Into the Rose Garden Novel - Chapter 17.1 The fate flows again

On the evening of the full moon, Kloff had to wear a black suit he rarely wore, thanks to Martha’s nagging.

“Is it really necessary to dress up this much?”

“What are you talking about? If you don’t wear these nice clothes on a day like today, when will you? Turn around.”

When he turned around, Martha inspected his vest for wrinkles, pulling down the hem. Then she brought over a perfectly tailored jacket, not a single crease to be found. After Kloff had just fastened all his cufflinks, Martha put the jacket on him, and not content with that, she brushed his shoulders with a brush she’d seemingly conjured.

“Comb your hair neatly. Let’s see. Your shirt is tucked in too much. Pull out your sleeve.”

Martha refastened his cufflinks, then gently tugged his shirt sleeve so it showed slightly beyond the black jacket sleeve. Finally, she adjusted his tie until it was perfectly straight, then placed her hands on her hips, looking at her creation with immense satisfaction.

“Your shoes are sparkling too. Excellent. The omegas will be absolutely captivating.”

“I don’t need all of them; I just need one person to be captivated.”

“You brought your ring, right?”

Kloff, who had been standing in front of the full-length mirror admiring his appearance, grinned at Martha.

The sound of a carriage arriving was heard. As Martha descended the stairs, she handed him a hat and a cane, both as perfectly groomed as the jacket.

“You must succeed. I’m bored staying home alone.”

“Next year, I’ll make sure you’re too busy with a child to be bored.”

Kloff smiled brightly, bade Martha farewell, and boarded the carriage. Martha, standing at the entrance, waved her hand.

“If you fail, don’t even think about coming home. I won’t open the door!”

“That will never happen.”

The carriage, carrying the young Alpha, whose heart was pounding slightly before an important event, sped towards its destination. The road, usually annoyingly short, felt incredibly long today. Looking at the magnificent mansion in the distance, Kloff took out a small box from his jacket pocket. The ring sparkled much more than usual.

Originally, it would have been proper to go to the Viscount Westport’s estate to pick up Raphiel. However, he couldn’t today. His slight lateness last time had caused trouble, and so the Viscount Westport’s estate had decided to send their own carriage to bring their precious Omega son to the Count’s estate. He was a little disappointed as he wanted to meet him quickly, but at the same time, he was even more excited. Kloff chuckled to himself, imagining how cute and lovely he would look.

The mansion’s driveway was already bustling with carriages of other arriving guests. As he waited his turn, a footman approached and opened the carriage door. Kloff neatly buttoned his jacket, which he had unbuttoned to prevent creasing, and stepped out of the carriage, heading straight for the entrance.

The grey-haired butler, in a sharper uniform than usual and with perfect posture, was politely greeting the esteemed guests arriving one after another.

“Good evening, Marquess Wolflake.”

“Hmm, Hugo. How have you been?”

“Peaceful, thanks to you. You, take Marquess Wolflake to his seat.”

A tall, black-haired Alpha was guided inside by the footman. The butler treated him with utmost seriousness. Kloff followed behind, presenting his invitation. The butler, who had initially bowed politely, slightly narrowed his eyebrows and raised his head upon seeing the recipient’s name on the invitation. Then his long, sharp-looking eyes widened.

“Kloff… Bendyke-nim…?!”

“Why, is there something on my face?”

It was the same old, boring face they saw every day, but the butler looked as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have, even quickly scanning him up and down. Kloff wasn’t a fool; he knew very well that the butler strongly disapproved of him nagging and getting angry at Aeroc. They had always maintained a respectful distance, so he had never openly shown it, but this behavior was very inappropriate and displeased him.

“How rude.”

“My apologies. I was merely, well, a little surprised, more than usual.”

“Because a country bumpkin who only cares about money, unsuited for the Count’s historic concert, is dressed beyond his station?”

He held his head high, looking down at the elderly butler with only his eyes. When he slightly raised the corner of his mouth, the other man seemed a little flustered and shook his head. The butler quickly composed himself and offered his usual cold smile.

“Not at all. Today, you are an excellent guest, perfectly suited to grace the concert. Frankly, I was impressed. I never expected to see such a splendid sight. I suppose I will have to pay the price for losing my bet today. You, take Bendyke-nim to that table.”

