Into The Rose Garden

Aeroc’s life could be expressed as an uneventful life. The loss of his mother at a young age and his father not long afterward would hardly be considered a special tragedy. There was so much sadness and misery in the world. In comparison, he had plenty of wealth and good looks. A brilliant mind, a healthy body, and a circle of favorable acquaintances and affectionate relatives. Aeroc’s life was gentle enough, like riding in a carriage. Until suddenly, out of nowhere, disaster struck.

Kloff Bendyke.

This man was an earthquake and a tidal wave. It was inevitable, no, it could have been avoided, but the timing wasn’t right. Aeroc did not have to deal with him in this way, as that sly tongue had once suggested. Even if his father’s stern wishes were at stake, even if he did not wish to dispose of a single cent of his vast estate, even if a competent financial manager was essential.

The current Count of Teiwind was Aeroc. No matter what mistakes he made, no matter how much of his fortune he squandered, there was no one to rebuke him. Even if he lost a little of his wealth, it wouldn’t be enough to make him feel this insulted. Why had he agreed to this, and worse, fallen further for it?

Was it because he didn’t realize the value of the body he had inherited? No. Each and every body has equal value. Just because he was a little more handsome than others and had a proud lineage didn’t mean he was inherently superior. If Aeroc was proud of himself, it was because of his collective intelligence and manners, not his physical body.

Was it because that arrogant man’s charms were too outstanding? But he was far from being the most handsome man in the world. He could have been a masterpiece, but it felt unfinished; perhaps God had forgotten the finishing touches. His eyes were too rough, his contours untrimmed, his skin dark. If it weren’t for his immaculate attire and deep, subterranean voice, which exuded an uncanny charisma and sophistication, he would have gone unnoticed. That was Aeroc Teiwind’s own aesthetic standards, of course. If one were to lower the bar further to the level of the average socialite, Bendyke was a pretty damn attractive alpha male.

“But definitely not by my standards.”

Aeroc closed the open book ferociously. He’d been in his study all morning. But he still hadn’t finished a chapter, let alone a book. That bastard had ruined the day even when he wasn’t in Aeroc’s sight. The tea Hugo had prepared for him earlier was steaming. He lifted the hot cup and sipped the cooled tea. The aroma filled his nostrils, and there was no better remedy than a warm cup of tea when his mind was racing with useless thoughts. Aeroc enjoyed the momentary peace.

The man’s excellence in higher education was highly questionable. Every minute and every second he spent pretending to be thoughtful, in front of Aeroc, he was a savage beast. It was hard to deny that his untamed nature gave him a mysterious charm, but that didn’t give him a free pass to disregard the manners humanity had developed over time.

“Let’s stop thinking about that unsolicited savage.”

Realizing the foolishness of his thoughts, Aeroc set down his half-empty teacup with a frown of arrogance. He flipped back and forth through his favorite section of the book, searching for his favorite passage. He traced the words with his fingers, trying to clear his mind.

Aeroc couldn’t figure out why he had gotten himself into this quagmire. Only one thing was clear. If it wasn’t Kloff Bendyke who had set this trap, he wouldn’t be in this much trouble.

What made that person so special to him? The second son of a countryside aristocrat, Bendyke had neither title nor fortune, so he had to make his own way in the rising class. He didn’t necessarily have a major flaw, but not exactly a perfect candidate for a covert partner of one of the Empire’s five largest aristocracies.

What’s more, that man man possessed an arrogance that was beyond measure. He was not even that much older than Aeroc, yet he displayed the wisdom of a middle-aged man. Even the Marquis of Wolflake, the most prominent among the younger Alphas, still paled in comparison. It made Aeroc wonder about his past.

“In reality, he’s just an uneducated fool, but in his hell of a home, he must be an archduke.”

Aeroc cursed while no one was hearing him.

