To You, Who Will Die Alone in Paradise Chapter 49

But on the other hand, it also felt refreshing.

Because of what Kellewen had done in just a few hours, Dandeleon’s life had been turned upside down. Kellewen probably thought he was doing it for Dandeleon, but in the end, it was no different from trapping Dandeleon in the royal palace.

If that were all, it might be different, but he had tried to separate Dandeleon from his only family without any discussion. That part, no matter how he thought about it, made him angry.

‘Kellewen does whatever he wants, so why can’t I?’

That rebellious spirit steadied Dandeleon’s anxious heart. It was already done, so there was no turning back.

‘What’s the big deal about going to Loallante to visit the grave and coming right back?’

It was a journey of two days at the shortest, three days at the longest. He could have a calm conversation with Kellewen after he returned. Right now, he was in no state to talk, so it was better to give him some time, Dandeleon arbitrarily rationalized his actions to himself.

“Mr. Leon, we’re here.”

A couple of hours after leaving the royal palace, the freight wagon stopped, and Zellos’s voice was heard. Dandeleon moved his stiff body and got out of the wagon.

They could not go all the way to Loallante in a slow and uncomfortable freight wagon, so they had arranged to switch wagons after leaving the capital. While Dandeleon was getting out, Zellos handed a gold coin to the driver. The driver took the gold coin without a word and disappeared.

Dandeleon, who was watching the freight wagon slowly move away, bent over.

“Bleeegh!”

Everything in his stomach poured out onto the ground. Zellos patted Dandeleon’s back with a gentle hand.

Dandeleon was prone to motion sickness. Every year on the way to the grave, he suffered immensely from it. To make matters worse, today he had ridden in a freight wagon, so it was only natural that his stomach was more upset than usual.

“Have some of this.”

Zellos took a water bottle from his bag and held it out. Dandeleon forced his trembling hands to move and took the water bottle. As he tilted it, a refreshing scent and a sour taste stimulated his tongue.

“You… gasp… when did you…”

“Drink first, talk later.”

Dandeleon took a few sips of water and wiped his mouth.

“You, when did you prepare this?”

Inside the water bottle was lemon water. Zellos, knowing Dandeleon was prone to motion sickness, always packed a water bottle with lemon water whenever they went out. But wasn’t that only possible for planned outings?

“I always have it prepared. You never know when or where we might go.”

“You have… gasp… lemon water… prepared… in your bag?”

“Of course.”

He knew he was a meticulous person, but even this? A question flickered through Dandeleon’s mind before being pushed away by a surge of nausea from his stomach. Well, if he prepared it, that’s a good thing. Dandeleon dry-heaved and summarily concluded his thoughts.

He had even considered canceling the journey if the next wagon was also uncomfortable, but thankfully, the wagon that arrived about ten minutes later was in much better shape. For one, it was for people, and the seats inside were wide and soft.

Relieved, Dandeleon got on the wagon. Zellos exchanged a few words with the driver and then followed Dandeleon.

“Giddy-up!”

As soon as the door closed, the wagon started moving with a loud noise. At the same time, Dandeleon’s hand clamped over his mouth.

“Ugh…!”

His posture was a bit more comfortable, but the problem was the speed. The wagon sped along at an incredible pace. As a result, the carriage shook uncontrollably, and the shock transmitted to his body was immense.

“Zellos… the wagon, a little…”

“Pardon? What did you say?”

“The speed, slow down…”

The sound of the wheels was so loud that his voice could barely be heard. Zellos tilted his head and handed Dandeleon the water bottle.

Dandeleon waved his hand, refusing the water bottle. If he drank now, he would surely throw it up a few minutes later anyway.

‘I’d rather just pass out.’

Dandeleon looked out the window with a prayerful heart. An unfamiliar landscape was reflected in his shaking vision. Dandeleon frowned.

“Zellos? Zellos!”

“Yes?”

Dandeleon raised his voice and called for Zellos.

“Was the road always like this?!”

“What are you talking about?”

“No, last year…! Ugh, when we went, I don’t think it was this road…”

“Don’t talk too much, you’ll throw up.”

Zellos wiped Dandeleon’s face with a towel soaked in cold water and then glanced out the window.

“The direction seems right. Maybe they built a new road? I heard there was major road construction recently.”

“Is… that so?”

It was news to Dandeleon, but it was not strange. Unlike him, who was cooped up in the palace just eating and sleeping, Zellos was busy moving around inside and outside the palace and heard many rumors. Besides, would he even remember if they had taken the same road last year or the year before, when his only memory from the carriage was of being motion sick?

