How to Make a Sinner Sleep - Chapter 36: Chapter 36

If they listened closely, perhaps they'd hear the distant murmurs of students roaming the hallways, discussing various topics. Perhaps they would've heard the birds whistling in the slight breeze, in harmony with the swaying leaves.
But they weren't listening, muting all the surrounding sounds as they focused on every brush of movement in the small room of two.
Noah said nothing as his gloved fingers brushed against a jagged scar, particularly deep and no doubt carrying a wretched story. He couldn't help but wonder what sort of tale it would be, and if Kaden would ever tell it.
With a wet cloth, the dragon carefully cleaned away the smears of darkening red from the man's skin, kneeling between Kaden's legs.
He used another hand to hold on to one side of Kaden's waist for balance, and to prevent a certain wriggling person from accidentally causing further injury to himself.
Kaden lifted his head, staring mindlessly at the ceiling.
He winced, sucking in his stomach as Noah brushed closer to his wound, meticulously cleaning it.
"Don't move." muttered Noah, face betraying no expression.
Kaden sighed. "It's rather hard to when you press against a bloody gape in my stomach, unfortunately. I'll try my best for you, however, Bellamy."
The pressure at the side of his waist became more intense and Kaden straightened up in an instant. The dragon's fathomless gaze flickered up with a hint of amusement as he continued to clear the blood.
Silence settled over the pair once more, as if a curse that couldn't be resisted.
Noah's hand passed every scar, printing them to memory. The small and the large, marked against the man's skin in permanence.
What sword had driven through, which enemy had Kaden fought?
"Turn around." said Noah, moving away momentarily to grab a new clean cloth. "I'll clean your back before wrapping the bandages around."
"I know you enjoy touching me, however—"
"Chauvet, if you speak another word of nonsense, I will resort to my own methods of treatment without regard to your will."
Kaden fell silent, before he laughed. "No, I don't think you would."
Noah's threats were empty, but Kaden calmly turned around nonetheless. He didn't think anything of it, already exposing his wounds and scars to Noah in a state of vulnerability that he hadn't shown before.
However, he waited in silence and felt no pressure on his back.
He tilted his head backwards.
Kaden froze.
It was a face of absolute fury displayed on the noble dragon's features, an intensely furrowed brow and narrowed eyes of pure, condensed anger. Noah seethed, raising a gloved hand to trace along the long scars that ran along Kaden's back.
The touch made Kaden's muscles tense, burned by the trail left by the dragon's fingertips. He swallowed, a subtle display of his discomfort which Noah always seemed to notice, save for this moment.
The dragon continued.
They weren't simple stab wounds, or injuries made from battle. Noah had seen such marks before, on the back's of his kidnapped kin, and slaves.
A back marred from whip lashings, once bleeding and deep.
More terrible than Kaden's abdomen of scars were the dozens and dozens of faded lashes that painted the canvas of Kaden's firm back.
Noah's expression distorted as Kaden stared in confusion.
To the latter, the whip lashings were equivalent to his scars in battle. Both unsightly, and given during a state of weakness. Both carrying a pain he'd long grown numb to.
Beaten on the streets while struggling for food, beaten for fighting among his peers, and beaten for not being proper or noble when being taken in.
A life revolving around violence. While Kaden didn't think it was something any other deserved, it was a natural occurrence to him.
Even if not right or normal, it was his normal.
Noah's voice was a chilling whisper.
"Who did this to you?"
Kaden felt a flicker of fear in his mind at the other's face, remembering how Noah would unleash hell onto the royal family, and become both feared and revered.
Desolate black pupils, reflecting nothing but cold death.
He felt confused momentarily, wondering which 'who' Noah referred to. The whip lashings were both teachings from several professors that taught him etiquette and knowledge, or from the King's own lessons.
If he recalled correctly, there were some scars from falling down the stairs after being pushed by a maid, or having furniture thrown at him.
He blinked at Noah with such indifference in comparison to the dragon's fury, that the latter only grew colder as he wondered through gritted teeth,
"Do you think I'd say nothing to these scars?"
