I froze on the spot and my mind went completely blank. I could only feel my heart being squeezed. It took me a while to come back to my senses.
I pried the little girl’s hands off, squatted down, and looked at her seriously. “What’s your name?”
The little girl tilted her head to the side and looked at me in confusion. “You’re my dad. How could you not know my name?”
I was choked. “I’m not your father,” I said in a hoarse voice.
“Huh?” The little girl’s doe-like eyes went as wide as saucers. “Daddy, are you playing games with me?”
I touched my forehead helplessly. “No, I’m not playing games with you.”
“All right.” The little girl wrapped her chubby fingers around my index finger and said solemnly, “My name is Beryl, but you should call me Baby Beryl.”
“Okay, Beryl.”
“It’s Baby Beryl.” The little girl puffed out her cheeks indignantly.
I had no choice but to compromise. “Well… Okay, Baby Beryl. Can you tell me where you’re from?”
Beryl thought for a while and shook her head, at a loss. “Didn’t I come from your belly, Daddy?”
I felt my head hurt. I didn’t know whether I should explain to her that only she-wolves could get pregnant and give birth to babies, not male werewolves. But she was so young that I figured she wouldn’t understand. I couldn’t help but wonder if the little girl had been bonked on the head too hard.
“Do you still remember your family? Who’s your Mommy?” I asked patiently.
Beryl shook her head again, her eyes welling up with tears. “I can’t remember. Daddy, aren’t you my family?”
The little girl looked as though she would burst into tears if I said no.
I quickly dropped the topic and called the doctor in. “Is she okay? She seems to be a bit confused.”
“I’m not confused!” Beryl cried indignantly. She wiped her tears away, planted her hands on her hips, and started to recite something about herbal medicine.
Hearing this, the doctor was stunned. “Little girl, where’d you learn about all those herbal medicines?”
Beryl smiled smugly. “I don’t know. They’re just in my mind. Anyway, I’m not stupid!”
I breathed a sigh of relief. To the doctor, I asked, “What’s going on?”
The doctor scratched his chin and mused, “The child must’ve suffered a concussion thanks to those robbers. Concussions could lead to temporary memory loss. Presumably, before the child fainted, the last person she saw was you, which left a deep impression on her. That’s probably why she thinks you’re her father.”
I pursed my lips and looked at Beryl wordlessly. If she lost her memory, things would be trickier now. Even if the notice worked, I couldn’t be sure if the person who came to me was actually Beryl’s family.
“Do you still remember your family? Who’s your Mommy?” I asked patiently.
“Daddy, braid my hair.” Beryl pulled the pink hair band off her wrist and placed it on my palm. Then she turned her back to me, waiting expectantly for me to obey her command.
“Daddy, braid my hair.” Beryl pulled the pink hair band off her wrist and placed it on my palm. Then she turned her back to me, waiting expectantly for me to obey her command.
I hesitated for a while and didn’t do anything. I had never braided anyone’s hair in my life. When I finally managed to open my mouth to refuse, Beryl turned around and looked at me impatiently. “Daddy, hurry up. Braid my hair.”
“Er, okay.” I picked up the hair band expressionlessly. After all, I was a king. As a king, it would be tyrannical of me not to satisfy such a small request.
It took me forever to gather her hair and put it into the band, and the braid wasn’t exactly pretty. Her hair was nice and smooth, but thanks to my clumsy hands, it now looked messy and frizzy.
“So, how long will this last until she regains her memories?” I turned to the doctor, who was watching from the side.
The doctor cleared his throat nervously and faltered, “It’s hard to say. Maybe a few days, maybe a few months, or even a few years.”
“Jesus!” His answer angered me. Coincidentally, before I could vent my anger, a guard came in and said that Alpha Crystal wanted to see me.
Interesting. Why did that she-wolf come to see me now? Well, at least she saved me the trouble of looking for her.
Ha ha.
Rufus’ POV
“Let her in.”
I swallowed my anger for the time being.
The she-wolf had good timing. I wanted to ask her about something anyway.
I nudged Beryl towards the doctor and said to the latter, “Take good care of her.”
The doctor nodded respectfully.
I took one more look at the strawberry-embellished hair band in Beryl’s hair with satisfaction and then stood up.
Unexpectedly, Beryl suddenly grabbed my arm, so I accidentally lifted her tiny body as I stood up.
“Wow! This is fun! Higher, Higher!” Beryl probably thought I was playing with her, so she grinned at me from ear to ear.
Afraid that I’d drop her, I quickly hugged her close to my chest and said, “I have something to deal with. Stay here.”
“No, I want to be with Daddy.” As Beryl spoke, she wrapped her chubby arms around my neck tightly, almost choking me.
“Beryl, I can’t breathe.” I struggled to say those four words and tried to pry Beryl’s hands off, but when I touched her soft skin, I was worried that I’d hurt her.
Fortunately, Beryl loosened her grip. She complained with dissatisfaction, “Daddy, why can’t I go with you? And you should call me Baby Beryl, not Beryl.”
“Because we’re going to talk about adult stuff.”
“What? Why? I can understand what grown-ups talk about. Daddy, do you still think I’m stupid? Well, you’re wrong! I know grown-up words too, you know!” Beryl clung to me stubbornly. As she spoke, she even put her chubby face close to me. She smelled like a baby, which made me feel at a loss.
Beryl was too young to be scolded or grounded. Even though I tried to act serious in front of her, she would reach out her little hands and push the corners of my mouth up, forcing me to smile.
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