Chapter 197
Did you get hooked and started binge reading too fast? IJWTAD has advance chapters now available on ko-fi! Check it out!
Yeshion blinked and frowned at the blurred vision as if his eyes had lost focus. Only after blinking several times did the world clearly come into view.
“Hic… hic, hic……”
And then came the sound of Rosaline’s sobs.
‘……He probably won’t remember me.’
But that was fine. Just the joy of returning and being able to see everyone again, that alone was enough to make him happy.
‘I never thought a day would come when I’d find this crying comforting.’
As a faint smile formed on Yeshion’s lips without him realizing it, Rosaline, whom he’d thought would run away, instead dove into his arms.
“……Huh, uh? Saintess?”
Startled by the tight embrace around his waist, Yeshion flailed, unsure of where to place his hands, then slowly patted Rosaline’s back.
At that, Rosaline only wept louder.
‘U-uh, what do I do? Wait… what if Eldis kills me for making the Saint cry?’
……He said this was the last chance!
For everyone to remember the past in the 19th life must’ve been a miracle.
So this time, it was more likely that Rosaline, Eldis, and even Adelio wouldn’t remember what happened.
“J-just a moment, Saint. If you keep crying like this, I might actually die……”
“You said you’d come back alive! And now what is this? Why did you die again!”
Rosaline’s voice, tinged with resentment, rang through the garden.
Yeshion opened his mouth in a loss for words, then simply closed it again a few times before he spoke.
“You remember…… don’t you.”
At those mumbled words, Rosaline’s eyes widened as he looked up at Yeshion.
It was just a remark he had blurted out in frustration, unable to contain the emotions welling up inside him, but his expression suggested he hadn’t expected him to react as if he remembered.
Rosaline quickly pulled back and examined Yeshion’s face.
“H-how much…? How much do you remember? Do you remember how you died?”
What if he’d forgotten the last life and only remembered dying from an illness? What if they remembered different things? Rosaline’s face was clouded with worry.
“I died at the Imperial Palace. Because… I got caught in the Empress’s scheme……”
He didn’t want to mention Adelio’s name as part of his death. Everything had started because of the Empress.
“……We remember the same thing.”
At Rosaline’s words, Yeshion’s eyes widened.
“The same thing…… Wait, why… I thought it ended safely……”
If they remembered the same thing, that meant Rosaline had died in the 19th life too.
Startled, Yeshion gripped his shoulders, but Rosaline shook his head.
“We didn’t die. You were the only one who did.”
“…What?”
Yeshion blinked in confusion as Rosaline gave a faint, bitter smile.
But then, without explaining further, Rosaline wrapped his arms around Yeshion again and whispered, “I’m just glad… you’re alive.”
Yeshion didn’t understand what was happening.
If they didn’t die, how had he met his 20th-life self? And how did he still remember his death in the 19th?
It was all incomprehensible, but right now, comforting the crying Rosaline took priority.
As he patted his back, he felt a sharp gaze pierce from not far away.
“Ah……”
It was Eldis.
He stood there with a wounded expression, looking at Yeshion. He couldn’t bring himself to come closer and remained at a distance.
“……Archpriest.”
Yeshion struggled to find the right words to say. He had broken every promise he made, every solemn vow, even the ones sealed with pinky swears.
So, even if Eldis was furious, Yeshion couldn’t say anything. No, maybe Eldis didn’t even need to be angry. He might’ve felt betrayed enough already.
That’s why Yeshion couldn’t speak. He bowed his head low.
He had already died for the same reason twice. He feared that an apology now sound like a cheap excuse, just a way to escape this moment?
“You……”
Then, a voice broke the silence—strained, as if barely suppressing fury.
What words would come from his lips?
