To You, Who Will Die Alone in Paradise Chapter 18

‘Does he think I hate eating alone…?’

His heart pounded anxiously again. Dandeleon pressed a hand to his chest, his expression uncomfortable.

He felt strange. With delicacies and a beautiful man, there should have been nothing more to desire, yet for some reason, he wanted to run away.

*

From the next day on, Dandeleon headed to Ardenberg every morning as soon as he woke up.

That did not mean he went out at the crack of dawn. Dandeleon always woke up very late, so by the time he opened his eyes, it was already closer to lunchtime than morning. He would wake up late, wash up, then contemplate his plans for the day while choosing his clothes. Then he would head to Ardenberg.

The last time he went, an attendant had been standing guard at the main gate of Ardenberg, but since that day, he had not met anyone other than Kellewen. Whenever he arrived at Ardenberg, Kellewen was always waiting. With food already prepared on the table, and with his usual gentle smile.

However, his plan to introduce Kellewen to the joy of fine dining continued to fail.

Kellewen did not like any of the human foods. After several trials and errors, the only food Kellewen settled on was vegetables grilled until dry without butter or olive oil, with a tiny pinch of salt. What difference there was between that and fodder, Dandeleon could not for the life of him understand.

Naturally, most of the prepared food was Dandeleon’s share. Though Dandeleon was as picky an eater as any royal, perhaps because the food was offered to a High Elf, most of it boasted excellent taste and aroma. In the end, Dandeleon ended up consuming about three to four times his usual amount of food every day.

He admitted failure regarding fine dining, but that did not mean Dandeleon had given up on the plan to corrupt Kellewen itself. Dandeleon tried to awaken the High Elf’s desires in other ways. For instance, things like this.

“Why do you just keep such wonderful things?”

“It is because they are things I do not need.”

“But they were given as heartfelt gifts, isn’t it a waste if you don’t use them at all?”

In another room in Ardenberg that Kellewen did not use, gifts he had received were piled up like a mountain. Dandeleon would find clothes or accessories from the pile of gifts and suggest that Kellewen try them on.

“It suits you incredibly well.”

That was not an empty compliment. Kellewen generally looked good in any color. Perhaps because he had a good physique, whether modest or splendid, whatever he put on, he pulled it off as if it were his own clothing.

“Look, if you wear this with this….”

So, Dandeleon gradually came to enjoy this activity he had started to draw out Kellewen’s material desires.

“I think this emerald necklace would be good. With the bracelet… no, is peridot better?”

Dandeleon held up the emerald and the peridot alternately, contemplating. The peridot was closer to Kellewen’s eye color, but the emerald went better with his dark hair color.

“No, what about diamonds altogether?”

After pondering for a long time what would suit the plain black clothes, Dandeleon picked up a diamond necklace. Kellewen, who was watching him stand on his tiptoes trying to put the necklace on him, smiled faintly and held out his hand.

“Wow…!”

The moment Kellewen put on the necklace himself, Dandeleon could not help but marvel.

The necklace, which used dozens of diamonds, was so luxurious it made one wonder if it was made for a person to wear. But as soon as Kellewen draped it around his neck, the diamonds instantly harmonized with his beautiful face and sparkled as if that was where they belonged.

“It really suits you! Why don’t you wear it like this today?”

“Well….”

Kellewen made an awkward expression as he examined his reflection in the mirror this way and that. Then he suddenly took off the necklace and approached Dandeleon.

“Would you mind for a moment?”

“Pardon?”

Kellewen reached out and put the necklace on Dandeleon himself.

The cool touch of the precious metal and the warm, soft touch of Kellewen’s fingers were felt on the back of his neck at the same time. Goosebumps prickled all over his body.

“It suits you better, Your Highness.”

Kellewen said so and stood Dandeleon in front of the mirror.

‘I think that’s a subject of divided opinion.’

Dandeleon thought so as he observed his own reflection in the mirror as if it were someone else’s.

Thanks to his own striking features, Dandeleon had no trouble pulling off the diamonds. But this kind of thing suited a strong impression with dark hair, like Kellewen’s, better.

“I will give it to you as a gift. Please accept it.”

Dandeleon, who had been comparing himself and Kellewen as if playing with dolls, snapped to his senses.

“You’re going to give me this?”

There is a limit to being out of touch with the world; an item like this could probably buy a mansion on the outskirts of the capital.

Dandeleon’s heart pounded. He knew in his head that he should refuse, but the voice that came out of his mouth was trembling ridiculously.

“B-but this was a gift given to the High Elf….”