Kaden felt a little embarrassed, wanting to turn away. His shoulders curled, body closing away as if to hide. "Say, Bellamy, I'm quite aware of how unseemly they appear, but need I remind you that you insisted on helping?"
Noah's anger plummeted to the bottom of his stomach in an instant. Why was it the appearance of his wounds that Kaden worried for, and not the terrible causes of those scars?
Why did Kaden speak as if the past were trivial?
If there were eight things to dislike about Kaden Chauvet, one would be his ignorance to his own sufferings.
"Not for a second, have I thought of them as unsightly. But they aren't deserved, Chauvet, you are aware of that, aren't you?"
Kaden swallowed. "They were punishments for my mistakes. Consequences."
"Mistakes? And what bastard determined that?"
"They don't hurt—"
"But they did."
The words had been spoken with such spite, it startled Kaden. He supposed it made sense, considering Noah's nature, though he genuinely thought little of the scars. The past had already occurred—it was too late to be mad.
Noah's voice dropped, softening at its harsh edges. "They did, once. And whatever you did, that doesn't change that fact."
Noah seemed to read Kaden's thoughts with deep frustration, his hands brushing over the deep marks as Kaden shivered under his touch.
The dragon felt like a fool.
He'd been so insistent on figuring out the many faces that Kaden desperately hid, that he missed the one placed at his foot, presented like a gift.
The side of Kaden that was hopelessly insecure, and held not a shred of care or importance towards himself.
His fingers, gloved and encased by a pair of cold leather, ghosted over the vivid impressions of scars along Kaden's back, eliciting another shudder as the man tensed his shoulders, sitting a little taller.
Kaden's voice went a decimal quieter, uncertain of what words to say and how to feel. "Say, do you always have those gloves with you?"
"In the case of emergencies."
If Kaden recalled correctly, the dragon didn't previously have the hobby of carrying a pair of gloves in his pocket. There was only one event he knew of—after Noah discovered his fear to direct touch.
And the mere idea, ridiculous as it might be, that Noah had altered a singular, slight of his life to better suit Kaden's comfort made the hands feel much heavier on his back.
"I don't think that's necessary." He choked out a laugh. "Although I am utterly flattered, you're too kind, dearest Bellamy. I might assume things."
"Assume things as you please."
"What dangerous things to say."
"Whatever you want to believe, fool, doesn't change the fact that I'm willing to help you, even if that means bring a pair of gloves wherever I go. Regardless of what nonsense leaves your mouth, it's undeniable that we are often in each other's company."
"Simply because I have latched onto you and we've formed a sort of relationship, you choose to be kind to me? It'd be easy to lure you into a trap, wouldn't it?"
The last sentence had been spoke with a chilling cold, as if carrying a warning sandwiched between the words. Noah's hand paused, hovering over the dark scars as Kaden stared ahead dully.
He couldn't indulge himself in the dragon's kindness.
Noah gazed deeply through the white-black strands that fluttered over his vision, and he closed his eyes softly as he pulled the bandage around Kaden's waist.
"You're drawing a line, Chauvet."
Kaden's self-deprecating smile was hidden from Noah's view. "I simply hold your best interests in mind, Bellamy. Don't trust me, remember?"
"It seemed you wanted to claim the opposite during our duel."
Kaden lifted his head, sighing as the bandages were pulled around him in another tight layer, wincing slightly from the tug of pain. He didn't entirely know what overcame him in that exhilarating rush of freedom.
But after he felt it, the duel that was not a command or an order from Reed, he suddenly had the urge to share that freedom with Noah.
'Look at me, see how I am. I am not a puppet to command. I am not a dog.'
'I'm free.'
"I don't know what I wanted from that duel. You were the one with the threats, if I recall, lovely dragon." scoffed Kaden.
Noah leaned forward, pressing closer to the man under his hold, tightening the bandages. He felt how the body stiffened uncomfortably, but did not move away.
"If ending our present relationship is considered a threat to you," said the dragon slowly as he pressed his palm against Kaden's curved back to pull the cloth. "Then I wonder how much that exposes about you?"
Kaden swallowed once again, feeling the weight of the dragon against him.
