“I’m not worried about anything. I just think that you should choose a woman you like,” I sighed.
“It’s enough that you like her,” Rufus said confidently.
I nearly let out a snarl at his words. Everything Rufus said reminded me of how naive I had been. I thought I had picked out the “perfect” daughter-in-law, but ultimately, I had been greatly mistaken.
I touched my face, as if it were still burning with shame.
“Mom, is there something wrong?” Rufus asked, raising his eyebrows.
“No, I just thought of something from the past. But you have to choose a wife yourself. You should find the right person. It’s useless that I like her. You’re the one who’s going to marry her, not me. If you choose the wrong woman, you’ll blame me,” a hint of blame crept into my voice as I spoke. If only Rufus had been as obedient as he was now, things would probably have been different by now.
Rufus looked at me in confusion. “Mom, it sounds like you’re blaming me.”
“No, I was just saying it,” I laughed awkwardly, and we both drank our tea in silence.
In recent years, Rufus had become noticeably quieter. He had always been a reserved person, but now, he had become even more so.
I sighed in my heart. I truly felt sorry for him. After all, he was my only son, and I loved and cared about him.
And Sylvia too. She was far away from the capital city. No matter how hard I tried, they just weren’t meant to be together. Rufus had already lost her, and it might have been the Moon Goddess’s will.
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Thinking of this, a thought suddenly popped into my head. I looked at Rufus with wide eyes and said ecstatically, “Why don’t we hold a ball? We can invite women of marriageable age from various packs. And if, by then, you’re feeling particularly romantic toward someone, you can marry her.”
“Mom, is that really a good idea?” Rufus frowned.
“You told me to handle this matter, and this is how I’m planning to handle it!” I responded irritably.
Laura’s POV
“All right.” Rufus didn’t say anything more and agreed to hold a ball to choose a wife.
I nodded, feeling very satisfied with my decision. “In this way, I can personally evaluate every woman and know more about her character and personality.”
But I just hoped Rufus could choose a girl by himself, so that I would just need to stand by and watch. That way, if Rufus ended in an unhappy marriage, I wouldn’t be blamed for it.
“It’s settled then. We’re holding a grand ball.” I was so excited that I began to chatter about how we would plan it.
Initially, Rufus wasn’t too enthusiastic with the idea of holding a grand ball. But with my persuasion, he finally gave in.
I knew that this news would spread like a wildfire in the entire empire. After all, the lycan king was holding a ball for him to choose his wife personally.
“In that case… The day of the military parade is approaching. Coincidentally, Alphas from all the packs are coming, which means they could also bring their daughters along. It’s like hitting two birds with one stone.” Rufus suggested.
I didn’t think too much and agreed. Anyway, it was perfect like this. There would be a dinner party after the military parade and we could just turn it into a ball this time.
The Alphas, I assumed, must be very happy, and this year’s military parade ceremony should be very lively.
Rufus’ face darkened at the mention of the parade. “I just received the news that the Alpha of the border pack will not come this year.”
“Perhaps the Alpha is just really busy at the moment with pressing matters. The border pack has always been unstable and the Alpha has to stay in the pack,” I said casually. Of course Sylvia wouldn’t come. Not only this year, but also in the future. The capital city would surely be packed and crowded during the military parade. It was hard to guarantee that no one would recognize Sylvia. More than that, there was a risk of Rufus seeing her and triggering his memory back.
Although I took Rufus’ statement to be a passing remark, I was taken aback when he immediately scoffed. “The Alpha of the border pack suddenly took office five years ago. She didn’t have any qualifications or merits that I could recall. How could she be qualified to take that position in the first place? I have always suspected that there is someone behind it.”
An uncomfortable smile crossed my face. “What are you talking about? Your father has seen that Alpha before. She’s a young lady with integrity, competence, and good manners. She has brought peace and prosperity to the border over the past few years. A competent subordinate like her is a treasure.”
Rufus lowered his eyes and asked with an unfathomable expression, “Really? But why has she never come here to the imperial capital to pay her king a visit?”
I was stunned into silence, almost losing control of my expression and wanting to scold him. Since he had lost his memories, Rufus has been increasingly challenging to work with. It was hard to hide anything from him.
