Into the Rose Garden Novel - Chapter 14.2 The fate flows

Thanks to the increased workload, he became busier, and consequently, his time for dating Raphiel slightly decreased. Fortunately, Raphiel didn’t feel disappointed and understood Kloff. He fully knew, without being told, what Kloff was thinking as he dedicated himself to work. When they weren’t meeting, Raphiel was also diligently preparing for marriage, sometimes even gifting him homemade cookies.

“This is really delicious.”

“Is it? I’ll bring you more next time.”

“Thank you. I should give you something in return.”

“It’s fine. I just baked a lot while practicing and shared them.”

That practice was for Kloff and the future Bendykes, so he couldn’t pretend not to know. However, giving him a small gift at this point wouldn’t mean much. He had accumulated a decent amount of wealth, and it was about time for an engagement. But it would be awkward to spoil the surprise by hinting at it beforehand.

Kloff visited a jeweler to buy the engagement ring he had secretly picked out for Raphiel. In fact, he had already pre-ordered an elegant and sophisticated ring, not too flashy, considering various designs and even the size of the gem. He went to pick it up after receiving notification that the ring was complete. The members-only jewelry store, primarily used by nobles, would have been inaccessible without Viscount Derbyshire’s introduction, but thanks to his letter of introduction, he could even purchase it at a much lower price.

“Platinum with sapphire. Here it is.”

A polite employee brought the ring to Kloff, who was sitting on a waiting sofa. The ring was even more magnificent than he had imagined. He went to the manager’s desk to sign a check for the remaining payment. While the manager was sifting through ledgers to find Kloff’s name, the conversation of noblewomen, omegas and mistresses of noble families, who were admiring the colorful precious metals displayed in a glass case, caught his ear.

“Did you hear? The Teiwind earldom recently made a bad investment and suffered a huge loss. That’s why they didn’t attend this jewelry auction, they say.”

“They’re so rich, it probably wasn’t a big blow.”

“I heard they invested in an eastern gem mine this time. If that goes well, this loss will be repaid many times over, with plenty to spare.”

“Oh, really? Should we invest too?”

When he heard that, Kloff frowned. As far as Kloff knew, there was only one eastern gem mine, and most of its reserves had already been extracted, making it no longer worth investing in. Occasionally, one or two chunks of gems would come out, but most were low-grade and not very valuable. It was too late to invest a large sum for that. There were often people who invested, unaware of its poor state due to its old reputation, but this was the first he heard of the nobility, who were well-versed in investment information, getting involved. They needed to cut their losses and get out quickly.

The ladies’ conversation quickly moved on to another topic. He wanted to listen more closely and considered joining the conversation, but just then, the manager found the ledger and presented the receipt for the remaining balance. As Kloff wrote the exact amount on the checkbook and signed it, the ladies were guided by another employee into an inner room. Putting the ring, packaged in a small silk box, into his pocket, Kloff left the jewelry store.

‘Teiwind is a big family, so they’ll manage their investments themselves. They’re not some nouveau riche who appeared overnight. They’ll have steady investment items. They must have hired skilled managers. Above all, this has nothing to do with me.’

He quickly shook off the thought, touching the ring box in his pocket, and hailed a passing carriage to head to his office.

He worked late at the office. Recently, new clients had increased, and there were several urgent paperwork tasks to handle. Investment proposals to review were also piling up. He planned to finish a few more and go home, but there was a visitor late at night.

“Who is it at this late hour?”

Kloff, who had just finished one document and was placing another stack on his desk, irritably swept his fallen hair back. He wanted to pretend he wasn’t there, but the light reflected in the window behind him would have already revealed his presence. The knocking grew louder. He loosened his suffocating tie, unbuttoned his shirt a little, and stood up. He didn’t even roll down his sleeves.

