To You, Who Will Die Alone in Paradise Chapter 42

“I was planning on leaving the royal palace anyway. After you left. I was thinking of asking His Majesty to let me go to a villa in the countryside. To leave with Zellos, and there, quietly….”

Die. He couldn’t bring himself to say the words, so Dandeleon just bit his lip. But suddenly, Kellewen cut into that fleeting moment of silence.

“You’re leaving with Zellos? Do you trust him that much?”

Dandeleon was bewildered, not knowing what Kellewen was trying to say. He spat out in a sarcastic tone without realizing it.

“Well, I trust him less than you trust Herma.”

“Don’t trust him too much, Leon.”

Kellewen’s voice suddenly became desperate. He spoke urgently, as if he hadn’t even heard Dandeleon’s sarcastic remark.

“There’s something unusual in his eyes. He definitely has other intentions.”

Dandeleon couldn’t help but laugh. Not because he was happy, but because he was dumbfounded. Anger simmered and boiled inside his chest. On the other hand, it was strange how his head became incredibly cool. When Dandeleon opened his mouth, a subdued voice flowed out.

“Zellos is my family.”

He couldn’t listen to Kellewen’s selfish words any longer. Dandeleon gritted his teeth and glared at Kellewen.

“He’s different from you… You only think about dying, but Zellos tries to stay by my side until the end.”

Kellewen flinched in surprise. The anger in Dandeleon’s words was so palpable it felt like it would burn him. Kellewen reached a hand toward Dandeleon. Urgently, as if to pull him out of the flames. But Dandeleon coldly slapped his hand away.

“So what do you know.”

The more he spoke, the more emotional Dandeleon became. His heart pounded wildly. His resentment toward Kellewen grew uncontrollably.

What right do you have to say that.

You’re going to die alone anyway, you won’t even be by my side when I die.

You’re going to leave me all alone in the end, how could you.

Dandeleon’s vision blurred. His face felt hot. Anger, sadness, and resentment tangled together indiscriminately, creating a cruel impulse. Dandeleon roughly wiped away his tears before they could fall. And he said to Kellewen.

“I’m never going to the Elven Forest. So go and die alone.”

They were words meant only to hurt him.

“Since everyone but me will bless your death anyway.”

The wind blew.

Ripples formed on the surface of the small fountain, distorting the water. The silence was cold. Dandeleon fastened the collar of his clothes with trembling hands.

He had forgotten for a moment, but it was bitterly cold. By the fountain that commemorated the dead, the two stood for a while without a word. Only the sound of water lingered in the empty air.

It was Dandeleon who turned around first. He wished Kellewen would hold him back, yet he knew he wouldn’t. As expected, Kellewen remained silent. Until Dandeleon had completely left the garden, he didn’t even call his name.

Dandeleon walked alone, cutting through the night.

His body trembled violently. It was hard to tell whether it was because of the cold or because of the sorrow. When he had slipped out of his room, his heart had been swelling with anticipation, but now he was just sad and miserable.

It was more horrible than when he had rejected Kellewen’s proposal, more horrible than the last time they had parted. He had met him wanting to end things on a beautiful note, but it ended with them just hurling hurtful words at each other.

‘Why does it always end up like this?’

If he had known this ending was destined, he would never have even approached Kellewen. At this rate, the future he had first seen would have been better.

What if Kellewen had been captivated by his face and taken him by force? It would have been hard on his body and mind, but he wouldn’t have been this sad. He would have been able to hate Kellewen with a clear conscience. He would have been able to rejoice that he was fated to die soon.

At least he wouldn’t have felt like he wanted to die right now, like he did at this moment.

Dandeleon walked for a long time, wandering through the depths of his emotions. Perhaps because he was walking while shivering, his pace was slower than when he had come. His lips were turning blue by the time he could finally see the west entrance of the main palace. Dandeleon’s room was on the second floor, not far from the entrance.

Dandeleon raised his head and checked his room’s window. He wanted to know if the light was on, if Zellos had returned.

The window was dark. The moment he confirmed this, a question popped into Dandeleon’s head.

‘Come to think of it, where did I put Kellewen’s letter?’

It was then. Something suddenly clamped down over Dandeleon’s mouth. Dandeleon tried to turn in surprise, but he couldn’t move an inch. A firm arm was already constricting his body.

“……?!”

Someone had attacked him from behind. Realizing this, Dandeleon struggled in terror. But with strength only slightly better than a child’s, he could do nothing. The attacker dragged him nonchalantly toward a secluded place.

Judging that he couldn’t possibly win with strength, Dandeleon stopped resisting and looked around.

