Into the Rose Garden Novel - Chapter 17.4 The fate flows again

He didn’t look okay at all, but Kloff didn’t argue. Instead, he hugged Raphiel’s waist with his hand, which was throbbing with pain.

Considering the caliber of guests today, it was clear that whoever he had beaten up would cause him some headaches in the future. However, he couldn’t think of anything right now. Even though he had vented everything and the intensity had subsided significantly, an inexplicable anxiety, restlessness, and anger still lingered. He was simply trying his best not to startle this small, beautiful Omega any further.

There was no major commotion within the Count’s estate. However, everyone who knew about it exchanged serious glances. The two Alphas who had been caught trying to follow a trend were sons of influential families, and it was clear that their parents would cause a huge uproar if they found out. The butler quickly treated the two Alphas with a doctor who had been urgently called, then sent them home. Meanwhile, Kloff tried to see Raphiel off, but Raphiel politely declined, saying he was fine.

“You’re hurt, you should rest.”

“I have something to tell you.”

“Later.”

Raphiel, who hesitated a little before leaving a kiss on Kloff’s cheek, then boarded the carriage that had come from the Viscount’s estate to pick him up. As he closed the carriage door, Kloff, filled with apology, kissed the back of Raphiel’s hand resting on the window frame.

“Alright, later.”

“I’ll wait.”

Raphiel cast down his eyes and smiled.

After the carriage departed, Kloff felt very depressed, filled with disappointment in himself and regret for disappointing his lover. His chest felt heavy, and he lacked energy. He was about to ask another footman to call a carriage for him. Just then, Aeroc, who had appeared out of nowhere, interjected.

“It’s late today, so stay over. I’ll prepare a room for you.”

“There’s no need for that.”

“You caused trouble in my house. Stay here tonight in case the victims’ families contact us.”

“They were the ones who initiated the violence, after all.”

To prepare for future disputes, he made sure to clearly state his justification to the Count, who could be considered a key witness.

“Of course. But you can’t deny it was a one-sided assault. And they are the sons of influential families whose social standing cannot be ignored.”

“Are you saying it’s wrong for those without power or status to provoke noble individuals?”

Kloff chuckled and retorted, and Aeroc’s face contorted as he shouted.

“That’s not what I mean! They’ll try to retaliate against you somehow.”

“I’m not one to just take it.”

The Count, stiffened, still pale, glared at him. His shoulders trembled slightly.

“I know that better than anyone in this world. But stay at the mansion today. You must be tired.”

“I suppose I will.”

Indeed, he was tired, and as a legal expert, he knew there were various issues. But more than that, Aeroc’s expression looked so tired and sad that he somehow couldn’t insist further and readily agreed. If he went back now, Martha probably wouldn’t open the door anyway, and staying one night in this large mansion wouldn’t be a big problem. Most importantly, since he had caused an incident at the mansion, the Count was also involved, so it was better to let him have his way in small matters.

Soon, a maid appeared and guided Kloff to a guest room, and even when he thanked her, Aeroc just glared at him without a word and then coldly walked away.

The room the maid guided him to was the same room he had stayed in when he was first invited to this mansion. Left alone, Kloff, feeling stifled, threw off his jacket, loosened his tie, and unbuttoned a few buttons at his neck. Then he opened the window and stepped out onto the small terrace. The deepening night air was cool, cooling his heated head. Leaning against the terrace railing, Kloff looked at the distant sky, then naturally lowered his gaze.

From the window of his second-floor room, the rose garden was clearly visible. After the concert, with tables and chairs removed, the garden was being tidied up, and as the servants gathered the last lanterns, the lights went out one by one. It was as if the flowers of light were fading. The cool breeze felt refreshing. He closed his eyes, inhaled deeply, and exhaled. There was a faint scent of roses.

Today was truly a mess. He regretted not coming to the mansion in the first place if he had known this would happen. He had pursued an unsuitable romance and ruined it. The last image of his disappointed lover bothered him. It would take something extraordinary to make up for this mistake. Kloff couldn’t think of anything no matter how hard he tried. He should have just done it simply, according to his personality. Wait, what about the ring?

His eyes snapped open. He stood up and rummaged through his pockets. He saw the jacket he had thrown on the bed and remembered. He had been looking for the ring, then other people appeared, and he had completely forgotten about it. Kloff cursed inwardly and left the room.

The rose garden, emptied of guests, musicians, and servants, was swept by a desolate wind. Kloff, who had rushed out without his jacket, almost snatched a lantern from a passing maid and headed towards the spot where he had beaten those men.

That ring was very important. It wasn’t about the price; it was a special order from a high-end store that Viscount Derbyshire had specifically given him a letter of introduction for. The proposal was already ruined, and losing the ring too would not just be an incident, but a major problem for Kloff’s conduct. Though it seemed it already was.

He shone the lantern on places where it might have fallen, and fumbled with his hands, but all he found were rose petals and silk ribbons that hadn’t been cleared away. Some might find it very romantic, but for Kloff, it only caused irritation. He searched for a long time but couldn’t find it. He couldn’t even find the box. He thought he would find the box easily, even if the ring was hard to find, but no matter how much he searched, it wouldn’t appear.

