Into the Rose Garden Novel - Chapter 23.4 The little sunshine clears away dark cloud

Kloff literally delivered the doctor to the villa. The moment he dismounted, a terrible scream echoed from the second floor. The thought of his Omega dying made Kloff’s hair stand on end and his legs tremble. Then, half-crazed, he grabbed the disoriented doctor by the collar and dragged him upstairs.

“Aeroc! Don’t die! I brought the doctor!”

He burst through the door to see Aeroc lying prone on the sofa, tearing at a cushion and screaming. His white nightgown was already soiled with amniotic fluid and bloodstains. Seeing that, the doctor quickly shook off Kloff, went behind the sofa, and sat next to Massa. Aeroc gasped for breath and let out another terrible scream. Even though the scream was muffled by the cushion, Kloff’s hands and feet trembled, and he felt like crying.

“It’s fast for someone who just started labor. It’s my first time seeing a first-time mother deliver this quickly.”

“So… so what’s wrong?”

He managed to squeeze out the words, his voice somehow shrunken, glaring as if he would kill the doctor right then and there, but the doctor shook his head in a flustered manner.

“There’s no problem at all. It’s very smooth for a first birth. A male Omega, but so skilled, as if he’s given birth to three or four… Ah. My apologies.”

Seeing the father’s expression, the doctor quickly retracted his words and spoke to Massa beside him.

“Go get sterilized scissors, warm water, and more towels. The birth canal is dilated this much, so it will come out quickly.”

As Massa left, the doctor commanded with an authoritative tone, “Husband, please calm down and sit, or leave.” Authority be damned, Kloff intended to kill everyone if anything happened to his Aeroc, so he shut his mouth and went to sit in a corner chair. His legs trembled with anxiety. Aeroc screamed terribly again.

“Push harder. You’re doing well.”

Following the doctor’s instructions, Aeroc gasped for breath, then pushed. His blond hair, soaked with sweat or tears, clung to his forehead. Aeroc screamed again, then let out short, ragged breaths and looked his way with blurry eyes. At that moment, Kloff wanted to kneel and beg forgiveness for being born an Alpha and unable to take his pain.

As he listened to the agonizing screams of his imprinted Omega, and his torn-out hair piled up at his feet, the doctor exclaimed. At the same time, Kloff felt his heart leap into his throat.

“Ah, the head is out. A little more. Just a little more.”

Aeroc screamed, trembling all over, one last time. And a moment later, with a stifled scream as if he were truly about to die, Aeroc went limp as if something had snapped, and at the same time, the doctor lifted a bloody mass from between his legs. The moment he saw it, the already shaky world spun like a top. Kloff barely moved his numb legs and walked a few steps. Not just the baby, but he couldn’t even breathe properly, worried about what had happened to Aeroc.

“Aeroc?”

He managed to call out, his voice terribly hoarse. Fortunately, Aeroc was safe. He was still lying prone, his chest heaving, gasping for breath. The doctor cut the umbilical cord, created the baby’s navel, and handed him to Massa. She skillfully washed the baby clean, wrapped him in the very soft swaddling clothes she had prepared, and stood up holding him. Then she approached Kloff with a bright smile and handed the baby to him. Kloff, who had been staring at Aeroc, finally took the baby with emotion when he felt him in his arms.

“Looking at the size of his handsome little pecker, he’s definitely an Alpha son. His dark, shiny hair resembles his father.”

Kloff carefully held the baby and looked down at him, as if holding a snowflake that would melt if touched. The son, who didn’t cry despite the hardship of his birth and just breathed softly, was more beautiful than anything Kloff had ever seen. No, except for one thing. While Kloff held the baby, at a loss, the doctor took care of the remaining cleanup. The doctor washed his hands in the water Massa had brought and stood up.

“It seems you won’t need to call me again if you can do this well. A midwife will suffice. I’d rather avoid being kidnapped.”

He patted Kloff’s shoulder, who was standing frozen, and left. In the meantime, Massa took off Aeroc’s dirty clothes and wiped his body with a towel soaked in clean water.