His attire was inappropriate for receiving a client, but the person visiting his office at this hour wasn’t exactly being polite either. In fact, it was a miracle he hadn’t yelled at them to get out immediately. Since his secretary had also left, Kloff had to open the office door, which bore the nameplate “Bendyke,” himself. It hadn’t even taken him that long to open the door, but the knocking was so forceful, as if trying to break it down, that Kloff’s irritation flared, and he snapped before the door was even fully open.

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

“Ah, you were here after all.”

Standing in the dark corridor, dressed in a dark suit, was surprisingly the young blond count.

Kloff, startled by his unexpected appearance, leaned his arm against the doorframe and stared blankly as the count asked with a slightly stiff, awkward smile.

“Can you spare some time?”

“Maybe, maybe not.”

He wasn’t being sarcastic; the situation was genuinely just that. If he really had to, he could make time, but if it wasn’t a big deal even if it wasn’t Aeroc, he wanted to ignore it. But Kloff, and Aeroc, knew it wasn’t heard with such pure intentions. Aeroc frowned slightly, as if displeased, then quickly put on his characteristic thin smile.

“Since I’ve come all this way late at night, I hope you can spare some time.”

“Didn’t you think that showing up unannounced late at night is a rude imposition that makes it hard to spare time?”

Even as he said that, Kloff opened the door and let him in. They weren’t exactly on good terms, nor did they have any particular friendship, so he presumed there must be a rather important reason for him to visit at this late hour.

Hesitating only for a moment at the rebuke, Aeroc nodded to Kloff as if a truly important matter had arisen, and entered the office. Without being told, Aeroc passed through the secretary’s office and entered the inner office space that Kloff actually used, through the already open connecting door.

After closing the sturdy door and even bolting it, Kloff, with his hands in his pants pockets in a somewhat rude posture, gestured with his chin towards a chair for Aeroc. Aeroc looked at the hard wooden chair behind him, and perhaps deciding to ignore the gesture of hospitality, he instead paced around the office, looking at things.

Unlike the small but neatly organized outer secretary’s office, Kloff’s actual office, though quite large, with a big desk, a couple of chairs, and a large window behind the desk, had every other wall packed with bookshelves and filing cabinets, making it impossible to honestly call it tidy, even as a polite lie. Kloff insisted it was organized according to his own rules, but few believed him.

Anyway, almost no visitors came here. Most clients were nobles, and they preferred to summon Kloff to their own drawing rooms or studies. Thus, the air felt out of place with a noble wearing expensive perfume standing in a cluttered space filled with the smell of dry paper and ink.

“So that’s why it always smelled bitter.”

He wanted to tell him to leave if he had a complaint, but at this late hour, he truly didn’t have an ounce of energy to spare for a petty argument, so Kloff went to his desk and opened the file he had just intended to look at.

The count was lingering, looking around the office. Having socialized with many noble clients, Kloff somewhat understood the behavior of the exceedingly haughty city nobles, so he just let him be. Aeroc was intentionally taking his time, learning about the other person’s space and avoiding the undignified, common behavior of immediately getting to the point.

Usually, with other clients, Kloff himself would spend time with them, exchanging small talk on light topics. It was like an appetizer before a meal. But now, Kloff had no obligation to offer a full course to someone who had abruptly shown up unannounced late at night, so he just went about his business, regardless of how long Aeroc lingered.

He’s taking too long to get to the point.

Kloff pushed aside the document he had just finished reading, pulled another file towards him, and looked up at the person still pacing around the office. Aeroc was looking around curiously, his eyes sparkling like a child who had discovered a treasure ship.

Just like in the library before, he seemed interested in books, tracing each worn spine of the old law books Kloff had used since his university days with his finger and examining them closely. He seemed intent on even examining the dust rolling in the corner. If he left him alone, he’d be spending the night in the office.

“What do you want?”

At the grumpy question, Aeroc, as if only then realizing Kloff was in the office, looked at him slightly startled and approached with a faint smile. Even though there was a client chair right in front of him, he didn’t sit down, instead standing and looking down at Kloff, who was seated. He was still an annoying fellow.

