Into The Rose Garden

The years passed uneventfully. The man always sat in that same place, gazing at the cabin. On a dark night with a raging snowstorm, the man, who was staring out without any movement, stood up and rushed outside. He grabbed his coat and ran outside, not bothering to put it on. Despite nearly stumbling multiple times in the heavy snow, his gaze remained fixated on the desolate place hidden by darkness and the snowstorm.

The once dark brown hair was now covered with snow, making it impossible to discern its color. The man didn’t even consider the fact that his expensive clothes and shoes were getting wet. He hastily reached the cabin, only to find dust and loneliness inside. He clearly saw a light. It was a faint but persistent light, never extinguishing even amidst the blizzard and darkness, just like his shine. However, the cabin remained engulfed in pitch-black darkness.

Unable to believe it, he called out the name he had repeated countless times in his mind again and again. However, even after shouting with all his might, nothing could push away the suffocating silence except for the deafening roar of the snowstorm.

Stepping out with heavy steps, the man buried himself in the snow and gazed at the cold stone visible only at the end of his sight.

Ah.

Belatedly realizing it, he brushed his cold, damp hair with his brash hands. He continued to stare at the tombstone until he lost all his senses up to the tips of his fingers, submerged in snow up to mid-calf.

That was the man’s first delirium.

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When he opened his eyes, he felt tears streaming down his cheeks. It felt like he had a tremendously agonizing dream. He dreamt of an unimaginably hellish place where he couldn’t even struggle and gradually succumbed to insanity—a miserable and agonizing dream that made no sense.

“Damn. What the hell is this suddenly…”

With his hands still tingling, he roughly wiped his tear-streaked face and stood up. His eyes caught sight of an unfamiliar luxurious interior. He was in the Count estate’s guest room.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, he wiped his moist face again. Maybe it was because he had slept in an unfamiliar place. He was usually not particularly sensitive, but his mood felt strange. Though no one else was in the room, the fact that an adult alpha had cried over a mere nightmare made him feel embarrassed, so he quickly straightened the sheets and got out of bed.

Taking a few deep breaths, he brushed his hair that fluttered in the early morning breeze and looked into the distance. From the second floor, he could see a rose garden not too far away.

The sun had yet to rise, so it still looked dark, but when he first entered this room, he couldn’t help but be awestruck by how glamorous it was. It felt like he could already smell the roses all the way up here. He wasn’t particularly interested in flowers, but he was slightly looking forward to this rose garden. This place would give him a new opportunity. Just as he gazed at it once again, he saw a shabby building far away through the rows of trees.

“Is it a barn? Or a gardener’s cabin?”

Whatever it was, it didn’t suit the extravagant rose garden at all. A count this wealthy would have had many employers, and it was natural to have accommodations and workplaces for them throughout the garden. But they weren’t built in plain sight like that thing. Concealing for aesthetics is typical, but that was none of Klopp’s business. This mansion belonged to Count Aelock Teiwind, so it was his problem to solve. Perhaps it was deliberately done like that due to the count’s rumored peculiar taste.

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The massive trees reminded him of the dense forests in his hometown in the north. He hadn’t seen much trees since he came to study here. He took a deep breath, shaking off all the remaining irritation. Since there wasn’t really anything to smile about, he continued to walk with a serious expression, and someone appeared in the distance.

The person, slightly shorter than himself with delicate features, seemed to be an alpha male, but there was a strangely erotic aura about him. With a sophisticated and elegant gait that suited his refined appearance, he looked to this side and was extremely surprised to discover him. He abruptly came to a stop. Even from a considerable distance, Klopp could sense his blue eyes trembling.

What’s this? There’s no one else around.

He couldn’t understand why the person looked so shocked as if he had seen a ghost upon seeing him. At that moment, a breeze brushed against his hair, poking his eyes, and he brushed his hair away, annoyed.

When he faced the person again, their expression had changed. Gone was the surprise of a moment ago, replaced by the thin smile of an aristocrat, making him look clearly of the upper class, born and raised in the city. Gracefully and lightly, as if carried by the wind, he started to guide the way without even being asked, saying, “The rose garden is that way.” Although it was somewhat arrogant and rude, it was so fitting that there was no room for him to complain.

It was usual to not have any conversation in unfamiliar encounters, but in their walk together, he felt a strange sensation. Clearly, this was the first time he saw this person. Even when he quickly looked back on his relatively short life, there was no occasion where he had become involved with such an elegant city aristocrat. But why did he feel a sense of familiarity?

“I am Klopp Bandyke.”

Extending his hand for a handshake, the other person finally looked straight at Klopp. After making a slightly awkward and blank expression, he soon regained his smooth smile. Then, with a face as fair as his hand, he reached out and shook Klopp’s hand.

“Aelock Teiwind.”

Ah, somehow he had a feeling he would be him. It wasn’t that he knew he was a count, but he did expect him to have a title of that reputation.

“Thank you for guiding me the way.”

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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?”

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 ‘Bandyke’ 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?”

“What brings you here?”

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.”

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“Did you have a heartbreak?”

The words that came out of nowhere sounded sarcastic even to his own ears. While Klopp was inwardly flustered, Aelock lowered the hand that was rubbing his eyes and raised the corner of his mouth, smiling. Turning his head slightly, he glanced in this direction with trembling lips.

“I can get hurt too.”

Klopp couldn’t make sense of that absurd response.

What’s with him? Did he really have a heartbreak, or is there something else going on with him?

Klopp remained silent and stared into his wet blue eyes. He couldn’t look away from him. The shock was too much. No matter how much Aelock wiped away his tears, they continued to fall, soon smearing his face and dampening the back of his hand. For him to cry this much, he must have loved someone so deeply and had a falling out with them. He didn’t expect the arrogant aristocrat could cry that pitifully.

“If you were heartbroken, it might be better for you to not wander around at night drenched with a scent that would make you pass as an omega. You might end up in a situation with more than a little embarrassment if an alpha passed by and mistook you as one.”

Aelock, whose tears hadn’t dried, smiled again and retorted, “As long as it’s not you.”

Although it wasn’t a particularly malicious statement, Klopp felt as if sanity was slipping away. Even without that, he was constantly getting turned on, and now that he could even smell Aelock’s intoxicating scent which was enough to make his head hurt, he almost lost control of his self-restraint. He clenched his fists tightly. His hand, pressed against the bandage, throbbed with pain, but it seemed to bring him back to his senses.

“Since it’s not my concern, you can act however you want with your body, whether as an alpha or omega. But I hope you’ll choose someone who doesn’t spend money excessively.”

He finally managed to utter the words he had intended to say for a while now. It was becoming agonizing to keep looking at him. Why did Aelock have to be an alpha? Klopp bit down on it and glared at Aelock. His tears that had dried started to fall again.

“What’s this? Did you really have a heartbreak?”

Klopp said sarcastically with a furrowed brow, and Aelock wiped away his tears with his already damp hand. Then, without retorting, he turned away from Klopp, intending to leave. That response seemed to come from his sarcasm, as Aelock deliberately nudged his shoulder while passing by. The remaining shred of Klopp’s shallow self-restraint was completely shattered.

Klopp reached out and grabbed the wrist of the figure that had moved a few steps away.

“Hey!”

To be continued in the next volume…

And this is really the end of Volume 1! I’ll start posting Volume 2 next week!

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