DSB 158

4. XXX Years Later

A fierce snowstorm raged outside the window. The air in the room trembled slightly with every blow against the window frame. That tremor reached the man, who was standing in place. In the dark, quiet room, a person lay on a large bed. His breathing was muffled by the snowstorm, faint as if it could fade away at any moment.

The man, still beautiful despite having weathered the passage of time with his whole being, did not take his eyes off the figure lying on the bed. The end was not far off. That was why his gaze was persistent, determined to imprint even a single image in his eyes and engrave it in his mind.

Feeling that gaze, the man on the bed slowly opened his eyes. His still-unfaded silver-gray eyes turned toward his beloved.

Yutis forced a smile as he looked up at Lebel, then slowly sat up. He, too, was well aware of his physical condition. No matter how hard he tried to hold on, his lifespan was slipping away like sand through his fingers. He knew that the end was near.

“Yutis, are you awake?”

“My wife, did you not sleep…?”

Lebel did not answer. Instead, he moved his hands. He straightened the edges of the blanket and pushed the pillow slightly up toward Yutis’ lower back to ensure his posture was comfortable. His touch was uncharacteristically cautious.

These were all things he had learned from Yutis. He was returning to him everything he had received.

“You will be sleeping forever soon, so when would I sleep now?”

At the flat, emotionless tone, Yutis felt his heart tighten. It was partly due to his illness, but also because he had noticed the bitterness of his w​Read on​ords. And the cause of it was himself.

“At this rate, my wife will fall ill as well.”

“I’m strong. You’ve fed me so well.”

Curt words came from Lebel’s mouth. But that only revealed his sadness even more. The reason Lebel, usually so calm, had become cold was that there was no sign of Yutis’s condition improving.

To him, a demon, it was visible. Just like Yutis’s breathing, his soul was fading. Until now, Yutis had been remarkably vigorous for a human over a hundred years old. This was partly due to his own robustness, but also thanks to Lebel’s meticulous care for his body.

However, nothing lasts forever. Eventually, his body cracked and crumbled in an instant. Even when he shared his demonic power, Yutis could not accept it. His body could not recover.

Lebel took Yutis’s hand. It was a hand wrinkled like that of an old human. And so was his own. However, perhaps because he was a demon and his body was different, the depth of the wrinkles was different.

“Don’t just take care of me; I told you to eat well too. That’s why you caught something like a cold.”

To be precise, it was not a cold, but pneumonia. The two of them, possessing demonic energy, had lived a long life. By human standards, it would have been called a long life.

They had watched their children grow up to become an emperor and a grand duke of a nation, and had reached the age where their children’s children would soon become adults.

“Isn’t my wife healthy?”

“I was a fool to tell you.”

He simply looked down at Yutis, who had once been more vigorous than anyone, now an old and powerless human being whose vigor had vanished without a trace.

Lebel pursed his lips. He knew that asking if he was alright or telling him he would get better would be meaningless. That was why Lebel stayed by his side, determined to be with him until the very last moment he breathed his last.

“I am sorry… I think I will have to leave you alone. You will be lonely without me…”

Yutis spoke quietly, forcing strength into his limp hand.

“My wife… you are still beautiful.”

“Beautiful? My body has aged, too.”

Lebel shrugged as he spoke. Yutis smiled faintly.

He always told me I was shining, but he shines more than anyone. He alone does not know that.

Unlike himself, Lebel was a demon, so he would live longer.

Yutis had always hated that, and it made him sad. And it worried him.

“I… I hope you won’t be too sad because of me. Wasn’t unauthorized copy living in the human world enjoyable? I hope you take only happy memories with you until the very end. Though, I won’t be at the end of it…”

Before he could finish speaking, a cough burst out. Yutis coughed up blood.

“Cough!”

With a calm expression, Lebel took out a handkerchief and wiped the corner of his mouth.

“Well, I will be sad to an extent. You are dying, so I cannot help but feel sad.”

His voice was calm, but it didn’t hurt. It was an honest remark, and it was obvious he was trying his best to suppress his emotions.

Yutis laughed foolishly. He struggled to swallow the blood rising with his cough.

“Is that all you have to say?”

Lebel asked as he clutched the blood-stained handkerchief. After a brief silence, Yutis spoke.

“I know it is shameless of me, but may I ask you just one favor…?”

