I Just Wanted to Avoid Death - Chapter 73
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Yeshion stared blankly, lips parted in disbelief.
So, he was being told that the stalker currently outside—that guy—had dated him? That “Yeshion” had been in a relationship with Edward?
“No, did he have no standards whatsoever…?”
The quiet mutter held all the sincerity in the world.
Yeshion had only seen Edward briefly, but it had taken no time at all to recognize that the man wasn’t sane. The way he looked at people, the way he talked—there wasn’t a single part of him that felt normal.
And yet, that’s who he dated? That Yeshion?
“Priest Yeshion didn’t exactly have a great track record when it came to people, after all.”
“……”
“If you don’t remember being lovers, I take it you don’t know what happened before that either.”
Yeshion slowly nodded.
It wasn’t mentioned in the novel. Rosaline didn’t know.
He’d even gone around asking a few other priests just in case, but they all gave the same vague answer: “We just know something big happened.”
In other words, no one knew the full story.
“Do you know, Archpriest?”
“Of course. I even know why he was in the capital despite having no ties to it.”
Yeshion’s eyes lit up.
It was a look that begged for answers, obvious to anyone. Eldis rested his chin in his hand and asked.
“Would you like me to tell you?”
“Yes!”
“Hmm… but just like that?”
“…Pardon?”
It was the last thing Yeshion expected to hear, and he blinked at Eldis like an idiot. Eldis smirked as he continued,
“Yeshion, I heard you kissed the Crown Prince.”
“W-what? That’s—!”
…Rosaline!
He’d been so busy smiling sweetly that Yeshion had forgotten—in the original, Rosaline had a very, very, incredibly loose mouth.
‘Why did I forget that?!’
When he said his lips were swollen, he should’ve just said he bit them in his sleep. Even if it sounded weird, he should’ve stuck to that.
While Yeshion’s thoughts were spiraling out of control, Eldis continued to watch him in silence, golden eyes unreadable.
Yeshion instinctively looked away, unsure what thoughts were passing behind that gaze.
But Eldis didn’t seem ready to let it go.
“According to the Saint, it was a consensual kiss.”
“……”
“Is that true?”
His tone was laid-back, almost casual—but his gaze was anything but. Those sharp eyes cut straight through Yeshion.
Did Eldis think he had approached Adelio with some hidden agenda? If it had been the real “Yeshion,” then yeah, maybe—but still, it stung to be misunderstood.
How should he phrase it so his words would be taken as genuine? While he hesitated, Eldis spoke again.
“Please be honest, Yeshion. If the Crown Prince forced your lips open and took you against your will, the temple will have to respond accordingly.”
“…What?”
“So don’t hide it. Just tell me. Did the Crown Prince kiss you without consent?”
The serious expression on Eldis’s face caught Yeshion off guard. Staring at him, a strange feeling welled up in Yeshion’s chest.
That attitude…
It was different, but it was too different.
Across all the timelines he’d died and repeated, Eldis had always been the same. Always looked at him with disgust.
But somewhere in this cycle, that scornful gaze had disappeared. Still—this was a drastic change.
Maybe that was why.
Yeshion, who had planned to brush things off vaguely, found himself asking instead.
“…What if I had seduced His Highness?”
“Did you?”
There was not a hint of suspicion in Eldis’s response. No trace of I knew it on his face.
‘…He wasn’t lying.’
Eldis had told him: if he changed, he would treat him as a new person and leave the past behind.
As he realized the truth of those words, Yeshion felt his heart swell in his chest.
Maybe it was because Eldis was no longer looking at the shell called “Yeshion” but at him, the person within.
Just this shift in attitude—this one change—had already transformed everything so deeply. And with that, the idea that leaving was the only option began to feel less absolute.
‘If things keep changing like this…’
Maybe he wouldn’t want to die and start over again.
Because if he woke up again in the garden where the hippo-shaped clouds drifted overhead, he wouldn’t see this kind gaze anymore.
And he wouldn’t get to see Adelio, always smiling with that slightly mischievous look in his eyes.
Now Yesion had this thought.
He didn’t know how the future would unfold, but maybe he could at least try—to live, just a little harder, as long as he could.