Bendyke was not a particularly reclusive individual. Aside from the occasional habit of gazing at distant mountains, he was a man of vigorous activity. But he had a look in his eyes, a gleam of resentment, that could make most people think he was just a child. When that gaze was directed intentionally at Aeroc, it clung to him like a thorn and wouldn’t let go. It was challenging not to be overwhelmed by the gaze, possessing the power to strangle a person’s throat without physical contact. Slowly but surely, it shook Aeroc’s soul, which was why dismissing the man only left him feeling more angry and insulted than relieved.

“Damn.”

Aeroc’s head ached. He felt like going for a walk. Reading was no longer providing a respite. As he stepped outside, he bumped into Hugo.

“I’m going out.”

“Do you mean the garden, or.”

“I’m leaving the estate.”

“I will prepare the carriage.”

“This time, I want a coachman who will only obey my commands.”

Aeroc stressed it over, not forgetting what had happened before, and Hugo nodded as if he understood that.

* * *

By now, the thought of cherishing virginity was nonexistent. It was already too late, and there wasn’t any special significance attached to virginity. It wasn’t that Aeroc deliberately preserved it. It was just that he hadn’t been a suitable partner for sexual interests.

“I can’t believe I got tangled with him.”

It was one of the many things that irritated Aeroc, as there were plenty of easier partners. What bothered him even more was that he hadn’t even had a proper relationship with an Omega, yet his first partner was an Alpha. Aeroc would be lying if he said he wasn’t concerned about how this would affect his sexual identity in the future.

“Would I have been this pissed off if he was an Omega?”

Aeroc had a strange thought in his mind. That man as an Omega, with that kind of appearance. It was a horrible imaginary. Quickly erasing the ridiculous scene from his mind, Aeroc turned to another thought.

He was the Count of Teiwind. There was a duty to fulfil the succession. Ultimately, it wasn’t mandatory to produce an heir. If unable to produce an heir, there was the option of inquiring and adopting a suitable relative’s child. An aristocrat who was unable to produce an heir due to various physical problems might adopt a child to preserve the family name. If Aeroc chose to do so, no one would fault him. The dilemma was whether it was right for a fully healthy Alpha to consider such an option before even trying to do it the proper way. The situation was awkward, not because of the adoption itself but the possibility of someone sympathizing with it.

As he reached the end of his contemplation, Aeroc suddenly realized that he was making a very outrageous assumption that he jumped out of his wagon seat in shock.

“I’ve gone crazy! Why should I keep seeing him? He’s just a passing interest. It’s not a duty for me to stay with him…… No, before that, I fired him, so I’ll never see him again.”

In his perplexity, Aeroc’s mind took an unexpected turn.

“It’s just sexual interest, yet I mistook it for an actual interest in him. I’ll find someone else and everything will be fine.”

Aeroc resolved to find someone else right now. He signaled the coachman to change direction.

“I’ll get off here.”

“Will you be alright? There’s a busy street a little further on.”

The coachman asked worriedly as he stopped the carriage. The neighborhood was dirty, and there was nothing special to look around. It was an ordinary working-class neighborhood of ramshackle houses. A woman passing by with a shopping basket looked back at the luxury carriage in wonder. An old man in a worn chair in a far shady corner puffed on a cheap cigarette, his wrinkled eyes furrowed even more. His eyesight looked bad.

“It’s fine here.”

Aeroc replied firmly. The coachman, who had been told by the stern butler that he must obey the master’s orders, did not argue further. He watched his young master step out of the carriage uneasily.

Aeroc smiled contentedly as he watched the filthy streets, the smell of the gutter wafting upward. He hadn’t come here to meet someone from his society. He had come here to find someone who had no connection to the social scene at all. If he was merely going to satisfy his sexual interests, he judged that it would be better to neatly handle it with money rather than dealing with the cumbersome process of exploration. He would choose a suitable place, pick someone, and settle the matter with payment. With a skilled professional, he would experience some amazing things that no one—or, more specifically, no arrogant man— would ignore. That was the plan Aeroc devised in the short time he had.

“What time should I come to pick you up?”

“I’ll get back on my own. No need to wait.”

The carriage with the Count’s emblem turned around a bit away from its intended destination. The coachman hesitated a moment, then meekly obeyed the order. Only after the carriage was out of sight did Aeroc move.

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