CHAPTER 307: CHAPTER 307: ROUTINE

Chapter 307 – Routine

It didn’t take long for Kaden to get used to his new routine inside the silent House of Starborn.

Every morning, before even leaving his room, Kaden spent two hours meditating on his Domain formation. He took time to think carefully, step by step, about the kind of Domain he wanted to create.

His parents had once counseled him, telling him that sometimes simplicity was the best approach. He took that to heart and pondered simply, but deeply.

For him, his Domain could only be related to death and blood. That was his nature. That was who he was. But the question was, what kind? With his intelligence stat working at full use, Kaden’s progression was far beyond normal.

He could sense it...something calling to him from deep within, something he was getting closer and closer to understanding.

Yet, something inside him feared getting too close. Kaden was puzzled by the feeling, but he was determined to uncover what it meant.

After finishing his morning meditation, he attended to Aurora. He went to her room, entered without knocking, flung away her bedsheet, splashed water on her delicate beautiful face, then handed her chocolate bars, honeyed strawberry bread, and a coffee mixed with milk to fully wake her up.

Don’t judge him, that was how Aurora wanted to be woken up.

Not the healthiest routine, he admitted, but every time Kaden suggested otherwise, Aurora would scream at him to mind his own business, calling him "Fraud" over and over again...only to calm down seconds later, smiling sweetly and acting as if she hadn’t been hysterical a moment ago.

Kaden always cursed inwardly, convinced that this woman might make him fail his quest with her weird antics long before any assassins even appeared.

Every morning, too, he was tasked to kiss the hands of Lady Sora — something that made her smile from ear to ear and open up to him — and to feed the dog Aurora affectionately called Solaris.

Kaden often wondered if the real Solaris knew his supposed lover had named a dog after him. Somehow, he just knew the prince would not appreciate the sentiment.

Besides all that, Kaden had grown closer to Lady Sora and found great comfort in speaking with her about anything and everything. It was strangely fascinating to talk with someone whose teeth seemed to fall endlessly, yet never ran out.

More than once, Kaden was tempted to ask how that was possible, and more than once, he stopped himself. He didn’t want to ask something he shouldn’t. It would leave a bad taste in his mouth if Lady Sora came to despise him because of a careless question.

He hated to admit it, but she was the only one in that house who had any semblance of reason and common sense.

But that wasn’t the only thing. There was also the strange fact that this woman reminded him far too much of Golden Voice.

It was uncanny.

They shared the same name, and more importantly, the same passion for music, for singing.

Kaden remembered their first conversation about it.

"Was it you who was singing that day?" Kaden had asked curiously as he sat beside her in the silver garden, though his focus was still faintly fixed on Aurora’s room.

"Oh?" Lady Sora exclaimed, eyes widening slightly. "You know that? Music?"

She sounded genuinely surprised by his awareness of it, but at the same time, her golden eyes began to shimmer with excitement.

Kaden deduced that, in this time, music was not even remotely as well known as it was in his own.

He had then nodded. "Yes, I do. I have a rather problematic friend of mine who loves to sing," he said with a faint smile, before looking at her. "I don’t doubt she would love to meet you if she could."

"Oh? Why can’t she?"

"She lives very far away, Lady Sora."

"Oh, a shame indeed," she said softly. "It would have been wonderful to meet a fellow enthusiast of music in this forlorn city." Her voice had grown strangely small.

"Aye. Am I not here?" Kaden teased lightly. "I might not be that big of an enthusiast, but I wish to learn more about it. And when I meet that girl once more, I’ll share your teachings with her."

He smiled brightly and gave Lady Sora a thumbs-up. "Your voice will be heard, Lady Sora."

Lady Sora was momentarily stupefied by Kaden’s words. For a heartbeat, she seemed to forget how to use her mouth, then slowly, she smiled. The smile stretched wider and wider, her golden eyes curving into crescents as teeth began to fall like a waterfall of bones.

"Will you, then, learn how to sing with me, handsome knight?" she asked brightly.