“A bet?”

He asked again, but the butler pretended not to hear, calling a waiting footman to guide Kloff to the rose garden where the concert was being held. Before following the footman, Kloff stared intently at the butler, who, looking at the next arriving guest, replied, “That’s a private matter between my master and me,” and approached the entrance. The butler was already greeting other guests, so Kloff couldn’t press further and followed the footman.

“Are they making bets with people now? I’ll definitely have to question him later.”

The moment he entered the rose garden, his scowling face and all those ill-tempered resolutions vanished.

Numerous lanterns, dozens, no, hundreds, glittered like scattered stars, illuminating the vast rose garden. In the center, a platform, seemingly for the musicians, was set up. In front of it, tables for dozens of guests were arranged in a stable layout, and between them, as many footmen and maids moved about. But this was not why Kloff was speechless.

On the silk sheets covering the tables, fragrant, high-quality candles flickered on gleaming silver candlesticks, next to which were placed rare bouquets of fresh flowers, clearly not grown in the garden. Chairs, covered with silk covers matching the tables, had small fresh flower wreaths, and even the countless roses blooming in the surrounding flowerbeds, each tied with a white silk ribbon, and the colorful roses scattered on the ground were simply…

How much did all this cost?! You son of a Count!

He immediately wanted to confront Aeroc about the excessive spending, but he couldn’t find him. Even when he asked the servants, his whereabouts were unknown. “We don’t know where the Count is right now,” and “He was talking to the conductor in the music hall just a moment ago, but he’s not there now,” were the only replies.

He was about to go to the butler and demand the Count’s immediate appearance, but he held back, fearing a big commotion if he interrupted him while he was greeting guests of considerable standing. If he waited, he would appear eventually. Kloff gritted his teeth, tapping his fingers on the table.

He was now seated at one of the most prominent tables, right in the center. Given his efforts in quickly normalizing the Count’s estate, which had been faltering in the hands of a thoughtless fool, it was certainly deserved, but he was inwardly surprised. He felt it wasn’t necessary to go to such lengths.

Looking at the faces seated at the tables in the same row, they were all Marquesses, Counts, Viscounts, and so on, creating an atmosphere as if a royal New Year’s party or a coronation was being held. Kloff was the only one without a title among them. He wasn’t intimidated, but it wasn’t entirely comfortable either. He couldn’t understand why he was given such a seat. He wondered if this “bet” was a trick to play with him, and his suspicions grew as Raphiel appeared from the other side.

The moment Kloff saw him, he couldn’t close his mouth and rose from his seat.

Dressed in a light blue suit, he was so beautiful and lovely that he drew everyone’s attention. Raphiel, who seemed a little uncomfortable with the gazes fixed on him, looked around with a nervous expression, then a smile spread across his white face as he spotted his standing lover.

“He’s the eldest son of Westport, isn’t he?”

“That family’s lady was so beautiful, and her son is incredibly handsome too.”

“Who is that man?”

“They’re about to get engaged. The family is humble, but he’s a capable and promising Alpha, they say. Westport, without an Alpha heir, must be thinking of taking him as a son-in-law.”

“Ah, what a lovely and cute couple they make.”

Even the rather loud whispers didn’t quite register with Kloff. He approached Raphiel, took his hand, lightly kissed the back of it, then gently kissed his cheek.

And as he returned to his seat, Kloff felt a chilling gaze on the back of his neck. With a sidelong glance, driven by instinctive anger and wariness, he saw that the man called Marquess Wolflake, true to his name, was staring at him with eyes that gleamed fiercely like a wolf’s. As if challenging him, Kloff, despite the rudeness, did not avoid his gaze and stared back intently. Then Wolflake was the first to look away.

‘What a strange fellow.’

That thought didn’t last long. Raphiel, sitting next to him, began to utter very, very cute words like, “I was so nervous today that I fumbled and ended up being a little late. I don’t look strange today, do I? People are staring…” and Kloff was completely absorbed in them.

“Was there any trouble on the way here?”

“I came in our family carriage, so it was fine. But this table, right in the center… Kloff-nim, what have you done?”

