Note:
Thank you, Maude Fluckiger dear, for gifting a spacecraft to this book yesterday. I really have no more words to express my gratitude... T_T. I hope you feel better and everything becomes well. x
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This particular evening, Sophie suddenly woke up at midnight. She was feeling uncomfortable all over her body. Her back was sore, her tummy felt bloated and she was getting a headache. She got up from bed and went to the table near the window to get water.
After she drank a cup of water, Sophie massaged her temple and took a deep breath. The headache was still there. Her eyes twitched, seeing the moonlight spill into her bedroom. The soft hues cast around shadow behind her and she knew that she wouldn't be able to sleep again.
Insomnia took hold of her at times. It began to affect her in such a way that only a good midnight walk helped her clear her thoughts instead of just trying to restlessly fall asleep.
Sophie slowly walked back to the bed and held her stomach gingerly. It was so huge. She couldn't even imagine that her body could grow to this size and when she looked at the mirror inside of her chambers, she looked like she was about to burst.
Duke Romanov was already aware of her pregnancy, but it happened so soon.
What did the man think about her appearance now? Sophie batted her eyes in frustration and then shook her head. She shouldn't care about what a man thought about how she looked. Even though she was plumper now, her body was perfectly good as it was.
She fixed her hair in front of the mirror and contemplated wearing a hairpin. Whenever Duke Romanov came after his visits from the capital, he brought small gifts and trinkets and told her that they came from the people he worked with.
They were little reminders that Duke Romanov talked about his wife and had her in his mind when he met other people, which somehow pleased Sophie more than she thought it would.
"Uff… it's a good thing that the duke isn't taking me to the capital or anywhere else," Sophie muttered and slowly picked up one of the beautiful hairpins that the man brought her home.
It was a small hairpin that was decorated with a lovely crystal moon-shaped jewel. She pinned her hair to the side neatly even though she didn't even know why she was dressing up right now.
"Traveling would be such a pain," Sophie told herself. She probably couldn't even handle the stress of traveling and she knew that the people that the duke interacted with would talk if they saw her.
The marriage between her and Duke Romanov only happened about three months ago. If she came with him, then the nobility would see her. They would realize that the woman that the duke married was already pregnant and ready to give birth.
It would become a source of gossip for wicked people. What's worse would be if…
Sophie swallowed.
... If she gave birth to werewolf pup/s.
Not only would the duke be embarrassed, but Sophie might also lose her precious baby!
This kingdom had declared war on the werewolf clan many years ago. Werewolves were considered the worst monsters and anyone who had the information on werewolves' existence was encouraged to report it and get rewarded.
Sophie was worried that people would report her child to the authorities and have them killed if they found out she gave birth to a werewolf child. She grimaced and immediately got rid of the horrifying thought from her mind.
No... she would not let it happen. Even if she had to die, she would protect her child, no matter at what cost.
She took a deep breath and glanced outside her window. The moon shone brightly in the sky and the weather was quite good. It was such a beautiful night in spring. Maybe she should go out for a walk to tire herself so she could go back to sleep.
After glancing at the mirror one last time, Sophie headed out of her room and walked down the hallway. Even late at night, she always saw that there were guards posted in each hallway and it almost seemed that they were more active at night.
These people greeted her with respect as Sophie walked past them. She nodded her head a little and rushed along with only one place in mind.
It was the only place in the castle that she truly felt a bit more comfortable in. To her, the place was special.
Sophie agreed to the marriage because of how it would benefit her, but now, she was already genuinely concerned about Duke Romanov… her husband's reputation and that made her feel a bit flustered.
She wanted to blame the pregnancy hormones. Sophie wanted to say that it had been impossible to not to find her heart opening to him because his presence was a comfort.
It was because Duke Romanov just always happened to be there whenever Sophie needed someone.
There would be cold and lonely nights where Sophie woke up in cold sweats, tears in her eyes as she dreamt about Nicholas and found her heart feeling immensely empty.
During those times, Sophie got up and visited the terrace where she and Nicholas enjoyed their first afternoon together and had some snacks. It filled her with nostalgia.
Whenever Sophie visited this particular terrace, it reminded her back when the only concern of hers was the fact that she skipped classes in Cow Dung academy and everything else didn't matter.
Simpler times.
It would bring her so close to tears but then she wouldn't and couldn't cry in the presence of someone else.
Somehow, Duke Romanov would appear right after her when she reached the particular terrace. Sometimes, Sophie would even find the man already there with nothing but a cup of tea.
When she'd politely ask him and inquire whether he couldn't sleep, he'd just nod and offer her some refreshments. He was always there when she needed him.
It was a weird coincidence, but after several times, she just assumed the man also had insomnia and liked going to the terrace to calm his mind, and she just happened to choose the same spot to visit when she had trouble sleeping.
Sophie didn't know that Leland always knew when she was feeling upset and couldn't sleep, and he would come there to keep her company.
"Ah, good evening, Sophia," Leland greeted her at the terrace.
As usual, he was there again. The moon shone behind him and he was already waiting for her at the table with a pot of tea. There was a small smile on his face and even a twinkle in his eyes. "Unable to sleep again?"
"Good evening as well, Duke Romanov," Sophie greeted him and approached the table. The man stood up and pulled out a chair for her to which she thanked him for as she sat down. "I… I did have some trouble falling asleep."
"So did I," Leland said. Without her asking, he already poured tea into her cup.
As usual, he was only wearing a thin shirt, despite the cold, but there was a fluffy and warm coat draped on his chair. As always, it was meant for Sophie because this careless woman often forgot to bring her coat.
Sophie smiled when she received the cup from him. She felt like they were having a secret rendezvous at night.
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