Into The Rose Garden

Vol. 1 Chapter 8.1 - Blue blooded

This time, Aelock would really have nowhere to go if he got abandoned again. He tried not to be arrogant like he was during his second pregnancy. He didn’t lash out at the servants who brought him meals, nor did he starve himself. He tried to live quietly and obediently as much as he could.

But it wasn’t easy at all to do things he had never done before in his life. He cut his fingers too many times while peeling potatoes, so the soup ended up boiling with his blood. He tore his clothes to shreds while doing laundry. It took him all day to light the fire pit in the kitchen, and sometimes he bumped his head while cleaning and got a bruise. Nevertheless, he still managed to do it.

Klopp came once a day. He looked around the cabin without saying any words and checked if Aelock was okay. While Klopp was checking if the omega he owned stayed safe overnight, Aelock was too nervous to say anything and just stood there observing Klopp too.

Klopp always looked like a hero from Northern mythology. He looked like an intellect in his reserved clothing but still looked strong like an alpha, and he could embrace him passionately when he went into heat. After everything that happened, sometimes Aelock would get scared and sad, but he was still happy. Sometimes when their eyes met, Aelock awkwardly smiled. Then Klopp frowned as if he was offended and glared at him.

“You really have no self-esteem….”

Aelock already knew what Klopp was going to call him without hearing it. There was a time when Aelock was full of jealousy that he outrightly insulted Klopp, saying that if he had no self-esteem, he was not human but a bug. There was the time when Aelock had tried to berate his beloved wife, and Klopp, who was his fiancé then, had stepped in, so Aelock had berated him instead.

Klopp remembered all of that. He must have a really good memory.

Aelock just smiled.

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Aelock woke up late the next day and looked at his unsurprising empty side. He had opened his eyes a while ago but hadn’t gotten up, so he brushed off the crumpled sheet under his heavy weight. Pregnancy was not bad. In fact, it was good because Klopp would come often. But on the other hand, he was afraid. Giving birth always hurt, and he had to let go of the baby without even saying goodbye. He tightly hugged the blanket, which still had the alpha’s residual scent, and took a deep breath.

After a while, he got up from the bed. He was so hungry that the baby was probably upset and kicked his belly loudly.

“Wait a little bit. You need to have some patience.”

There would probably be two roasted potatoes left from last night. He should eat them before they go bad.

As he tried to stand up with both legs, he fell back down under the bed. His legs gave out, there wasn’t any strength left in them. He landed on his buttocks painfully, and his belly hurt too. The baby must have been surprised too, the kicking stopped. Aelock groaned and stood up again.

At that moment, something hot ran between his thighs. His face became red at the sight of the slightly bloody, sticky substance. He could smell the alpha’s scent mixed with his own scent through the pungent smell. He wiped between his legs with an old cloth that served as a towel, rubbing his suddenly flushed face. Then he started eating the potatoes he took out of the fire pit.

“They taste really good today. Don’t you think so?”

The child moved in a hectic as if responding to the question. Aelock laughed out loud without realizing it.

He washed with water drawn from the manual pump. It was regretful to lose Klopp’s scent, but if he didn’t wash up, his stomach would hurt later. After washing, he suddenly felt tired and feverish from the remaining effects of his heat, so he climbed into the bed and lay down. Klopp’s scent still lingered on the sheets. Aelock felt lucky. With his cheek lightly resting on the sheet, he closed his eyes and fell asleep. As the pregnancy progressed, he only felt an increase in fatigue and sleepiness.

When Klopp dropped by unannounced, Aelock mentioned this fact to him. That his body felt strangely heavy and he kept falling asleep. Even when he had been through enough pregnancies previously, this time felt a bit abnormal, he said with a slight laugh. It was just something he said to dispel the awkward atmosphere that had arisen from their previous intercourse, but it didn’t seem to work. Klopp looked at him with a twisted voice, and Aelock felt embarrassed. Klopp looked his way without much response.

“What do you want this time, Count?”

Klopp asked with a twisted voice, making Aelock feel embarrassed. He felt like he was acting out again. He quickly shook his head, fearing that he would receive another chastise that began with ‘You really dare to not know your place.’

“I don’t want anything. I just wanted to mention it. I’m satisfied now as it is.”

His dark auburn eyes flickered with interest, but when Aelock smiled, they quickly turned into displeasure. He despised Aelock’s smile so much. But Aelock always unconsciously smiled, and the air always became cold. It just couldn’t be helped.

Occasionally, Klopp would stare at him absentmindedly. But he didn’t say anything. When he looked at him like that, Aelock didn’t know how he should respond, so he just sat still with a thin smile, staring back at him.

Sometimes, almost imperceptible, Klopp would return a momentary smile. When that happened, Aelock felt his heart pounding. His fingertips trembled, so he deliberately grabbed the hem of his shirt and crumpled it. He wanted to keep looking at that smile, but he didn’t want Klopp to notice his blushing cheeks, so he deliberately turned his head away.

“I am the one who feels uncomfortable.”

Klopp stood up, leaving incomprehensible words behind, and left without further actions. He could have stayed a little longer.

Left alone, Aelock found himself wondering what to do in the center of the cabin that had suddenly turned into winter. He wiggled his frozen toes for a bit, then stood up and walked aimlessly around the empty space. He grabbed a potato on the table and put it down, then wiped the back of an empty chair that Klopp had forgotten to push back in place. And he caught a glimpse of himself in the dusty mirror hanging on the wall.

His unruly hair had grown quite long. The hair that he had cut short when he last came back to the cabin was now long enough to reach his shoulders. His once golden and lustrous hair was now dull and ugly. As he glanced at his face, he noticed that his cheeks had sunken in, and his eyes had lost their sparkle. Aelock smiled faintly without any hint of arrogance. He felt awkward looking at his own reflection, but he also felt somewhat familiar with it. After a while, he realized who the person in the mirror looked like.

Ah. That smile Klopp made wasn’t directed at me.

His chest ached.