“Did you leave because of Warren’s father?” I guessed.
Warren’s father was so stern. It was only natural that Flora felt uneasy in his presence.
“Yes,” Flora admitted quickly.
“What’re you planning to do? You’re going to go back to your pack and meet his parents sooner or later.” I looked at my friend with concern, patting her on the shoulder.
Hopefully, Warren’s father was only serious on the surface. He was easy-going behind in private.
“Oh, enough about me. I don’t even know if we’ll be together long enough for me to meet his parents.” Flora waved her hand dismissively. Her words were heartless. If Warren had heard what she said, he would’ve jumped out of the bed right then and there.
“Why so pessimistic, Flora?” I shook my head helplessly. Flora was so unorthodox, even when it came to relationships.
Flora tugged at my arm and pouted like a spoiled child. “Quit scolding me, Sylvia.”
I poked her forehead with my forefinger reproachfully. “Warren’s a good man. I really think he’s good for you.”
“Whatever,” Flora replied perfunctorily.
Then she shifted the spotlight to me.
“So, is Prince Rufus going to propose to you yet? I mean, he professed his love for you in public already.” Flora wriggled her eyebrows at me mischievously. “I can’t wait ’til you two have a child for me to play with.”
I looked at her with wide eyes, both amused and annoyed. I pushed her away playfully. “What’re you talking about? He just announced our mate bond, nothing else.”
I decided not to mention it out loud, but I couldn’t help but think about the witch’s curse on Rufus and how he might never have children. Well, even if the curse couldn’t be lifted, I was ready to spend the rest of my life with Rufus childless.
“Come on, Sylvia. Spill the beans already. I know that Prince Rufus is so bossy. He must have asked you to move in with him, am I right?” Flora looked me up and down knowingly. “Is he good in bed?”
My cheeks immediately burned as the intimate scenes from last night resurfaced in my mind.
“He is, isn’t he?! It’s written all over your face, Sylvia!” Flora pointed at my red face and laughed so hard.
She was such a gossip and kept pressing me for details.
I couldn’t stand it anymore. I shrugged her off and said coolly, “If you’re so curious, go and explore with Warren.”
At the mention of that boy’s name, Flora’s confidence faltered. “Okay, okay. I’ll behave.”
I ignored her and got up to take a shower. It was a hot day today and I sweated a lot.
“By the way, where is Rufus now? Now that your mate bond has been made public, you should have celebrated together. How could he let you walk back here all by yourself?” Flora followed me to the bathroom and asked in confusion.
I immediately felt stiff and complicated feelings surged in my heart. “After the closing ceremony, Rufus was called away by the lycan king.”
Rufus’ POV
My father and I retired to study. Neither of us exchanged a word for a while. He was standing with his back to me. But his angry face was reflected on a row of crystal glass decor pieces on the shelf.
Five minutes of silence later, I couldn’t help but break the ice first. “Father.”
My father snorted but refused to turn around.
“Then, if there’s nothing you need to tell me, I’ll get going first,” I said nonchalantly. The truth was, I knew exactly why my father was angry, but he had no choice but to accept it.
Suddenly, my father whirled around and slammed his fist on the desk. “You insolent child! How dare you! It’s clear that you don’t even take me seriously!”
I looked up at him calmly and said in a flat tone, “Father, did you forget that we have already reached an agreement?”
“Even then, you should have informed me in advance!” My father pointed a trembling finger at me. Eyes wide with rage, he demanded, “Do you have any idea what you’ve done? You acted without my consent then reported to me afterwards.”
“Please, don’t be angry.” I frowned slightly. “We agreed from the very beginning that I’d announce my mate bond as soon as we proved Sylvia’s mother’s innocence. I kept my end of the bargain and didn’t make it public until now. I think I should be the one who’s aggrieved right now.”
My father burst into crazed laughter. “You? Aggrieved? There were so many people present today. Couldn’t you wait for one second?”
“All the better. What’s the point of making it public if there were only a few people present?” My eyes twinkled mischievously, and I smiled at my father calmly. In my eyes, there wasn’t a problem. The more people knew about it, the better. In fact, if I had it my way, I would’ve wanted to tell the whole world that Sylvia was mine.
My father’s nostrils flared but he couldn’t say a word.
“Sylvia’s a good girl, but she needs more experience.” He finally sighed in defeat.
I nodded in agreement. “When she serves in the army, I will make sure she received special training.”
My father glanced at me and shook his head helplessly, signaling that he was ready to compromise. “Anyway, there’s something I need you to do. Just leave Sylvia’s training to Leonard.”
I looked up in surprise. I didn’t expect that my father would make such an arrangement. He had already expected this to happen and made the necessary arrangements in advance.
Sylvia would be very happy when she found out about this. Leonard used to be the strongest warrior in the empire. He would make a good teacher, and Sylvia could benefit a lot from his guidance.
“Thank you.”
My father snorted coldly. After a while, he opened his mouth to say something more, but then stopped on second thought.
Confused, I raised one eyebrow at him questioningly. “Was there anything else you wanted to say to me?”
My father averted his gaze, as though he was embarrassed. In that moment, I realized he was thinking about Richard.
“I’ll never forgive him.”
“I’m not asking you to forgive Richard…” His tone turned a little anxious. “After everything that happened, I now realize that Richard can never hold such a high position because it’s difficult for him to take responsibility.”
I didn’t say anything but looked at him calmly, waiting for him to say more.
My father heaved a long sigh. “So, I brought Lucy to the palace. I will personally take care of the baby when she gives birth. If…”
He paused and looked at me with an embarrassed expression. I couldn’t read the emotion in his eyes. “If ever you can’t have the curse removed, I hope that you and Sylvia can take care of the child and protect the empire when I’m gone.”
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