Into The Rose Garden

He worked in the office until late. Recently, there was urgent paperwork that needed to be done due to an increase in new clients. He also had a backlog of investment proposals to review. He was planning to finish just a few more things and go home, but he got a visitor this late at night.

“Who is it at this late hour?”

Klopp had just finished one document and was placing another stack of papers on the desk, he brushed aside his hair with an irritated voice. He wanted to pretend that he wasn’t available, but the visitor should have already noticed the presence of a person through the reflection in the glass window. The knocking sound grew louder. Frustrated, Klopp loosened his tie and unbuttoned his shirt slightly before standing up from his seat. He didn’t even bother fixing his folded shirt.

He was not dressed appropriately to meet a client, but it wasn’t particularly courteous for the visitor to visit the office at this late hour either. In fact, that person should be relieved that they didn’t get yelled at and shooed right away. His secretary had already left, so Klopp had to personally open the office door, which had a nameplate with ‘Badnyke’ on it. It wouldn’t take him long to open the door, but before it was even halfway open, the visitor banged on it with a force like they were about to break it down.

“Are you out of your mind at this hour?”

“Ah, so you’re here after all.”

Standing in the dark corridor and dressed in a dark suit, the visitor surprisingly turned out to be the blond young count.

Startled by his unexpected appearance, Klopp leaned on the door frame with his arms and stared at him blankly. With a slightly stiff and awkward smile, the count asked.

“Can you spare me a moment?”

“I may or may not have time.”

It wasn’t meant to be sarcastic; his situation was just exactly like that. If he really insisted on taking up his time, he could spare some, but even if the visitor wasn’t Aelock, Klopp wanted to ignore it if it was an insignificant issue. However, both Klopp and Aelock knew that his intentions didn’t come across that way. Aelock frowned slightly, seemingly displeased, but soon displayed his characteristic thin smile.

“Since I’ve come all this way at this late night, I would appreciate it if you could spare some time.”

“Didn’t you think that it would be rude and that I would have difficulty sparing time for someone who visits without an appointment so late at night??”

Even if he said that, Klopp still opened the door and let Aelock in. Although they weren’t particularly close and didn’t have any special relationship, Klopp suspected that there must be an important reason for him to come at this late hour.

With a nod, Aelock briefly glanced at Klopp as if he had a pressing matter and entered the office. Without words, Aelock passed through the secretary’s office and crossed the open inner door to enter the actual workspace used by Klopp.

Closing the sturdy door and securing the latch, Klopp, with his hands in his trouser pockets, assumed a nonchalant posture and tilted his chin towards the chair, gesturing Aelock to take a seat. Glancing at the stiff wooden chair behind him, he seemed to have made up his mind to ignore the courtesy from Klopp and instead wandered around the office.

Unlike the small but neatly organized secretary’s office outside, the office was quite large, with a large desk, a couple of chairs, and walls filled with bookshelves and filing cabinets, except for the large window behind the desk. Frankly speaking, it wasn’t tidy, to say the least. Klopp argued that it was organized according to his rules, but there was no one who really believed him.

After all, he rarely had any guests here. Most of the clients were aristocrats, and they preferred to call Klopp to come over to their own lounge or study. As a result, it felt awkward to have an aristocrat standing in this messy space filled with dry paper and the smell of ink, especially when he used exquisite luxury perfumes.

“So that’s why you always smelled musty.”

Klopp wanted to tell him to leave if he had any complaints, but it was really late and he didn’t have the energy to waste on trivial arguments. So Klopp went to his desk and opened the file he had just been looking at.

The Count was wandering around the office, taking his time. Having experienced socializing with many aristocratic clients, Klopp somewhat understood the behavior of the city aristocrats who liked to act aloof, so he just let it be. Aelock was intentionally taking his time, to avoid the unnecessary rush of getting straight to the point, considering his current unfamiliarity with the space.

Usually, when he was with other clients, Klopp would spend time together, engaging in small talk related to light topics. In culinary terms, it would be equivalent to an appetizer. However, since Aelock didn’t have an appointment and appeared suddenly at night, Klopp had no intention of serving a full-course meal or showing any courtesy. He would simply do his job, regardless of whether Aelock took his time or not.

But he’s taking far too much time even considering that.

Klopp pushed the document he had just finished reading aside and pulled out another file. He looked up and saw the man still lingering in the office. Aelock, with sparkling eyes like a child who had discovered a treasure ship, was looking around with curiosity.

Just like in the study before, Aelock seemed to have an interest in books as he carefully examined the worn book spines of dusty law books Klopp had used since his university days, tracing them one by one with his finger. He was even engrossed in observing the dust rolling around in the corners. If Klopp left him on his own, the would be spending the whole night in the office.

