How to Make a Sinner Sleep - Chapter 29: Chapter 29

The only way to survive in the filth was to have a burning desire to live, or to have somebody you wanted to protect. Otherwise, it was easier to succumb to the sweet embrace of death in the basking daylight, or the evening moonlit streets.
Kaden heard the conversation in the corner, and Noah's arrogant flow of words that made it hard to resist answering. However, there was no need for him to provide backup.
His pale green eyes were the mark of a murderer; with hundreds of lives in his hands. He didn't need to pretend.
And the woman who lived on the same dirty streets plagued with rats, infestations and horrors that a member of nobility would never face, knew how to value her life.
She spilled everything easily, including the little-known facts that she'd stumbled across. Noah's expression under the mask distorted under Kaden's calm gaze—perhaps horrified at the idea of experimentation.
Kaden would've laughed at such an innocent face in the past. Humans experimenting on the other species?
That was nothing new—cruel and terrible as it was.
But that was wrong in itself, the way he considered it normal and nothing to be in disbelief about. Because common didn't mean normal, and what he saw everywhere didn't mean it was something that he should see.
Thankfully, the groups that did experimentations were often caught quickly, and amounted to nothing serious. In the eyes of the public, they were disguised as serial murder cases.
He considered stepping his foot in that business, but Noah and Niklas weren't used to such a dark history. Or perhaps that was exactly why he should involve them.
He sighed to himself, wanting to go back to sleep... on his own bed, of course.
A shadow appeared over his head, and the seat beside was pulled out with a heavy air. Kaden glanced at Noah's somber face and asked, "What did she say?"
"There's somebody trying to collect the blood of rare species. Dragons, fairies and the like. The pay is high, and many have been seeking it out now."
Niklas' lips curled into a displeased frown. "That's dangerous, and also terrible. The students of the Academy might be in trouble, we'd ought to alarm the Headmaster. Although mingling with mixed bloods seems normal to us, the Academy is unique."
In the Academy, there were various students from fairy bloodlines, or dragon, such as Noah himself. The main thing that connected them were their blessings by the Watchers.
However, one shouldn't assume that was a normal thing. Most species remained divided, with the Fairy Festival and several other instances a special circumstance.
Even at the festival, fairies remained cautious to gather too close to humans.
"There has been nobody who succeeded in handing in the blood as of yet." said Noah, narrowing his eyes. "We can make it so that there won't be one."
"Don't be hasty." Kaden interrupted, feeling the surprised and deep stares of his two companions. His face remained a mask of indifference, a sleepy sort of laziness that matched the mask he wore.
"Hasty?" growled Noah darkly. "There are living people at risk."
"And I don't claim to not care, but you're rushing to your death. The only thing that awaits an ignorant hero is a grave."
Niklas interjected, smiling nervously. "Let's not argue here."
Kaden scoffed. "Am I the one in the wrong, preventing him from chasing death?"
In fact, he felt a little frustrated at the steaming anger in Noah's dark gaze. Of course, the injustice was something awful, and it wasn't as if he wanted to turn a blind eye, even if he wasn't as eager to fix everything as the dragon was.
He was no justice-seeking man—but a criminal who failed to save anybody in the past, even those he held dear.
And if he couldn't save his loved ones, how could he dare think he could save a dozen of strangers, linked to some diabolical scheme in the underground of this corrupt land?
He wanted to protect the friends he'd finally obtained.
"The Academy, though taken for granted by us, isn't a well-known existence. At least, while they have spread its name as prestigious, the students and the classes are kept undercover. The chance of risk isn't high."
A school that could harmoniously gather students of various species—how could that easily be spread? They had to sign a disclosure agreement, one kept by magic.
Additionally, malicious rumours and disagreements occurred frequently between human and elves, fairies and dwarves, and so forth. Kaden hadn't been involved as a centerpiece in many dark whispers, avoiding most students altogether.
It was also a silent courtesy, not to mention a student's bloodline. With humanoid appearances, it was easy to assume that every person was the same.
With the exception of a few.
"We shall inform the Headmaster." concluded Kaden in a hushed whisper, his voice buried underneath the chattering around them. "We won't act until we have further information."
He glanced over at Noah coldly, seeing the protesting gaze over the cold expression of simmering anger.
"If you disagree, then tell me what your plan it? Do you want to go on a wild goose chase for the unknown seller? Set a trap without knowing who, why or where? Go on, tell me."
Noah curled his inked fist on the table, closing his eyes as he let out a heavy exhale. As a person with the rare blood of the noble dragons running in his veins, hearing disgusting things about experimentations infuriated him.
Hadn't he seen the young children that shared the same blood as him, stolen off the streets? Beaten and discriminated against? Feared or hated for their very blood?
There was a reason different species lived in their own lands.
And at the same time, those who groveled at his feet, begging for mercy when he hadn't even lifted a hand.
The younger him, innocent and ignorant, hadn't understood why people either revered or feared him, or even sought to seduce and claim him. Treated as a trophy or some damned war instrument—
—he hated the humans that treated him like animals to exploit.
