Into The Rose Garden

“Since you’re here, I wanted to offer you a meal.”

“I’ll decline.”

“I thought you might, so I prepared some snacks.”

“Just leave them there.”

Without even looking, Klopp gestured with his hand towards above the file rack. After placing the tray down, Aelock needlessly walked around. The scent of the perfume was quite unpleasant. Klopp frowned, glancing at the person, who was pacing beside him with hands on the back.

“Ah, I apologize if I’m disturbing you.”

“Just sit over there. You can either read a book or leave.”

“I shall do that then.”

In response to Aelock’s obedient reply, Klopp couldn’t hide his curiosity and glanced at the person’s back as he walked towards the seat. Did that Count eat something wrong? Why was he suddenly being so obedient to his words? It couldn’t be that he wants to act nice towards me, right? Is he in pain somewhere? Then Klopp noticed the tray. There was a very appetizing-looking ham sandwich with black dried fruits placed on them. It must be because he’s hungry. After all, aristocrats wouldn’t eat alone in front of others.

“If you’re hungry, go ahead and eat first. Don’t mind me.”

“No, it’s alright. Those are for you. I don’t eat anything with raisins.”

“To be so picky about food at your age. That wouldn’t happen in our house.”

When Klopp playfully teased him like a child, the count suddenly shot him a sharp look, and as their eyes met, he quickly turned away with an unpleasant expression. Then, with a pretentious smile, he retorted, “Do you have time to worry about other people’s private life? Besides, I’m not someone from your household.”

Right, that’s how the count would respond.

“I really appreciate your concern. If you keep your mouth shut so as not to disturb me, I’ll finish the work faster.”

In response to Klopp’s audacious smile, the count shot another glance at me. They both glared at each other for a moment before turning away.

In the study, there were only the sounds of a pen nervously scratching and the fierce flipping of books.

“This is a mess.”

By late afternoon, Klopp was finally able to organize the main ledgers and big investment in order. The conclusion drawn by Klopp from a professional standpoint was just that one sentence. A perplexed Aelock, who was sipping his tea, asked with a puzzled look, “How bad is it?”

“If you continue with this kind of mismanagement, you’ll face a financial crisis within a few years. Assuming you don’t end up drowning in debt.”

“Is it that serious?”

Seeing his slightly annoyed expression and stiffened complexion, it was evident that he was indeed an aristocrat. Not just Aelock, most of the customers who had suffered significant losses due to investment failures reacted in a similar manner. Some weak omega aristocrats even burst into tears. For aristocrats, getting employed somewhere to earn money was akin to selling their bodies from a commoner’s perspective. It was such a shocking revelation.

Every time he saw that expression, Klopp felt offended, as they might look at him like he was a high-class butler or a host to them. Even though they maintained an indifferent and composed demeanor. Among the countless reactions Klopp had encountered so far, Aelock’s response was relatively calm and limited. He smiled with a slightly concerned expression.

Even in this kind of situation, he’s still smiling. Should I be more forceful?

“Since you have a lot of assets, you won’t go bankrupt immediately. However, if you continue to fail in your investments and insist on maintaining such extravagant spending, like tea parties, you will completely ruin yourself if someone deliberately tries to take advantage of you.”

Wrinkles formed on the count’s twitching brow, and the corners of his upturned lips subtly drooped.

“If this kind of reckless and haphazard investment continues, it wouldn’t take a large organization. If just a few intelligent individual investors get together and try to scam you, Teiwind could be left as a mere relic in the history books.”

Suddenly, the count stared directly at me. And in a slightly angry tone, he asked.

“Like you, for example?”

Klopp snorted. He then pulled out something he’d been meaning to ask from the file cabinet he had been sorting.

“Of course. I’m currently the best in this industry. What on earth is this ‘National Hunger Association’? And you built a house for ‘Angels Who Lost Their Mothers’? You’ve been making huge donations on a regular basis.”

“Of course, it’s clearly charity! As an aristocrat, it’s my moral obligation to help those in need by giving what we naturally possess.”

“Of course, donating to charity is something the upper class should and can do as a form of social contribution. But these two organizations, they don’t have valid addresses or proper administrators. The donation receipts they provided are poorly written, and full of spelling and grammatical errors. Most importantly, I’ve never heard of these organizations. And I’m familiar with all municipal, royal, or internationally recognized ones. Where did you find out about them?”

“At a charity party.”

When Klopp pressed him with an intense gaze, the count avoided the gaze he had just been shooting from earlier and replied. Klopp raised his eyebrows while waving the shoddy receipts written by scammers.

“Stop lying and tell me the truth. Where?”

“…On the streets.”