Raphiel’s voice was full of laughter as he spoke. Kloff shrugged his shoulders with an exaggerated gesture and said, “Perhaps they’ve finally decided to acknowledge my efforts so far,” but he was just as curious.

Moreover, unlike other tables in the same row, which usually had three or four seats, this table had only two. There were no extra chairs. It looked as if it had been planned for just the two of them from the beginning.

It was a little strange. There was nothing to lose, but to seat only the two of them among guests with titles rolling around was odd. It was as if they knew what Kloff intended to do today. Surely not. Of course, he didn’t dislike it either. It just bothered him a little. But that too didn’t last long.

Servants began to bring out champagne, colorful fruits with cream, and pastries suitable for the concert. Being at the head table, they received champagne quickly. When a young footman in a suit, with a white napkin draped over one arm, presented the unopened bottle to his eyes to confirm the label, Kloff was momentarily dazed.

Kloff couldn’t believe his eyes and instinctively rubbed them with his fingers before looking again. He hadn’t seen wrong. Behind the footman at the table, several servants, under the butler’s direction, walked out in a line, holding bottles with the same label, and dispersed to each table. Soon, the cheerful pop of corks could be heard.

“Kloff-nim?”

Raphiel, seeing Kloff frozen, softly called his name, and only then did Kloff come to his senses and nod to the footman. The footman skillfully uncorked the bottle, poured the sparkling yellow liquid into a crystal glass that shone like a jewel, and then disappeared. Raphiel sniffed the champagne and said, “It smells lovely.”

“Of course. This is a special order, only used for national events like coronations.”

“Is it rare?”

“Yes, drink it. You won’t see it again.”

Kloff smiled. He clinked his glass against Raphiel’s astonished one and drank. The aroma and taste were so rich it made his head spin.

Yes. This is the taste of gold. And Count, you’re dead today. I’ll pour plenty of this divine drink on your grave.

Without the concert host appearing, the conductor emerged, bowed, and soon the music began. Beautiful harmonies filled the air as the full moon rose higher and higher, captivating the audience. The usual chatter at such events was barely audible.

Kloff and Raphiel, seated quite close to each other at a small table, also focused on the music. Raphiel, who usually took piano lessons, loved music very much and had gone to music performances with Kloff several times before.

“Today’s repertoire is very romantic. ‘Full Moon’ is heard under the full moon, indeed. Do you know the composer wrote it for his beloved?”

“Is that so?”

In truth, to Kloff’s ears, it was merely sentimental melodies. The timbre and perfect performance were naturally expected given the musicians’ worth, but he knew it was wise not to show such an expression.

Raphiel, who was usually gentle and sensitive, at some point took Kloff’s hand resting on the armrest of his chair and leaned his head slightly on his shoulder. The weight felt so good that Kloff was about to gently kiss the crown of his head, covered with soft golden hair, when the back of his neck tingled again. He quickly turned his head and saw Wolflake staring at him again.

What, is he looking for a fight?

This time, Kloff returned the gaze with murderous intent in his eyes. Wolflake subtly tilted his half-empty champagne glass, then placed it on the table, twisting his thin lips. It was clear hostility.

Ah. I really want to hold back today. From the Count to the Marquess, there’s no one to help me. What sin have I committed to receive such unprovoked persecution and hostility? What’s left now, Baron, Viscount, Duke? Among them, the Viscount is being diligently attacked by Westport and Derbyshire, so if I gather the Baron and Duke, will I have collected all five enemies? Crazy. Hahahaha. Ignore it. Ignore it. Today is an important day. It’s not good to shed blood.

Kloff forced his gaze forward and squeezed the soft Omega hand that was in his. Raphiel leaned closer. Then, the back of his head felt like it was being poked with a knife. Hmm, no, this won’t do. I really want to punch that slick face…

It was then. The performance, reaching its climax, ended, leaving a lingering impression. People began to applaud. Kloff also clapped and looked sideways, seeing Marquess Wolflake clapping, looking straight ahead as if nothing had happened. Kloff, who had been getting annoyed by various things since earlier, glared at the Marquess, then as the applause suddenly grew louder, he unconsciously clapped harder and turned his head forward. And he froze in temporary shock.