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Vol. 5 ITRG Volume 5 Chapter 17.1

“You’re late.”

Waiting, Aeroc watched as a plain, unmarked black carriage pulled up the estate’s driveway. Bendyke had turned up a little later than he’d announced. Compared to the notoriously tardy person that every social circle would have, he came at quite the precise timing, but it was unexpected for such an uptight faucet.

As Bendyke was ushered into the terrace room, Aeroc reflexively tried to stand up, but Bendyke signalled with a wave of his hand for him to remain seated. While it was an inappropriate reception to give to the host, it was also strange to observe such politeness between them. He skipped formal greetings and got right to what he wanted to say, as if they had just parted yesterday and met today.

“You look a lot better than I thought you would be.”

Bendyke, sitting in the chair across from Aeroc, responded with the corners of lips rising.

“I received your gift well. Thanks to it, I’ve been having a cup of filthy water-like herbal tea every morning and evening.”

“That filthy water has excellent effects on calming the mind and body.”

“Was it a well-intentioned gift?”

His deliberately surprising action suited really well with his bold smile.

“How dare you expect goodwill from me. Did you suffer another gunshot to your head?”

“As expected. It tasted awful. And what kind of magic did you use on Martha to make her sing praises of you?

Aeroc titled my head, not understanding what he was talking about.

“I thought it was from someone who secretly had a crush on me because Martha said it was from a beautiful young man. It turned out to be my evil employer. I was disappointed.”

“I should have mixed it with poison to melt your insolent tongue.”

As they exchanged the usual banter about the gifts and cards both of them had sent, Aeroc watched the other man closely. Bendyke moved his arm, the side having the gunshot, very slowly. The tips of his long fingers bent and straightened slightly, but without difficulty. There seemed to be no lingering effects of a significant injury.

“Well, at least you seem to be unharmed. Even if you’re a detestable scroundle, I wouldn’t want to see someone die in front of me. Bad dreams would have haunted me.”

“Unfortunately, the guns they had were old and defective, so my bones and muscles are intact. I lost quite a bit of blood, but after the overwhelming shock wore off, I felt rather refreshed.”

Aeroc snorted, not sure if he was joking or serious. But inside, Aeroc felt bad. Bendyke chatted nonchalantly and drank his tea, but it wasn’t the kind of injury that could be dismissed so easily. It was still a gunshot wound. The kind that would have kept a normal person in bed for a week. But just a few days later, Bendyke was back to work and out as if nothing had happened. Aeroc was not sure he’d call that a sign of good health. In any case, Bendyke was regularly taking some potent tranquillisers of unknown origin.

“I heard that the pills you’ve been taking aren’t for headaches.”

“Where did you hear that?”

“The doctor explained it to me after a fellow had emptied two bottles which resulted in a complete meltdown. He said it was a nerve stabiliser, and a bottle of it could put a bull to sleep.”

Showing a nonchalant reaction, Bendyke leaned back comfortably in the chair Aeroc had deliberately chosen due to his large frame and stared off into the sun-drenched garden.

“It’s really nothing.”

He crossed his long legs. He rested one hand on top of his wrapped leg, his fingers moving lightly. Now that Aeroc thought about it, it seemed to be a gesture Bendyke made when he was in a difficult situation or didn’t want to answer. He looked at the distant mountains, then met Aeroc’s gaze and made up an obvious lie.

“Everyone gets a little neurotic disorder when they have to deal with numbers. Unlike the aristocrats, who can just sit back and enjoy their accumulated wealth, people like me have to work for a living. When people are forced to do things they don’t want to do, some of them get toothaches, some of them get headaches, and some of them get sleepless nights with terrible itching. In my case, it’s neurosis accompanied by excitement.”

“That sounds like quite a different explanation from what the doctor gave.”

“Doctors are usually overreacting so they can scare patients and make more money.”

Aeroc couldn’t bring himself to question that Bendyke might be addicted to drugs. He looked perfectly fine. Perhaps he had taken that drug for the gunshot wound that day. As Aeroc continued to stare at him in scepticism, Bendyke suddenly burst out laughing. There was a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“Are you really that worried about me?”

“More precisely, I’m worried that my financial manager will lose control of his nerves and do something bizarre, causing great damage to me.”

The other man’s laughter intensified, even though Aeroc gave him a good reason. Unlike Aeroc, he seemed to be enjoying this conversation. Wait, Aeroc was enjoying this too. This was a fun conversation, except that unlike his laid-back counterpart, Aeroc’s irritation was rising.

“I thought I was fired.”

“Then why are you here if you know that you’re fired? You were the one who made the appointment first.”

“You’re being very unkind to the man who risked his life to save you. This is upsetting.”

Rather than sounding upset, Bendyke sounded as if he enjoyed this very much. Aeroc took a deep breath to calm his boiling temper. The man could so easily sway his supposedly steadfast resolve. Hugo had said Bendyke was keeping Aeroc alive, but what was the point of living if this man was only inciting his frustrations. Sensing Aeroc’s irritation, Bendyke let out a laugh in amusement. With his fangs bared and his grinning mouth half-covered by his index finger, he spoke in a fairly meek tone.

“You’re even more sparkling today.”

“What kind of bullshit is that?”

“It’s literally as I said, you’re unusually sparkling.”

His trusted butler and even his distrusted financial manager had suddenly become strange. Was he so different from his usual self? Aeroc couldn’t tell at all. Unlike Hugo, Aeroc had no inclination to show Bendyke his true colours. He frowned and coughed shakily in response. Then Bendyke leaned his upper body forward.

“You’re totally way younger and more vigorous than I remember. I thought you were a cold-blooded human with a hard ice chiselled nose that could pierce the sky.”

“I’m sorry to say that I’m an aristocrat of such noble character and grace that I could hardly be considered a mere mortal.”

“I wasn’t complimenting you that far.”

“For a pervert to flirt with a cold-blooded aristocrat, shouldn’t you be praising him, even if you’re just making up false words?”

Aeroc rolled his eyes to show his displeasure. Then Bendyke burst out laughing. Aeroc had never seen him laugh so relaxed.

“You’re right. I see, it is my fault.”

“If you know that, you should be shaving off your arrogant nose in the future instead of someone else’s. It’s a world where even the lowliest of the low can pretend to be an aristocrat f they have the skills, but you should be grateful that the Count of Teiwind interacts with a lowly gentry in such an unassuming manner.”

“I’ll give you my most sincere gratitude, Count.”

The answer that Bendyke returned surprisingly contained no sarcasm or malice. It felt so sincere that, out of a fearful curiosity, Aeroc scrutinized the other person intently. In the motion of brushing back his slightly disheveled hair, there was no arrogant smirk to be found. Freshness blossomed on a face that looked as if it had been painstakingly crafted by a god and then slightly neglected in the finishing touches. The intense gaze that had emerged from the depths of the swamp now shone with nothing but solemnity, devoid of any arrogant glint. Then, his expression changed in an instant. The mischievous look on his face blended with a soft tone, combined with an underlying toughness, made Bendyke very charming. It was Bendyke himself who was looking younger and more vigorous.

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