What the hell? How can someone trust a complete stranger they meet on the streets and hand over a large sum of money? If he’s treating his money like that, it would be better to give it to the poor top-ranking graduate. So he could move out already. Klopp was silent for a moment, at a loss for words, before he spoke again.

“Transferring funds to these two organizations is prohibited from now on. It’s obvious that they are scammers.”

“You’re a scammer yourself.”

“What did you say just now?”

“I didn’t say anything.”

I heard everything. Who was a scammer? Let’s move on for now; I need to scold him a bit more.

Glancing at him briefly, who was still unaware of his true situation, Klopp pulled out the next argument.

“Who authorized such a foolish investment? A gem mine? Most people already know that the veins there have dried up for a long time. You have so many tea parties and social gatherings, but did you not have a single contact who could provide accurate information?”

At that, the count stared at Klopp intently, then smiled a little strangely.

“…Now I know. That it was a scam. It’s just that… my father’s long-time friend recommended that I invest in it. I was just trusting him.”

“Maybe he wasn’t really a friend.”

The count’s blue eyes seemed slightly shaken by the blunt retort. But soon, the movement ceased, making Klopp wonder if it was just his imagination.

As Klopp continued to point out each mistake, the count, perhaps hurt in his pride, furrowed his brows and crossed his arms. For an aristocrat to fold his arms to the point of wrinkling his clothes, he must feel very uneasy. Instead of calling it anger, it was more appropriate to describe him as sulking. Klopp had to suppress a chuckle that almost burst out at the sight.

After spending a long time there, Klopp realized that he should never entrust Aelock Teiwind with a checkbook. Originally, he had planned to put up a pretense since he was asked by Viscount Derbyshire, who he couldn’t refuse because he was very indebted to him. He was going to avoid a contract if he could. He had come with the intention of introducing him to another wealth manager or investment agent, but now, looking at this aristocrat who seemed to have no concept of asset management and didn’t even seem to know the value of the currency, Klopp had to hold back his laughter.

He was a classic example of someone who forgot how to walk while living above the clouds and was now glaring at him with a face full of dissatisfaction. If anyone should be angry, it should be Klopp who realized the troubles of the person he didn’t want to get involved with.

“So, after this, what are you planning to do about it?”

“That’s the question I should be asking you, Count Teiwind.”

“You’re my investment agent, so you should explain it to me.”

Klopp was taken aback.

“Who said I was your investment agent? I’ve never signed any contract.”

“That… well…”

Under Klopp’s cold criticism, Aelock acted as if he had been betrayed. His expression clearly showed that he couldn’t believe it. His trembling lips parted, and he fidgeted with his fingers. The blond count, who was too dignified to even point fingers, eventually bit his lip tightly.

It was a contract that didn’t need to be done, but in fact, it was a contract that didn’t need to be rejected either. It was true that Klopp was somewhat pressed for time, but considering Teiwind’s reputation and vast wealth, if it had been someone else, he might not have been able to refuse the contract. The words of the persuasive Viscount Derbyshire were not entirely wrong, this could really be a good help to Klopp.

But personally, Klopp found the count uncomfortable, so he tried to avoid him. However, seeing Aelock whimpering like a drenched puppy, not able to say a single unpleasant word, it bothered Klopp even more. Eventually, Klopp let out a heavy sigh.

“Let’s draw up a contract, and then we can discuss our plans afterward.”

“…That means…”

“Listen to my conditions first. Of course, I have no intention of conceding, and if any of them are not honored, there will be no contract.”

At those words, the count stood up from his seat with his best attempt at making a poker face. Then he examined the documents on the desk where Klopp was sitting. Aelock looked down at Klopp with a smile, like he wasn’t being gloomy just now.

“Where do I sign?”

“Have you been listening to anything I said so far?”

Once the contract was decided, all the remaining documents had to be thoroughly reviewed. It would be one thing if he had a good wealth manager, but his current one wasn’t good enough, so he’d be fired immediately and the position would be vacant. Other than tied-up assets like real estate and long-term investments, Klopp decided to invest a significant portion of his other liquid and cash assets in a trust fund.

In other words, he took control of the count’s finances.

Typically, aristocrats wouldn’t trust people to such an extent. Even if they followed the advice of a financial advisor like Viscount Derbyshire, they usually managed their own assets. However, Aelock Teiwind showed absolutely no interest in wealth.

During the few days of reviewing his documents, Klopp could vaguely guess the reason behind it. Aelock seemed to believe that openly discussing money and expressing significant interest in it was an uncultured act. Klopp couldn’t believe that a person with such cultured manners existed. Even the royal family wouldn’t be like him.

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