Into the Rose Garden Novel - Chapter 26.2 - Side story 1 : Hey there, pretty Count. What's your name?

Aeroc was dumbfounded by his urgent shouts. What on earth did this Kloff character do to make him like this? Aeroc is starting to feel strange.
“More importantly, aren’t you going to tell me your name?”
“To not get angry even when I insult you like this. Something is seriously wrong.”
“So, your name…”
“Is my name important right now? Hugo!”
He shouted again and ran out. He doesn’t look it, but he’s quite a spirited person.
A moment later, a butler named Hugo appeared. He widened his eyes upon seeing Kloff, who bowed with a foolish expression. The stern old butler, who looked meticulous at a glance, scrutinized Kloff from head to toe with sharp eyes. A shiver ran down Kloff’s spine. The back of Kloff’s head, which was already throbbing, now felt like it was being hammered. An instinctive repulsion arose. But there was no reason for a seemingly capable butler to be rude, was there? As he could tell from the conversation between the doctor and the angel earlier, this Kloff character seemed to have some issues. In that case, Kloff should apologize properly.
“I apologize if I have done anything wrong.”
“Pfft.”
The corners of the stern butler’s lips trembled. Rather than being surprised like the Count, his eyes curved, looking like he was smiling. The blond man, pale with shock, grabbed Kloff’s neatly arranged shoulders and shook him.
“Snap out of it! Here, you shouldn’t apologize, but growl like a dog whose food has been snatched!”
“A stallion in heat, a dog whose food has been snatched. Was he not a human but a beast?”
“Kuh!”
The butler, who had been tidying bandages behind me, couldn’t hold back his laughter. The blond angel glared sharply at him, who was trying to stifle his laughter.
“Ahem, the doctor said we should observe him for a while, didn’t he? He’ll be back soon. Separately, I prefer this Lord Bendyke more. He is a polite gentleman.”
“Hugo.”
“Your Excellency need not worry so much; Lord Bendyke is fine. In fact, he’s become even more handsome.”
The one called Count frowned disapprovingly. He pondered for a moment, then his eyes sparkled.
“What if we hit his head again?”
“…I’d rather you refrain from that.”
“Even if it’s Lord Bendyke, if you hit him twice, he might end up with a coffin lid instead of a luxurious silk sheet.”
As the two tried to stop him, the Count groaned. He’s more aggressive than he looks. Even more attractive.
‘Kloff Bendyke has gone mad.’
The rumor spread widely. People who saw the man who usually exuded a beastly threat even when smiling, now greeting them with innocent country boy smiles and hearts, were all terrified and recoiled.
He probably didn’t intend to scare people. Simply smiling and bowing, he was utterly confused when people recoiled as if they had seen a corpse risen from the grave wearing lingerie and dancing a waltz.
“What did I do wrong?”
He did. He is too polite. He was originally an arrogant man whose self-importance pierced the sky. But honestly, if Aeroc told him that, Kloff would sigh in despair, so Aeroc couldn’t. It was awkward for those watching too. He had become a bit strange, but Kloff was still Kloff. Although he was eerily courteous, he didn’t cower even in his unstable, memory-lost state. That alone was remarkable. If Aeroc had lost his memory, he would surely not be at peace for a moment due to anxiety. As if his innate courage hadn’t gone anywhere, Kloff slept well, ate well, and moved around well. Though it was within the mansion. And he flirted with Aeroc every chance he got.
“My beautiful angel. Please tell me your name.”
“Angel! Don’t call me by such a creepy title!”
“Then just tell me your name.”
His overly cheesy attitude was one thing, but beyond that, Aeroc just didn’t want to tell him easily. Why did he forget Aeroc? Aeroc remembered him even after dying and coming back to life. It’s all Kloff’s fault. Aeroc will never tell him until he remembers on his own.
At this situation, Hugo was dying of laughter. No, is this funny?! Kloff always flinched in front of Hugo. It was perfectly understandable. How much he had been tormented. Poor man. Just because he’d done some naughty things with Aeroc and gotten him pregnant, Hugo tormented him whenever he could. Like waking him up at dawn to make him tend the garden, or making him copy incredibly boring moral treatises.
Whenever he protested, he would flinch involuntarily under Hugo’s sharp gaze, so no one stopped him. So Kloff had to endure on his own.
—This much is nothing.
Even while grinding his teeth at Hugo, who had needlessly sent the perfectly capable gardener on vacation and then complained about the messy garden, throwing him only a pair of pruning shears and making him tend the entire vast garden, Kloff didn’t give up.
—You don’t have to do this. No matter what anyone says, you’re my spouse. Even if it’s unofficial.
—If I back down here, I feel like I won’t be able to be with you for the rest of my life. I feel like Hugo will find some excuse to kick me out. That fussy old man. Why doesn’t he just retire already?
