INTO THE ROSE GARDEN

Vol. 5 ITRG Volume 5 Chapter 17.3

Bendyke, leaning back in the chair, chin resting on one hand, had his eyes closed. The shade of the estate gave his otherwise pale face an even more withered glow. If it weren’t for the subtle rise and fall of his chest, he would have looked like a corpse. The weather was gradually warming up. Even in the shade, a well-dressed adult alpha male like him wouldn’t feel the cold, yet the white marble terrace floor seemed as frosty as snow. It was probably because Bendyke was stepping on it.

A few strands of dark hair moved slightly in the gentle breeze. Unconsciously, Aeroc reached out his hand to the hair swaying softly above the long and straight bridge of Bendyke’s nose. Despite how he looked, his skin was warm. He had known this from before, but Bendyke had a high body temperature, likely due to an active metabolism. He was quite a formidable dynamo. It wasn’t just a metaphor suitable for the night. He’d come all the way up here without having anything, and he’d had to use all his available time. He was living a life the antithesis of Aeroc. If he hadn’t bothered Aeroc in the first place, Aeroc wouldn’t have even looked at him in the first place, much less played a lullaby for him as he slept here. This man was a thorn, an undisputed mystery, and an infinitely intriguing enigma all at once.

“I want to know more about you.”

The moment he actually touched the ripples upon the calm life, the person who seemed to sleep like the dead stirred. Startled, Aeroc pulled back, and Bendyke, eyebrows furrowed, groaned as if in pain. It seemed his shoulder was hurting. It seemed like he needed a doctor right away.

Entering the reception room connected to the terrace and placing the violin on the decorative table against the wall, a sudden clattering noise was heard. The tall man had woken up from his sleep and was rushing out from the terrace.

“Aeroc.”

Before he could respond to the call, the other man hurriedly left the reception room. He slammed the door with such force that the latch collided with the wall, creating a loud noise.

“Hey you, Bendyke.”

Surprised, Aeroc followed after him. The only one who rushed out wondering what had happened wasn’t just Aeroc. In the hallway, he encountered Hugo and another servant.

“What is going on?”

“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

Saying so, Aeroc hurriedly followed Bendyke. He went down the stairs quickly, passing through the entrance hall.

It was a hot afternoon in the rose garden, and the diligent gardener was hard at work, digging here and there, applying manure, snipping off branches of safflower, and spraying the medicine to keep the bugs away from the buds that were just opening. The middle-aged gardener, who had not worked as long as Hugo, but had tended the Count’s proud rose garden for many years, was well paid and wore his favourite shabby overalls. His overalls, made of coarse cloth, are worn and tattered, and his straw hat is riddled with holes. The hat was more than a decade old, and he favoured the breeze that blew through the holes to keep him cool. He was examining the rosebuds, trying to decide which bad ones he needed to pluck.

“Aeroc!”

When a strange gentleman came running up, calling his master’s name, the gardener dropped the pruning shears he was holding. A rough hand caught him and turned him round. He had only seen the man from afar once or twice as a guest of his master.

“Have…… Have I done something wrong?”

The gardener stammered in surprise. He couldn’t see the other man’s expression against the light, but he could make out the coldness in his gaze.

“Oh.”

With a short sigh, the gardener quickly left his position as the grip that held him lost its strength. The Count, his master who exuded an imposing presence, was generally lenient with those beneath him, but not everyone he interacted with enjoyed such generosity. There were many instances where someone earned his displeasure. In such cases, it was best to leave quickly. He could find the pruning shears later.

Letting go of the gardener, Bendyke stood dazed in the sunlight. Aeroc belatedly approached him with caution, breathing heavily.

“Bendyke?”

Aeroc called from behind, but there was no response. The other man kept his head down, muttering something and cupping his own face in both his hands. A large wingbone outlined above his tightly tailored jacket. At the same time, his imposing back slowly bent. It was a sign of despair. Aeroc approached him, mouth agape, and gazed into the down casted face, placing one hand gently on the prominent shoulder blade. Moisture glimmered momentarily through the long fingers that shielded the face.

“Bendyke…… Kloff?”

The voice called out to him again, this time in a gravelly tone. The man, who had previously ignored to call him with the familiar nickname, called him Kloff for the first time, making him slowly raise his head.

Ridicule, pretense, occasional anger, and the rare genuine joy suited Bendyke. But he wasn’t like that right now. His eyes, sunk like a swamp, were marred with indescribable pain and sorrow. He seemed as if struck by lightning. His black pupils were widened, and his slightly parted lips trembled thinly, showing the enormity of the incomprehensible shock.

“Ae…..roc?”

“What’s wrong with you all of a sudden? Are you feeling sick somewhere?”

“Aeroc.”

The fingertips approaching Aeroc were trembling, as if frostbitten. The cold fingertips seemed to touch Aeroc’s cheek as he watched anxiously. But he didn’t reach Aeroc, not until the goosebumps had disappeared and the hairs on his arms had subsided. Instead, he outlined it again and again from a distance, as if he couldn’t possibly reach Aeroc. Meanwhile, the shock that had initially painted a horrified expression on the pallid face gradually crumbled, replaced by a profound pain accompanied by an inexplicable sadness. The syllables uttered by lips that had been repeating an indecipherable murmur due to the inability to produce a voice were solely Aeroc’s name.

“Aeroc.”

“I’m here.”

Aeroc responded smoothly to the almost faltering call. He became increasingly entwined with the emotions of the other. What could be so sad and painful? What thoughts prompted him to search for Aeroc? What memories made him have such a poignant expression? Aeroc shouldn’t have called him an insensitive cobbler. What Aeroc saw were the eyes of a poet reciting despair, the voice of a singer crying out a torn heart, the gesture of a painter contemplating the end of a collapsing life. It was a pitiful soul infused with pain.

Stepping further into the shadows of the other person, the back was facing the brilliant sunlight, Aeroc raised his head. The whispers had died down. Only a soft breath passed between lips so close they seemed to touch. Aeroc laid his wet lips on top of his dry ones. Their lips gently touched, then pulled apart, then changed angles and touched again. Aeroc closed his eyes, lost in a world of reds and greens, and felt nothing but the other’s breath. The dizzying warmth flowed through the connected lips. Hands that had been wandering in the air came to rest on Aeroc’s shoulders as he reached out and wrapped his arms around the towering figure. The long fingers gave more force as the kiss continued.

Their lips overlapped several times, and their tongues darted out, until Bendyke suddenly turned his head and roughly pulled Aeroc away. The force of the shove nearly knocked Aeroc off his feet.

“What’s wrong?”

Aeroc stared at the other man in surprise. Bendyke ran one hand through his hair, unable to hide his perplexed face. His expression quickly hardened into a grim line.

“I must have had a seizure.”

His voice was low and raspy. His fingertips still trembled, but the gaze in his eyes had turned to cold ice. Bendyke turned his body back.

“I’m sorry, but I’ll return home for the day. I’ll apologise for my rudeness next time.”

There was no rudeness. Aeroc had kissed him first, and while he’d been acting strangely before that, it was the sort of thing that could be overlooked generously as an injured man dozing off and getting confused. Aeroc wondered what memory was causing him such despair, and wanted to comfort him if he could, but Bendyke seemed to be interested in none of that. He didn’t even turn back to the estate, but continued across the garden.

“Bendyke?”

Aeroc called out to him several times, but he never turned around.

After leaving the estate with his mouth clenched tightly shut, Bendyke didn’t show up for several days. The reports that did arrive contained no date or time, just a short message that he was busy and unable to visit the estate for the time being. The ache in his heart that had begun that day continued to torment Aeroc.

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