Into the Rose Garden Novel - Chapter 32.1

The financial expert, to whom his father had entrusted asset management, retired immediately after his father’s death. Since then, Aeroc, like many nobles, managed his assets himself. He tackled it confidently, but it proved to be more challenging than expected. Investment failures followed one after another, and he lost a large sum of money.

“It’s humiliating.”
Fortunately, the Teiwind family’s assets were equivalent to an entire small nation, so a few investment failures were nothing. The problem was that the Teiwind family’s expenditures were also on par with a small nation. They could certainly endure for a few years without problems, but if investment failures continued like this, there was a risk of disruptions to various sponsorships, cultural activities, and social engagements in the future.
Furthermore, he might end up in a miserable state of poverty, forced to sell his steadily accumulated rare books to buy bread, or barely glimpse artworks through museum windows. The mere thought was dreadful. After much deliberation with his intelligent mind, which usually found investment easy, he finally identified the fundamental cause of his investment failures.

“I definitely need to hire a financial manager.”
Only when he was cornered could Aeroc admit the limits of his abilities. If viewed as the cost of gaining better insight, the investment failures were not entirely a loss.
He couldn’t just hire anyone for a role that required such trust, like financial management. Learning from his investment failures, this time he requested recommendations from experienced acquaintances, including the Viscount of Derbyshire. Several letters arrived, each enclosing a recommendation. Not only the Viscount of Derbyshire, but also the Duchess of Clayton, the Viscount of Westport, and many others simultaneously pointed to one person.

“This isn’t helpful.”
Had they conspired behind Aeroc’s back? How could they all point to Bendyke? He wanted to argue that it was unexpected, but in truth, he had secretly anticipated his name would come up. After all, the capital’s social circles were abuzz with talk of Bendyke, a young investment manager and legal professional whose investment predictions were so accurate he was compared to a prophet or a magician, and who was actually increasing assets at an astonishing rate. Anyone with even a slight interest in money rushed to get in line with him, but Bendyke, for personal reasons, was selective about his clients. This arrogant behavior only increased his fame. He accepted clients based on an entirely undisclosed criterion, not the size of their trust assets. No one knew what his secret criteria were.

Currently, the known long-term contractors, not one-off clients, included some collateral royals and ducal families, besides Derbyshire, Westport, and Wolflake. The commonality among these three families was that they were ancient, respected houses. It was surprising that he had extended his reach even to royalty, but it was certainly possible, given that the Duchess of Clayton had paved the way. However, the Wolflake connection was even more surprising.

The Wolflakes were a collateral branch of the royal family and a family that wielded great influence in politics. The current Marquis Wolflake was known for his extremely cold temperament and immense aristocratic pride, rarely associating with anyone not his equal. Aeroc was almost his only peer with whom he frequently interacted. How had Bendyke managed to entice him and build a relationship? Aeroc frowned.

He had shrewdly grasped that these three families were major pillars of the capital’s social circles. And with Teiwind in his grasp, he would have nothing to fear. Aeroc was deeply displeased, though he didn’t know what his ambition was for.

He personally sought out other financial managers, but all the trustworthy ones politely refused, stating they weren’t confident enough to handle “Teiwind.” He even tried to meet and persuade some of them. Then, one of them made an absurd remark.

“Haven’t you already hired the most capable financial manager?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“While large families often have multiple managers, Mr. Bendyke alone would be sufficient. And besides, I don’t want to compete with him unnecessarily.”
Aeroc frowned at the incomprehensible words.

“You’re implying he’s my financial manager.”
“That’s what I understand.”
The other person burst into hearty laughter. It was to cover up the awkwardness of not understanding the flow of the conversation.
“I’ve never done such a thing. Where did you hear that?”
When Aeroc pressed him, the other person finally realized it wasn’t a joke and visibly began to panic.
“Did that scoundrel blabber that?”
“No, absolutely not. I just assumed that a distinguished family like Teiwind would naturally employ Mr. Bendyke… I don’t know where this misunderstanding originated. It would be best if you met with him to clear it up.”
“I’ll handle it myself.”
Aeroc replied coldly, then left first. It was utterly unpleasant. How dare that scoundrel make him clear up a misunderstanding? Wasn’t he the fraud? Despite his intense displeasure, he abandoned his plan to hire another financial manager. Since no one was willing to do it anyway, he didn’t want to go around begging. He could always tighten his belt for a while regarding financial matters. Wouldn’t not spending money somehow solve the problem? He decided to try the simplest and most straightforward solution.

However, the assets of the old count’s family were more complex than he imagined. Simply not spending money wouldn’t solve all the problems. A demand letter for development payments, according to a contract, arrived. The amount written was so enormous that even Aeroc, known for his lavish spending, had to double-check it. Surprised, he sent an urgent letter to the development investment company, demanding an explanation, and received a reply telling him to re-examine a few clauses in his contract. He hastily searched through the contract. It wasn’t because he didn’t remember the contents. It was because he didn’t know that it was used in such a way. After poring over the reply’s explanation and the contract for half a day, he finally realized with difficulty that he was a co-representative of this investment company, and that he was temporarily obligated to compensate other investors for their losses.