"I enjoy our current relationship, of course." chuckled Kaden. "I won't deny that."
"Then?"
"But even in relationships and friendships, you shouldn't be too trusting. You and I stand on different paths. Understand that."
What a complete fool that dragon was. Too trusting, too easy to manipulate.
Noah lifted his eyes quietly, and said nothing for a moment. He tied off the bandages that were neatly and firmly stuck, taking a step back. "Then I will stand on my side of the line, and you can stand on yours."
"How perfect—"
"And if I choose to carry a glove for your sake, or to trust you knowing you'll betray me, then you have no right to interfere."
Kaden spun around, looking up at the dragon who stared down at him with brimming and weighted arrogance, pressing his stance firmly to the ground with no room to sway him.
The dark eyes felt like an endless swirl that could consume him in moments.
Kaden felt irritation jolt in his bones. He wanted to warn the dragon, to make sure this delusion didn't engrave itself too deep. How could Noah reject all his efforts?
It felt as if something had unwittingly shattered, and the pretense of distance and cold scrutiny that he'd felt with Noah had disappeared. And that fact terrified and alarmed him to no end.
Kaden waved a hand sarcastically in the air, turning away. "As you please."
Noah stared at the back of the man who refused to look at him, and found it rather pleasing. The awkwardness that lined the shoulders, infused in his words—why hadn't he ever noticed it before?
He recognized the initial surprise and confusion that Kaden had exposed at his words. Really, Noah couldn't decipher that man at all.
That only meant he needed more time to learn how to.
"Get some rest, Chauvet."
The final words lingered in the air as the oppressive presence faded behind the soft click of a door. Kaden glanced back at the empty space, frowning.
Well, he'd put aside Noah's matter for now.
Bothersome and difficult things made him head throb, and an injured patient shouldn't think too much. It was certainly not due to his want to pretend something strange hadn't happened to Noah, of course.
Right.
Though procrastination was a valuable skill, and to not think of something was for it to not exist.
Temporarily.
After he'd convinced himself thoroughly to ignore Noah's oddity, he checked his wound and found that the pain had lessened slightly after being treated again.
For now, he could still attend the trip to the capital with Arlo. There he could confirm certain rumours and underground deals that were occurring—perhaps he could find a way into one of the underground circles or gatherings.
There was also the need to pick up that strange animal he'd picked up in the forest the other day, though he hadn't been updated on its current status yet.
Ah, he still needed to do more investigation on Reed's secrets. The horrors he hadn't been granted permission to know.
The injections that Reed asked Yoser to give Arlo.
Kaden fell back onto the bed, spreading his arms wide as he blinked at the ceiling absentmindedly.
There was also the matter of Noya, the dorm's healthy guard and keeper, and her grandchildren that would witness that illegal trade. It would occur between a well-known noble named Richard Halls, who had built his wealth from scratch.
An idolized and popular figure, well-known for his hard work and efforts.
Kaden laughed at that notion. Hard work? Yes, that man certainly worked hard in his schemes and scams, with the dirty trade behind closed doors.
However, the trade would occur soon if his memories weren't wrong. And Noya would seek revenge for her grandchildren's deaths, only to step a foot into her own grave. Unless Kaden could prevent that.
He'd have to look into what the noble wanted to trade, and Reed's relations to that. Even if he couldn't figure it out, he'd have to stop Noya's grandchildren from falling to their deaths.
Although he had no involvement in their deaths, he did learn about how they'd died, by rumours spread in town.
Two bodies found, ripped to shreds of what they once were, torn at the limbs. It was said monsters had found them, strange marks of teeth and rot over their body.
Kaden rolled over.
Honestly, thinking of everything at once made him feel tired.
His mind wandered back to the calmness over Noah's sharp features, and trailing fingers that left a phantom of cold warmth on his back. Grogginess overcame him, rare and unwelcome, but unable to be chased away.
He curled up, hazily wondering if something had changed in that dragon, before dismissing the thought. No, Noah and he would stand on polar sides in the future.
But what if they didn't?
'I... wouldn't mind that...'
He closed his heavy eyes, and soon the soft sound of breathing filled the room.