Aeroc readily revealed the purpose of his visit.

“I made an investment recently and lost money. It wasn’t a huge loss, but everyone around me kept nagging me to meet you, so I had no choice but to come.”

“Losing enough money to buy ten ordinary houses in the eastern gem mine, and you call that not a big loss? Indeed, Teiwind is impressive.”

“…You knew?”

The count’s smile became a little awkward. Kloff leaned back against the chair and continued.

“Rumors spread quickly in this industry.”

“Then this will be quick. About an investment agent.”

“I’m not taking any more clients. My current clients are already at capacity, and I definitely won’t take troublesome clients who fall for flimsy investments that are practically scams.”

Kloff rested his elbows on the armrests, propped his chin on his hands, and looked up at him with a crooked smile. Aeroc pursed his lips, as if his pride was hurt, then pulled out a crisp letter from inside his well-tailored jacket that accentuated his physique.

“What’s this?”

“A letter of recommendation.”

Kloff took it and opened it. It wasn’t long.

It’s me. Sign the contract without complaint. It’s all for your own good. Derbyshire

Damn old man. Kloff clenched his teeth. A little too much force in his fingertips crumpled the expensive handmade paper. Seeing that, Aeroc frowned slightly in disapproval, then smiled again.

“I have no desire to contract with a barbarian like you either. But refusing Viscount Derbyshire’s recommendation would be impolite.”

Kloff inwardly cursed, watching those dazzlingly attractive lips form a soft arc. He truly had no time, but it was a request from someone he owed, so he had no choice. If the Viscount hadn’t written him that introduction to the jewelry store, he would have refused.

“If it weren’t for Viscount Derbyshire’s recommendation, I would never have gotten involved with you. I’m already swamped, and contracting with someone who shows up unannounced at night, has the idiotic judgment to fall for a scam, and then treats the benefactor who will save him like a barbarian, deliberately choosing only pathetic actions – it’s something I would absolutely! Absolutely! never do normally; it’s practically suicide. But since it’s the Viscount’s request, I’m doing it out of obligation, so you’d do well to thank him profusely.”

After he made every possible show of doing a favor, Aeroc’s lips twitched, as if his pride was stung.

“Understood.”

Kloff had planned to use any grumbling from Aeroc as an excuse to tell Viscount Derbyshire that the contract hadn’t gone through, but he was surprised by the unexpectedly compliant answer. He pretended to be unbothered, but he suspected that if this haughty count was secretly visiting him at this hour, he might be in considerable trouble, not just with the gem mine issue but with various other problems.

As Kloff thought about various things and scrutinized him up and down, Aeroc quickly glared at him unpleasantly again, then smiled. That damn smile.

“It’s late tonight, so let’s talk again next time. First, I need to look into your financial situation.”

“When should I come again?”

“I’ll come to you. Perhaps the day after tomorrow?”

“I’ll be waiting. Then, I’ll take my leave. I apologize for visiting late at night.”

Aeroc left the office with a light bow, seemingly satisfied with the outcome.

Looking out the window at the receding carriage, Kloff smelled the lingering scent of the cool perfume Aeroc had left behind. He sighed. Looking down, he noticed his center had hardened without him realizing it. It must be from sitting for too long. He sat back down, picked up his pen, and was about to look at the documents, but then he suddenly stood up and opened the window to air out the room.

It’s from sitting for too long, yeah right. Damn it.

He realized that his desires had not yet disappeared. Why an alpha, of all things? If only it were an omega, he could even drug them and make them his own. Of course, if he actually did that, his life would be ruined, but he couldn’t understand why he was interested in an alpha. Was it just sexual frustration? It seemed he was indeed old enough to get married and settle down quickly.

Kloff took out the engagement ring he had put in his drawer. Seeing the sapphire shine a brilliant blue in the lamplight, he felt a little better. He carefully put the ring back in the drawer and began looking at the documents he hadn’t processed due to the sudden uninvited guest.