Chapter 60

"Then how long do you live, Lord Asad?"

"Well, I've never heard of a dragon dying of old age."

That means he lives forever.

According to Kor, other spirits also lived much longer than humans, though not eternally.

Was that why all of the dragon's mates so far had been spirits? A being that lives forever would need a mate who could stay with them for that long time.

A human life was too short to comfort the loneliness of an eternal being. Let alone himself, who couldn't even compare. To a dragon who said even 100 years was barely anything, the 1 or 2 years left for him would be shorter than the blink of an eye.

"...I see. Then you must need a mate who can be with you for that long time. Otherwise, you'd be very lonely."

For some reason, a corner of his heart ached like it was being pricked by a thorn as he spoke. Kinaine sternly reprimanded himself. Why are you feeling heartache? He and Helio were no longer anything to each other anyway. What an eternal dragon needed was a mate who could stay with him for a long time. Not himself, who couldn't even guarantee 1 or 2 years of life.

"Loneliness? That's an emotion only insignificant beings have."

"...Is that so?"

Do dragons not know loneliness? Well, it would be painful if an eternal being knew loneliness.

It made sense that the gods hadn't taught the dragon about loneliness. He would have done the same. Even if he were a god, he wouldn't have taught him anything about loneliness, sadness, or pain.

Isn't that what love is? The desire to make someone walk on a path strewn with flowers, to carry them lest they step on even a small thorn. The desire to show them only beautiful and good things.

"Hm?"

At that moment, Asad raised his head and looked at the only window. Dawn was just breaking outside. But it didn't seem like that was what he had noticed.

"How long have I been sleeping?"

The dragon got up with a surprised look. The bed creaked loudly, and Kinaine predicted that it would meet a miserable end soon.

As Asad got up, the shirt Kinaine had so desperately wanted back finally appeared. The magic seemed to have worn off, and the shirt lay crumpled at the edge of the bed.

He quickly picked it up and raised his head, but Asad was nowhere to be seen.

"...That's amazing."

So it's possible to disappear silently with magic.

As he put on the crumpled shirt, Kinaine chuckled to himself. This situation was so different from the reunion with his lover he had dreamed of long ago.

Until he saw his lover's corpse, he had dreamed of reuniting with Helio several times. In those dreams, everything was resolved well, and he regained his original body and met Helio.

In the dream, Helio stood unharmed by the lakeside of the hunting ground where they had spent a long time together.

Kinaine confessed all the truths he hadn't been able to tell before and asked for forgiveness in front of his lover. Then Helio would make him stand up from his kneeling position, gently kiss his lips, and smile kindly.

'I love you too, Your Highness.'

The dream would end with those words.

Kinaine had such dreams until the guild master showed him the unrecognizable corpse, claiming it was Helio.

But reality wasn't like a fairy tale read by children. Stories of overcoming hardships and reaching a happy ending only existed in fairy tales.

After putting on his shirt and getting off the bed, Kinaine stood by the window. His reflection appeared in the cracked window. A pale-skinned man was looking at Kinaine with a strange expression, neither smiling nor crying.

"Oh my, what a sight."

Discovering the bloodstain still under his nose, Kinaine muttered while rubbing it off with his fingertips.

"So he was looking at this face the whole time. It's a wonder he didn't laugh."

The blood didn't come off easily, as if it had already dried. Kinaine kept rubbing under his nose vigorously, as if he couldn't feel any pain.

After struggling to wipe off all the bloodstains, he blankly stared at his reflection in the window. Even after the bloodstains were completely gone, his skin was still reddened, looking unsightly.

Dreams really are just dreams. There wasn't even a shred of similarity to the reunion with his lover he had imagined.

As he opened the door and went down the stairs, Ramu approached with a surprised face.

"Lord Nine! Are you feeling better now?"

"Yes. Lord Asad gave me some good medicine."

"Lord Asad did?"

"Yes. Ramu, there's something I'd like to ask..."

Kinaine asked while neatly smoothing out his crumpled shirt with his fingertips.

"Is there a temple here too?"

He had thought there would be one, of course.

However, he hadn't expected it to be close to that forest lake where he had been thoroughly attacked by magical beasts.

Trying to ignore the uneasiness, he walked a bit further from the lakeside, and a white temple came into view.

The temple that enshrined the five gods was built in the same form everywhere. He had thought it might be different in the spirit realm compared to the human realm, but it was exactly the same.

Perhaps it was because they worshipped the same gods. Kinaine greeted the priests wearing white veils and approached the reliefs of the gods, kneeling down.

Honestly, Kinaine wasn't particularly devout. Even as a prince, theology lessons were what he found most boring, and he always struggled to stay awake when listening to doctrines at the temple.

But now, he came to the gods with a heart more devout than anyone else's.

"Thank you, oh gods..."

Thank you for saving Helio. And thank you for letting me know that he's alive. Just for that, I don't think my journey will be entirely painful.

"If I get the chance, I'll definitely make an offering next time."

I can't do anything now because I don't have any money. Kinaine added sheepishly. He had spent almost all the money he won at the Gold Pot on expenses for being a bride candidate, so he was practically penniless.

The reason Kinaine made empty promises before the gods was that he had something to ask.

"So please take good care of Helio... no, Lord Asad from now on. I'm sure you'll do well even without me saying it."

Kinaine closed his eyes and was silent for a moment. Finally, his lips parted again.

"I don't know why Lord Asad forgot all his memories of me... but I suppose he forgot because it was something worth forgetting. I believe there must always be a reason for what the gods do, so it must be so."

Therefore.

"Please make sure Lord Asad doesn't remember me until the end."

Kinaine prayed sincerely.

The reason Kinaine hadn't been faithful to religion was that he could achieve what he wanted through his own power.

But not this time. What Kinaine wished for was something he couldn't achieve with his own power. Only then did Kinaine understand the hearts of people who pray to the gods for miracles.

Kinaine had no intention of telling the dragon about the things only he remembered until the end. There was no point in telling a dragon who hated humans that he had been his lover; he wouldn't believe it anyway.

Above all, Kinaine hoped. He hoped that the dragon would never remember anything. Because he wished that his existence wouldn't become a wound for the dragon.

"To Lord Asad who lives eternally, those few years might be like a speck of dust, but look. Lord Asad is someone who hates humans even for a small fragment of the past that pains him. So please continue to protect him so that he won't be hurt or injured."

Naturally, there was no response. Gods don't usually respond. But Kinaine thought the gods were listening. Because the dragon was here. He believed that if the gods loved the dragon, they would surely be listening attentively.

"And... if it's alright, please let me see Lord Asad for a little longer."

The time he had left was at most 1 or 2 years. Maybe even shorter. This body was like a cracked vessel; with a small impact and bad luck, it might shatter.

"I won't be greedy. I'm not asking for Lord Asad to remember me, or for us to become lovers again and love each other. Just... please give me a little more time."

It didn't matter that Asad couldn't remember him. Because he remembered.

How grateful it was to be able to be with his lover for the little time he had left. Since he was going to leave soon anyway, there was no reason to be unnecessarily greedy.

All he needed was time, and the courage to endure Asad's hatred towards him.