How to Make a Sinner Sleep - Chapter 80: Chapter 80

"Human legs are entirely inconvenient, aching so easily." hissed Bolivia as she tucked her hands into a long overcoat, seaweed-like hair coiled into a thick braid that pulled back her hair, exposing striking features. "Remind me, why did you force me to transform?"
"Because a slithering tail, lovely as it may be, does not scream subtleness." deadpanned Kaden, tipping his head as the sound of water splattered at his feet. "There was the option of taking a carriage."
"I don't like those unreliable things."
"They were invented to save time—and they do a good job of it, too."
"Ha. Humans always like to invent things to satisfy their laziness."
Kaden sighed, wishing he'd found a different partner instead. The snake woman was so cynical and filled with hatred to everything that it was on comparison to that gloomy dragon he'd met in the Fairy Forest.
Perhaps he should've introduced them, and they'd have made an excellent depressed pairing with an equal amount of hatred to other species.
Humans, specifically.
"Are you certain that R will appear? I'm not confident in your sources."
"Hence why they're my sources. They need my confidence, not yours." retorted Kaden as he ducked around a corner, feeling the light patter of rain tap against his coat.
The streets, for the most part, were abandoned and cleared as families returned to the warm comforts of their home. The few wandering were those seeking pleasures or drinks for the night, weaving in and out of bars and taverns.
It'd been some time since Kaden frequented the Inky Tavern, though he kept in contact with the awkward youth who kept a listening ear for any gossip.
Unexpectedly, the youth had hit jackpot, reporting to Kaden immediately. Whether it proved false or not, such a chance couldn't be overlooked. Richard Halls, in the flesh! Likely, he chose a different meeting location every time—that was how he was never caught.
It was hard to find somebody that loved to run around, not to mention, Richard's façade of a gentleman was hard for people to find faults in.
He donated to charities, frequented orphanages to attend to the children who all adored him. He was the picture of kindness, a man who reached riches but did not allow the arrogance of wealth to taint his gentle nature.
What a joke. But it was in human nature that those you'd least suspect could be somebody terrible. Because, after all, it was all too easy to misjudge somebody.
Kaden sighed, and walked up to the door, rapping it heavily.
With his pink hair slicked back, it made the sharpness of his noble green gaze all the more apparent, highlighting his sharp cheekbones and unforgiving features. Having frequented the tavern several times, there was no need to worry about not being recognized.
"Don't tell me you're about to ask for a password?" His lips quirked. "I'm not quite interested in playing a guessing game right now."
The guard, a sturdy and broad man, bowed his head hurriedly in recognition. "Of course not, sir. There is nobody who wouldn't recognize your prestige."
"Prestige? I find my violence to be a focal point in the latest rumours. Do you disagree?"
"N-no—"
"Ah, are you calling me violent, now?"
"Certainly not, sir!"
Kaden hummed and passed the guard, dark amusement filling his cold gaze. Bolivia smiled, but hers was a wicked and sinister look that didn't make her appear warm, but instead frightening.
The guard shuddered and quickly closed the door behind them, shutting away the misty breeze outside.
She leaned closer and whispered in glee, "Not bad, human. I didn't think you had it in you."
"Believe it or not, my reputation is rather notorious."
"Are you bragging?"
Kaden turned away in annoyance and she cackled, trailing behind him. A few men approached her, the snake woman's body tall and slender but perfectly proportioned in all the right places.
When she turned her head back with a sinister smile and scales running up half her face, they swallowed and pretended to have gotten the wrong person.
She snickered. "Always the same. Actually, I find I look rather charming in this lighting. I look better in the dark."
"Are you implying you look better when you're not seen?"
"I mean I look better when they don't see me in full detail. Although I rather fancy my scales. Humans are cowardly things. How silly."
Kaden ordered two drinks, a rich red liquid that could be mistaken for blood at a glance. He handed a glass to the snake woman, who tossed her head back and swallowed it with relish, licking her lips.
"...that was meant to last you the evening."
"In a tavern and not drinking? I don't partake in such a boring ideal. Order me another."
Kaden sighed and ordered another, different drink for the woman, reminding, "Make that last or order the next yourself. I'm not made of wealth and I doubt you are either."
Her slitted eyes skimmed the crowd greedily. "I'm certain I can find a way to obtain drinks without needing your meager wallet. Do flies reside in there, considering how empty it is?"
"If we were here for pleasure, I'd encourage you."
"Ah, yes. Right. How irritating."