“What brings you here?”

At the blunt question, Aelock looked up, slightly surprised, as if he’d just realized that Klopp was present in this office. Then he turned to face him, approaching with a faint smile. Although there was a client chair right in front of him, he didn’t sit down and instead looked down at Klopp, who was sitting on the other chair. Klopp still disliked the guy.

Aelock revealed the purpose of his visit without hesitation.

“I made an investment recently and incurred losses. It wasn’t a significant loss, but because everyone kept telling me to meet you, I reluctantly came here.”

“To think that you could lose enough money to buy ten ordinary houses in the Eastern Gem Mine and still call it not a significant loss. Truly, Teiwind is remarkable.”

“…Did you already know?”

The count’s smile became a little awkward. Leaning his upper body back and resting it against the backrest, Klopp spoke.

“News spreads quickly in this industry.”

“Then our talk would be fast too. Regarding the investment agent.”

“I’m not taking any more clients. I’m already overwhelmed with my current clients, and I don’t want to deal with annoying clients who easily fall for shoddy investment schemes that are nothing more than scams.”

Klopp rested his chin on his hand while leaning his elbow on the armrest and smirked. Aelock’s pride seemed to be wounded by that and he tightly pursed his lips. He then pulled out a neatly folded letter from inside his well-tailored jacket, which accentuated his physique.

“What’s this?”

“A recommendation letter.”

Klopp received it and opened it. The content wasn’t long.

It’s me.

No need for small talk, make a contract with him. This is all for your good.

Derbyshire.

That damned old man. Klopp gritted his teeth. As he exerted a little force with his fingertips, the high-quality handmade paper got creased. Seeing him, Aelock grimaced a little, as if in disapproval, but then smiled again.

“I have no intention to make a contract with a barbarian like you. However, it would be impolite to reject a recommendation from Viscount Derbyshire.”

Watching those dizzyingly seductive lips that formed a soft arc, Klopp muttered curses inwardly. He was really busy, but since it was a request from someone he was indebted to, he couldn’t refuse. If Viscount Derbyshire hadn’t written him an introduction letter to the jeweler, he would have refused Aelock.

“If it weren’t for Viscount Derbyshire’s recommendation, I would never have gotten involved with you. I’m already busy enough, and yet you, an ignorant person who came here late at night rudely and can’t even recognize a scammer, treat me, someone who can save you, like a barbarian, and try to provoke me. I’m forced to enter into a contract with someone who always does pathetic things! It’s an act of suicide that I would never ever take! But I’m only accepting it at the request of Viscount Derbyshire. It would be best to for you express your deepest gratitude to him.”

Klopp said that with all his might. Hearing that, Aelock’s lips dropped, as if his pride was wounded.

“I understand.”

Klopp had thought that if Aelock had complained back, he could use that as an excuse to Viscount Derbyshire for not signing the contract. But he was surprised himself that Aelock agreed easily. Outwardly, Aelock was acting cool, but Klopp couldn’t help but suspect that the proud Count, who came to find him secretly at this hour, had something other than the gem mine to deal with. He might be in quite the predicament..

As Klopp pondered various thoughts and glanced up and down at him, Aelock glared at him with a displeased expression, before smiling again. That damned smile of his.

“Since it’s already late, let’s talk about it again next time. For now, I need to find out about your financial situation first.”

“When should I come again?”

“I’ll come to your place. Probably in a couple of days?”

“I’ll be waiting. Well then, I shall take my leave. I apologize for coming so late.”

He must be satisfied with the outcome, Aelock left the office with a casual farewell.

As Klopp watched the carriage leaving in the distance, he caught a faint trace of the refreshing scent that Aelock had left behind. And he let out a sigh. Looking down, he noticed that his thing had become hard some time ago. It must be because he had been sitting for a long time. Sitting back down in his chair, he gripped the pen and was about to look at the documents when he suddenly stood up, opened the window, and let in some fresh air.

Like hell it was because I had been sitting for a long time. Damn it.

He realized that his desire hadn’t disappeared. And of all people, why towards an alpha? If he were an omega, he could drug him and make him his. Of course, if he actually did it, he would ruin his life, but he couldn’t understand why he was interested in an alpha like this. Was it just simply because of his sexual frustration? It seemed like it was really time for him to get married and settle down.

Klopp took out the engagement ring he had stored in the drawer. Seeing the sapphire gleaming blue in the lamplight made him feel slightly better. He neatly put the ring back in the drawer and started looking at the documents he hadn’t been able to handle due to the sudden uninvited visitor.

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