To You, Who Will Die Alone in Paradise Chapter 50

Zellos muttered. Dandeleon turned his head toward him and asked.

“What did you just say?”

“I’m saying I understand what you mean. I’ll follow your decision, Mr. Leon.”

Zellos smiled affectionately as always. Dandeleon’s pale complexion brightened slightly.

“First, have some water. You don’t have an appetite for dinner, do you?”

“No…”

Zellos rummaged through his bag, took something out, poured it into a cup, and handed it to Dandeleon. Dandeleon took the cup Zellos offered and drank it without suspicion. As the water went down his throat, he felt a cooling sensation.

‘Is this not water but herbal tea?’

It was just as Dandeleon was about to open his mouth to ask what was in the cup.

“……!”

He felt a sharp pain in his throat. It felt as if everything from the inside of his mouth to his esophagus and stomach was on fire. Dandeleon’s eyes widened, and he curled up his body.

“Mr. Leon? What’s wrong?”

Zellos’s voice was so faint it was hard to understand. Dandeleon shivered and then suddenly coughed up blood.

The blood that spilled onto the old wooden floor was a murky black.

“Mr. Leon!”

Zellos rushed to Dandeleon, who had collapsed on the floor.

He was trembling uncontrollably in a pool of black blood. After examining Dandeleon, Zellos gasped. His face was covered in a cold sweat, and in a short time, he was burning with a high fever. His throat seemed to be severely damaged, as the breaths escaping his mouth were as ragged as a beast’s.

“Mr. Leon, please, wake up! Please!”

Zellos lifted Dandeleon and laid him on the bed. Dandeleon, who had been groaning, slowly closed his eyes and then his head drooped to the side.

‘He’s not dead, is he…?!’

Zellos hastily pressed his ear to Dandeleon’s chest.

At first, he heard nothing and despaired, but as he listened intently, a faint sound thudded. Zellos doubted his ears and kept waiting. A few seconds later, his face brightened at the small beat he heard again.

It was terribly weak and unbelievably slow, but his heart was definitely beating.

“Mr. Leon, just a moment. I’ll go get a doctor!”

Zellos threw open the door and ran outside. As Zellos tumbled down the inn’s stairs, shock, confusion, and suspicion raced through his mind.

‘What happened? He said he would just fall asleep.’

He had said it was a medicine he took regularly himself. He had even shown Zellos himself taking it right before his eyes to allay his suspicion. Hadn’t Zellos confirmed it himself?

‘Was it because he took too little? Or is it a medicine that only works on humans? Dammit, I never should have trusted that bastard…!’

If Dandeleon hadn’t suggested going back in the first place, there would have been no need to give him the medicine.

No, if you thought about it, the blocked road was the problem from the start. According to the original plan, they should have been far away from the capital by now. His plan was to persuade Dandeleon that by the time he realized it, it would be too late, and that it was better to just run away than to go back and face the Crown Prince’s wrath.

But far from getting away, they were stuck in the middle of a forest, not even having left the capital. In this situation, Zellos grew anxious when Dandeleon also changed his mind.

He could absolutely not go back. How could he, after getting this chance? If he went back to the palace now, there would be no next time for Zellos. He would either be kicked out as he was, or, even if he stayed in the palace, he would have to watch the High Elf snatch his mate and act as if he were his own.

‘But I really didn’t mean to hurt him.’

He was really just trying to put him to sleep. Tears streamed down Zellos’s face. He had planned to let him sleep soundly, then put the sleeping Dandeleon in the carriage at dawn and depart. He had thought it would be better for him to just sleep, as he must have been tired all day. Really. He really had no idea it would turn out like this.

“What is it, guest?”

Zellos went down to the first floor and called loudly for the innkeeper. The owner, who had been chopping firewood in the backyard, came running in surprise.

“A doctor…!”

Zellos was speaking but suddenly clamped his mouth shut. The anxiety that had been lurking in his mind since they had stood before the blocked road, no, since they had secretly snuck out of the palace, suddenly swelled and pressed down on Zellos.

“A doctor? Is someone sick? Oh dear, this is a small town, we don’t have a doctor here.”

Dandeleon had realized it too late, but Zellos had anticipated from the beginning that the Crown Prince, or the High Elf, or both, would be tracking them. That was why he had taken a remote shortcut that people did not know well and had rushed along frantically.

However, since the plan had gone awry, if they were unlucky, the royal soldiers could storm in this evening, or if not, then tomorrow. Causing a commotion in this situation might unnecessarily draw the attention of others.

“…No, it’s nothing, my friend just threw up a bit in the room.”

Zellos feigned embarrassment and gave a pointless cough. He was going crazy with worry for Dandeleon, but he had to calm down. If they were caught by the soldiers, Dandeleon would probably just get a scolding, but not Zellos. Getting thrown out with nothing would be lucky; the worst case was execution.