“I didn’t expect this.”
It became serious. The cash income from the estate was insufficient to cover the demanded payments. He would have to dispose of some of the inherited lands or artworks he owned.
“If my father heard this news, he might rise from his grave and grab a switch.”
Indeed, he already felt a shrill cry echoing in his ears: “Aeroc VindallinTeiwind! Come to the study at once!” His cheeks even tingled. He had to think of a solution immediately. But given his past failures, any plan he devised was more likely to lead to another terrible outcome.

“What to do?”
He wandered the mansion all night, examining the paintings on the walls, the antique furniture, and the curios. Not a single item had escaped his father’s touch. The paintings Aeroc had chosen purely on his own were works by nascent artists and not particularly valuable.
As the hazy dawn broke, Aeroc was utterly exhausted. He dared not sit on the study chair where his father’s spirit might reside, and instead sat on the small chair he used when being reprimanded. No matter how much he racked his brain, a solution remained elusive. Unconsciously, he bounced one leg. Realizing he had lost his dignity, Aeroc finally let out a long, drawn-out sigh. There was no other way.

“So that’s why you summoned me so early in the morning.”
As soon as he entered the study, Bendyke scoffed. He made himself comfortable in a seat he hadn’t been offered. Aeroc, standing far from him, forcibly suppressed the urge to immediately return the sarcasm. He was in such a difficult situation that he needed to borrow the hand of this damned devil.

“I hope your journey was comfortable.”
Aeroc knew his words were too fast. Ha. To think he was nervous because of a man like that. It was unbelievable. It must be due to lack of sleep. Moreover, he had chosen the wrong person to show goodwill to. The rude barbarian, who mistook rudeness for politeness, frowned.

“From the moment you woke a sleeping man, comfort was out of the question. Unlike nobles who have money pouring in even when they do nothing, I have to earn money to eat, dress, and sleep. I worked late all week and planned to rest this morning.”
“I regret having summoned you so suddenly. It was a very urgent matter, and I had no choice. If you don’t mind, I invite you to dinner…”
He forced out words he didn’t mean. It was torture for him to say them, and the listener didn’t look pleased either. Before he could finish, Bendyke cut him off.
“As I’ve said before, there’s no need for formalities between us. Get to the point.”
It was an appropriate moment, but still, it didn’t feel good. Everything about that man was unpleasant, and then some. Who did he think Aeroc was? Did he think he was just a passing apprentice?

“I wonder how others tolerate your arrogance. Do you act this arrogantly even in front of the Viscount of Derbyshire?”
“They’re not Aeroc Teiwind.”
Just when he thought the lunatic was shedding his madness, the bastard, who had become a scoundrel, unnecessarily confirmed it. The unpleasant man’s attitude was always the same. However, before, he at least bothered to feign a professional demeanor, but today, he didn’t even bother to “pretend” from the start. Annoyance surged. Was there anyone else who could irritate him just two words into a conversation? If he had his way, he would throw him out immediately. But since he had summoned him here, there was nothing he could do. He took a deep breath to calm his irritation. Then, he handed him the contract and the stack of demand letters from the company.

“This is today’s business.”
Bendyke, seated on the sofa as if being served, took the dozens of pages of documents and quickly scanned them. Even without consciously trying, Aeroc found himself observing the other’s reaction.
The cold man initially flipped through a few pages indifferently, then slightly furrowed his neatly drawn eyebrows. Then, on the page after next, he snorted. He merely lifted his eyes to glance at Aeroc, then curled one corner of his lip. It was a clear sneer. Aeroc, trying to ignore the heat rising in his face, looked away and picked up his teacup.

Bendyke’s expression grew more serious with each passing moment. Then, the candidate for financial manager, upon seeing the critical notice that had finally forced Aeroc to admit his incompetence in financial matters, let out a low groan. He put down the other documents and read that one twice more. He rested his chin on his hand in exasperation, then rubbed his lower lip with a long, slender finger.

His quiet reaction only further stiffened the already tense atmosphere. It was not a situation to leisurely savor tea. Finally, Aeroc spoke first.
“I’d prefer to resolve this using income from the estate. So, I need your, no, Mr. Bendyke’s advice.”
He spoke with his head held high, maintaining a minimum of politeness.

“Pfft.”
At that, Bendyke scoffed. It felt more like he was laughing out of exasperation than enjoying a taunt. Was the contract that ridiculous? Having his intellect insulted, or rather, having his foolishness exposed, was twice as humiliating as an overt insult. Aeroc couldn’t openly show his flushed face. He put down the teacup and went to stand by the window. He wanted to believe it was natural, but he wasn’t that foolish. The gaze piercing his back felt stinging. He wished he would just say something. The bastard thoroughly enjoyed Aeroc’s discomfort.

“So?”
A moment later, Aeroc instinctively turned around at the question.
“What?”
“So, what’s the main point?”
He had already conveyed the humiliating purpose. He couldn’t understand why he was repeating the same question.
“That is the main point.”
“No, this is the problem, and the main point is what you will pay in exchange for me solving the problem.”
“Can it be solved?”
It seemed like such a serious problem, and he had even resorted to bringing in the most reluctant person to his mansion because he couldn’t find a solution. Honest joy burst out at the mention of a solution. At that, Bendyke cast a wicked glance.