“Don’t just stand there, help me a little.”

At that moment, Kloff snapped back to reality. He carefully placed the baby in the bassinet, then frantically went to Aeroc’s side. Massa handed Kloff a hot towel, wrung out from warm water. Even as he wiped the blood-stained legs and then his face and upper body with another clean wet towel, Aeroc didn’t open his eyes, as if he had lost consciousness.

“He’s not hurt, is he?”

“He’s just exhausted. He’ll come soon. Quickly wipe him and dress him so he doesn’t get cold.”

Massa said so, then rolled up the dirty clothes and floor coverings. Kloff quickly wiped Aeroc’s body, put on the soft pajamas he had prepared, and then lifted the slightly lighter Aeroc. He carefully laid his limp body on the bed so he wouldn’t get hurt. After covering him with the sheet he had pulled down, he couldn’t control his surging emotions and stroked his white forehead. Aeroc’s hand, which had been limply hanging, moved and grabbed Kloff’s sleeve.

“Are you awake?”

“…I don’t want to go to the shack… it’s too lonely there…”

“What? The shack?”

He, who had just given birth, weakly opened his eyes at the Alpha’s emotional, choked voice. His eyes, full of tears from the pain of childbirth, were distant and hazy.

“…But… I’d rather not be abandoned…”

“What are you talking about? Why would I abandon you? Oh, right. Aeroc. Our baby.”

Infinitely happy that both of them were safe, Kloff took Aeroc’s hand that was holding him, quickly kissed the back of it, and then put it down. And he carefully picked up the baby he had placed in the bassinet on the opposite side of the bed they had shared for the past few weeks.

He wanted to show the baby to Aeroc quickly. How happy he would be. He might be disappointed that it wasn’t an Omega son, but he wanted to foolishly boast that their child was a very healthy and handsome baby.

“Hey, Aeroc. Our baby.”

It was just as he was about to lower the baby into his sight. Aeroc sobbed and cried out in an agonizing, terrifyingly hoarse voice.

“I don’t want to see him!”

Kloff froze, his smile still plastered on his face. Aeroc, despite his painful body, deliberately turned away from the baby. He couldn’t understand why he was rejecting the baby now, after cherishing him so much and calling him “puppy” when he was in his belly. But Aeroc looked so distressed that Kloff managed his surging emotions. He called out to him in the gentlest, softest voice he could muster.

“Aeroc, look at me.”

Only after calling him two more times did Aeroc lift his tear-filled eyes, then spotted the baby in Kloff’s arms and couldn’t look away. Even though he yearned for him, he said something else with his mouth.

“No. If I see him… I won’t be able to send him away…”

“Send him where, Aeroc? What on earth are you talking about?”

“You’re going to take him to the mansion. The shack is too cold to sleep in.”

Kloff knelt beside the bed, holding the baby. Now the baby was at Aeroc’s eye level. Aeroc saw the white baby blanket, reached out his hand, but before his trembling fingers could touch it, he curled them back like wilting petals. He clearly wanted the baby. But why was he pushing him away?

Kloff wanted to cry. Just moments ago, he had endured the agonizing groans of his imprinted Omega and thought he would finally see his bright smile, but Aeroc was rejecting Kloff’s own child, whom he had given birth to. It was unbearably painful and sad enough to make him want to wail. Instead, Kloff pushed the baby into Aeroc’s arms. Aeroc squeezed his eyes shut, trying not to look.

Sadness and pain. And anger and frustration. Every time Kloff saw Aeroc struggling like this, he wanted to scream, “What the hell is wrong?!” but he suppressed it. He felt that if he let it out once, uncontrollable sobbing would erupt. Instead, with a voice slightly hardened from holding back tears, he deliberately spread Aeroc’s arms and placed the baby in them. Aeroc sobbed, trying not to spread his arms.

“Just take him away. Please.”

“Look! Look at him!”

He pulled his pleading head towards the baby. Tears leaked from his tightly closed eyes, rolled down his tilted nose, and fell onto the baby’s small head. The baby grimaced slightly, then finally began to cry. As a small, fragile cry erupted, Aeroc flinched and instinctively embraced the baby.