Still, what he said made sense. Since Sylvia assumed the position of Alpha, she had remained hidden in the border. It was really strange that an Alpha had never come to the capital city to visit the lycan king.
“I’m having the impression that she doesn’t take the royal family seriously at all.” Rufus sneered and convicted Sylvia.
That left me at a loss for words. “How could it be possible? That’s the Alpha chosen by your father. I’m sure your father had done a thorough background check on her. There won’t be a problem with her character and identity. As for not taking the royal family seriously, that’s too ludicrous. Don’t you believe your father’s judgment?”
“It’s not that I don’t believe him. I’m just concerned that my father’s illness prevented him from making sound judgments about other people at the time. It’s not that I’m thinking too much. The border pack is far away from the imperial palace. It would be easy to pull something sneaky behind my back. For some reason, I have a bad feeling that Alpha might rebel against me,” Rufus said in a determined tone with his sharp eyes.
Anxious after hearing him, I couldn’t hold the cup steadily so I hit it on the table and it chipped. Oh, god! It was an antique I had treasured for many years!
Laura’s POV
Rufus rushed to clean the spilled tea and the nicked cup and sported a frown as he said, “Mom, be careful. The tea is hot.”
The chipped tea cup flew out of my mind. It was the least of my concerns right then. More precisely, I threw it aside and spoke for Sylvia, “The pack on the border pays their taxes in time every year, and they even fulfill their quota more than what is demanded of them. They seldom ask for resources from the royal family. They behave themselves just fine.”
But no matter how convicted I spoke, Rufus and I could not meet eye to eye. His brows furrowed even more deeply and replied, “I am aware, and that’s exactly why it’s strange. The border is far away from the imperial capital city-far from our eyes, if you can imagine-and the resources are scarce. However, the population has been increasing in the past few years. In fact, the rift that had long divided the three packs for years are now actually mended, and they’re even united! Whether they’re currently on truce is still unclear, but all the more uncanny that is. The way I see it, their merging doesn’t, in any way, benefit the royal family anything; the packs just relied on themselves. I’m afraid they’re only deceiving us, and they’ll attack when we’re complacent.”
“What kind of reason could they have in mind? I think their action reflects that of the Alpha’s. Think of it this way: the she-wolf in charge manages her subordinates well. Look around Rufus! The pack’s economy has progressed. That’s why more people moved in.” I began to fidget my hands in anxiety as I fumbled for a way to explain it to Rufus and make him see the situation in my perspective. Once Rufus had settled his mind that something was suspicious, it was always difficult to convince him otherwise. This was the case unless he could meet Sylvia and find out the truth.
But wouldn’t that rendezvous risk Rufus regaining his memory? It was too high a stake.
“As the lycan king, you should be happy to have such a capable Alpha to share the burden of your worries. Why can’t you shake off that fear and doubt?” I wanted to scream profanities at him to appease this ineffable frustration overwhelming me. I began to wonder who he inherited such a weird character from. Even Ethan back then wasn’t as paranoid as Rufus was now!
“That Alpha is indeed very capable,” Rufus commented coldly as he finished cleaning the mess I made. His eyes fell on the table.
A sigh of relief escaped my lips on his declaration. Just as I relished the thought that Rufus had finally seen things the way I did, him changing the subject all of a sudden reminded me that I did no good in persuading him.
“But at the same time, she’s also very ambitious. All these years, she’s been keeping to herself and has never come to visit me, to the point that it’s making me wonder if she’s trying to avoid getting under my radar. It seems as though she just wants me to forget that she exists, hoping it’ll eventually make me let my guard down,” Rufus analyzed. There was patience as he did so-something that was not there when he argued with me earlier. It sounded kind of reasonable that he almost succeeded in persuading me.
Little did he know that the reason why Sylvia hadn’t been to the capital city for so many years was indeed to make him forget her. However, instead of planning a rebellion, she was doing it for his sake.
I forced an awkward laugh out of my throat at the irony of the situation. I tried my luck again in speaking for Sylvia. “Maybe it’s just because it takes quite a journey to come here, so she hasn’t, perhaps, considered paying due respects to you.”
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