“Oh dear.”

At the mention of vomit, the innkeeper grimaced in disgust. Zellos looked around to confirm no one else was there, then took a gold coin from his pocket and handed it to the owner.

“My apologies. This is for your trouble. I’ll clean up the vomit, so don’t worry.”

“Oh my, is this real gold?”

The innkeeper bit the gold coin Zellos handed him and then grinned.

“I can clean the room, you know, hehe.”

“It’s fine. My companion has severe motion sickness, so he’s caused a lot of trouble. By any chance, could you recommend a place that sells medicine nearby?”

It was common for rural villages not to have a doctor, but where there were people, there was bound to be someone who could substitute for a doctor. A pharmacist, or an herbalist or a medicine peddler who acted as one, or even a witch or a shaman.

“There’s an old woman who brews medicine living at the end of the village over there.”

Fortunately, Zellos’s guess was correct. He once again warned the innkeeper not to enter the room, then headed to where the medicine-brewing old woman lived.

In this village, which had been cleared in the middle of a forest, there were of course no streetlights, let alone paved roads. Zellos ran along the bumpy path of mixed mud and gravel, relying on the moonlight. Still, it was a relief that Lycans had good night vision.

“Gasp, gasp…”

Perhaps because it was the countryside, the distance between houses was vast. The further he went, the rougher the path became, and tall trees blocked the way in places. Zellos ran for a long time, panting.

Finally, Zellos’s face brightened when he spotted a dilapidated hut in the distance, similar to the one the innkeeper had described.

“Where are you going in such a hurry?”

He was just about to make a final dash. Someone grabbed Zellos’s shoulder and spoke.

He had not felt a single presence until he was that close. Zellos was so surprised that he blindly swung his fist in the direction of the voice. He thought that anyone who spoke to him in the forest at this hour could only be a robber, a bandit, or a similar ruffian. And most riffraff were no match for Zellos.

But his opponent unexpectedly dodged Zellos’s fist with ease. Zellos gritted his teeth and threw a few more punches at the stranger.

The second and third punches also cut through the air, but when he raised his leg to kick at the head, the opponent’s hood caught on his knee and came off. The assailant’s face was revealed in the moonlight.

Zellos’s eyes widened, and he stopped his attack.

“An elf…?”

He was wearing shabby human clothes, so he had not realized at first, but with the hood off, his ears were pointed. The strange elf tutted and pulled his hood back on. Zellos asked him.

“You, are you one of Herma’s men?”

“That’s right. Where are you going now? Did something happen?”

“You bastard…!”

Zellos lunged at the elf in a rage. He had expected him to dodge again, but the elf did not stop Zellos from grabbing him by the collar and just stared at him. That calm attitude fueled Zellos’s anger.

“What did you give me? Answer me quickly! If you don’t, I’ll tear you limb from limb!”

“I don’t know what you mean. Explain in more detail.”

“I’m talking about your leader! Herma! I’m asking what kind of medicine that bastard gave me!”

Zellos shrieked, his eyes bloodshot.

“I gave him the medicine that bastard gave me, and Leon…!”

It had happened between morning and noon.

Zellos, who had eavesdropped on Dandeleon and Kellewen’s conversation, left the building and walked aimlessly. He was not heading anywhere in particular, just moving wherever his feet took him. He roamed the royal palace like a ghost, thinking.

‘If this goes on, I’ll lose my mate.’

Only that thought possessed him. Zellos’s black eyes blazed with anger, then cooled with a wave of helplessness, only to burn with anger again moments later.

No matter how angry and wronged he felt, there was realistically nothing Zellos could do. If it were a matter of physical strength, neither the High Elf nor the Crown Prince would be a match for him, but they were cowardly using their status to crush him and take away the most precious thing from him.

Even the mate he loved so dearly was trying to betray him. Who was it that had taken care of him all this time? How dare he be so ungrateful?

“……!”

Zellos let out a string of rough curses and punched a tree in a secluded garden over and over again. His wrist felt like it would break, and his skin tore and bled, but he was so angry he did not even feel the pain.

Still not satisfied, Zellos finally slammed his head hard against the tree. A shock so strong it made his vision blur struck his forehead.

‘Now that it’s come to this, there’s only one way left.’

Only then did Zellos’s head cool a little, and he leaned his back against the tree trunk and slumped down.

‘As soon as possible, if possible, right now, I have to take Dandeleon and run away from here.’

Anyone else would have said it was crazy talk, but to Zellos, it was an extremely rational conclusion.

Lycans do not abandon their family. If it was his mate, he had to protect him even at the cost of his own life. Whether the mate wanted it or not was not important. After Apsara’s death, Zellos had defined only himself and Dandeleon as family. That definition could not be changed just because Dandeleon opposed it.