I Just Wanted to Avoid Death - Chapter 88
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“Looks like your treatment ended sooner than expected.”
“Just needed a bit of divine light. Not sure it’s doing much, though. Maybe the Saintess’s power is getting weaker.”
Adelio frowned as he walked over. Yeshion narrowed his eyes at that and poked Adelio’s side with a finger.
“You said you were getting help. The Saintess is doing her best—don’t talk like that.”
“And if I do? It’s not like I’d disobey a Crown Prince’s orders.”
“…Right. You’re the Crown Prince.”
He’d gotten so used to Adelio’s familiarity that he briefly forgot he was the crown prince of an entire empire.
When Yeshion muttered to himself, Adelio let out a quiet laugh, ruffled Yeshion’s hair without care, and brushed past him to settle into the sofa.
“So, what had you all riled up just now? That’s not like you.”
“…They picked a fight with me.”
“Picked a fight?”
Yeshion shrugged and explained what had happened just earlier. The more he spoke, the more Adelio’s face twisted with displeasure.
When Yeshion finally finished in a calm tone, Adelio responded, dead serious:
“How should I kill them? Burning? Hanging? Beheading?”
“…What? W-wait—are you serious?”
“I’m serious.”
There wasn’t the slightest hint of jest in his expression—it was just a natural response.
Yeshion gaped, at a loss for words, but Adelio looked back at him as if he were the one not making sense.
“Why do you look like that? They’re the ones who did something worth dying over.”
“…What they said was insulting, sure—but still, killing them?”
“Then when is it appropriate to kill someone?”
“Isn’t there an option not to kill?”
“No.”
Adelio’s red eyes glinted. The look on his face said he’d march out that instant and slaughter every servant who’d opened their mouth if Yeshion so much as gave the word.
In the end, Yeshion had to soothe him.
“…Don’t. I was upset, yes, but it wasn’t worth taking someone’s life over.”
Adelio reached out and tugged Yeshion closer.
Pulled by his arm, Yeshion now stood just in front of the sofa, staring down at his face.
“I’m the one who’s upset. The way they treated my friend like that.”
“…..”
“I’m really not in a good mood.”
Adelio growled the words.
Having always seen him with a teasing smile, Yeshion was taken aback to see his face so deeply creased with irritation.
“It’s fine. I gave them a good scare and sent them off. They won’t be coming back. No need to stir up more trouble than necessary.”
At that, Adelio let out a long sigh.
“How are you supposed to survive being this damn softhearted?”
It made Yeshion laugh.
He’d literally brandished a knife and threatened people, and yet Adelio was calling him softhearted.
This, toward someone once known as one of the novel’s most notorious villains.
“Has anything else happened since you’ve been here?”
“Something else? Like what?”
“Something I’d expect a friend to tell me.”
Even if it was small or trivial, he sounded like he genuinely wanted to hear it.
‘Like a real friend…’
At the time, he’d just blurted out the word “friend” to smooth over an awkward situation.
But now, retelling all the little things that had happened, Yeshion realized how differently he was treating Adelio.
He wasn’t thinking of him as just another “main character in the novel.” He was treating him like an actual friend.
“Edward’s the worst of the lot. Tsk… the duke’s too soft on him, can’t even stab him in the back properly.”
“The duke favors Edward?”
“He must. Otherwise, why would he still be alive after dragging the name of Mishemol through the mud?”
Adelio chuckled, saying the world of nobles was harsher than it looked. But even with the light tone, Yeshion could hear the truth beneath it. It made him swallow hard, almost unconsciously.
In the middle of their conversation, Adelio suddenly frowned and slapped his own cheek.
“W-what was that? Why did you do that all of a sudden?”
“Was about to lose focus.”
“…What?”
“If you ask, I can explain it. Hah… But if I do, I’ll probably end up saying stuff you usually don’t want to hear. Still want to know?”
Yeshion could already guess what he was referring to.
The curse.
The one Rosaline had been treating.
“Knew it. You don’t want to hear it.”
“…It’s not that I don’t want to. I just didn’t want to get involved.”
“What’s the difference?”
“If I learn your secret, I’ll get tangled up with the imperial palace.”
Yeshion reached out and gently touched Adelio’s slightly swollen cheek. He must’ve hit himself hard—the warmth still lingered.
“What are you talking about?”
Adelio leaned into his palm, then lifted his gaze and looked up at Yeshion, giving a lazy smile.
“You’re already tangled up with me more than you think.”