“Damn it. Where is it? Damned ring.”

He searched, his back aching and his back muscles strained from bending over and looking down. He was so engrossed that he didn’t notice anyone appearing behind him. So when a calm voice said, “No need to look,” he was startled. He turned around and saw the Count, who had appeared from nowhere, looking at him with a faint smile.

“What?”

“Aren’t you looking for this?”

The Count approached, holding out a small box in his hand, staring intently at Kloff, who straightened up to look at him. It was the ring box. The ring was still inside. Kloff looked at him with a slight frown. Aeroc smiled again. After seeing him smile so much, Kloff thought he could now discern slight differences. This smile seemed a little awkward and a little sad, rather than mocking or joyful.

“How did you know?”

“The butler found it earlier.”

It wasn’t a bad excuse, except that the butler had been busier treating and sending off those two men than Kloff or Aeroc. Before Kloff could ask how he knew the ring was his, Aeroc broke the awkward silence first.

“I’m sorry your proposal was ruined.”

As he spoke, a smile spread across his handsome face again, and the moment Kloff saw it, something welled up inside him. It wasn’t because the proposal was ruined, nor because the Count was mocking him. Something like a poignant sadness permeated the air. Even now, he felt as if the violin was playing in his ears. It might not have been just a performance, but an appeal.

Why did the Count bother him so much? He felt an urge to see that pale face contorted, showing his true human emotions, crying and laughing, or even shamelessly rolling around, instead of that mask-like smile.

In a situation where his beloved lover had left in tears, all he could imagine was what Aeroc Teiwind would look like in bed. His lower body even felt heated. It was the worst. He still held the engagement ring in his hand. Unable to bear his conflicted feelings, only a grim expression and blunt words came out.

“Thank you for finding it. I feel apologetic for having inconvenienced you in many ways today, but there’s no need to interfere so much in other people’s private lives.”

At the cold retort, Aeroc’s lips curved higher. His eyes hadn’t smiled at all since earlier. Instead, they held an inscrutable sadness. Just like Kloff’s words and actions, which were completely different from his true feelings, Aeroc’s expression and gaze didn’t match.

“That’s right. You’ll take care of it yourself, I suppose. I apologize for interfering. I merely…”

Aeroc, who had been answering in a stiff, feigned tone and turning away, paused midway. He stared at Kloff, who deliberately turned his back on him, only casting his gaze in his direction.

“It’s just that I’m disappointed that the preparations were all for naught. That’s truly all it is.”

He left those words, fading away as if carried by the wind, and disappeared into the other side of the garden.

Coming out to find the ring was fine, but he hadn’t expected to encounter himself, tormented by an utterly unacceptable conflict. What he had painstakingly managed to suppress was now fiercely agitated. It had been an incredibly exhausting and difficult day, but with such a turbulent mind, he felt he wouldn’t be able to sleep. Since he was already out, he thought it best to take a walk. He placed the lantern on a nearby stone step and shoved the ring into his pocket. Then he walked along the gravel path, which shone pale in the full moon.

A burning fireball and a freezing ice block, entangled within his ribs, tormented him. He wished one would simply swallow the other, either burning completely or freezing solid. His swollen hands ached, and his mind was complicated. His proposal was ruined, so he naturally had to think about how to please Raphiel, but for some reason, the person he had just met kept coming to mind.

He felt intensely unpleasant and, at the same time, an insatiable thirst. Whether he was near or far, irritation and anger constantly surged within him. What was even more unacceptable was that merely recalling that common blond hair and blue eyes triggered an uncontrollable urge. He admitted that the reason he had beaten those men earlier wasn’t simply because he was interrupted and angry. The burning fireball that consumed his insides, and the freezing ice block that solidified it, raged more fiercely. Kloff inhaled cold air and exhaled hot air, taking one step after another. It seemed like the walk would be long.

The quiet night garden, reflected in the blue moonlight, was like a world on an ambiguous boundary. As the night deepened, the wind blew quite chilly, but it cooled his head. Unlike his flushed hands, his fingertips quickly turned cold. Kloff slowly walked through the garden, letting the wind blow against him, to cool the cold heat that had been building up since earlier.

He wandered aimlessly and seemed to have gotten lost again, ending up in a secluded spot lined with cedar trees, where he had once wandered, unable to find the rose garden when he first came to this mansion.

That palely shining path was completely different from his memory. Then, the shattering sunlight had been so brilliant, like a curtain made of light fluttering, but now it was not at all. The faint moonlight failed to dispel the shadows; instead, its edges were stained with darkness. The silent, massive pillars not only split the mist-like light but also obscured the pitiful celestial bodies that could not shine on their own. Only the gravel, sleeping in the deep shadows, let out small screams as it was trodden by the heavy-hearted.

How do I get out of here again? Was it to the right, relative to the mansion in the distance?

Gauging the direction, Kloff walked along the path illuminated by the barely reaching moonlight. The softly reflecting, glistening pebbles looked like stars in the deep night sky.