The royal palace grew more and more distant from his field of vision until it was finally out of sight completely. In the darkness, all he could see was trees, shrubbery hedges, and the ground covered in grass and stones. The ground was dug up here and there, and weeds grew thick. It wasn’t a garden, but seemed to be a back path used by the servants, though he couldn’t tell exactly where it was.

He felt a presence looking around behind him. After scanning the surroundings and confirming no one was there, the attacker loosened his arm. Dandeleon tried to escape in that opening, but his wrist was quickly caught. He pulled Dandeleon’s arm and threw him straight onto the ground.

“Ugh…!”

Dandeleon’s body rolled on the dirt floor. His overcoat got dirty, but there was no time to care. His shoulder, which he had hit when he fell, ached. Dandeleon bit back a groan and raised his head to see who had attacked him.

His gaze, which had been traveling up the shadow cast before him, stopped at the face. Dandeleon’s eyes widened and he muttered.

“Zellos?”

Standing before Dandeleon was his attendant and his most precious family. But he was different from his usual self. Zellos’s face, revealed under the moonlight, was expressionless, and only his eyes shone fiercely. He looked as if he were possessed.

“Zellos? Can you hear me? Why….”

“You just came from meeting the High Elf, didn’t you?”

Zellos said. His voice was full of sharp edges.

Warning bells went off in Dandeleon’s head. The optimistic outlook that he might have been mistaken about something also vanished. It was hard to believe, but the attacker who had assaulted Dandeleon and dragged him to a deserted place was definitely Zellos.

“Why aren’t you answering? I’m asking if you met the High Elf.”

He opened his mouth, but he was so scared that no sound came out. Dandeleon just shook his head vehemently. He didn’t know why, but he felt like he absolutely should not tell the truth.

“Hahahahaha!”

Zellos laughed as if he had lost his mind, then took something out of his pocket and tossed it. A white lump fell in front of Dandeleon. It was a crumpled piece of paper. Even without unfolding it, he knew it was Kellewen’s letter.

“Now you’re even lying, my prince.”

Goosebumps spread all over his body. Zellos’s voice was gentle, but his gaze toward him was hostile. The shoulder that had hit the ground throbbed again. Dandeleon clutched his shoulder and thought desperately.

What was happening, what did Zellos want, and what should he do.

“I’m sorry….”

First, he had to placate him. He might not know anything else, but it was clear that Zellos was in a bad mood. Dandeleon said in a gentle tone.

“I thought you’d worry if I went out in the middle of the night.”

“Worry? Yes, of course I worry. I worry, and I get angry.”

Zellos bent down to meet Dandeleon’s eyes. His hands gently cupped Dandeleon’s cheeks.

“When I think that my mate might be fooling around with another male.”

There was no time to be surprised by the word mate. The gentle touch instantly turned rough, and pain spread through his cheeks and jaw. Zellos’s face came abruptly closer. His black eyes blazed with an unfamiliar emotion.

“I feel like I’m going crazy with worry, I really do.”

Zellos smiled, baring his teeth. And he forced a kiss on Dandeleon.

“……!”

Shock, and then instinctive revulsion, washed over Dandeleon. The other person was Zellos. The thought of doing something like this with the person who had cared for him since he was a baby was nauseating.

Dandeleon pushed and hit Zellos’s shoulders, trying to get away, but it was useless. Zellos was a Lycan, several times stronger than a human, and Dandeleon was an absurdly weak individual even among humans. Zellos let out a low laugh, as if he found Dandeleon’s resistance rather amusing. Zellos’s tongue, which had been licking Dandeleon’s stiffly frozen lips, pushed its way inside his mouth.

“Hk….”

A wave of nausea rose up. Without thinking, Dandeleon bit Zellos’s tongue. Something hot gushed into his mouth.

“Keuk!”

At the pain, like his tongue was being severed, Zellos reflexively pushed Dandeleon away. Thrown backward, Dandeleon hurriedly got up. He had to run. There was only one chance. Dandeleon ran in the direction he had come from.

“Where do you think…!”

But Zellos was faster. He reached out and snatched Dandeleon’s white ankle. Dandeleon, who had been running with all his might, fell forward helplessly.

Thud.

Lights flashed before his eyes. The pain was so intense that Dandeleon didn’t even realize he had fallen, or that he had hit a rock while falling. His forehead was split open and bleeding, but Dandeleon was barely conscious of it. He only wondered vaguely why his vision had turned so red.

His head was dizzy. Dandeleon blinked, trying to regain his senses. Zellos was saying something behind him, but he couldn’t hear it at all. Everything seemed very far away. Now, even the pain was leaving him.

Dandeleon opened his mouth. A rough gasp escaped, then slowed, and then even that stopped. The tips of Dandeleon’s fingers trembled. He was cold. It was so terribly, terribly cold.

In his last moment, Dandeleon thought.

‘Kellen was… right.’

That was the end.