“Just one? You can ask for several.”

“One is enough.”

Yutis gazed into the distance for a moment. Then, he slowly opened his mouth.

“I won’t tell you not to meet anyone. I want you to be happy. But please remember me from time to time.”

Lebel let out a hollow, incredulous laugh.

What do you mean shameless?

Yutis looked foolish for calling such a mere thing his last wish.

Even with a dying body, he held onto Lebel’s hand more tightly than before. The strength in his grip was weak, but his determination not to let go was strong.

A heart that wanted him to be happy yet did not want to let him go. A greed that said he would let him go yet ultimately wanted a place left for him.

But that was precisely who Yutis was. The human Lebel had loved, and would continue to love.

“Don’t worry for nothing. Even if you don’t say it, I have no intention of forgetting. Have you forgotten that our pact continues even if you die?”

Lebel spoke with a small smile. His voice was soft, yet stubborn. Yutis’s eyes shook slightly.

“Even if you die, I told visit our siteyou I will always know where you are. So do not say things like that. You will return to my side again.”

“…….”

“Or do you dislike it? Because if you are reborn, you won’t have any memories.”

At those words, Yutis’s breath stopped for a moment. But soon he forced himself to steady his trembling breath and said,

“Ho-how could that be…? I only wish for you to be happy in the human world.”

Yutis was happy to have met him. That was why he simply wished for Lebel to be happy until the very end. He hoped he would not lament that his life was long while human life was short. He hoped he would never regret the moment he came to the human world, or that he had met him.

“If your body crumbles and you return to the Demon Realm… just as I said back then… I will come find you. No matter what it takes.”

Yutis vowed.

He had always been like that. He always had that look in his eyes whenever he made a promise. Lebel smiled, looking satisfied.

“My dear.”

Yutis’s eyes widened.

“I love you.”

“I… I… love you more.”

He could not let anyone take that smile away from him. It belonged solely to him.

He wanted to hear those sweet whispers more. He wanted to see that bright smile more. He wanted to savor the things bestowed only upon him, but his eyelids would not obey.

“Go on.”

Lebel spoke in a calm tone, as if he were seeing him off as usual.

“I will wait.”

Yutis’s eyes closed peacefully.

It was only after a long while that Lebel took his gaze away from his face. Then, very slowly, he raised his head. At that moment, tears streamed down his cheeks.

“Oh, you’re making me cry again.”

It is alright. It just takes time. The time it will take for him to return to me will surely be shorter than the time I waited to meet him.

But it will be just as long.

Lebel rose to his feet and stared out the window. Yutis’s soul was nowhere to be seen. The moment his breath stopped, he went to the bosom of the gods. All that remained was an empty shell.

Soon, from a distance, the roar of a dragon tore through the blizzard.

That fellow is so sentimental, it worries me.

He was like this when my father-in-law died. Now that Yutis has left, he will surely cry for a while longer.

If he were to pinpoint the culprit behind this unceasing blizzard, it was Luceris. And this would only intensify for a while.

“Did you think there was any reason for me to live on in this world without you?”

Lebel rose to his feet. Although he had already warned everyone, he felt it was necessary to say his final goodbyes.

“You asked me to grant you just one thing, so I will only remember that I will never forget you.”

Just then, Lebel’s shadow rippled. There was no way Karon wouldn’t know that Yutis was dead. His presence had completely vanished. They had fought a lot, but the years they had spent together must have made them grow fond of each other.

Karon looked at Yutis with a somewhat somber expression, then looked up at Lebel.

[Lord Lebel, are you going to return?]

“I must return. Yutis will come looking for me.”

[… It will take a long time.]

“I will live that much longer.”

Karon knew that Lebel would not give up on Yutis.

Lebel rang the bell. The quiet hallway began to grow noisy.

Everyone in the castle knew that Yutis would likely not make it past today.

“Dad, are you leaving?”

Lebel smiled and turned around. Standing before him was the child of Yutis and himself. The days of him toddling around were still vivid in his memory, yet before he knew it, the child had grown into an adult and stood proudly facing him. Beside him stood the partner he had chosen for himself.

“Esbel, you may live a little longer before coming.”

Esbel did not hold Lebel back. He understood that there was no reason for him to remain in a world without a loved one. With those words, Lebel quietly closed his eyes.