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“Yes, it’s me. I cannot believe I am seeing you here!” Lorenzo instantly jumped out of the carriage and excitedly held out his hand for a handshake.

Romulus instantly slapped away Lorenzo’s hand and then said, “Lorenzo! That’s not a very polite way to greet your Crown Prince.”

“Crown... Prince?” Lorenzo looked so shocked and gave this look of betrayal to Everard that if there were a medal for best acting, then he would definitely receive it.

Everard closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose upon seeing that expression on Lorenzo’s face. If it were any other time, then he would have been thrilled to be reunited with Lorenzo, and he would have apologized for having lied to him about his true identity.

But right now, he was already restless to know about his father’s illness, and Lorenzo’s sudden arrival only pushed his curiosity further.

He opened his eyes to look at Lorenzo.

Lorenzo instantly gave a bow and then greeted him in an accusing tone, “Long live Your Highness.”

Everard sighed and asked Lorenzo, “Can I talk to you in a minute? Lord Romulus and I were having an important conversation.”

.....

Lorenzo gave a nod and immediately turned to go back inside the carriage.

“You two know each other?” Romulus also kept up with the act.

Everard looked at Romulus and asked while completely ignoring his question, “May I know what is wrong with my father?”

Romulus was more than ready to spill the beans. “Before I say anything, I assume that you already have enough knowledge about the concept of werewolf mates.” He took a step closer to the Prince and then asked in a low voice, “Or they haven’t had the chance to talk about that topic as well?”

“I do know a few details,” Everard replied while furrowing his brows. He could now already guess where this conversation was headed.

And just as Everard had thought, Romulus proved that the former had been right all along.

“Then you must also have heard how difficult it is for us werewolves to stay apart from our mates. If you were thinking that those things you heard about the mates were just myths or that they were overly romanticized versions of the truth, I must say that you were wrong.”

Everard was all ears. He listened without interrupting the alpha.

“Once a partner dies, almost all of the cases till now suggest that the other will follow soon after. The King’s case was out of the ordinary since the Queen had died a long time ago. I am not saying that His Majesty should have... you know....”

Everard clasped his hands together and gulped.

“What I am trying to say is that he must have suppressed his heartbreak until now somehow because he couldn’t leave his Kingdom and his clan in the hands of the others. And now that Your Highness has come of age and has also received the blessing from the Moon Goddess, I think his heart and mind finally caught up with the loss.”

Everard scoffed, his eyes glistening with tears, and looked away. He tried to swallow the lump in his throat again and said in a heavily guilt-ridden voice, “You mean... my father is suddenly on the verge of death because I turned into a werewolf?”

“No...” Romulus stood in front of the Prince and tried to console him. “No, my Prince, that was not the meaning behind my words. What I meant to say was that maybe it’s time that you let your father rest the burden that he has been handling alone for all this while. Let him know that you are ready to relieve him; that you are ready to take after both the Kingdom and the clan. You need to allow him to grieve his beloved wife.”

Everard clenched his teeth and glared at Romulus, his eyes glistening amber with rage.

He then asked while trying his best not to show the rage in his voice, “What are you implying, Lord Romulus? Are you saying that I should let my father die and then take his throne? You do know that your words can be misinterpreted, and you can be charged with treason, right?”

Romulus lowered his gaze, unhinged by that accusation. “I only speak the truth, Your Highness. You are trying not to see it, but deep down, you also know that His Majesty’s days are numbered.”

Everard wanted to deny it, but he had thought the same.

The corner of Romulus’ lips curved up ever so slightly. And he further tried to manipulate the Crown Prince, “So, don’t you think that it is better to let your father see you on the throne and allow him to pass in peace, rather than put that heavy burden on him till the day he passes away? He deserves at least a day without all his burdens. That way, his heart will be at ease when his time finally comes.”

Everard was so angered and hurt by that directness of Romulus that he was unable to stand his sight.

He glared at Romulus with his shiny amber eyes and snarled, “I want you to leave, Lord Romulus, before I charge you of treason against the King.”

Romulus simply gave Everard a soft smile and said while bowing, “You will know that I was right once you sit down and calmly think this through again. See you around, my Prince.”

Everard completely forgot about Lorenzo and stormed inside the castle without sparing another glance at the carriage.

The moment he entered his room, he slammed the door close and screamed at the top of his lungs in utter rage and frustration.

His scream of despair was heard by almost everyone in the castle; it was that loud. A few of the maids who were walking past his room got terrified and ran away from the vicinity as soon as they could.

Everard took off all of his clothes and boots and flopped down on the bed. He then covered his eyes with his forearm and began to silently shed the tears that he had been holding in until now.

‘I am not ready! I am not ready... I can’t lose him... Not yet...’

Although he was being trained and taught for his whole life to someday sit on the throne and take over the responsibilities of the King, the very thought of it terrified him to the core because that would mean he would lose his father, and suddenly, he would be responsible for hundreds of thousands of lives.

Until now, his immediate plans for the future were very simple – rescue Anna, graduate, live freely, and enjoy the air of his Kingdom while slowly learning about the Kingdom from his father.

However, life threw the most difficult hurdle at him, and out of the blue, all of his plans were now doomed.

He wanted to live a carefree, or rather, less burdensome life for at least a few years. But with his father’s health worsening by the day, he could now see himself getting tied to the throne until the day he would be in his father’s current situation.

Everard was scared for his father, yes. He didn’t want to lose his only family. But more than that, he was scared for himself, terrified even.

So, in order to make himself feel better, he started to look for someone to blame his situation on.

‘If only Mother was still alive... Would my father be this sick?’

‘What if I hadn’t turned? Would my father still be okay?’

In the end, he clenched his fist and then pinned all the blame on Anastasia’s parents.

‘If only they hadn’t betrothed her as if she was some unwanted child, maybe I wouldn’t have turned into this hideous monster that somehow made my father see me as a man capable of handling the Kingdom.’

“Your Highness?”

He was suddenly pulled out of his guilt trip and his blame game when he heard a voice that provided him a sense of comfort.