To You, Who Will Die Alone in Paradise Chapter 36

Dandeleon desperately held back the urge to gape. If he had his way, he would have shouted, asking where Herma came up with such a shameless lie. Claiming he was frail in his youth with that huge build? No matter how you looked at it, wasn’t it just a sob story, a lie meant to gain Dandeleon’s sympathy?

“The medicine… Are you saying you will give me the Elves’ medicine? I do not know if I can accept something so precious….”

However, the people who could not read any falsehood or deceit in Herma’s story simply marveled at the Elf’s kindness. The king was one of them. Herma nodded and replied.

“It is only right to repay the help Kellewen received first. Of course, his own intentions are the most important… but my desire to repay this kindness is earnest, so I beg you not to refuse, Your Highness.”

Dandeleon clenched his teeth.

He was completely cornered. The atmosphere was flowing far too favorably for Herma. At this rate, refusing would be rude. Dandeleon had already made the king and queen uncomfortable by refusing his request once. He could not even imagine how he would handle the aftermath if he committed any further rudeness.

“…If anything, I should be the one making the request. But I cannot order Herma, the highest leaf of Tuella Deum, to come and go. I will visit you in person with a gift.”

In the end, Dandeleon had no choice but to clench his teeth and answer that way.

The next day, Dandeleon, who had uncharacteristically woken up early in the morning, was faced with a very unwelcome object.

“I was wondering who was knocking on the door and waking me up at the crack of dawn, and what do you know, it was the queen’s attendant. I wanted to ask if he had the wrong room, but I didn’t even have the chance.”

Zellos, who was in a bad mood because his morning sleep had been disturbed, grumbled as he handed Dandeleon a letter.

“He practically threw the box and this at me, and then left without even a greeting. As if he didn’t even want to speak to me.”

Dandeleon glanced at the box and first unfolded the letter.

The contents listed on the paper were concise, without any flowery language whatsoever. It simply said to bring a return gift befitting the royal family’s dignity when visiting Herma, and to use what was sent if he did not have a suitable item.

When he opened the box, he found three or four large, white chunks of stone inside. With a dumbfounded expression, Dandeleon picked up one of the stones and examined it from all angles.

At first glance, it looked no different from a stone you would find rolling around on the street, which was baffling, but upon closer inspection, it had a subtle luster. It seemed to be some kind of raw gemstone.

‘Do Elves like raw gemstones? I’ve never heard anything like that.’

If the queen went to the trouble of picking it out and sending it, there must be a reason. Zellos seemed to think so too, as he spoke in an excited voice.

“This is great. You were worrying about what to give him. The box is nice too, so you can just take it as is.”

“I suppose so….”

Even though the problem he had been agonizing over all night was solved, a part of him still felt uneasy. Dandeleon looked down at the ornate box decorated with gold and jewels. A sigh escaped his lips without him realizing it.

Queen Beatrice married King Charles when he was still a prince. As far as Dandeleon knew, the marriage took place after Charles met his mother, Apsara, but that was merely what his father had told his mother. It meant he could have lied for his lover.

Dandeleon deliberately did not dig any deeper into that part. He did not want to hate his father any more, but fundamentally, the timing was not what was important. In any case, the fact that he was an illegitimate child remained unchanged.

Because of that, Dandeleon always felt guilty toward Queen Beatrice.

Originally, the queen had maintained an attitude of completely ignoring Dandeleon. She had voiced criticism when he used to hang out with the sons of noble families, but that was only scolding the ‘problem’ of the royal family and the aristocracy; she had not directly lectured Dandeleon.

So today’s event was truly exceptional. It was the first time the queen had ever attempted to communicate with Dandeleon, either directly or indirectly. It was probably because Dandeleon had become too deeply entangled with the Elves.

Guiding Kellewen through the royal palace could be considered a matter of courtesy, but exchanging gifts with the leader of Tuella Deum was already in the realm of diplomacy. Since it was no longer Dandeleon’s personal affair, she had no choice but to step in as an elder of the royal family. In other words, she had been forced by the situation to help him against her will.

Would it be presumptuous of him to wonder how she must have felt? Dandeleon ran his hands through his hair in irritation, messing it up. His hair was a mess, but his mood was even worse.

“…This is all because of that bastard.”

At Dandeleon’s muttering, Zellos turned to look at him with a puzzled expression.

“Who are you talking about?”

“Who else, but the great leader of Tuella Deum.”

Dandeleon grumbled. But unexpectedly, Zellos frowned and countered his words.

“Why Mr. Herma? He’s even offering to give you medicine because he’s thinking of you, Leon. What don’t you like about it?”

“You believe that?”

“You think he’d lie in front of all those people?”

He had not expected Zellos to say something so naive. Dandeleon was so frustrated he could not even speak, his face contorting into a deep scowl.

Herma was certainly nothing like his first impression. His face made him look like a serious martial artist, but his insides were as sinister as could be.

He had mentioned Dandeleon’s name in front of everyone, and when he refused the meeting, Herma had cleverly twisted the situation so that he could not even make any more excuses. It was a method that could only be described as truly vile.

