I Just Wanted to Avoid Death - Chapter 33
Adelio propped his chin on his hand.
Since returning from the temple, the image of a certain person kept lingering in his mind.
‘Yeshion.’
Someone who seemed like they would break easily if pushed too hard or burst if squeezed.
Knowing how fragile he was, Adelio wanted to toy with him, and even Yeshion’s reactions were amusing and entertaining.
“Didn’t he call me a beast?”
Adelio chuckled as he recalled Yeshion’s words.
The way Yeshion lost his temper and spoke so recklessly was refreshingly novel. No one had ever dared to speak to Adelio like that before.
That didn’t mean he had a preference for rudeness. It was cute when someone flirted with crossing the line, but once that line was crossed, his murderous intent would flare up.
Yet, for some reason, he didn’t feel that way toward Yeshion.
‘I’m sure it wasn’t like that when we first met.’
Adelio’s first encounter with Yeshion was the day he felt something was wrong with his body and sought out Eldis.
He had been wandering, lost in the unfamiliar temple, when Yeshion approached him.
“I think I’ve just seen a god.”
A fox-like man.
With eyes that curved softly and lips that formed a charming arc, Yeshion exuded an alluring air while somehow looking innocent. Adelio had the fleeting thought that he might accidentally give away an entire palace without even realizing it.
But it wasn’t bad.
Yeshion’s face perfectly matched Adelio’s tastes.
His small frame, which would fit snugly in Adelio’s arms, the faint scent of violets that lingered around him, and his delicate, attractive features were all highly stimulating—enough to make Adelio want to see him cry, just once.
However, everything changed after their reunion in the underground prison.
“Rather than a fox…. He’s more like a rabbit.”
Whenever Yeshion grew curious, he showed interest, but the moment something seemed harmful to him, he’d lash out. However, even his kicks weren’t painful—they were just ticklish.
‘His expressions were so varied, too.’
Adelio checked the time. It had been a month and two weeks since he last saw Yeshion.
Yet, he still couldn’t stop thinking about him, which made it clear—he was definitely drawn to him.
As Adelio was lost in thought, his aide began briefing him on the day’s schedule, mentioning something about Yeshion.
“They say the priest Yeshion, whom Your Highness is interested in, tried to escape.”
“Escape?”
“Yes. There was a Connection Ceremony at the temple last night. It seems he was planning to flee during the night…”
Upon hearing this news, Adelio rubbed his chin. Was there something at the temple Yeshion needed to escape from? Or had he caused some kind of trouble?
The curiosity was driving him mad.
In the end, Adelio stood up abruptly from his seat.
“Maybe I need to devour him to finally get rid of this interest.”
Using the excuse of visiting the Saintess, Adelio left the palace and headed to the temple. When he arrived, he overheard something that made him frown.
“Do you still want to die?”
“Still…”
There was a distinct tone of resignation in Yeshion’s voice.
With his mind made up, Adelio strode forward and grabbed Yeshion.
If Yeshion hated the temple so much, all he had to do was take him away. If this place made him want to die, Adelio could show him a new world.
‘This is what you really want, isn’t it?’
Making someone happy was easy.
Money, power.
He had more than enough of those trivial things to hand over. No matter how special Yeshion seemed, in the end, he was human. And humans were all the same.
Sure enough, when Yeshion entered Adelio’s room, he immediately turned his attention to the expensive items. The crystal bottle he asked for contained an elixir so valuable that one bottle could fetch 100 gold coins.
‘Does he even know what he’s holding?’
It was a rare elixir, said to give even a 300-year-old man newfound vitality. The fact that Yeshion was casually asking for it was amusing. If he knew what it was, he’d probably recoil in horror.
But what happened after that was something Adelio hadn’t predicted at all.
Yeshion tried to jump out of a window. He stumbled and broke the bottle.
Adelio had no intention of scolding him—except for the fact that the contents of the bottle were something even Adelio hadn’t anticipated.
‘That scent…’
It was the distinct aroma of “Gebi,” a highly toxic poison.
The moment he inhaled the scent, Adelio’s body moved instinctively. Even a small amount of Gebi would be fatal to someone as weak as Yeshion.
He couldn’t let him die.
Once the goal was clear, there was no hesitation.
Adelio rushed toward Yeshion, pulling him straight to the bathroom. In the midst of it all, Adelio hadn’t even realized that he, too, had come into contact with the poison.