As a child! Even as a little boy, there would be women seeking his bloodline, or traffickers that wanted to steal him away and sell him—!
Experimentations? Since when were creatures that weren't human deemed an experiment to explore and dissect?
He furrowed his eyebrows, an explosion of dark emotions radiating from his temperament as several onlookers backed away in fear. Even Niklas widened his eyes with surprise.
Noah realized that he was letting his emotions flow into a physical manifestation of gloominess, and ground his teeth, digging his nails painfully into his inked flesh.
The man shuffled his chair back instinctively, but called out with a worried gaze. "Noah, you need to restrain your aura—"
"Leave him be."
Kaden's indifferent voice cut through the air, and Noah raised his head slowly to peer at the man through the dark hollows of his mask.
Only Kaden sat, unbothered, as he stared plainly at the dragon.
"Is there anything wrong with letting a child throw a tantrum? If you can't bear it, then you can simply leave." said the man in a mocking tone, though the implications seemed to say that Noah should be free to be angry.
Did that dragon always have to restrain his anger, remaining an indifferent expression while bottling it all away, in case of harming those around him?
Purposely causing trouble for those around shouldn't be a habit, however, Kaden had an idea how dehumanizing selling the blood of other species could be. If you really can't bear it, then why not let it out?
There was no shame in crying or showing anger.
There was no shame in feeling.
"Bellamy."
Kaden pulled his chair close, facing the dominating and terrifying aura with an eerie sense of calm.
But how could this scare him?
He'd stood in a pool of blood, surrounded by ripped flesh and protruding bones, still clinging to thin strands of red meat.
He'd been beaten until he passed out, locked in a dark room.
He'd been isolated for almost a decade until he lost himself.
Noah's fathomless stare never strayed, shoulders rising slowly. The surrounding tables had already cleared, a few wary eyes flickering in their direction.
Kaden saw flickers of dark, burning flames in the sinking gaze. So hot that a single glance might render one scalded, left with permanent scars. He had a feeling that if Noah continued to lose sight of his emotions, his other traits would appear.
Often, other species retained humanoid forms out of convenience. However, if they chose, they often had a secondary form of transformation.
Kaden was a little curious what would happen—would Noah sprout twisted and deadly horns from his head, or sharp and pitch black wings?
But instead of fear or exhaustion, Kaden's lips curled up into an amused smile. "It looks like I also get to see your weakness now; isn't that fair?"
"...What..."
"Since you've seen my... my sleeping habits." Kaden coughed, slightly embarrassed at mentioning it out loud.
Niklas called out at the side, protesting. Watching Kaden's unbothered appearance, the intuitive fear in his heart calmed down. "What? Sleeping habits? Are you guys having bonding time without me?"
"That's besides the point."
"No, I think it's rather important we discus that in great detail."
"Absolutely not."
At that second, Noah let out a loud cough, mixing between a disgruntled cough of pain and a snort of bemused laughter. Kaden startled, before smiling more widely.
Then, his expression softened in an instant, reflected in Noah's black pupils.
"I'm on your side, Bellamy. We'll get to the crux of things, but it'll take time. However, I promise that I won't let others become a toy in the hands of humans. How about that?"
It was a languid tone that was smothered by a rarely seen softness in Kaden's voice, and steady green eyes that reminded Noah of the soothing blades of grass against the calm blues of the morning skies.
He had the urge to lift up the mask and fully see the sharp eyes that would likely widen with hints of surprise, or the eyebrows that might scrunch and ask what he was doing.
The dragon wanted to scoff at the rumours of this man's cursed appearance, decadent and dangerous.
Wasn't he just another fool, teasing to disguise his emotions?
The sounds blurred, and Kaden's voice remained a prominent echo in Noah's trembling mind, the anger subsiding.
Anger was a prominent feeling that roused in dragons, so while his mind had realized that Kaden's words were true, the emotions stirred to a point of clouding his conscious.
Noah closed his eyes, slowly moving his sharp nails from his palm, and lifting his head completely. A gentle veil draped over his masked face.
Kaden thought he saw the illusion of a smile.
"I understand." said Noah in a low tone, hoarse from the jerking anger that rose and settled. "I'll do as you say."
Kaden blinked, startled by the display of obedience but also rather pleased. He tilted his head, eyes curving in cheeky delight as he gazed at Noah.
It was a childish expression; it was fresh and never seen before.
"Haha, is that so?"
The dragon was taken aback, and for a moment he stared without a word, as if struck dumb by such a sight.
"You'll oblige to my commands then, isn't that right?" pressed Kaden, urged to further twist the words after watching Noah agree so readily, like an obedient puppy.
The thoughts were displayed on his face, thought Noah, as he gazed at the small movements on the man's face that he could see. It was this sort of freedom that Noah wanted to see in the sullen, arrogant noble from the beginning.
A glimmer of life that stretched across a cynical character.
Noah sighed, chuckling deeply at the eagerness of the other. His poor mood had completely dispelled.
"I suppose I'm yours to command, Kaden Chauvet."