Kloff, seeing the scene, also froze, at a loss. The baby was crying, and Aeroc was crying. Kloff, who had no idea what was wrong with his wife and child, also felt like crying along. Just as uncontrollable tears were about to fall, an angel appeared to rescue him from this helpless situation.

Massa, who had gone out to clean the disordered room after the birth, came in and frowned at the wailing baby.

“You should breastfeed him.”

Kloff asked, choking with tears, “How?” She came to the bedside with a majestic air, then with the firm hands typical of a middle-aged woman, she first handed the baby to Kloff. Aeroc, who had been instinctively embracing the baby even though he tried not to look, let out a small gasp of admiration.

Massa, as if empowered, abruptly lifted Aeroc’s upper body, which had been heavy even for Kloff to lift, and propped him up with pillows to sit him at an angle. Aeroc grimaced and moaned in pain as his weight shifted to his lower body.

“Bear with it a little, even if it hurts. You’ll soon experience the happiest moment in the world.”

She said cheerfully, then parted Aeroc’s disorganized chest and took the baby from Kloff. And she quickly pulled the limp mother’s arms to make her hold the baby, then lifted the head of the continuously wailing baby and firmly latched him to her breast. The baby, who had been whimpering with tear-filled, half-closed eyes, soon remembered his instinct and began to suck greedily.

Kloff’s tears dried up at Massa’s absurdly simple, storm-like intervention.

Massa placed her hands on her hips and looked at the new mother and the newborn with a joyful expression.

“How do you feel?”

Aeroc, still staring at the baby in astonishment, blinked blankly as if he had seen an angel incarnate, then spoke in a slightly trembling voice.

“He’s… not blond.”

“He has dark brown hair like his father.”

“…He doesn’t seem to be an Omega either.”

“What? Didn’t you even tell him he was an Alpha?”

Massa looked at Kloff incredulously. Kloff was about to protest that he hadn’t even wanted to look at the baby just now, but wisely shut his mouth.

“What’s wrong?”

It was Massa who answered his question.

“What’s wrong? The baby’s fingers and toes are all fine, his little pecker is fine. Is your milk not coming out?”

“It’s not that…”

“When he finishes on this side, switch him to the other. He’s still young, so one side will be enough, but your breasts are small, so if you don’t feed him diligently, they’ll dry up quickly. Then you won’t be able to feed him even if you want to, so don’t skip feedings and make sure to feed him on time. Don’t forget to burp him after he finishes feeding. You’ve worked hard tonight, so get some good rest. You’ll wake up in living hell soon enough.”

Aeroc flinched at the subtly terrifying words and looked as if he was about to cry again.

“No.”

He had just managed to stop crying, and Kloff couldn’t let him cry again now, so he grabbed her as she was about to leave and asked, “What hell?!” on Aeroc’s behalf. Massa then looked at the two novice parents with terrifying eyes and warned,

“It’s the hell of childcare, where you have to breastfeed a baby who wakes up every two hours, change diapers, and walk around holding him all night to put him to sleep. Don’t even think about leaning on me. I need to sleep at night too.”

Kloff felt a chill run down his spine at the sharp tone. After Massa left, he looked at Aeroc, who was staring blankly at him with tears in his eyes, and the son in his arms, and thought, ‘Ah, I guess I won’t be sleeping anymore.’ The tears that had receded earlier felt like they were about to return.

With the tyrannical Massa’s help, Aeroc was forcibly confronted with the baby and surprisingly breastfed him quietly. This time, Kloff vowed to keep his mouth shut. He focused on remembering every detail of the truly indescribably beautiful sight of his Omega holding his son and breastfeeding him. Aeroc watched his son’s mouth move, then, a little awkwardly, glanced at Kloff before lowering his eyes back to the baby.

“I haven’t thought of an Alpha name…”

“You can take your time thinking about it.”

“I only thought he’d be an Omega. A beautiful child with blond hair and blue eyes.”

