Chapter 21: The Curse

Ethan‘s POV:

Rufus‘ words pierced my heart like sharp daggers. It was my fault he had become like this.

Many years ago, there was a witch who I had an entanglement with, and she had fallen deeply in love
with me. But I refused to promise her anything.

This made her so angry that she cursed me and Rufus, who at the time was only seven years old. She
cursed his bloodline, saying that he would never bear any children and that every full moon, he would
transform into a vicious monster.

It was my debt that I owed, but my son was paying the price. I would always be ridden with guilt
whenever I was reminded of it.

At the same time, one of my mistresses was already pregnant with my child, but fortunately the witch did
not know of it.

I had to come up with a plan. I sent out some of my men to find a way that my son‘s curse would be
removed. But just in case, I had brought in my newborn illegitimate son and named him Richard,
announcing that he was the queen‘s second son.

After all, I was going to need an heir to the throne no matter what was going to happen. This illegitimate
son of mine still had my blood anyway. If the curse could not be removed and Rufus wouldn‘t be able to
have children, the Duncan family bloodline would end with him.

So, as a king, I had to make a tough decision and be ready with a backup plan. If Rufus‘ curse still had
not been broken by the time I died, I would have no choice but to bequeath the throne to my second son.
It was only Rufus and I who knew about his curse.



Even the queen did not know. Fortunately, she was sensible enough to accept my illegitimate son as her
own eventually, although we had quarreled about it many times. Deep down, I also felt guilty to my
queen.

As my first child, of course I looked forward to Rufus taking on the world on his own. I loved and raised
Rufus just as much as the queen. He had been excellent since childhood. I was impressed by his talents
and courage even at a young age.

If he were to end up on the throne, I had no doubt he could become an even better lycan king than I.But
now, I was already getting too old. My health worsens every waking day.

Yet until now, we had no clue as to how to undo Rufus‘ curse. I had to consider the future of the royal
family and thought carefully about who the heir of the throne was going to be. I just didn‘t expect Rufus to
find out that I had been training my second son in secret as well.

“I‘m sorry,” I sighed. I was afraid this would make Rufus distance himself from me.

“Maybe Sylvia isn‘t the daughter of a traitor. I‘m going to find out the truth,” Rufus said softly, purposefully
changing the subject. I had known Rufus since he was born.

Never had he ever come to the defense of a she–wolf like this. A part of me was relieved, but I was also
a little sad. I decided to let him be. As long as he really liked the girl, I guessed it was okay. Like he said,
what was the meaning of his life if he could not even choose his own mate? Besides, I did owe him a lot.

“Fine, I can let the she–wolf stay with you. Although I didn‘t have time to stop the news about the traitor
from spreading, I was able to suppress the fact that she is your mate.” I had taken the initiative to
compromise. Rufus was still my son and I had to protect him. With the she–wolf‘s lowly status, I
supposed she could stay with him as his mistress.

“I’ll deal with the traitor news meynell.” Rufus neemed so determined to find the mastermind behind this.



This boy was always sharp minded. Ile was decisive and tough, I couldn‘t help but feel proud of him, but

“That‘s up to you. I just hope you will also consider the dignity of the royal family, Do not expose her
identity or get too close to her. At least not until you figure out the truth,” I reminded him. He looked at me
for a while before finally nodding


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