To You Who Will Destroy Me - Chapter 240 (END)
Throughout dinner, Varkan remained unusually quiet. This was rare for him, so Irel couldn’t help but think.
‘Did things not go well with the delegation today?’
But that didn’t seem right. When she’d seen him in the garden earlier, Varkan had been smiling with his eyes.
In contrast, the delegation standing behind him had looked utterly dejected.
She could confidently say he had likely squeezed every last drop of advantage from them, so there was no reason for him to feel troubled. Yet, Varkan wore a deeply serious expression.
The last time she had seen him look like this was…
‘Wasn’t it the day before the all-out assault on the capital?’
Nothing short of something that serious could shake Varkan Ha Mash. Irel was worried, but she said nothing.
Varkan was like a clam. The more you tried to pry him open, the tighter he clamped shut. But if left alone, he would eventually open up and talk on his own.
Just like now.
“Rel.”
The full course had been served, and a lavish dessert plate was finally brought to the table. Varkan took a deep breath and called out to her.
“I’m listening, Varkan.”
Irel, as if she had been waiting for him to speak, quietly set down her fork and looked at him. She was curious to know what had occupied his thoughts throughout the meal.
“Today…”
Varkan began speaking with an unusually solemn expression.
“Yes, what about today?”
“What do you think today’s dessert is?”
…Was that what had been on his mind? Irel’s expression turned slightly perplexed.
Of course, dessert was always important. She didn’t deny that, but she hadn’t thought it was serious enough to silence Varkan Ha Mash.
“Probably chocolate fudge cake,” Irel replied, recalling what the chef had mentioned earlier.
“Excuse me.”
At that moment, the attendant politely lifted the cover off the dessert plate.
The chocolate cake, filled with tart raspberry jam, was as mouth-watering as ever. Not to mention the serving of ice cream, rich with milk, on top—simply irresistible.
“It looks beautiful,” she said, her mood lifting as she gently tipped the cup of ice cream. The perfectly round scoop of creamy white ice cream rolled down and settled on the thick chocolate.
‘Perfect.’
A happy smile spread across her face.
With a racing heart, Irel picked up her spoon, ready to scoop up a big bite of cake with the ice cream.
Clink—
“Huh?”
She expected the spoon to glide smoothly through, but it hit something hard.
Had she hit the plate already? But no—the spoon had only gone about halfway through the ice cream.
Maybe the ice cream was just too frozen? As she tilted her head in confusion, something shiny caught her eye amidst the ice cream.
‘No way.’
Her breath hitched as she gently scraped away the ice cream with her spoon. The soft, cloud-like ice cream easily gave way, revealing something underneath.
A small glass case. Inside the transparent case was, to her astonishment, a ring.
It was a stunning piece, featuring a large diamond surrounded by smaller crystals, arranged like delicate rose petals. Even someone accustomed to jewels would have their heart skip a beat at the sight of such a beautiful gem.
“What do you think?”
Varkan, who had been watching her with his chin resting on his hands, smiled.
“Did today’s dessert suit your taste?”
His eyes held a mix of excitement and nervousness. Irel was speechless for a moment, unable to respond to the unexpected gift.
Was she pleased? Of course! But she didn’t understand the reason behind it, so she hesitated to answer.
Varkan was a man who spared no expense when it came to the woman he loved. If she were to count all the jewelry he’d given her, she could buy several mansions with the value alone.
So, was this ring like his previous gifts—given “just because”? Or was it…?
“People never stop telling me,” Varkan began, a bitter smile tugging at his lips as he rose from the table, “that a king needs a queen.”
He reached for a bouquet of roses from the center of the table. The roses, which Irel had assumed were merely part of the decoration, were surprisingly well-arranged, carefully wrapped. It seemed they had been disguised, hidden in the vase with the intention of being revealed all along.
“But I don’t need a queen,” Varkan said softly, stepping closer to her. He looked more radiant than the bouquet of roses in his hands, and as he approached her, he knelt down on one knee, gazing reverently up at her.
“All I need is you.”
His voice was a quiet murmur, but it carried the weight of adoration, reverence, and fiery passion, all directed solely at her.
“Irel Elorance.”
There was something extraordinary about the way he spoke her name.
“Kneeling before you, I earnestly ask…”
His voice seemed to make the air itself tremble, and Irel’s heart pounded as if it might burst.
“I cannot be without you.”
“Varkan…” she whispered, her voice scarcely audible.
“So, please, will you spend your life with me?”
His voice cracked slightly from nerves as he made his confession, and he bowed his head, pressing a tender kiss to the top of her foot, which peeked out from her dress.
“Please… become my family. Make me part of yours.”
This was a proposal she had never imagined.
Irel felt as though she were dreaming with her eyes open. But the heat of his lips against her foot, like molten wax, reminded her this was real.