Despite her drawl, the woman's gaze snapped to attention as they studied the crowd once more with blood lust pooling in the depths of her pupils.
Kaden recognized the man from that time in Corpus, when he encountered Richard Halls by chance. The nobles that came here were disguised if wise, and undisguised if arrogant of their standing.
Richard Halls' smile reflected across the room, harsh shadows cast over his face to make him appear crueler. No longer was he the kind gentlemen that the citizens praised.
Kaden slowly walked over, fitting in with the crowd that chattered. He picked up another drink along the way, feeling the heat of alcohol burn down his throat. His heartbeat quickened as he drew nearer.
The guards recognized him, but that didn't mean other nobles would unless they expected his appearance.
Bolivia had abandoned him, taking another route as she flirted with men and women alike, laughing at those who scorned her face.
They met at a table, far enough to go unnoticed, but close enough to hear.
"I found a little cutie that called me beautiful." smiled the woman casually, swirling the glass between slender fingers. "I see you've had no similar luck."
"I'm devoted to somebody."
"Ah, but married men are rarely promised to only one in their lifetime."
Kaden snorted—it was true. "You're cynical."
"Humans are so full of love, they're always loving. There are those who cannot be without loving somebody. In that sense, do humans love their partner, or do they love because they must?"
He waved his hand, shaking his head. "I'm not interested in discussing such topics."
"Do you love him, that dragon?" The woman's slitted pupils fixed onto him coldly, the background noise passing over her scaled skin. "Do you love him, or do you love how he makes you feel?"
"What are you talking about?"
"I merely wonder if you understand his nature. I have a feeling that with your foolishness, there'll come a time you realize how wrong your perception of him is."
"I know who he is."
"Do we know anybody but ourselves?" She slipped half her drink down her throat, shrugging. "I'm not saying your love is wrong—I cannot be the judge of that. Surprisingly, you're not a completely bastard for a human. But his fears—can you understand them?"
"...once this is all over, I'll devote myself to learning his tale."
"Will you? Ah, I can imagine his joy."
Kaden sighed through their conversation as she pressed for more details about who he thought Noah Bellamy was, interjecting at points where he was wrong.
She sighed too, her ears listening to the conversation beside simultaneously. "Don't you know the burden of being loved? The fear that you may no longer remain the person that they've fallen in love with?"
"I'll give the best price for the loyalists that invest in my business." A voice laughed, a hint of drunkenness.
Kaden didn't turn his head. "I'm aware. There is no promising that you'll remain the same in a decades time. But love doesn't always remain a dizzying, exciting feeling either."
The woman's grip tightened around her glass. "Of course not. It fades, but a faded love is a brilliant love. It's the devotion and comfort by a person who molds into your life. A person who can bring a smile to your face."
"Not so cynical now, are you?"
"We're having a discussion, and I'm sharing what I've heard discussed."
Among the low murmurs of the crowd, Richard Hall's words were clear, cutting across the noise. Kaden's finger tapped the table in impatient, rhythmic beats. He leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes as if in a drunken delirium.
Bolivia rubbed her throat that bubbled with words and songs; songs with melodies that could drive a person to the sweet allure of death.
"Don't. Wait and listen." warned the waiting man, betraying no anger.
Her mouth twitched. "Are you ordering me around, human?"
"We have a deal. I promised you revenge," His eerie green eyes slowly cracked open. "And I'm a man of my word. But first, wait and listen."
"It suits you, you know. This filthy personality, that air of a murderer that surrounds you."
"...I don't take that as a compliment."
"Good. It isn't one." Her voice sounded faraway, wistful longing for a past she couldn't return to. "Being miserable is no blessing."
"You want revenge—"
"I want peace. That my brethren will not be slain under my breath, again. I didn't choose violence, boy. It found me, and now its claimed me."
Kaden looked away at the moving clusters of people, at their target who they eavesdropped. Then, he looked back at the regretful expression on the woman's face, a regret that wouldn't change her determination.
His own revenge—would he finally be satisfied after that?
"Ah, ah, you're here." Richard's voice greeted a hooded figure with a wide, excited smile. "Tell your master that I'll provide the quality blood that he seeks. Has he considered expanding to my other businesses?"
"He is only interested in the blood of monsters and other beasts." replied a robotic voice solemnly, like a controlled doll.
"Yes, yes. I'll provide him the best quality as always."
