Chapter 202

Chapter 202: Chapter 202

Morning seemed to arrive in a hurry; unable to sleep after all, Caedos took a bath and got dressed. At the break of dawn, the remnants of a portal were slowly dissipating.

He had already said his goodbyes the night before, and he meant what he said, he would never be too far away from Avalan.

For the first time in several months, Caedos returned to Earth. The portal he created opened to the Rahana desert, a familiar oasis in view.

It was late in the afternoon, but the oppressive heat was familiar, the sun setting behind the empty desert palace.

He didn’t linger in the desert for long, the pond shimmering red and gold as it reflected the last rays of the setting sun.

Caedos hadn’t expected to return so soon, he knew that Dulce had returned to his cottage in the far west but that was all he knew about the Vampire’s location. But he knew how to find him so he wasn’t troubled.

His next location was Marlen; the royal castle of Alderth was another familiar place, it was where he had been summoned after all. It was daytime but he easily found the Vampire Queen of Alderth, already once acquainted with her.

Aylin was in a well-lit room, she couldn’t feel the blistering cold from the storm outside but the two fireplaces in her chambers were blazing with light and heat.

The windows were tightly closed and the curtains drawn but the interior of the bedroom was brightly lit. Aylin lay on a large canopied bed with a goblet of blood held absently in a slender hand.

As the ruler of a country, she rarely spent her days like this, even though she was a Vampire. Instead, she handled state affairs in her study, utilizing her lack of need to sleep to its fullest potential.

But there was a winter storm today, Alderth was shrouded in white, everyone huddled in the warmth of their homes to seek shelter - there was little to do.

Passing the day like this took Aylin back to when she was first turned, it unsettled her. She emptied her goblet and sighed, dissatisfied. She had claimed the throne which rightfully belonged to her and dealt with the usurpers.

The throne of Alderth was hers for an eternity, yet with each passing day, it felt like she was losing sight of what she wanted.

What she wanted... Dulce Montesserat’s affection was impossible but so had been her chances of escaping her captors and reclaiming the throne, yet that had happened anyway.

Snapped out of her thoughts by a sudden presence in her bedroom, Aylin sat up in trepidation, very few people had access to this room, human servants weren’t even allowed in the wing.

Her trepidation quickly faded to irritation at the unwanted guest in her bedroom. Despite knowing her enmity, Dulce’s Demons seemed to favor seeking her out just to ruin her day.

"My hospitality to Dulce doesn’t extend to you," She scowled, her words unwelcoming.

"Where is Dulce?" Caedos asked in turn, ignoring the Vampire’s words.

Aylin scoffed, unsurprised; they only sought her out when it concerned Dulce, which made it all the more aggravating. "How should I know?" She snapped.

Caedos was unbothered by her prickly attitude, he didn’t push further, intending to get his findings from somewhere else.

"Wait-" Aylin stopped him before he could leave, hesitation warring with concern in her red eyes. "Is he not in Dewmire?"

Caedos didn’t halt, deciding to simply check for himself. There were certainly several maps of the west in the castle, with a map, warping to Dewmire would be an easy task.

Aylin scrambled off the bed, worried now. "I said wait-" Her words went unheard, candle flames flickering as the Demon warped out of sight.

A short while later, a cloaked figure walked through a bazaar that had been quickly set up in one of Mistfall’s cities. They had woken up to a clear day so naturally, everyone took advantage of it to trade.

It had been a bitter winter but it was hardly felt, times were prosperous, and their alliance with the neighboring Alderth was flourishing. Food was in excess, some was from the city’s storage, the rest was shipped in from the warmer parts of the world.

People even had time to trade in frivolities that weren’t necessary in the height of winter, as there was no need to worry about food.

Caedos’ tall figure easily moved through the crowd, he wasn’t quite sure what he was looking for but he wanted to return with something. Dulce didn’t lack for gold so there was little use returning with a pile of treasure.

He realized then that he knew little of Dulce’s interests, he knew that the Vampire liked to read and also about his love for desserts.

He had pawned a few bars of gold at the bazaar so he now had human currency, one he didn’t hesitate to throw at a stall selling exquisitely made cakes.

Caedos stared down at a carefully crafted white flower, it was decorated with sugar glaze, making it glisten in the late winter morning.

"You have a good eye sir," A merchant from the neighboring stall praised generously. "Are you buying it for a lover? If so I have some items you might be interested in."

The austere woman selling the artiscally made cakes shot him a dark look. "Why don’t you find your own customers instead of poaching mine?"

The merchant pretended not to hear her and kept advertising, "Just come in and have a look, I’m sure I’ll have something you would like."

"Pay him no mind, his shop is perverse." The cake merchant whispered to Caedos, "It would do you no good to visit it."

"Now who is stirring trouble?" The merchant finally addressed her, his eyes dark with anger. "I complimented your shop yet you’re turning customers away from mine."

Caught between the heated conversation between two strangers, Caedos had simply been focused on picking out the cakes he thought looked best.

There were flowers, hearts, and even cakes shaped like fruits. Some were covered in caramel glaze, others in sweet cream, and some cakes even had fruits covered in caramelized sugar.

Caedos soon filled up a sweet box with cakes, the merchant he bought them from immediately lost her gloomy look, smiling brightly at how much she had sold.

The tall man shrouded in a cloak had seemed ordinary at first, no different from all the other working-class men that wandered the bazaar. Times were prosperous but very few could afford to buy such pricey cakes, and the few that could rarely frequented bazaars.

She couldn’t help but notice the lack of calluses on his fine hands as he handed her the money for the pastries, looking at the stranger with new eyes. It was likely a noble or someone from the privileged upper class, she had struck gold already and the day was just beginning.

Seeing how much money the customer had thrown on little cakes that weren’t even filling, the next-door merchant lost his bravado. He no longer tried to invite the stranger to peruse his wares, caught off guard when the rich stranger stopped in front of the stall.

Easily getting over his hesitation, he was at his marketing best again. There was nothing perverse about his wares, intimacy was an important aspect of life, he merely sold ’educational materials’ involving the act of intimacy.

The customer remained calm just like he had been earlier, although he had laid out an array of his best-selling products. "E-Even if you don’t have a lover yet, getting experience is always useful." He cleared his throat to say, losing his boldness.

Next to him, the cake merchant snickered, she was spitefully counting her new income right next to him.

Caedos swept his gaze over the showcased wares, his face was partially obscured by his cloak but it mattered little as humans couldn’t perceive him anyway. "I’ll take that," He pointed out a carefully crafted tincture bottle.

The merchant’s expression cooled as he appraised the stranger again, "You have a really good eye," He applauded, less enthusiastic than before. "Pressed from the seeds of the rare frost flower of the far north, it is simply the best quality oil..."

Caedos had long tuned the merchant out, he had a millennium’s worth of knowledge already, he was uninterested in gathering more. It was easy to sniff out which bottles held decently made products.

He paid for the item and then turned to leave without a word, the merchant’s attempts to lure him to spend more fell to the smooth, wet stone floor of the bazaar.

Caedos didn’t linger long after that, maybe he could bring Dulce to a bazaar such as this one, it would be efficient in figuring out the Vampire’s likes.

His journey to Dewmire was a patient one, he occasionally consulted the map he had taken from Marlen, in no rush. After all, each segment of the journey was over in mere seconds.