Chapter 305: Chapter 305: Kiss
Chapter 305 – Kiss
Kaden accepted Aurora’s order and went to do it. He was honestly happy about it, as it gave him the time and space to think more clearly about his whole situation and begin planning how to complete this quest.
He walked along the corridors of the rather small house, the walls made of clay and stone mixed together, painted with traces of gilded silver and faint hues of gold.
On those walls, he could see many stretches of paintings, seemingly the kind a child would make just to play around and bother the servants.
The ground was made of shattered stone, smoothed and placed together like a puzzle, giving it a strangely charming texture and pattern.
Kaden walked the path with light steps, the house eerily silent, while thoughts paraded inside his mind as he tried to piece together everything he knew so far to form an outline of his situation.
So...
First, he was in a Grandmaster-ranked evolution quest, and that, with a Mythic evolution stone. That alone already told Kaden how difficult this quest would be.
Second, the content of the quest was to protect the Lady of Stars, and he was not stupid enough to fail to realize that Aurora was the Lady of Stars herself.
’So I have to protect Aurora.’ Kaden put that down as a fact and set it aside, he already knew it anyway.
And it just so happened that Solaris, the Golden Son, wanted him to protect her from his enemies, those who would try to kill Aurora.
That too was a fact he placed aside.
Now, if he remembered correctly, Solaris had specifically mentioned his brother, meaning this was either a battle for the throne, or a battle to win the heart of a maiden like Aurora.
’Or maybe both,’ Kaden added, his feet brushing softly against the stone floor without making a single echo. His perception was still locked on Aurora, ready to act at the slightest sign of danger.
He closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again, his thoughts continuing to flow and deduce his next move. But in all scenarios, his next action was painfully obvious.
He needed to make sure Aurora lived, knowing full well there would be events that would threaten her life. And he was in a Grandmaster-ranked quest, which meant the key to saving her likely lay in understanding his Domain.
And also... if he truly was in the past, then Solaris the Golden Son would one day become the Mad Sun Emperor. It wasn’t hard to imagine that Aurora was somehow tied to that fall.
’Maybe because she died, and he lost his mind from the grief of losing his lover?’ Kaden guessed, though he couldn’t form anything concrete with the little information he had.
Besides, The Will had spoken of losing his path. That, too, was something he didn’t yet understand.
Path? Path towards what? And for what purpose?
Confused, Kaden sighed once more, his feet coming to a stop. To his right, there was an open courtyard beyond a low wall, where a garden spread like a silver carpet with flowers glimmering faintly even as the bright sun above dimmed their light against the blue sky.
Beside those flowers sat a woman on a wooden chair, her calloused hands resting peacefully on her lap, eyes closed with a subtle smile curving her lips.
Her hair was golden, and unlike the flowers that dimmed under the sunlight, she seemed to shine brighter, her whole figure bathed in that warm glow.
Kaden observed her quietly, finalizing his next action within his mind.
’For now, until further information, I will protect Aurora as her knight. I will also start thinking about my Domain, how to form it. There’s a feeling inside me, guiding me somewhere. I must think about it more.’ His eyes hardened.
’I must be ready,’ he decided at last, before slowly stepping into the courtyard of silver.
The moment his foot touched the garden, the woman snapped open her golden eyes and looked directly at him. Instantly, Kaden felt a gnawing sense of déjà vu creeping into his mind now that his full attention was fixed on her. His brows furrowed slightly.
He was sure he had seen her before.
But where?
He didn’t have to ponder long, for soon the woman smiled, revealing broken yellow-black teeth that looked as if they were about to fall out of her mouth.
"Are you the new knight of the Lady?" she asked, her voice strangely sweet and grounded. There was a peaceful note in it, one that could have soothed the mind of anyone who heard it.
But not Kaden’s.
He had finally recognized the woman. She was the same one he had seen in one of the paintings inside the Mad’s Graveyard. He did his best not to frown in front of her as something strange began to stir within him.
It was an unnerving feeling, to see something you had only known through a painting suddenly given life before your eyes in such a manner.