“After I receive a gift, is it not my property? Therefore, I can use it however I wish.”

Kellewen said so and unclasped the necklace again. His fingers touched his neck again, but now Dandeleon was in no state of mind to pay attention to such things. Kellewen placed the necklace back in its original box and handed it to Dandeleon.

“I hope that you will not refuse.”

“Thank you….”

It would be strange to refuse when he put it like this. Dandeleon nodded, but the fingertips of the hand that accepted the box were trembling slightly. That tremor continued until he was holding the box and had returned to his own room.

Thus, the attempt to awaken Kellewen’s material desires ended with the discovery of the immense material desire within Dandeleon himself.

“This isn’t it?!”

Dandeleon shouted, tearing at his hair.

Being happy about receiving something expensive was one thing, but the anxiety of not having achieved his goal was another. It was not as if Kellewen would be in the Benoit Royal Palace forever, and time was just passing by, yet Dandeleon had not found out anything about Kellewen except that his palate was similar to a cow’s.

“This is so annoying, really…!”

In fact, the more time he spent with Kellewen, the stranger Dandeleon felt. He felt depressed, and he felt like crying. Sometimes he even felt like getting angry and overturning everything. Dandeleon thought it was because of his anxiety at not being able to conquer Kellewen.

But the more time passed, the more his conviction that he could change Kellewen grew faint. Kellewen was consistently detached, and it seemed that even if he were to discover some joy in life, when his day to die came, he would readily kneel before Yggdrasil and offer his neck.

The strange thing was that thinking about that made him feel very bad. Dandeleon found that thought so unpleasant. That was why he kept wanting to shake Kellewen. He wanted to make him experience something more, to make him fall deeply into something he might find even a little bit of interest in.

Did he want to see the fall of a saint?

Perhaps so.

Did he pity Kellewen?

Maybe he did.

Did he want to see all the people of the continent fall into despair when Kellewen gave up on offering his life to Yggdrasil?

…He thought not, but deep in his heart, that might have been it.

Did he want everyone to die together?

…Considering my crappy personality, well, that might be it.

There were many thoughts, but nothing he could answer with certainty. Everything was as vague as if shrouded in fog. Every time he met Kellewen, the vagueness grew in size, and along with it, his fluctuating mood worsened.

Still, Dandeleon went to see Kellewen. He went at the same time every day, had a meal with him, and talked with him. They would pick out things that looked interesting from the pile of gifts and admire them or play with them together.

In those moments, there was no vagueness, no unpleasantness, only simple enjoyment, but Dandeleon did not notice this fact.

“Let’s see….”

On the evening of about the fifth day of spending time with Kellewen, Dandeleon had a rare appointment to meet Kellewen in the evening.

Kellewen had apologized several times for something that was not his fault, saying he was sorry, but Dandeleon intuitively knew this was a golden opportunity.

“Now, what kind of alcohol would knock out even an elf….”

Dandeleon grinned as he scanned the bottles of alcohol he had preciously collected.

He loved alcohol. Alcohol was sweet on the tongue and even sweeter for the body. A little bit of it made you feel good and forget all your worries and cares. Unlike other people, Dandeleon never experienced hangovers. Could there be a better thing than this?

So, he wanted to share that joy with the High Elf as well.

What would happen if Kellewen, who insisted he must always maintain a clear mind, got drunk?

Just the thought of it was thrilling. Full of anticipation, Dandeleon scanned the inside of the liquor cabinet. Behind the glass, liquor bottles of all shapes and colors quietly awaited Dandeleon’s choice.

“For a beginner, something sweet is best… ah, but Kellewen detests sweet things.”

After much deliberation, Dandeleon chose four bottles of alcohol. He wanted to bring more, but it was impossible with his weak arm strength. It was quite a distance to Ardenberg, and since Dandeleon did not have a personal carriage, he had no choice but to carry them himself.

‘Hah… I’m really going through a lot today. I’ll have to ask him to make me some side dishes instead.’

Dandeleon smirked, recalling the feasts he had enjoyed over the past few days. Thanks to them, his complexion had improved recently, and he felt like he had more strength in his body than before. It was the first time he would ask for side dishes to go with drinks, and he was excited to see what amazing things would be made this time.

“Are you going drinking?”

Zellos, who was working in the living room, turned to look at Dandeleon and asked.

“Shall I make you some side dishes?”

“It’s fine, I’m going out to eat.”

Dandeleon said so and straightened his clothes in front of the mirror. Top is fine, bottom is fine, face is perfect, hair is not bad, and Zellos is….

Glaring at him.

“…Where have you been going so much lately?”