"I will gladly teach you every morning, and I’ll show you my own notes."

Her voice gleamed like sunlight on broken glass...cheerful, eerie, and beautiful all at once.

In that instant, Kaden could have sworn he saw her teeth return to normal. Yet, it must have been his imagination, because the rain of teeth continued.

Lady Sora was thrilled to finally find someone who shared her passion, someone who didn’t judge her for making strange sounds with her mouth and voice.

Kaden nodded. "That would be very kind of you, Lady Sora."

To this day, Kaden never forgot the feeling of elation and joy that radiated from Lady Sora that afternoon. And it made him wonder, did golden voice feel the same when he had acknowledged her passion once?

He didn’t know. It didn’t matter either.

And...

The dog still didn’t like him. Not that he cared. He didn’t like it either.

"Ugly dog," he called it shamelessly.

And each time, the dog would growl and try to bite his ass. It never succeeded, yet it never gave up.

That persistence earned it a second name from Kaden.

"Persistent dog."

It seemed to prefer that name over "ugly dog," but that only made it more focused, and disturbingly determined, in its attempts to hurt him.

Kaden was very tempted to slap the shit out of it. But he was a gentle soul.

He wouldn’t do that... would he?

Continuing his day, at midday, he would bring Aurora her chocolate bars and a cup of tea, along with her painting tools. And every single day, every single time without fail, Aurora would ask him the same question...

"How do you find them?"

She always expected an instant response, hating it whenever he took even a moment to ponder the question. It had been difficult at first, but with her constant shouting and table-slamming, he eventually learned to answer swiftly.

That made him more honest with someone he hardly knew. He didn’t like the sound of that.

And yet, he did.

Every time she asked that question, he would simply answer,

"The dog is still ugly, persistent, and stupid. I find Lady Sora’s company pleasing."

Aurora would never comment on his response. She would only say, "Look at them properly next time."

She always seemed to expect a very specific answer to that question.

Kaden had no idea what it was. Or maybe he did, but he just couldn’t see things the way she did.

Then she would start to paint and Kaden had to admit, her talent was beyond understanding.

She seemed to give life to her paintings, making it nearly impossible to tell them apart from the real thing.

It was honestly terrifying.

After that, during the night, he would fetch hot water for her bath, then she would eat her chocolate bars, drink her milk, and finally go to sleep.

Another thing Kaden noticed was how Aurora seemed to grow weaker with each passing day. It was as if something was slowly draining the life out of her.

He asked her about it once, worried that she might have been harmed without his knowledge, but she always brushed it off, saying she was simply tired.

Kaden was suspicious, but he could hardly force her to answer.

Now, he proposed to clean her room and adjust her diet to help her regain strength.

She refused, and then asked,

"Why would you do that?"

"Your room is messy. Your diet is bad," Kaden said flatly. "If you die, I die. Do you want me to go with you to the grave?"

"In my eyes," Aurora said, "my room is not messy. Everything and anything are exactly where I am comfortable with."

"It’s not because you find something messy that it is for everyone."

At that, Kaden simply shut his mouth, acknowledging the truth. But...

"Your diet?" he pressed.

"No comment," she replied flatly, then added, "Now, Fraud, can you go away? Or would you rather share the same bed as me?"

Kaden rolled his eyes. "And then wake up with my insides burned to a crisp?"

"Wouldn’t that be an interesting experience?"

"Maybe you should try it then, my lady. You seem to fancy the sun very much."

Aurora laughed. "Oh, I do fancy it very much."

"Careful, you might burn," Kaden said before retreating toward his own room. Yet Aurora’s voice followed him clearly, soft but firm.

"Then burn I shall, Fraud," she said softly. Then, after a brief pause, "Sleep well. You’ve done your duty upon me today. But tomorrow get ready."

She smiled in the dark, damp, messy room.

"We’ll visit the city. I need to restock my painting tools and do some activities."

Kaden simply nodded, then stepped out.

And in the blink of an eye...

Tomorrow became today.

—End of Chapter 307—