Ezekiel Cade Wyndall Ammadon.

Kaige’s nephew, and the son of Kaige’s dead older brother.

He looked so cute. Looking at him, one would not think that the little five-year-old had the fate of being subjected to schemes and pain that would turn him into a beast.

Daniel adored kids. When he told people that, he would sometimes get weird looks from other people. Those people usually would not comment or care and only nod. But some would be bold enough to even call him a pedophile. What was so wrong with a man adoring kids? Women get to dote on little ones without being subjected to the same treatment—some were even the real pedophiles. Why were men judged differently?

He firmly believed that children should never be subjected to any type of pain or suffering that their little bodies and mind could not handle. He hated seeing kids that way. They should play, eat, and learn as they like. Sure, they could be little shits—a lot of the time—but they were kids. All they needed was proper care and guidance. Who knows? Maybe they might just become…not-too-shitty little shits.

Some of his actions from before were to make sure little kids all over the world would get what they deserved.

To not grow hungry.

To play.

To have a home.

To be free.

To be happy.

To live the life that they want and dream of.

There were times he failed, but he did his utmost best for them.

Knowing the fate of the little one looking at him with curious eyes, he would not be able to just leave it be. Maybe he should help him.

…But you can barely take care of yourself, right now. Injured. Unsure of what will happen to him. Did he want to go back home? Should he just stay and embrace his new identity? It felt kind of weird to him. It was ironic, considering he played multiple roles throughout his life.

He relaxed his features and put on a small tired smile. “What can I help you with, little guy?”

Cade looked at him in surprise, staring at him for a few more seconds in silence. Then, he turned his little head down and muttered in a cute voice.

“I’m not a little guy,” he said. “My name is Cade.”

Daniel stopped his smile from getting bigger. “Sure, Cade,” he replied. He figured he could pull up some of this body’s memories to continue the conversation.

“You probably don’t remember me. You were still a baby the last time I saw you.”

“Are you my Uncle Kaige?”

“We have the same looks, Lil—Cade.” He nearly slipped. “And I held you once and fed you from a bottle.”

The child looked contemplative for a moment. “Weren’t you dying?”

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Daniel’s smile nearly faltered. He will eventually learn to be tactful. I hope.

“I was, but now I’m not.”

The kid fell silent again. It was kind of awkward talking to someone while they stood with half their body past the door. He leaned back into the bed and motioned Cade to enter with his head. “You can sit on the bed if you like. It will be easier to talk that way.”

Cade hesitated for a moment but eventually entered. When he reached the bed, he used his little arms and pulled himself to sit on the edge. Now that the kid was closer to him, Daniel had a clearer look at his face. A face from a memory—Kaige’s—overlapped with Cade’s. It was Kaige’s older brother, Declan.

Declan Ezekiel Wyndall Ammadon was a prodigious Aurous Gem swordsman. He was the pride and joy of the Ammadon family and was formerly one of the three weapon's master candidates of the Ixivia Empire.

According to the novel and Kaige’s memories, a two-year-old Cade wandered into the woods one day due to a neglectful servant. Declan set out to find him and later returned with injuries seething with demonic energy. Cade had been taken by a high-ranking demon, and Declan did his utmost to save his child.

When he finally did, there was good news and bad news. The good news was that Cade was saved and Declan had become a swordmaster at the last moment of the battle. The bad news was, Declan was too injured to recover. Only three days after the incident, he died even with the treatment from the Priests of Thiara—according to Damain’s memories.

But Daniel knew that wasn’t the case, according to the novel. Declan’s death was a result of the scheming of the family where the so-called protagonists were from.

He thought of the stupid family that would lead the Ammadon Family to destruction. The ones who would label Cade as a cursed child would kill anyone he ever loves.

Daniel's fist clenched. His blood pressure was rising the same way it did when he first read the novel. Why the hell were they the protagonists? The author was probably trying to give readers a stroke.

He maintained his outward calm. "Where are your grandparents?"

"Grandpa took Grandma away after she stayed by your bedside throughout the night," Cade said. "Grandpa will be coming back when he learns you woke up."

Daniel nodded and looked down. He still had time before he met Kaige's parents. He still had to think whether he'd act the same as the real Kaige or be himself. Playing as someone else was tiring.

He raised his head when a little hand tugged at the blanket. "You don't have to keep talking to me," the child said. "You can just rest."

Daniel sighed. In the novel, even before his grandparents passed away, Cade was already being treated differently. While his grandparents adored him and gave him enough love, others around him treated him indifferently. Cade would often be alone, with no one to talk to. The mansion staff was pretty neglectful of him too when the heads of the house or the head butler were not looking.

In this world, when a mother died of childbirth, it was the poor children who were blamed. Some have the unfortunate fate of being killed. Some continue to live with love from their families but contempt from others. It happened in Daniel’s world too. Whether it was back in his old world or here, there were some narrow-minded horrible humans.

Cade learned of this early. He was too smart to not know what was going on and immediately understood why he was being treated the way he was. He felt guilty for something he did not even do and was too scared that his grandparents will one day begin to hate him.

Daniel’s heart squeezed. The look on the kid’s face was too familiar. I’m sure he’s a little lonely.

“Sleep is for the weak,” Daniel said, cheering his voice up. “Besides, why wouldn’t I want to talk to my precious and adorable nephew?” He reached his arm—the one that didn’t hurt that much—and rubbed Cade’s head.

Cade stilled. The look on his face was too funny that Daniel ended up chuckling. “What’s wrong? You don’t like me?”

“No! Yes! Uh...what I mean is,” Cade shouted. His little face blushed. He grasped the sheets and played with them. “I’m glad uncle’s here and safe.”

Daniel, teasing kids is bad…but, it’s too much fun.

“Thank you, Cade,” he said. “Once I’m healed up, we can play as much as you want?”

Cade’s head whooshed up to meet him. Daniel saw the hopeful look which was immediately suppressed in his little eyes.

His heart squeezed again. “We're going have so much fun.”

After that, he continued to chat with the little one until the kid had to leave for lunch. Once the child left, Daniel went back to rest. Sleep was for the weak after all. He didn’t lie to the kid.