I Just Wanted to Avoid Death - Chapter 34
It wasn’t until after he had pushed Yeshion into the water and felt a sense of relief that the symptoms began to set in.
‘If I hadn’t saved him…’
The moment he inhaled the scent, if he had left the room, he wouldn’t have been poisoned.
The pain made it hard to think clearly.
Yet, there was no regret.
He didn’t know why.
It was just how it was.
Adelio thought that he had lost consciousness… but his scattered thoughts quickly regained order, and his ragged breathing and elevated body temperature returned to normal.
“Yeshion…?”
There was a small figure, limp and collapsed beneath him. Slowly sitting up, Adelio inspected Yeshion, who had fainted.
Soaking wet, Yeshion lay there with feverish blotches spreading across his body. His breath was shallow, and his cheeks were flushed red.
It was a clear sign of poisoning.
“Hey, Yeshion. Damn it… I told you not to come closer!”
He shouted, but Yeshion didn’t respond at all.
‘But why am I okay?’
Just a moment ago, he had felt like he was on the brink of death.
However, no matter how lethal Gebi’s poison was, Adelio wouldn’t have died, not as long as he bore that “curse.”
“…Could it be?”
Adelio stared at Yeshion. The emaciated and haggard figure reminded him of the time he had encountered Yeshion in the underground prison.
When the curse, like a fever, should have lingered for two more weeks but was abruptly cured.
Please, if there’s any god… any god at all. Please save him.”
A faint memory, as if Yeshion’s voice had whispered that wish.
“You…”
Yeshion had saved him.
Despite the look of disdain, despite clearly not wanting to be involved.
Adelio, still dazed, suddenly moved with urgency. He scooped Yeshion into his arms and rushed out of the bathroom.
The servants were in a panic, frantically running around after hearing that poison had been found in the crown prince’s room.
“Where’s the priest?”
“Y-Your Highness! Are you…?”
“Don’t make me ask twice. Where’s the priest?”
The servant trembled at Adelio’s growl.
“We’ve sent word, but… it’s some distance away, so they haven’t arrived yet…”
“Tell them to hurry. Take him to the nearest pavilion.”
Still holding Yeshion, Adelio made his way to the pavilion. As soon as they entered, Adelio laid Yeshion on the bed and realized he was still soaked.
“Bring dry towels… and clothes.”
The servants rushed out to follow his orders.
Meanwhile, Adelio examined Yeshion’s body.
Though he touched his skin, there were no traces of Gebi’s poison left on the surface, which meant the poison had already seeped deep inside his body.
“Damn it.”
There was nothing more Adelio could do.
Gebi was a poison without an antidote, earning its reputation as a deadly toxin. It dries up its victim within an hour of contact.
And it does so painfully.
“Nngh… Ah…”
Just then, Yeshion, still unconscious, began to groan in pain.
He scratched at his clothes as if trying to tear them off, even scraping his own skin. Seeing this, Adelio quickly pulled Yeshion into a tight embrace, pressing him close to his body to prevent him from harming himself.
“If you get hurt, the poison will spread faster. You have to hold on.”
But Yeshion couldn’t hear him.
He writhed in agony. The sensation of his joints breaking apart, the feeling of his cells being destroyed with every breath—these were pains even Adelio found hard to endure.
Adelio held the distressed Yeshion tighter, letting his small head rest against his shoulder. Unable to bear the pain, Yeshion clung to Adelio, scratching his back, biting his thick skin as he gasped in torment.
This wasn’t what Adelio had intended.
He hadn’t brought Yeshion to the palace to make him suffer like this.
‘Yeshion…’
All he had wanted was to see how that perpetually pouting face would look when twisted with pleasure.
He had been drawn to Yeshion’s annoyed glares.
His nonchalant responses.
The shadows cast by his lowered eyes.
He only wanted to see all those sides of Yeshion. He had never intended to cause him such pain.
“The Archpriest has arrived!”
Adelio, who had been holding Yeshion tightly, raised his head. At that moment, a furious Eldis came into view.
“Why is Priest Yeshion here in the palace? Yeshion?!”
Eldis, who had been about to scold Adelio, widened his eyes in shock.
Startled, Eldis rushed over and immediately separated Yeshion from Adelio.
“He’s been poisoned by a deadly toxin. Treat him immediately. Or… are you going to let him die because healing a sinful priest is forbidden?”
Adelio’s eyes glinted sharply, full of intent, as if he would kill if Yeshion wasn’t treated at once.
However, Eldis didn’t even glance at Adelio, focusing solely on Yeshion’s condition.
Gently embracing Yeshion, Eldis slowly released his divine power, pushing out the poison that filled Yeshion’s body and replacing it with a pure, healing energy.
Instinctively, Yeshion burrowed deeper into Eldis’s arms. As Yeshion’s once shallow, fragile breaths softened into steady ones, Eldis finally turned his cold gaze toward Adelio.
“Watch your words.”
“……”
“Priest Yeshion is not a sinful priest… He is a priest blessed by the gods, more exceptional and noble than anyone else.”
