, having stood around in a daze?
Without ever seeing Eldis, Adelio, or Rosaline again.
‘It was the consequence of my choice, so I have no regrets… but still……’
He wondered what happened to Adelio? Was the curse lifted safely?
He hoped Rosaline wouldn’t be too saddened when he heard the news.
And what would Eldis say about the broken promise? Would he perhaps… die in front of his grave?
One worry trailed another.
But Yeshion no longer had the strength to return to them. He could only stand endlessly in this darkness.
“Idiot.”
Just then, a familiar voice came from behind.
When he slowly turned around, a man with the exact same face as Yeshion stood there with arms crossed, looking thoroughly unimpressed.
“……”
Yeshion kept his head bowed without a word.
His chest felt tight.
Dying was fine. But something still weighed heavily on him.
What if they had followed him in death? What if they were doing something dangerous now? All of it worried him and gnawed at him so much he felt like he might go mad.
“I told you to treasure your life a bit more. I did say it was the last time, didn’t I?”
That jerk.
Yeshion glared sharply at the real ‘Yeshion,’ but soon gave up and let out a long sigh, rubbing his face tiredly.
“Still, well… you did pretty well for what it was.”
“…Then, what happens to me now?”
They say the dead usually lose all memory of their past life when reborn. Would that happen to him, too?
He asked, unable to hide the gloom in his voice, and the real ‘Yeshion’ clicked his tongue, running his hands through his hair in annoyance.
“There is one way.”
“…A way?”
“Sacrifice your soul and turn back time once more.”
Yeshion’s eyes widened at that.
But then, as if a question had crossed his mind, he tilted his head to the side.
“I thought I had no soul left.”
“You do. Right here.”
“Right here… Oh, my soul?”
Eyes wide, Yeshion asked again. His face, which had looked like he’d burst into tears any second, began to brighten.
“All right, okay. I’ll do it. I’ll offer my soul, so when I wake up back there, please… please make sure to say it all. Where the evidence is, what the Empress did… and… please lift His Highness the Crown Prince’s—Adelio’s curse.”
Clutching the real ‘Yeshion’s’ hands tightly, he pleaded. To create a world where they could all live happily.
“Isn’t that why you wanted to watch over their future?”
“That’s true, but… I’ve already used up all the chances I was given.”
“You still have one left, don’t you?”
“Yes. So, my soul—”
“No. My soul.”
At that firm voice, Yeshion’s eyes grew even wider.
The real ‘Yeshion’ turned away, muttering as if to himself.
“I already gave up my life once. I lived over twenty years, but never found any meaning in it.”
“……”
“Unlike you.”
The chance Yeshion had been given was short. But he uncovered what the real ‘Yeshion’ never had, and reached the truth.
Though he had died because of the Empress’s wicked scheme, it hadn’t been a complete failure. In that timeline, the Empress had surely died.
“It’s my first time, but… think of it as a gift for completing my revenge in my place.”
“……”
“This isn’t a free pass. Go back and make sure she dies. And hold on tight to the ones you’re meant to.”
Turning to face him, the real ‘Yeshion’ placed his hands on Yeshion’s shoulders. For the first time, he smiled.
“That’s my final will.”
