I Just Wanted to Avoid Death - Chapter 51
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Yeshion had a dream. In the dream, a stuffed doll that resembled Adelio was pressing down on him.
“Ugh…”
Groaning, Yeshion burrowed deeper into the blanket. Despite all the windows being shut, he could hear a rattling sound and feel a cold breeze.
‘Damn… door handle…’
He muttered and tossed around, trying to find a comfortable position. It felt as though another heavy stuffed doll had landed on top of him.
“Priest Yeshion.”
Suddenly, Yeshion realized that someone was calling his name. It wasn’t just the first time—they sounded impatient, as if they had been calling him repeatedly.
“I believe I mentioned yesterday that we have lessons today. Have you forgotten?”
The voice, which had once seemed distant, now sounded right next to his ear.
Mumbling, Yeshion slowly opened his eyes. He should have been staring at the ceiling, but instead, Eldis’s face came into view.
“A dream…?”
Yeshion blinked slowly.
First, he had dreamt of a stuffed doll resembling Adelio pressing him down, and now it was Eldis. Why was it always these kinds of dreams? Waving his hand dismissively, Yeshion closed his eyes again.
“Do you sleep so soundly now that even if I’m standing right in front of you, you no longer stay on guard? Have you stopped being wary of me?”
Yeshion froze at those words, his eyes snapping open.
For a dream, the voice was too vivid. He could feel the warmth of the hand resting on his chest as if to wake him.
His gaze shifted uneasily toward Eldis, who smiled faintly at him.
“You’re late, Yeshion. You missed your lesson. Or were you waiting for me to come wake you personally?”
Upon hearing those words, Yeshion sat up in shock, only to be overwhelmed by a sudden wave of dizziness.
“Ugh…”
Grimacing, Yeshion held his head. Eldis reached out to steady him.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
The cool touch of Eldis’s hand on his forehead felt refreshing, and before he realized it, Yeshion leaned into the touch. Startled by his own reaction, he pulled away.
“It seems you have a fever. You didn’t go straight to your room last night, did you?”
“…I did. Right after seeing you and the prince.”
His voice was oddly raspy.
No matter how you looked at it, he looked and sounded like someone with a cold.
“Then why… Ah, I see. That door handle is the culprit, isn’t it?”
“Huh…?”
“Last night, I performed a surprise inspection to ensure no one was violating curfew. I locked the doors and disrupted the divine energy of anyone still awake.”
Yeshion stared at Eldis blankly, but then his headache hit him again, and he clutched his head.
“Usually, disrupting divine energy causes only minor fatigue, but…”
As Eldis examined Yeshion, his expression grew grim. He could see small patches of heat blooming across Yeshion’s arm. It was the same reaction as when they had expelled the “Gebi” poison from Yeshion’s body at the palace.
“…It seems some of the poison remains in your system.”
Looking dazed, Yeshion pulled the blanket tighter around himself, shivering.
“Can I skip today’s lesson? It’s too cold, and I’m exhausted…”
“No.”
“Please, Archpriest…”
Yeshion’s voice was barely a whisper as he curled up tighter, retreating into the blanket like a cocoon.
Eldis let out a soft laugh, watching Yeshion curl up like a caterpillar. He reached out and gently stroked the blanket.
“Do you understand the condition your body is in?”
“…..”
“You remember being poisoned by a deadly toxin, don’t you?”
Yeshion’s body flinched slightly. The blanket near his face moved, as if he had nodded.
“That poison is still in your body. I thought I had expelled it all, but it seems some of it remained dormant. Now that your physical condition has deteriorated, the residual poison is surfacing.”
Yeshion remained silent, clearly more concerned with resting than understanding his condition.
“Well then, allow me. I’ll need to examine your body to see if I can treat this immediately.”
With those words, Eldis placed his hand over the blanket.
As he lightly scanned Yeshion’s body with divine energy, he could assess his condition. Fortunately, it wasn’t too serious—Yeshion’s body would recover on its own over time.
‘But if I pour too much divine power into him now…’
It was certain that the amount of divine power Yeshion was holding would increase, leading to further reactions in his body.
Eldis smiled slightly.
Last night, he had indeed performed a surprise inspection, locking the doors and punishing those who hadn’t adhered to curfew. Naturally, Yeshion was among them.
He had anticipated that Yeshion would fall ill.
His plan had been to give him medicine when he came to the lesson, then offer help if any side effects arose.
It wasn’t something that would happen overnight, but slowly, over a few days.
He wanted Yeshion to realize that the only person he could rely on in the temple was Eldis—and that Eldis was the only one who could truly help him when he needed it.
But things hadn’t gone quite as planned.
