Into The Rose Garden

Aeroc gritted his teeth and growled. Breathing ragged from the run, Bendyke removed his silk hat and tossed it aside, running a gloved hand through his slightly disheveled hair. The brief process of catching his breath was unusually alpha and masculine at the same time, his thighs, which must have taken a beating during his run, were still so excited that they threatened to rip open his form-fitting pants at any moment. What kind of land was this Bendyke estate where he grew up, and were all the men so feral? If he just kept his mouth shut, he would look like the embodiment of a black stallion running through the land.

“It’s a shame, I thought the relationship we have between us was close enough to allow exchanging greetings.”

Again, if he just kept his mouth shut. Regardless of Bendyke using the word shame, since if anyone was entitled to express a negative view of tonight’s events, it was Aeroc, he was just about to open his mouth to inexorably redefine Bendyke’s misunderstood definition of ‘between’. However, the coachman tapped on the small window of the horseshoe stone.

“Are you all right, sir, is there no problem?”

“I’m fine, so get going.”

The coachman started the carriage again, taking orders from someone who wasn’t his owner. Aeroc was speechless with disbelief. It was one thing to have an unruly hired hand, but another to have to retrain a young coachman who couldn’t even recognize his master’s voice. Hugo would give him a harsh lesson.

The culprit who caused irritation in many ways, on the contrary, showed a more angry expression on his part.

“If you have something to say, say it quickly.”

“What are you planning to do to Rapiel?”

Subtle anger and hatred flowed from the thin opponent’s eyes. Whether he bit his teeth or not, more force went into the chiseled jaw.

“I didn’t do anything, or before that, why should I do anything to Rapiel?”

“You’ve always been jealous of Rapiel.”

Read the middle part of the chapter here (nsfw)

Just as Aeroc was about to run a shaky hand through his disheveled hair, the bastard called his name.

“Ae……!”

Smack!

Aeroc couldn’t take it anymore. The handsome man’s face whipped back. Bendyke stared at him in disbelief. But it was Aeroc who couldn’t believe this. A seething rage paralyzed his nerves. His clenched jaw twitched and his vision wobbled dizzily. Aeroc took a ragged breath and barely managed to speak.

“Just because… I accepted you a little… you went over your head too far. You dare to think that you have the right to call me by my name?”

“Count.”

A trembling fingertip poked the other man in the chest.

“In case you’ve forgotten, it was you, Kloff Bendyke, not me, who used such despicable methods to woo a fellow alpha male, and I had not the slightest interest in you. I’m not interested in a rude, arrogant, lowly, cowardly man.”

Aeroc’s teeth clicked together as he spat out each word.

“Aeroc.”

With a cold call, Bendyke snatched the hand away from his chest. Aeroc immediately swatted it away.

“Ha! If you cared so much for Rapiel Westport, you should have bowed down to him and kissed his feet instead of doing this to me! But alas, he seems to have an abject dislike for your damned tongue, and he’s probably taken a liking to the much refined and excellent Wolflake. You should wake up, for he has no business taking an interest in a lowly pervert like you.”

Bendyke’s eyes grew dangerous as if he were insulted by those words. But Aeroc was in no condition to fathom his judgment. If it weren’t for his father’s harsh teachings, he might have wallowed in his misery and sobbed like a fool. Instead, Aeroc poured all his anger onto his tongue and cursed his opponent.

“You filthy bastard, get off my carriage now!”

At the same time as he shouted, Aeroc punched the carriage ceiling twice roughly. It made the foolish coachman jerk the carriage to a halt. It took every ounce of strength in Aeroc’s body to keep from falling forward.

Rattle.

Bendyke opened the door. He slowly stepped out of the carriage. Once on the street, he remained still, not bothering to close the door. Aeroc wished he had a gun right now to shoot the man in the face, but instead, he glared at him with a savage intensity.

“You son of a bitch, close it right now……!”

While Aeroc was in the midst of hurling explicit curses, their lips suddenly met. The cursed tongue tried to invade him, but Aeroc resisted with a tightly clenched mouth.

Aeroc swatted his wrist again. This time, however, he was caught by his opponent, who deftly broke the kiss. His face was strangely pale in the dim streetlight, and the corners of his mouth were red as if smeared with blood. Even without biting his tongue, Aeroc could taste the foul taste of blood. Aeroc wiped his lips with the back of his hand, as if it were dirty.

“See you next time, Ae-roc-.”

In response to the sarcastic face, Aeroc delivered his ultimatum.

“There will be no next time, Kloff Bendyke. As of this hour, you’re fired.”

The door slammed shut and soon the carriage was on its way, and even as it drove rapidly away, Aeroc could feel the man’s gaze lingering on him.

“Damn it…… Damn!”

Aeroc gritted my teeth, his eyes burning. But the tears didn’t blur his vision, they just made his toes go cold and his whole body ache like he was being bitten by ants. His pride lolled in the cesspool.

That person liked Rapiel, maybe even loved him. No, he loved him severely. Following that assumption, everything made sense. Especially the absurd proposition made to an alpha like Aeroc. Perhaps Rapiel was so precious to him that he wanted to substitute someone who looked similar. As Aeroc thought further, anger began to burn in his soul.

So I was nothing more than a substitute. Me, Aeroc Teiwind. To be used as a substitute by such a man. I will repay this insult.

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