Should he call him cute for still clinging to that idea? He really wanted to ask what kind of absurd thoughts made him push away the child he had looked forward to so much, but he suppressed it.

“As you said, I hope the second child resembles you. Unless I go crazy from your screams or get overwhelmed by childcare and take some measures before that.”

“…Then Raphaiel would be the second child. If he’s born like that.”

At that, Kloff frowned intensely.

“Why is Raphaiel coming up here again? And what do you mean, ‘second child’?”

“I wanted to name an Omega son Raphaiel.”

Aeroc, with slightly sad eyes, gently touched his son’s head with his hand, then looked up at Kloff. Kloff was so dumbfounded he couldn’t even snort properly. He didn’t want to raise his voice at Aeroc, who had suffered, but he absolutely couldn’t overlook this.

“Are you messing with me right now? You must be doing this on purpose to make me die for making you suffer.”

“No.”

“No?! What the hell is Raphaiel! Whether it’s the second, third, ninth, or tenth! Raphaiel is absolutely forbidden for my child’s name! If you’re still obsessed with him, then your second child will probably be conceived during a prison visit.”

When Kloff threatened him, Aeroc, flustered, retorted angrily despite his weakened state.

“Why would I be with Raphaiel… It’s not that… Wait, why are you getting angry at me?!”

“My Omega keeps bringing up another man’s name all the time, let an Alpha who doesn’t get angry show himself!”

Startled by the somewhat loud shout, Aeroc held the softly breathing baby close and remained silent for a long time, then blurted out,

“It’s changed. Everything.”

Kloff, whose mind was reeling from being lifted up and down several times a day, asked in a tired voice, “What else?”

“Everything is different from what I knew. You, the baby, this house, this moment.”

His quiet voice sounded slightly self-deprecating. Kloff was annoyed with the truly wicked Omega who was provoking him despite being incredibly grateful that the baby was safely born and the mother was fine, but he was too tired to get angry, so he rubbed his face with a weary expression and asked,

“Do you dislike it because it’s different?”

At that, Aeroc looked at him for a long time, then looked at the baby again. He remained silent for a while, and just as Kloff was about to forget the question itself, he spoke with a calm smile, “No.”

The baby, having finished feeding, no longer moved his adorable mouth. He seemed to have fallen asleep.

“If you don’t burp him, he’ll spit up.”

Kloff approached Aeroc, who was still just holding the baby, and embraced the child. Aeroc turned his body slightly, refusing to give him up, as if he didn’t want to let him go.

“I want to burp him.”

He took the baby upright with Kloff’s help and gently patted his back. Soon, the baby let out a small burp, and Aeroc smiled happily. Then he carefully held the baby again and, with Kloff’s natural assistance, lay down.

Kloff lay beside him, looking at the baby nestled in Aeroc’s embrace. It had truly been an exhausting day. The Omega embraced the small child, and the Alpha, in turn, embraced him. Kloff buried his nose in the back of Aeroc’s head, which was slightly damp with sweat and smelled incredibly sweet, and said,

“If you hold the baby like that, you might drop him when you sleep later.”

“I don’t want to let go. I want to keep him with me.”

“You didn’t even want to look at him earlier.”

Aeroc touched the baby’s cheek with his hand. An overwhelmed gasp of admiration escaped him.

“He resembles you. His hair, nose, mouth. Probably his eyes too. He’ll be tall and broad-shouldered. His hands and feet will probably be big too. And he’ll be ill-tempered, nag a lot, and be fond of money.”

“Is that something a mother should say about her son?”

“He’ll be smart, I think. Even without private tutoring, he’ll graduate from school with excellent grades and get recommendations from professors to carve out his own path. He’ll meet a pretty and kind Omega and fall in love, but he’ll be awkward, so people around him will have to help him a lot.”

“…You might as well insult me directly.”

“It would be good if he cultivated noble manners, but it doesn’t matter if he doesn’t. Instead, I just hope that no dagger pierces the small heart in this beautiful, beautiful chest.”

