391 Approaching Ceremony
When Lorenzo walked away and disappeared from the garden, Everard finally focused his attention on Jerome. “Did you come here to eavesdrop on me and Lorenzo or did you have something more to say to me?” he asked rather harshly.
“It was a mere coincidence, Your Majesty.” Jerome didn’t take the King’s tone to heart because he was used to Everard’s mood swings by now. He gave a gentle bow to the King and finally stated the purpose of his visit. “I came here to remind you that all the preparations for the full moon have been completed.”
“Ah!” Everard took a deep breath in and looked in the distance. A subtle hint of sadness loomed over his face because he began missing his father.
Jerome watched the expression on Everard’s face turn sour. But he still said what he had to. “Everyone from our clan will gather at the Great Hall for the ceremony. And since no one objected or challenged your candidacy to the position of the alpha, the elders are supporting my candidacy as your beta.”
Everard looked at Jerome and gave a nod. “I hope you will be my beta then. I can’t think of anyone else who will devote themselves to me as you do.”
“I’m flattered, Your Majesty,” Jerome smiled slightly.
However, his heart was also very heavy because he was also missing the late alpha to whom he had promised to dedicate his life to. But he quickly sighed and thought to himself, ‘But in a way, I will still be working for him. He asked me to look after his son.’
He slowly started to recall the last moments of the late alpha. It still pained him when the image of the late alpha flashed before his eyes. In his opinion, a great Alpha and a great King like him never deserved to leave the Earth as he did.
‘If only I could ease his pain when he passed away…’
.....
Jerome suddenly got pulled back to the present when he heard Everard asking him a question.
“Do you think I will ever be half as good as my father? When it comes to the roles as both the King and the Alpha?”
Jerome smiled and replied, “I sure hope you will. To be honest, I wish for you to surpass your father.”
Everard scoffed and shook his head. He looked down and mumbled, “I could never surpass him. But at the very least, I hope I will be able to follow the path that he has paved for me.”
“And I will help you in every way I can.” Jerome bowed to the King and said, “I think you should get ready for the day, Your Majesty. I will be in my workroom if you need me.”
After taking his leave, Jerome went straight to his workroom and sat down on his chair. Since the full moon was right at the door, he had a lot of work to do.
He looked at the list of things that he was supposed to do and mumbled to himself, “Umm… let’s see. I’ve already sent an invitation to all the elders. The venue is being handled by our men. The statue of the goddess has been polished. Sacrifices have been prepared. And…”
Jerome took a deep breath in and looked in front of him. There was a huge frame that was kept facing the wall. And he mumbled, “And the portrait of the late alpha has been copied…”
He kept on staring at the back of the painting. And his mind began to wander to the past again. He couldn’t help but keep on thinking about how the late alpha was during his last few days and what was happening to him – his fading vision and hearing, his heavy breathing, his thin arms and legs, his reduced temperature, and his pale face.
“He wasn’t even able to digest the food properly.” Jerome held his head with both of his hands and kept on mumbling, “Even his lips had started to turn blue because he was throwing up so much!”
“Does losing one’s partner make us go through such extremities?” He was forced to think about that because he had never heard of any wolf showing such symptoms before dying. They normally passed on rather easily.
A sudden urge to know more about this rose in his heart. “I think I should ask some of the men to go around and gather information about the werewolves who lost their partner early. If they all also went through the same thing then it’s nothing. But if they did not then…”
Jerome stopped himself from thinking any further but deep down in his heart, the situation surrounding the death of the late King was still poking him like a thorn.
Without any further delay, he went outside to find the werewolves fit for the task in his mind.
On the other side of the castle, Everard was changing into a suitable outfit for work when someone knocked on the door.
A maid went to open the door and check. Soon, she came inside while being followed by a clerk.
“What is it?” Everard asked while looking at the clerk through the reflection in the mirror.
The clerk bowed his head in front of the King and answered while presenting the envelope that he was holding, “Your Majesty, a letter from Orsenia has arrived.”
Everard had asked the administrative staff who worked under him to bring the letters to him immediately if they were from Orsenia or Sorvando.
Now that the letter was finally here, Everard turned around and held out his hand. “It’s from Alex!” he mumbled to himself in a restless manner. And as soon as he grabbed the letter, he tore off the envelope and began to read it.
After reading the letter, he looked somewhat distressed. ‘Alex finally invited me to Orsenia to have a meeting. But… the date he chose coincides with the day of the full moon! If I go there, I won’t be able to make it back to the ceremony in time…’
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