Kloff grumbled sometimes, but Aeroc thought he was enduring steadfastly.
“Honestly, the butler is a little scary. My heart pounds and I break out in a cold sweat when he appears. Haha. I must have done a lot of wrong things normally.”
Kloff showed me his sweat-stained palms, smiling calmly. So he was under this much stress. Poor Kloff. Without realizing it, Aeroc took his hand and blew on it to cool the sweat.
“The angel is very kind to me.”
“Of course…”
Because Kloff is Aeroc’s Alpha. Aeroc was about to say that much, but he closed his mouth. Aeroc didn’t want to explain it easily. To forget the person he had forcibly dragged here after they said they didn’t want to do it twice, Aeroc could never forgive him. Even if he lost everything about himself, how could he lose Aeroc too?
Five months ago, with a puppy he’d made purely out of his stubbornness firmly in Aeroc’s belly, how could he forget the Omega pregnant with his child? Moreover, Kloff seemed confused about whether Aeroc was an Omega or an Alpha. Despite having imprinted. It was a lie! How could an imprinted Alpha forget the Omega pregnant with his first child! You bad guy!
“Angel, aren’t you going to tell me your name today either?”
“Remember it yourself!”
“Oh dear… I can’t even properly remember my own name.”
“Forgetting my name is an even greater sin than that.”
“Hmm, this is troublesome.”
Kloff, now free of bandages, lingered beside Aeroc, who was holed up in the study, devouring books about amnesia. He tended not to leave the indoors. He calmly explored himself without doing anything useless until his memory returned. Even now, he was scanning the title of a well-worn law book with an unusual gaze.
Was his self as a law student reawakening? Aeroc watched him quietly. But he soon said, “Whoever it was, they must have studied hard. These books are quite worn,” and then, as if losing interest, moved to another bookshelf. Along with disappointment, Aeroc felt a little happy somehow. Aeroc didn’t like that the first memory to surface was a law book. Kloff should have remembered Aeroc first.
After searching through several psychiatry books in the large study, Aeroc found a clue. Aeroc read the passage several times that said doing familiar things and being in familiar situations helps memory recovery rather than experiencing a big shock.
Familiar things. If it wasn’t about taking off clothes and doing that, then it was mostly those kinds of situations. Actually, the former wasn’t bad either, but such a foolish idiot wasn’t Aeroc’s type. Moreover, doing that with Kloff, who was polite and cultured, rather than an arrogant Alpha who was not only confident but utterly conceited, somehow felt like cheating. So, other than holding hands, Aeroc didn’t even attempt a light kiss. One couldn’t always rely on physical communication, could one?
In fact, if even that didn’t bring back his memory, Aeroc might despair, so he decided to save it as a last resort. Instead, they decided to spend time doing the ordinary things they usually did most often. Aeroc threw down his book and stood up. Then he approached Kloff, who was bewilderedly sifting through book titles.
“Why, Angel?”
“I’m going out. Something I suddenly want to buy has come up.”
“I see.”
He had no particular reaction to the unplanned expense. Hmm, this isn’t enough, then.
“I’m going to buy newly released paintings and sculptures.”
Aeroc rolled his eyes a little and added. Kloff smiled gently.
“Hmm, paintings and sculptures. Indeed, a refined hobby befitting an angel.”
Gentle? This isn’t it! The man who used to leap up, saying sculptures were utterly useless and if Aeroc added even one more piece of trash he wouldn’t let him be, and that if Aeroc was so bored he’d make sure Aeroc wasn’t, then cornered him out of Hugo’s sight and stripped him from the waist down…
“Don’t you have anything else to say?”
“May I come with you?”
He was a beast who not only nagged but tried to get Aeroc pregnant with twins, so what was Aeroc supposed to do if he so meekly said he wanted to come along? At this point, Aeroc was also stressed. It was a stable period now, so there wasn’t much danger, but it was still his first pregnancy! How could the father of the child become such a grinning idiot!
As they walked to the exhibition, Kloff smiled at everyone he made eye contact with. No one disliked a handsome, well-built young Alpha greeting them. No, except for one person.
Every time seeing his innocent smile, Aeroc got angry. Innocent? Kloff Bendyke, innocent? And he even imprinted! Does hitting his head remove the imprinting effect too? The attending physician said that couldn’t be. He said it was impossible for Kloff to look at anyone else because Aeroc was imprinted on him. He also said that even if he hit his head, he would physiologically react with repulsion, so Aeroc should always watch him to make sure he didn’t overexert himself. Unaware of how Aeroc was feeling as he watched, the idiotic Alpha flirted with a street vendor selling flowers.
“Hello, beautiful madam.”
“Oh my.”
