Vol. 5 ITRG Volume 5 Chapter 17.3

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.

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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