Dandeleon shut his mouth and closed his eyes. It was an attempt to fall asleep, but it was not easy. Sleep would only come if his body was comfortable, but it was impossible amidst the constantly jolting floor and the sound of the wheels beating against his ears. Dandeleon leaned his head against the wagon wall and just prayed for time to pass quickly.

How long had they gone on like that? Without warning, the wagon stopped, and a tutting sound came from the driver’s seat. Dandeleon, who was half-dead, barely managed to open his eyes, and Zellos went outside to check the situation.

“What’s wrong?”

Dandeleon took comfort in the fact that the movement had stopped, even for a moment. The fact that his stomach was churning from his aching body no longer seemed like a major problem. His buttocks, of course, his shoulders and legs, no, his entire body ached from absorbing the shock.

“Are you serious right now? You have to come up with some kind of solution!”

Just then, a loud voice came from outside. It seemed Zellos was arguing with the driver. Though he desperately wanted to just lie down, the atmosphere outside was unusual. Dandeleon barely moved his limbs, which had become as stiff as wooden blocks, and got out of the wagon.

“What’s going on?”

“Mr. Leon, it’s…”

Dandeleon was startled when he saw where Zellos was pointing. A large tree had fallen and was blocking the road. Looking around, Dandeleon realized that he was now in the middle of a deep forest. Through the branches, he could glimpse the setting red sun.

“He said this was a shortcut…!”

“You think I knew this would happen, sir?”

Zellos was annoyed, but the driver responded in a smooth tone. His attitude was one of ‘well, it happened, what can you do.’

“What will you do? As you can see, the wagon can’t go any further from here. Will you walk?”

“Are you out of your mind? The sun is setting. You want us to become wolf food in these mountains?”

“Well then, I guess we have no choice but to go back. Ho ho, if we can’t take this road, we’ll have to take a long detour. I’m sorry, sir, but I don’t think I can get you to your destination unless you add a little something to the fare, you see?”

“Hah…”

Zellos sighed in an exasperated voice. Dandeleon did not know the area and was not confident in this kind of bargaining, so he just stood by silently. He thought that even considering the complicated situation, Zellos seemed to be in a particularly bad mood.

“Now, sir. Let’s do this for now.”

The driver said to Zellos with a confident smile.

“We have to turn the wagon around anyway, but since the sun is setting, we can’t go far. The road here isn’t great, so it’s not good for traveling at night. I’ll take you to the nearest village from here, so for now, you can spend the night there. We’ll settle the fare there.”

Zellos chewed on his lips, lost in thought. His displeasure was evident, but it was clear there was no other way. He nodded and looked back at Dandeleon.

“Mr. Leon, is that okay with you?”

“Uh, yeah, I’m fine…”

Dandeleon had no other solution either, so his answer was predetermined. The driver said they should hurry and pulled on the reins to turn the wagon around. Dandeleon nervously watched Zellos. With his quick temper, he was worried about when he might explode.

By the time the wagon arrived at the nearest village, the moon was already high in the sky. The driver, saying he knew the place well, led them to a shabby inn.

While Zellos paid for the inn and settled the money matters with the driver, Dandeleon lay on the bed, barely breathing. His stomach was empty, but he did not even feel hungry. He just wanted to take a hot bath and fall asleep.

“Are you okay, Mr. Leon?”

Zellos finally returned to the room. He massaged Dandeleon’s legs with a worried expression and said.

“I don’t think it’ll be easy to get another wagon. So we’ll have to go a little further with that guy, but you can bear it, right? We’ll be there soon, just one more day.”

“Zellos.”

Dandeleon, who had organized his thoughts in the meantime, steeled himself and spoke.

“Shouldn’t we go back?”

Zellos’s movements stopped. A flustered voice was heard.

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“Come to think of it, I don’t think His Highness the Crown Prince will be pleased.”

His head had been so full of thoughts about Kellewen and Zellos that he had not considered that far. The Crown Prince had carefully wrapped his younger brother in a gift box called the Céleste Domaine to get a lighthouse from the High Elf, but that gift had secretly slipped out of the palace without spending a single night with the High Elf. The Crown Prince might even judge that Dandeleon had run away.

“You know His Highness’s personality. He’ll never just let it slide.”

Dandeleon rested the back of his hand on his forehead and let out a deep sigh.

“I was reckless…”

It had been a day where too many things had happened. He was confused, so his judgment was clouded, and because of that, he had made a mistake. But he could still fix it. He wanted to resolve the situation smoothly before it got any bigger.

“…So that’s how you’re going to be, in the end.”