“Give me your answer,” Varkan said with a faint smile, still holding her foot gently in his hands.
“You know you can’t run away from this.”
His large hand easily encircled her slender ankle, holding her firmly yet tenderly. Though he had wanted to make this proposal grand and patient, he couldn’t help but revert to his natural boldness, the role of a villain suiting him much better.
His heart felt like it was about to explode. The golden eyes shaded by his red lashes gazed up at her, full of longing.
“…Alright,” Irel finally whispered, her blue eyes welling with tears as she looked down at him.
“It’s always been you, Varkan Ha Mash.”
At first, it had been to survive. Then, it had been to live alongside him.
He had always been part of her goals.
‘And he probably always will be,’ she thought.
Everything had fallen into place so miraculously, and for that, she was deeply grateful.
Of course, they had both worked tirelessly to achieve this, but Irel understood that success didn’t come from effort alone.
Thankfully, fate had smiled upon them.
Whether the game “Salvation” truly existed no longer mattered. Her doom had already been averted.
The “bad ending” from the original story—where her entire family was slaughtered, and she died, exploited and alone—would never come to pass.
Instead…
“I’ll gladly marry you.”
This wasn’t for survival anymore. It wasn’t because they needed or were useful to each other.
It was simply because she loved him, and he loved her. So…
“Let’s get married, Varkan.”
She could have answered a hundred times over. With tears welling in her eyes, Irel smiled brightly and clasped his hands in hers.
Varkan stood, pulling her into a deep kiss that tilted her head back. The sheer joy of the moment made her feel dizzy, as though her mind had gone blank.
How could she possibly describe this sensation, the feeling of hundreds, thousands of butterflies fluttering in her chest?
She wanted to say that this was a feeling she had never experienced before, but, unfortunately, this was the second time. After all, she had already received an incredible surprise earlier that morning.
“Do you know something, Varkan? We’re already family,” Irel whispered softly, wrapping her arms around his neck. Then, she gently guided his hand to her belly.
“No way,” he murmured, pausing as his hand lightly touched her still-flat stomach. In moments like this, it was a relief that he was such an astute man.
Varkan froze, his eyes wide with disbelief as he gazed at her. The sharp, languid look he usually carried was gone—replaced by an expression of shock.
“…Is it true?” he asked, his voice trembling.
“Yes, really,” Irel said, half-laughing, half-crying, as she nodded. Varkan’s jaw dropped in sheer astonishment.
The man, who was usually so eloquent, couldn’t find a single word to say in that moment.
“My god.”
After taking a deep breath, all he could manage was an awestruck sigh.
Sometimes, it’s not the words themselves but the tone and emotion behind them that reveal a person’s true feelings. And at that moment, Varkan’s voice conveyed the overwhelming surprise and joy of someone on the verge of fainting.
Irel had imagined how he might react to the news. She thought he would laugh out loud in excitement or perhaps arch an eyebrow with that signature smirk and call it an “unexpected gift.”
“God, thank you. Thank you so much.”
But she had never expected this reaction.
Varkan whispered his thanks over and over, running his trembling hand over his face. When he finally lowered his hand, his golden eyes were brimming with unshed tears, red from the emotion welling up inside him.
“You silly man.”
Seeing his face, so close to breaking into tears, Irel couldn’t help but laugh. It was too endearing.
“Why are you making that face? Smile for me, please.”
With both hands cupping his cheeks, Irel gently requested. As always, Varkan couldn’t refuse her.
He struggled to form a smile, a weak attempt that turned into a laugh as their eyes met. In that moment, Irel saw the flood of emotions welling up in him, and in the next, he couldn’t hold back anymore. He reached out and pulled her into his arms in a fierce, desperate embrace.
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”
As they held each other, Irel felt it deep within her: they were going to live happily ever after.
Together, they had created the most perfect version of a happy ending.
“Oh, Varkan, there’s something I’ve been curious about,” Irel said, pulling back slightly from their embrace.
“Ask me anything,” he responded.
“It’s about your mother.”
The unexpected topic made Varkan loosen his embrace and look at her, curiosity and confusion in his eyes. Why bring up his late mother at a time like this?
“Did she, by any chance, have a dimple on one of her cheeks?”
Irel asked, her lips pressed together thoughtfully. Varkan’s eyebrows furrowed in surprise.
“How do you know that?”
It seems I’ve seen her, Irel thought to herself. Maybe she was overjoyed at the news of her first grandchild.
Irel smiled awkwardly, unsure how to explain the dream she had experienced. She realized there was much they still needed to talk about today.
But that was okay. They had all the time in the world to share.
Forever, and always.
To the One Who Will Destroy Me, The End.
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Diamante19
Gracias 🙏 unas de las mejores historias que he leído