< Three Days Later >
"Mother, please don't cry." Nicholas patted his mother's back while the old woman shook and trembled. A couple of days had passed by since the death of King William Hannenbergh and a grand funeral ceremony was being prepared.
"I… even if he is a fool," Queen Marianne wept and looked at her son. "he is still my husband. Nothing can change that, and now he is gone. Your father is gone, Nicholas."
"I know mother…" Nicholas sighed. "I should have come with him."
The crown prince's suspicion was right and evidence actually showed that it was a small unit of lycans that quickly disappeared during the course of the night. There had been barely any survivors except for a servant that ran away and lived to tell the story.
Investigations were undergoing but it was only done in secret as to not alert the entire capital of Riga about the presence of the monsters in their midst. Nicholas knew that he had to take care of the matter sooner or later.
Queen Marianne's eyes welled up with tears as she clutched her son's face. "I couldn't bear to lose you as well, Nicholas. I've already lost you before, I can't let that happen again."
"What do you mean by 'lost me' before?" Nicholas blinked. "Did you mean when I was injured in Hauntingen?"
However, contrary to his expectations, Queen Marianne only sobbed again and even harder this time. The crown prince couldn't pressure his mother to say anything else and only served as a pillar of strength for his mother.
"Your Majesty, Your Highness…" one of the servants knocked gently on the door. "The Royal Councillor is looking for the queen or the crown prince to discuss the ceremony's royal procession."
The servant only triggered more tears from Queen Marianne as Nicholas sighed and looked at the servant. "I will meet with the Councillor after I've comforted my mother. Please give me thirty minutes before I go meet with him."
"Yes, Your Highness." the servant nodded and soon disappeared.
"After this, the duke and other nobility will soon start pressuring you to take after the throne." Queen Marianne sobbed and shook as she clutched her son's arm. "Oh, I am so sorry, Nicholas. I wish I was better at handling the royal affairs."
"I cannot leave the throne to you, mother." Nicholas patiently said. "My father has prepared me for this day, so please do not worry about it."
"Are you sure?" Queen Marianne looked at him with red eyes.
On the contrary though, he felt the complete opposite of being alright and reassured about taking the throne. He thought that he at least had a couple more years of freedom.
He didn't feel prepared at all.
Nicholas felt a large amount of pressure pressing on his shoulders because of the grief that overtook his mother a lot. It had already been three days and yet she still wept and grieved hard.
The young man couldn't even find it within him to cry because of the stress and amount of responsibilities that suddenly weighed on his shoulder. There was no one else who could help him.
However, all of a sudden, someone actually dared enter the chambers of the Queen and the late King and it was no other than Lady Karenina herself.
The young woman had become a bit irrelevant after the King's death and Queen Marianne grieving but now she was here. Nicholas pointedly ignored her after she messed up his chance to sneak at Duke Romanov's castle.
So what was she doing here? Nicholas wanted to tell her that she needed to learn how to read the atmosphere better because this was a wrong time for any pretentious meetings.
"Pardon me for intruding, Your Majesty and Your Highness." Karenina curtsied at the queen and Nicholas, she greeted them with a solemn tone. "I would like to offer my condolences to Her Majesty and His Highness."
Nicholas sighed inwardly.
However, Queen Marianne looked at the young woman and sniffed sadly. "Ah, Karenina. I apologize for my dreadful appearance. How are you doing and how is your father? Will he be able to come to the funeral of my husband?"
Karenina slowly stepped forward and bowed. "Yes, Your Majesty. My father is quickly traveling in haste to make it here to Livstad. Would you like to go out of the room, Your Majesty, and join me for tea?"
Queen Marianne sniffed once again and let go of Nicholas's arm. She managed a sad smile and nodded. "I suppose it is time for me to go out… Nicholas, you still have to talk with Councillor, right? I will go with Karenina first."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Karenina smiled kindly.
Nicholas glanced suspiciously at Karenina. He wondered if the lady was taking advantage of his mother's grief to become closer to the woman, but it seemed like Karenina was genuinely sympathetic.
Karenina gently bowed at the crown prince. It was as if the Viscount's daughter took the opportunity to take away the burden of taking care of Queen Marianne from Nicholas' shoulder.
Nicholas didn't say anything as he watched the queen and Lady Karenina leave. Once they were gone though, the crown prince fell on the bed and was exhausted beyond relief.
"Perhaps I may have misjudged her a little…" Nicholas muttered but he shook his head. "However, it doesn't change anything between the two of us. At best she serves as a great distraction for my mother."
There was no time for any relationship whatsoever in Nicholas Hannenbergh's mind. Instead, he wearily sat up and then rubbed his face with much anguish and he spoke to himself.
"After the meeting with the Royal Councillor, I will meet with the Royal Lycan Hunters for their investigations then I need to meet with the Nobility and those who are asking for justice about the deaths of the rest."
Nicholas wanted to bury himself in his bed and avoid all of this.
"Perhaps it won't be terrible if I stay in the villa?" he muttered.
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