He caught the surprised glimpses of him buyers, greed blooming across his expression to twist it further, a hideous and cruel smile leaping across his lips. "Are you curious? To the extent I am relied on, where my connections might lead? The identity of this gentleman's master is enough to reassure you of my genuine sources."
Bolivia sneered. "What foolish confidence humans have. Can the identity of that buyer be so grand to guarantee his trustworthiness?"
Kaden's eyes rounded with alertness, his hear thudding against his ribcage.
His back straightened against the chair, and there was no hiding his horrified realization that slowly crept across his face, a wedge clogging up his throat.
Because there was a person, an identity so grand that Richard Halls could flaunt it about.
There was only one person with that sort of prestige. A man nobody would dare to trick or lie to, no matter how confident they were in their deceit.
"Your thoughts gentlemen, however unrealistic they seem, are likely to be correct!"
Bolivia trembled with anger, the glass cracking in her vice. Red liquid flooded over her hands, pooling onto the ground as dark, seething madness drowned her expression. An identity formed in her head immediately based off her knowledge of humans.
"The prince? The prince. How dare they—how dare humans—"
"Shut up."
"You—"
She snarled at her companion before the growl cut off in her throat, and goosebumps ran along her flesh. Her surroundings warped, distorting as glimpses of obscurity flickered in and out of thin air.
The other remained eerily still, like a petrified human left with unblinking eyes. His face leeched of any emotion as he stared with empty eyes at the group—at Richard and his blabbering mouth.
The hooded figure left after exchanging a few words, and Richard laughed gleefully.
"Listen, comrades. You are all getting a discount with our wealthy buyer paying the peak—after all, he is paying for my silence too, right?"
Bolivia gritted her teeth, but her gaze kept darting sideways.
"So what's the plan, human? If you won't let me act."
Reed, the Crown Prince of this Kingdom. Kaden's once treasured elder brother, the man who saved him from the streets. Those were his allies; he had dived into something much darker than Kaden could've expected.
Kaden's lips parted, a blank glaze over his vision.
The easiest thing to do with fools were to turn them against one another. Those who became enemies with Reed would not live.
And were they to be silenced, Reed would lose half his allies in a single swipe.
Reed.
Reed, Kaden didn't know if it was a burning pain in his chest or excitement, Can this only end with your death?
Some said hate was akin to love, in the consuming way it danced and thrashed in one's mind. And Kaden agreed.
To loathe and despise a person to the extent of devoting a part of oneself to fuel that burning emotion, to hate and seethe about a character and have them crowd one's mind in the same manner of love and loyalty.
He believed he could only hate one person in his life with such passion, could only dedicate vengeance to one mind.
Kaden laughed at himself, for daring to amuse the thought that everything could end peacefully. That perhaps, unlike Bolivia, his ending didn't have to be revenge. He closed his eyes, and behind his shut eyelids, he envisioned that beautiful life with Noah.
The low laughter, the imperceptible smile. The softened black gaze.
When he opened his eyes, he met Bolivia's seething yellowed eyes. Red tinted the corners, burning with anger and sorrows alike.
"Your answer, human?"
Kaden didn't dare to close his eyes again, lest he be drawn to those delusions.
For once, he preferred the madness of his ability instead.
"We'll tear them apart from the source." The man smiled, a mocking curl of his lips. "It's easier to pick them off like flies, and we'll hardly get our hands dirty."
Bolivia nodded quietly. "If our enemy is that prince,"
"This can only end with one side dead."
"And can you accept that?" The snake woman had lost her cruelness, and her sharp and hideous face seemed to soften. "For there is no going back once you've decided, human. I don't dislike you. I may have nobody left, but you do."
An offer so tempting was presented before him. Kaden believed that the woman would have a good chance of succeeding in her vengeance, even without him.
If he walked away, he could pretend not to see and find another way to break free of Reed's curse, helping from the shadows without risking his life. But that method wasn't a guaranteed chance of success.
And if they failed, he would risk all those he'd grown to care for.
But even putting that aside, he was human, and humans were driven by unfathomable emotions that could barely be made sense of by themselves, much less others.
If it had been any other culprit, perhaps he could've chosen the easier, less guaranteed but safer option.
But it was Reed.
And that alone was the only explanation he could offer.
"I can accept it." He drank the rest of his beverage, once again feeling the burn slither down his throat and settle at the pits of his stomach. "If I walk away, then I'm not only walking away from the me today."
Bolivia looked at him oddly, but Kaden didn't care.
This was the beginning of the end; this was the finale to his past tragedy.
And he would not look away.