The Mind-Reading Mate: Why Is the Lycan King So Obsessed With Me?!-Chapter 487: A Father’s Gentle Love (II)

"Do you like it?" he asked carefully.

Back then, Rose was used to wearing dresses that were patched here and there. Most of her clothes were old and worn. So when Zarius bought her such a beautiful dress, she felt like she was dreaming.

It looked too pretty, too clean, and too perfect.

She stood in front of the mirror for a long time, staring at her own reflection. She couldn’t believe that the girl in the mirror was really her.

"I-I like it," she said softly, a small smile appearing on her lips.

But inside the mirror, she didn’t see a confident girl. She saw a shy little girl who looked nervous and scared. She was afraid that if she showed her happiness too much, Zarius might get angry, or worse... hit her.

"Really?" Zarius asked.

He knelt beside her and gently pulled her closer. Then he slowly turned her around a few times, carefully checking every part of the dress.

When her back faced him, he paused. "I tied this ribbon really badly," he muttered. The knot at the back was messy and uneven.

"It still looks pretty," Rose said softly.

She slowly twirled in place, her dress spreading out a little as she moved. She seemed to forget everything else, focused only on how it felt to wear something so nice.

Every time she turned, her long bangs fell over her face, covering her eyes and cheeks. She had to blink and tilt her head just to see clearly, but she didn’t seem to mind.

Zarius smiled a little. "Then... how about I trim your hair?" he asked gently. "Just a little."

Rose blinked, then nodded again. "Alright," she answered in a tiny voice.

Everything he did for her in that lifetime was actually exactly the same as what he did for her in her current life. The only difference was that he wasn’t her biological father in that lifetime, and yet he still treated her with gentleness and full of love.

Zarius’s house was usually very simple. He didn’t store much food. Most of the time, he hunted, cooked it, and ate it on the same day.

But after Rose came to live with him, everything changed. Slowly, the house filled with food; meat, vegetables, wheat, and even spices.

He tried hard to cook at least two meals every day, even though he wasn’t very good at it.

In the first few weeks, Rose only watched him in silence. She sat quietly at the dining table, swinging her small legs, while Zarius struggled in the kitchen.

Sometimes, smoke filled the room. Sometimes, something burned. Sometimes, he panicked and rushed to open all the windows.

For some reason, his poor cooking skills made the little girl smile wider every day.

After a month, the little girl finally gathered her courage to approach him while he was cooking. She tugged at the edge of his clothes. "Um..." she whispered.

He turned around at once. "What is it, Rose?"

"C-Can you... not put carrots?" she asked nervously. "I... I don’t really like them..."

Her voice was so small that it almost disappeared, but this was the first time she had ever asked him for anything.

Before this, she always accepted whatever he gave her, no matter what it was.

So when Zarius heard her words, he immediately stopped what he was doing and lifted her into his arms.

Rose thought Zarius was angry because she dared to speak up about something she didn’t like. But to her surprise, he smiled and asked, "You don’t like carrots?" Then he added, "So, what do you like?"

She bit her lower lip and then pointed hesitantly at the ingredients on the table. "I like... potatoes."

"Potatoes?" Lazarus laughed quietly. "Alright. Then I’ll cook more potatoes for you tonight." He looked at her warmly. "Do you want to help me?"

Her eyes widened. "R-Really?"

"Mhm."

She nodded hard. "I want to help!"

Zarius gently bounced her in his arms, smiling so warmly that he filled Rose’s empty heart with warmth. "Alright, then."

He never let her touch knives or anything dangerous. Instead, he let her throw the ingredients into the pot or stir the soup inside it.

Sometimes, she spilled things. Sometimes, she made a mess, but he never scolded her. He only laughed and cleaned it up with her.

Little by little, cooking together became their routine. Sometimes, they cooked the same thing over and over again. Other times, they tried new dishes that almost destroyed their kitchen.

Without realizing it, days turned into weeks, and weeks slowly turned into months. The warm spring gradually faded into autumn, and the air became colder and colder.

At first, Rose didn’t really notice the change. She still followed Lazarus around every day. She still helped him in the kitchen. She still waited for him at the table with bright eyes and a small smile.

But little by little, her steps became slower.

She got tired more easily, and sometimes, she would suddenly stop in the middle of walking and hold onto the wall, feeling dizzy.

"Rose?" Lazarus asked one day when he saw her sitting quietly in a corner, her face pale. "Are you feeling alright?"

"I’m fine..." she answered softly, but her voice sounded weak.

That night, she barely touched her dinner. She only pushed the food around with her spoon before putting it down.

"I’m not hungry," she whispered.

Zarius frowned because that had never happened before.

A few days later, Rose suddenly fell sick.

It happened in the middle of the night.

She lay under her blanket, shaking nonstop. Her body felt cold, yet her forehead burned like fire. Her breathing was uneven, sometimes fast, sometimes weak.

"Rose!" Lazarus panicked when he touched her and felt how hot she was.

He quickly wrapped her in a thick cloak and carried her in his arms, rushing out into the cold night.

For the past few months, he hadn’t joined any bandit groups. But he still had some money saved from selling wine bottles. He didn’t even think twice when he grabbed all his savings and ran toward the doctor’s house in the nearest village.