***
Meanwhile, the idea of marriage was ridiculous to the Crown Prince, Nicholas Hannenbergh.
All attempts of his mother, Queen Marianne, to make him consider Lady Karenina was a futile dream. It was true that Karenina was kind and beautiful but Nicholas felt no attraction whatsoever.
Even though marrying for love was not the norm especially for someone in his position, Nicholas at least wanted someone who could capture his attention and made him smile. Someone who was a delight to be with.
As far as he was concerned, it was not Karenina at all.
Nicholas knew that someday he needed to marry someone for political reasons, but right now, he was solely focused on discovering the real cause of his beloved uncle's death.
In a way, it was also related to the fact that the Crown Prince found himself missing something important. He didn't know what exactly, but he decided that visiting here might jog his memories as well.
Earlier today, Nicholas arrived in Hastings with his carriage that bore no mark of the royal family. He did not wish to alert those of the nobility that he traveled two weeks from Livstad to here.
This was a mission that required utmost secrecy. After pleading with his mother for a long time, finally Queen Marianne let him go and investigate Baron Ferdinand's death. The crown prince promised to return as soon as possible.
Nicholas wore his dark cape and pulled the hood over his head as he stepped out of the carriage and entered the town's square of Hastings. The hubbub of the town filled him with curiosity.
"I should probably go to a tavern or bar to hear rumors and stories," Nicholas muttered to himself. He was out to gather information about Duke Romanov and what was better than discovering it from the townsfolk?
Compared to the nobility who undoubtedly chose to make decisions on whether or not it benefited them or not, the people who lived simply were different.
Regular people didn't find a need to filter their words or hide behind masks or capes. They chose to discuss everything underneath the sun and that was something that Nicholas was hoping for.
If there was anything that Nicholas missed while he was conducting his research while in the palace, the prince would start investigating more and gathering intel from the people closest to Duke Romanov.
As Nicholas was going about the town square, he was a bit pleased to see the small town thriving. Even though his father was strict and a pain to deal with, the prince knew the kingdom of Riga provided for everyone.
So the prince was shocked when he saw some people who were asking for money in the street. It was something that went against Nicholas' pre-established beliefs about how their kingdom operated.
"Could you spare some alms?" a woman begged out in the street.
"Shut up, Valerie!" A young woman shouted at her sister in the town square.
It was a strange sight for the Crown Prince to see two young women begging on the street at all. There were actually other people, some old and young kids, but these two women stood out.
The way these two women didn't seem to belong because of how fussy they were and acted. They also looked quite pretty to be beggars. Somehow, they kept their distance from other beggars and refused to approach the rest.
Nicholas frowned a little and wondered why the two young women weren't working because they seemed more than capable of getting jobs for themselves if they wanted to.
However, Nicholas, despite himself, was actually more softhearted than he thought and started to check his money pouch. There were people who suffered not because it was their fault, but because of situations beyond them.
He started drawing closer and took out some coins, trying to be discreet. However, when Lucia's eyes started widening and filling with greed because of the gold coins Nicholas was giving, she recognized him.
It was the nephew of the late baron!
Nicholas was also one of the people who showed interest in Lucia's no-good cousin, Sophie.
Lucia felt like she struck gold. She quickly latched onto Nicholas' wrist and looked up to him pitifully, "Oh! Nicholas, you don't know what happened to us!"
Startled and shocked that this woman suddenly grabbed onto him and knew his name, Nicholas quickly stepped back and pulled away from the woman. He narrowed his eyes at the woman and said, "Don't touch me."
Valerie, who noticed the commotion happening with her sister and the cloaked man, realized it was Nicholas and also started talking. "If you help us, we can take you to Sophie!"
"Sophie, who?" Nicholas blinked at these women and then decided to step away from them. He shook his head and walked past the two women trying to gain his sympathy.
He was unsure if these women were lucky enough to guess his name, but when they started talking about this 'Sophie' person, Nicholas realized that he was being played or tricked.
He didn't know anyone with that name. So, their efforts to pretend that they could trick him into meeting Sophie failed.
"They're probably some crazy people living in the street," Nicholas said to himself. He was a bit bothered by the encounter and started looking back every now and then.
The Crown Prince of Riga managed to evade the two women in the town square due to the numerous people going around the market square, but it felt like they were still creeping around and could approach him at any time.
"Sophie…?" Nicholas whispered the name and, somehow, it went smoothly through his lips as he said it. The Crown Prince closed his eyes for a moment and then sighed aloud.
He wondered if he was getting played like a fiddle.
.
.
__________________
From Missrealitybites:
Ahahaha... I know you want to read about Sophie's love confession. However, Nicholas is finally able to leave the capital and go to Hastings to investigate.
So, we will read about him while waiting for Sophie to think about how she could confess her love to her husband, Duke Romanov.
Do you think Nicholas will see Sophie soon?
Updat𝒆d fr𝑜m fr𝒆ewebnove(l).com