I Just Wanted to Avoid Death - Chapter 21
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Yeshion blinked repeatedly, and his blurred vision slowly returned. Once again, it wasn’t trees or grass but the ceiling of a room that greeted him, meaning he wasn’t dead this time either.
How was it that, as a priest living in the temple, his body never seemed to stay healthy?
“Did I faint again…?”
Why?
Yeshion frowned in confusion. He didn’t recall the original Yeshion being described as having a weak constitution in the story.
‘Then again, they wouldn’t bother giving such detailed traits to a character who dies quickly.’
Regardless, by his standards, it was true that he felt weak. Every time he visited the prayer hall, he became dizzy and nauseous repeatedly.
He had started to enjoy sitting idly with his eyes closed, but now, the thought of praying was becoming unbearable.
“Yes, you did faint.”
Yeshion, who had been muttering to himself, hurriedly turned his head. A voice he shouldn’t be hearing in this room echoed in his ears.
As expected, Eldis was standing by the window, leaning against it. Yeshion couldn’t tell how long he had been there, but his gaze was fixed solely on Yeshion.
Yeshion immediately jumped up and knelt on the bed.
“I-I’m sorry. I’ve heard that the Connection Ceremony is very important, and yet I caused trouble by collapsing…”
He couldn’t afford to make Eldis any angrier. He had no idea when Eldis might draw his sword.
He had endured for almost a month, and the last thing he wanted was for everything to be ruined now.
“Trouble.”
“…..”
“Trouble… you say.”
Eldis repeated the word as if he were chewing on it, but then he let out a brief sigh, saying nothing more as he continued to look directly at Yeshion.
Something felt strange.
Eldis had never looked at him this way before. He usually only glanced at him disdainfully or looked down at him from above.
‘He’s really handsome, isn’t he?’
Without realizing it, Yeshion found himself carefully studying Eldis’s face.
He hadn’t noticed before, probably because he had only seen the scowling, disgusted expression Eldis wore whenever he looked at him. But now, with his face more composed, his beauty stood out.
His snow-white hair fluttered every time he turned his head. His tightly pressed lips and the brooding look in his eyes gave him the air of someone with a tragic backstory.
“Well, the ceremony ended without incident. Just because one priest fainted doesn’t mean the entire Connection Ceremony would be halted.”
“Oh, then that’s a relief…”
Eldis, who had been silent for a while, finally spoke.
Yeshion responded instinctively, but then he sensed something was off.
‘…The ceremony ended without incident?’
He quickly lifted his head and looked outside the window. The bright sunlight indicated it was morning.
The Connection Ceremony usually began late in the afternoon, and Yeshion had planned to escape at sunset.
“…..!”
…The coachman!
The coachman must have been waiting. He had already paid him in advance!
As Yeshion stood there, speechless, his eyes wide and focused on the window, Eldis approached and leaned in.
“Are you perhaps looking for this?”
Yeshion’s body stiffened.
He had a feeling he shouldn’t turn his head.
“Yeshion.”
At the sound of his name, Yeshion’s eyes reluctantly moved. In Eldis’s hand was the pouch of money Yeshion had given to the coachman.
“You said you wanted to go far, far away.”
“…..”
“To a place where you couldn’t even see the temple or the palace.”
His voice was calmer than usual—twice as calm, in fact.
Eldis wasn’t angry, nor did he sound contemptuous. He simply spoke as if addressing someone other than Yeshion.
Feeling uneasy with this unfamiliar tone, Yeshion swallowed dryly and hesitated.
“That… I-I don’t think that’s mine. What I was looking for isn’t that…”
“Not that?”
“I mean, it’s not that…”
Yeshion stammered, struggling to find the words.
This situation was beyond anything Yeshion had anticipated.
Fainting during the Connection Ceremony? Eldis catching him? And now, Eldis confronting him the moment he woke up!
He racked his brain, desperately trying to think of an excuse, but none came to mind.
“…A woman!”
“…..?”
“T-The young lady I was seeing… Her family found out. So, I was trying to send her far away.”
That’s right, Yeshion was supposed to be a scoundrel!
In the original story, it was mentioned that Yeshion had a complicated love life. Surely he could use that as an excuse—claiming he was sneaking out to meet a lover.
“That’s odd. I didn’t think your s*xual preferences had changed so suddenly.”