His habit of always assuming terrible scenarios was now something Kloff could lightly retort to. Kloff, who had just suffered through the unprecedented situation of the baby being rejected, casually shot back.

“My heart is beating perfectly fine. And whoever tries to stab me, their neck will be gone before they can. You know that well.”

At that, Aeroc stiffened slightly.

“You, sometimes you’re truly like a demon. No, I wonder if you’re even a demon king.”

Kloff chuckled at what might have been a curse or an insult. He lightly placed a hand on Aeroc’s waist and kissed his temple, which was covered by blond hair.

“You called me a dog once, and now I’ve been promoted to a king. I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“Stop killing from now on. I can’t raise the child alone. Of course, I won’t commit murder by proxy again either.”

“I was merely exercising my legitimate right of self-defense against my imprinted Omega. Those guys drew their swords first. And…”

At that, Kloff sat up, replaying Aeroc’s words.

“Wait, ‘again’?”

“You were the only one with a sword then.”

“No, it’s not that. It’s time you came clean. Murder by proxy, surely not…”

Could he have, by any chance, instigated the murder of some unknown past lover? Is that why he sometimes says incomprehensible things due to emotional trauma? Ah, he should have found out and dealt with it himself somehow before it came to this. Kloff looked at Aeroc with a serious expression, filled with belated regret. Aeroc looked up at him, guilty and anxious, then turned his gaze away.

“I’ve always thought you were hiding something.”

“I’m not hiding anything.”

“Then why can’t you look me in the eye?”

“I have to look at the baby.”

The clumsy excuse held no credibility whatsoever.

“Aeroc.”

He reached out and turned Aeroc’s head to face him.

“I love you. I love you, who gave birth to my child, and no one else. I’ll forgive whatever you’ve done. So, confess willingly. Otherwise…”

“Otherwise?”

“I’ll make sure your belly never deflates until you reach menopause.”

It was sincere. And Aeroc could tell that he understood.

“Good.”

“What?”

It was this side that was surprised by the light answer.

“I said it’s good.”

“That was blackmail just now. You should hate it, saying it’s beastly and uncultured.”

“I know. But I like it anyway.”

Aeroc, with even a faint smile, said calmly. Kloff, unable to find anything to say, asked back, “Really?” a little anxiously. Aeroc patted the belly of the child who was peacefully asleep after eating his fill.

“Because you’re kind when you’re pregnant.”

“I’m always kind to you—ah, maybe not so much at first. But I did my best.”

“I know. So if you want, I’ll give birth to as many as you wish.”

“Two is enough.”

In fact, recalling today’s memories, he wanted to be content with just one, but a blonde Omega baby resembling Aeroc was a hope that neither Martha nor Kloff could easily give up.

“Six is fine. I think I can give birth to them.”

“What do you mean, six for a male Omega? You’ll die giving birth. Two is enough!”

His voice inadvertently rose as Aeroc kept insisting on something absurd.

“Why are you angry?”

“When did I get angry?! No, before that, don’t change the subject. What do you mean, incitement to murder?!”

“I misspoke.”

Kloff firmly pressed him on his flimsy excuse. If it were any other matter, on a day as tiring and difficult as today, he would have let it pass without a word, but this was a very important issue.

“No, it’s not. Who did you kill?”

“You wouldn’t believe me even if I told you.”

At the small voice, Kloff felt his blood run cold. If Aeroc had done something, given his personality, he would have handled it sloppily. There was a chance that one day, a wanted list would appear, and they would have to hastily dispose of their assets, carry their child, and appease a pregnant Aeroc while going into hiding—an unprecedented situation.

One day, they would run out of money, and they might live a very miserable life, weeping in a shabby inn in the dead of winter, unable to feed a heavily pregnant Omega even a proper potato soup. He didn’t want to pass on poverty to their children! No!

“Confess right now. Who did you kill? How did you dispose of the body? It’s better to tell me quickly, as I’ll cover it up thoroughly.”

When he warned in a terrifying voice, Aeroc bit his lip, looking a little disgusted, then eventually confessed.

“…Raphiel Westport.”

“Uh, uh?!”