It could make anyone shudder. And yet, Kaden forced himself to smile gently.
The kind of smile a knight should not wear.
"Yes, ma’am, it’s me. I am named Kaden," he said, bowing slightly. "And I have been ordered by my lady to..."
He suddenly paused, his mind catching up to the words leaving his mouth.
He looked instinctively at the woman’s hand, doing his best not to let any of his thoughts reflect on his face. Swallowing down an unpleasant feeling, Kaden forced himself to continue, while the woman kept smiling at him calmly.
If she was aware of his internal struggle, she gave no sign of it.
"My lady told me to kiss your hands for your efforts in keeping this house clean and tidy," he said, then reached out his hand toward her, asking for permission.
’Bloody hell! Why should I kiss her hand?’ He thought inwardly.
She smiled and raised her right hand graciously to him. "You would do me great honor by kissing my hands, handsome knight," she intoned. Kaden smiled faintly, then took hold of her hand and kissed it softly, respectfully.
Next, he let go slowly and straightened his back before bowing again with elegance. "It was an honor of mine," he said.
"Sora."
The word made Kaden freeze in surprise. He looked at her with wide eyes, countless questions flashing through his mind before they all sank into a bottomless void as the woman’s calm voice cut through his thoughts.
"My name is Sora, handsome knight," she continued. "I am the housekeeper of this home. I will take care of your food, clean your room, and mend your clothes if they need fixing."
She smiled softly.
"And if, by any chance, you need anything else," she said, brushing her hands through the silver garden, "you know where to find me."
"I would be most pleased to help you."
Kaden took a moment to absorb all of this, his mind still turning over the woman’s name, before he smiled. "Then I thank you in advance, Lady Sora," he said.
Sora chuckled, one of her broken teeth loosened and fell, toppling down her chin and landing on her lap. Kaden followed the scene with barely hidden twitching lips.
"Lady?" Sora said, amused. "I am an old woman, handsome."
"Then you must be one of the ageless ones, Lady Sora," he retorted, "for I find you far more pleasant to the eyes than the young girls flooding the streets outside."
Sora cackled. "Now, now, handsome knight, maybe you’d like to snatch this old heart of mine?"
"I wouldn’t dare, Lady Sora," Kaden said smoothly. "Your heart must be too heavy to fall into my inexperienced hands. I wouldn’t do it justice."
Sora grinned from ear to ear, her face glowing with delight. "My Lady will love you," she said, and as if the gods themselves wished to mock her...
"FRAUD KNIGHT! WHY SO LONG?! DO YOU WANT ME TO DIE OF HUNGER?! SHAME ON YOU! HURRY UP, YOU FRAUD!"
Kaden’s lips twitched. He looked at Sora.
"That doesn’t sound like an auspicious sign for your words, does it?" he asked, making Sora laugh, before he continued,
"Do you perhaps know the location of my lady’s dog, and where I could find her chocolate bars and painting tools?" he asked politely.
The woman smiled. "But of course, handsome knight," she answered eagerly, then immediately showed Kaden the way.
Kaden bowed his head in respect. "Then I will go. Have a pleasant sunbath, Lady Sora," he said before blurring into motion, his speed now far faster, leaving behind a smiling Sora.
"A knight, huh..." she murmured with a small chuckle. "What kind of knight doesn’t carry his weapon on his belt?"
"And what kind of knight doesn’t keep his tongue trapped inside his mouth?"
She found the man rather intriguing. He was clearly not trained as a knight. He had none of their usual virtues. And yet...
’It’s for the better,’ she thought, closing her eyes once more. ’Aurora doesn’t need another emotionless knight. She needs human warmth.’
She smiled, content.
It had been so long since she’d heard Aurora’s voice sound so excited, so happy.
’Still,’ she mused inwardly, ’Aurora will make him live through hell with her difficult character and eccentricities.’
She silently wished the handsome fraud knight a patient heart.
At last, she drifted into sleep, her lips curving into a faint smile as the knight’s voice echoed gently in her mind.
’What a good lad.’
Another tooth fell.
—End of Chapter 305—