Kaiden stayed quiet as he studied Gideon's reactions to the things he had said. He wondered what was so special about Azazel that Gideon managed to forget Kaiden was still talking to him and didn't even bother replying. With every passing second, Gideon did not respond, that's how many times he'll beat up Azazel.
Back at the castle, Azazel suddenly sneezed. It got Luciel's attention and thus he handed him some tissue. They were having a meeting on the last known whereabouts of Matthew's Faction.
"If you're still feeling unwell, you can excuse yourself"
"No, It's more like someone is cursing at me" He glanced at Amias and the latter narrowed his eyes.
"What are you looking at me for? If I'm going to curse you, I would have said it directly to your face idiot"
"Who are you calling an idiot?!"
The two went on to argue with one another and thus the meeting was dismissed.
Back at the two men who were having a staring contest. Gideon realized that Kaiden must have been waiting for him to say something so he immediately snapped out of his thoughts.
"Ah sorry I was just thinking about the oath, I didn't expect that the punishment would be that severe"
"Pardon? Oaths were always like that, did you not know that?"
Gideon shook his head innocently and Kaiden showed a shocked expression.
"YOU UNKNOWINGLY MADE AN OATH NOT KNOWING THE CONSEQUENCES?!"
Kaiden's sudden outburst made Gideon stay quiet because he knew full well that he was in the wrong for making rash decisions. Upon realizing what happened, Kaiden sighed.
"I'm sorry… Fuck I was supposed to be making up to you- What am I even doing?" Kaiden sank into his seat and covered his face in shame and frustration.
'So Gideon could have died one way or another if their oath made it to be like that…'
Gideon was at a loss with what to do or say. He could not understand what Kaiden was apologizing for when it was his fault now.
"Kaiden, I'm sorry for making things hard for you I-"
'I what exactly? I have no idea how to comfort you because of how quickly you keep changing your mind and mood'
Gideon only reached out and patted Kaiden's head. The action startled him but he still kept his face covered as Gideon patted his hair like old times. This alone was enough to comfort him but it also made him even more frustrated at how he could have lost this forever. He calmed down his heart and uncovered his face to look at what expression Gideon was making. He was frowning, almost like he was unsure if his action was appropriate.
"I'm not a kid anymore" he jokingly says and Gideon stops and turns his head. His ears were tinted red.
"Hmmph, I know that... but it worked didn't it?"
"What worked?"
"You're not upset anymore" Gideon was still avoiding his gaze due to embarrassment because who on earth wanted to be treated like a child?
Kaiden chuckled a little and thought 'So that was what you were trying to do'.
"Yeah it did, Thanks for that Deon" The nickname casually rolled off Kaiden's tongue, and realized that it was too late to take it back. He just committed to it and waited for what Gideon's reaction would be.
The Nickname tugged at his heartstrings. Because whenever he heard that he would remember the child that was screaming out his name in confusion as he left. He looked at Kaiden and opened his mouth to reply.
"It's the least I can do…" He still can't bring himself to call him 'Kai' since it would mean that he was disregarding the misdeed he had done. "Kaiden"
Kaiden kind of expected that Gideon would not call him by his nickname. No one could put it against him so he only nodded. He was certain Gideon would not seek him out of his own volition but he still wanted to make up for all the years they lost. And perhaps make up for the fact that he did terrorize his only friend into not living to the best he can.
"Are you free tomorrow?"
That was sudden.
Gideon got caught off guard by the question. Why is Kaiden suddenly asking about his schedule?
"Well, I don't have any plans besides looking around for a new job. I can't necessarily rely on Stephen and Theodora all my life"
"Oh, I see" Kaiden was a little disappointed to hear that Gideon was busy.
Gideon took notice of Kaiden's slight change in tone. 'Did he want to invite me somewhere? But why though?'
"But I can do that on another day instead, why are you asking?"
Kaiden immediately perks up again. He could tell that his Deon was still the same guy that was very nice to him even after all the things he did.
"You haven't explored the entirety of the Capital because of me right?"
Gideon didn't know what to answer because both answers felt wrong to say. By agreeing, it would mean he was antagonizing Kaiden. But if he denies it, he would be lying to Kaiden and perhaps disappoint the protagonist.
'I feel like I'm walking on a landmine when I'm with you'
"I explored some areas but I haven't seen most of it" he went for a 50-50 answer.
Kaiden smiled brightly at the answer. It was exactly what he wanted to hear! Now he had a reason to take Gideon away from that annoying fly that called itself Stephen. He tells Gideon that he will pick him up tomorrow morning to tour him around. Gideon saw him out of the house and Stephen kept nagging at him for agreeing to hang out with the prince.
"What if he decides to do something to you?! I can't be there to protect you, Gideon"
Gideon rolled his eyes at the man and helped unpack the remaining items that were in boxes. He did consider that Kaiden may have been pretending just now. But Kaiden already had his chance earlier when they were alone in that room as well as the confrontation they had last week. If Kaiden wanted to kill him, he could have done so.
'It's not like I haven't experienced death already. But he looked like he was genuinely happy when he said thank you earlier'
Stephen was still not done with his yapping about how dangerous Kaiden was. It's like Gideon was not aware of this, that's why he kept reminding him of the things that the prince was capable of.
"I'll be fine Steph. if Aunt Theo heard you right now, she'd make fun of you for being a worrywart"
"Ugh! How dare you" Stephen found the word Worrywart offensive.
"I'm just sure that he wouldn't do anything to me. He already had the chance twice and yet I'm still in one piece right?"
Stephen backed down even if he felt like the entire situation was off. He knew he couldn't stop Gideon and besides that, their agreement was technically called off the moment the Oath Azazel and Gideon had been broken. By all means, he could just technically ditch the kid but He and Theodora grew attached even though Kassandra said not to.
"Just make sure you'll be in one piece ok?"
"I promise, Don't worry about it too much you'll get wrinkles"
"I don't age Gideon"
"Is it because you suck on helpless maidens in the night?"
"Haha… I only drink the ones I get from the blood bank. I'm not some savage monster Gideon"
"I still have no idea how your body works, to be honest, all I know are the stereotypes humans wrote about you"
Stephen frowned knowing exactly what those stereotypes were and thus he had to explain how immortality worked for them.
Vampires in this world can consume regular food just like everyone else. But being immortal meant that they also have to drink or eat the flesh of humans. Mostly it's because of Kassandra going "Humans treated my precious creatures like they were monsters and killed them to either sate their needs when they already have numerous sources of food. Let's see how they'll like it if their kind is forced to eat itself to survive!".
Gideon was horrified by that reasoning. Then it technically meant that Kassandra was punishing everyone who turned into Vampires was it not?
Stephen could tell what he was thinking and did a so-so gesture.
"I don't mind it. Before I turned, I also thought that Theodora and the others were monsters but I was wrong. Yes, we do need to drink blood to continue living but Kassandra has given more blessings to us than sufferings. It's only her resentment of humans so we do not mind carrying that burden to serve her"
Stephen also stated that if you asked the others of his kind, all of them were experiencing near-death situations at the hands of humans before they turned. So their situation was indeed a blessing in disguise of a curse.
And thus Gideon's initial knowledge of vampires and his impression of Kassandra changed that night.