It was no wonder Zellos had been deceived by that vileness. After all, everyone else who had witnessed the scene was busy praising Herma’s consideration. If he had not been careful, Dandeleon himself would have been fooled. If he had not known Kellewen’s situation, and if he had not seen the future.

Yes, the future was the problem. That damned future was always the problem….

Dandeleon shuddered. The thought of Herma’s eyes as he forcibly kissed him made his already foul mood even worse. He felt like he was going to throw up even though he had not eaten anything.

The only small mercy was that Herma was staying at Ardenberg with Kellewen. Having heard that the other Elven envoys and Tuella Deum were also staying there, Dandeleon had already sent word to Herma of his intention to meet at Ardenberg.

If Kellewen and the other Elves were there, he would not be able to pull any stupid stunts. It did not matter that the place he had seen in the future was the library. What is meant to happen will eventually happen, even if the location changes. Dandeleon had actually experienced something similar in the past.

The future is complex, but it is also inevitable. So, regardless of the location, Herma would definitely make a move on him.

‘…If the future I saw is real, that is.’

However, the fact that Kellewen’s future had not yet come to pass, and showed no signs of doing so, was making Dandeleon’s head throb.

In the end, Dandeleon did have sex with Kellewen, but it was completely different from what he had seen in the future. It did not seem like anything of the sort would happen in the near future either, so it was difficult to definitively say that he had avoided the future.

But to see another future in this situation. A fundamental doubt arose as to whether he could even trust the future he had seen.

‘Was I really out of it because of the hookah?’

As expected, he should not mess with drugs carelessly. He had liked it because the pain-relieving effect was good. Dandeleon tried hard to think that way, but the uneasy feeling did not go away. He felt like something was going wrong, but he could not figure out why. He felt like a blind man with his eyes wide open.

Arriving at the main gate of Ardenberg, Dandeleon came face to face with two Elves. Seeing the swords at both their waists, they seemed to be members of Tuella Deum guarding the gate. When Dandeleon stated his name, the Elf on the right gestured inside with his chin.

“Mr. Herma is on the third floor.”

It was an incredibly arrogant attitude. But he did not feel offended. They would probably speak this way even if the king himself came, not just Dandeleon. Knowing this well, Dandeleon passed through the main gate, glancing at the two Elves with a curious gaze.

‘I’ve read in books that Elves are exclusive toward other races, but this is the first time I’m experiencing it directly.’

There were not many books about Elves, but the few that existed all described one thing in common: the Elves’ insularity and exclusivity.

Elves have a strong sense of kinship, and as a reaction to that, they shun and disregard other races. He remembered reading an expression that after Yggdrasil, a sense of elitism as the race that saved the continent was added, and their arrogance reached a point where it pierced the heavens.

It was a rather famous story, but the reason Dandeleon had only just now recalled it was because the first Elf he had met was Kellewen. Kellewen was kind and gentle not only to the royal family but also to the servants working in the palace. Dandeleon was newly reminded that this was an extremely rare disposition for an Elf.

‘Come to think of it, where is Kellewen?’

Dandeleon thought as he pushed open the front door of Ardenberg. If possible, he did not want to meet Herma alone, and honestly, he wanted to see Kellewen too.

Should I stop by Kellewen’s room before going up to the third floor? As he was thinking that, Dandeleon spotted an unexpected person.

“……!”

A young man was coming down the main staircase, which was immediately visible upon opening the front door. He was a human, not an Elf, and he was wearing the clothes worn by the palace attendants. He had an extremely ordinary face, but Dandeleon recognized him at a glance.

It was the very same attendant who had stopped him and spewed insults loud enough for him to hear when he had come to Ardenberg looking for Kellewen.

He, too, noticed Dandeleon a beat later. The attendant was flustered and tried to hide behind the staircase, but it was too late. Dandeleon approached him.

“You, I’ve seen your face before.”

“…I greet Your Highness, the Prince.”

“Polite today, are we?”

Dandeleon said in a sarcastic tone. The attendant bowed his head and did not answer. Dandeleon watched him for a moment before asking again.

“Do you work here?”

“…That is not the case. I stopped by briefly to run an errand.”

“On whose orders?”

“I do not believe it is a matter that Your Highness would be aware of.”

Dandeleon let out a scoff.

No matter how much he was ignored by everyone, there were not many people who would say something like this to his face. For such an attitude to be tolerated, his master had to be of a higher status than Dandeleon. At first glance, one would think it was the king and queen or another member of the royal family, but a completely different person came to Dandeleon’s mind.

“I suppose you’re right. You may go.”

When Dandeleon backed down like that, the attendant looked rather uneasy. He did not leave right away but hesitated, watching Dandeleon’s expression, but Dandeleon just crossed his arms and stared at him. He watched until the attendant finally disappeared through the back door of Ardenberg.

At last, Dandeleon was left alone in the first-floor hall, his gaze turning toward the top of the stairs. The corners of his mouth twisted as a voice, half admiration and half ridicule, flowed out.

“I didn’t know you’d planted a spy in the royal palace.”