Seeing the tall, well-mannered Alpha politely greet her, she blushed. She was small and had faded blonde hair. Not young, but an alluring Omega through and through. Aeroc’s heart sank for a moment.
(Don’t covet someone else’s Alpha. He’s mine.)
Clenching both fists, Aeroc quickly stood beside him. She smiled at me too, but her gaze was consistently on Kloff.
“Are these for sale?”
“Yes! I’ll give them to you cheap!”
She didn’t seem to be doing good business, as she picked up the freshest-looking bouquet from a basket of not-so-fresh flowers and smiled brightly with joy. Kloff pondered for a moment, then took it. Then he casually rummaged in his pocket. But.
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
How could he have money? He didn’t remember the safe’s password. Thanks to that, Aeroc was also penniless except for a few silver coins secretly stashed away. Expenses at the mansion were all paid by promissory notes and settled in batches at a certain time, so there was no immediate difficulty. Minor expenses were managed by Hugo. But if Kloff continued not to remember, they might have to break into the safe someday.
As Aeroc, who had become a pauper thanks to someone, snorted, Kloff looked at him awkwardly. Aeroc could have given him a silver coin. He just didn’t want to.
“No. It’s not even enough for the carriage fare back.”
Actually, the ducal carriage was supposed to pick them up, but Aeroc deliberately replied coldly out of spite.
“Ah, I see.”
Kloff regretfully returned the bouquet to the street vendor. Watching the situation, she sighed disappointedly.
“I’ll stop by again next time. Have a good day.”
As Kloff, who had politely greeted her, turned to leave, she stopped him.
“Just a moment, take this. It’s a gift for a handsome gentleman.”
“May I? Thank you very much.”
Kloff smiled brightly, seemingly delighted. The street vendor gazed at him rapturously.
He said flowers were just trash once they withered. But if it’s a small, blonde Omega, he just goes crazy. Someone like Aeroc, who’s an Alpha and not small, he just played with, didn’t he? That’s it. Bad guy. The imprinting was all a lie too.
“I’m going ahead.”
Aeroc felt terribly bad. How could Kloff do this to him just because he hurt his head a little? Bad guy. Bad guy. Did he think Aeroc was already a fish caught? He must have been sure Aeroc couldn’t escape since he got him pregnant! There was no imprinting from the start. Bad bastard. He was clearly after Aeroc’s fortune. Devilish bastard. Aeroc stomped away, so angry that Hugo would have scolded him severely if he’d seen him.
Aeroc hadn’t walked a few steps when his belly suddenly tightened. The third person inside him seemed to be angry at his sudden pique.
“Ugh.”
Without realizing it, Aeroc clutched his belly and bent over. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead. He might collapse onto the street.
“Are you alright?”
The playboy, who had been busy flirting with others and not paying attention to Aeroc, approached and solicitously supported him.
“You look pale.”
He put on a very serious expression.
(Yes. You should worry like that. Don’t smile at others. Look only at me. Your child here wants its father’s attention. We need your attention.)
“My stomach hurts.”
Aeroc showed him his belly, slightly frowning and cradling it with both hands. Now at five months, his belly was slightly protruding, but it didn’t look pregnant unless touched.
“What should we do? Should I call a carriage?”
“That’s not it. Touch me.”
“Yes?”
Normally, when Aeroc’s belly tightened, Kloff would rub it with his large hands. Both the baby and Aeroc would quickly calm down with his warm touch. Kloff was greatly surprised by Aeroc’s natural request. A surge of emotion rose within him.
“Touch it.”
Aeroc grabbed Kloff’s hesitant wrist and pulled it towards his belly. Then Kloff, with a serious expression, said, “May I?” and cautiously wrapped his hand around the back of Aeroc’s hand. Why was he being cautious here? Aeroc took his hand and put it inside his jacket. He could distinctly feel his large hand stiffen.
“Rub it. Like this, in circles.”
One fortunate thing was that this idiot was good at following instructions. The tightening quickly subsided. He rubbed it himself and then opened his mouth, saying, “My belly…” Yes, this is your doing. Do you remember? Is this it? Was the Alpha’s instinct finally about the child? Well, he certainly loved making babies. Aeroc felt a little jealous, but also a sense of relief.
“This is.”
“Did anything come to mind?”
“Hmm.”
Kloff, deep in thought, suddenly placed both hands on Aeroc’s shoulders and chuckled lightly.
“Unlike your appearance, you have a potbelly. Did the meal I just ate already digest? If you need to go to the restroom urgently, let’s go home. You’re so red-faced. Cute and charming… cough.”
Aeroc kicked his shin hard in anger. Kloff hopped on one foot, complaining, “Why suddenly?”
“You go back!”
Aeroc snapped and then stomped towards the nearby art museum. The tall man, limping behind him, was still clutching the red rose he had received as a gift earlier. His eyes teared up.