<Royal Coronation Ceremony>
<Livstad, capital, kingdom of Riga>
It was finally the day of the coronation ceremony.
Crown Prince Nicholas Hannenbergh was about to become the King of the entire kingdom and he felt the heavy pressure weigh on his shoulders and increase a thousand more times because it was finally time.
Outside of the castle's building, he could already hear the crowds cheering and celebrating. Everyone from the Riga Kingdom was invited to attend the coronation and that filled the capital with guests from across the entire land and other kingdoms.
Even those outside of Riga came and visited this one momentous event. As far as he heard, the brothers and sisters of his father even came here now to pay their respects even when they were managing their own kingdoms.
That was how important this day was. However, instead of being happy, the young man felt sick.
If there was anything that would have made Nicholas feel a lot better, then it was receiving the confirmation from Duke Romanov and his wife. They would come to witness the coronation ceremony. The truth of the situation was that Nicholas received a letter that said yes.
Duke Romanov was coming over as stated by his letter of acceptance from a week ago. However, so many things could happen in a short amount of time and Nicholas knew he was highly unaware of them.
"Are they here or did they decide at the last minute not to attend?" Nicholas frowned heavily and took a deep breath. "Perhaps he said yes, but didn't actually have any intentions of coming here."
Nicholas stood up and temporarily opened the door. He asked one of his royal staff to check on the nobility who had arrived and the man answered that all of the Riga's nobility were present, if not for their own representatives.
"Hmm... what about some nobility that isn't from Riga?" Nicholas tried to play it off with a blank expression. "I've heard a lot of Duke Romanov and his wife frequenting social gatherings in Livstad that I've invited them here."
"Not a sight, Your Highness." The staff shook his head. "Maybe they cannot come?"
"They sent a confirmation letter," Nicholas insisted.
The staff looked cornered. He didn't dare to talk back to the future king, but the truth was Duke Romanov didn't show up. How else he could frame the situation?
Nicholas ended up closing his door in the face of the royal staff and that was how he found himself alone in his chamber once again.
The crown prince was mentally preparing himself to go outside of the castle… but the truth was that he was still pressured and now feeling disappointed. Nicholas sank back to his chair and tried to massage his temple helplessly.
"So what if they didn't come here? Did something happen to them? Well… if it did, shouldn't I receive the news by now?" Nicholas asked himself. He shut his eyes for a moment and thought about the duke and his wife. "Did they not care about my invitation? Don't they realize that this is an honor to be invited to such a momentous event in this kingdom?"
Many people would kill to get the invitation, but Duke Romanov didn't seem to think it was something important. At least not important enough to send a representative to the royal palace to let the future king know if they could not come for whatever reason.
A painful smile twinged on the crown prince's lips because whenever he closed his eyes and dreamed, his mind was filled with thoughts of her. Sophia Romanov.
This was really strange, to think about a woman he didn't know personally. Gosh, he had never even once spoken to her!
Yet, she plagued his dreams with her sweet smile and laughter.
Nicholas now ended up in situations that were undoubtedly fictional and fantasized accounts he made of the two of them in his dreams and that made his chest ache again.
When Nicholas thought of her, his heart started pounding hard and it was unlike anything he had ever felt before. He couldn't stop thinking about her.
Sophia was far more than simply intriguing.
She had successfully occupied his thoughts and mind.
Duke Romanov's wife.
Nicholas forced his eyes open and stared at his reflection in the mirror. Garbed in royal attire that was fit for a king and yet he couldn't help but feel so inadequate and unprepared.
"How can I even be fit to rule a land when… when my whole mind is completely consumed by a woman I haven't even properly met?" Nicholas laughed weakly and pressed a hand on his chest.
No.
It wasn't only his thoughts.
"I think I… I'm in love with her." Nicholas admitted to no one but to himself. "Lovesickness is perhaps the appropriate term. How ironic that I'd end up like all the women that long for the image of me. I don't know Sophia."
However, that statement felt wrong to him.
He felt like he knew her.
Before Nicholas could think about it some more, he was suddenly interrupted by a quiet knock on the door and it opened without permission. Queen Marianne Hannenbergh stepped inside and looked proudly at her son.
"Look at how much you've grown, Nicholas." His mother approached him and engulfed him with a loving hug. "I… I cannot believe that you are about to become king."
Nicholas sighed a little and hugged his mother back. "I cannot believe it either, mother. Is there any chance that my father has other relatives who want to rule Riga? I don't mind passing up the responsibility."
"Nicholas!" Queen Mary looked at her son and her expression grew sympathetic. "You are the first in line and that is what your father wanted. I know that you feel immensely burdened by this role, but you are far more equipped than you think."
"... I know," Nicholas half-heartedly said. "I was joking."
"Come now, Nic." The queen chuckled and pulled her son off the chair. "It wouldn't be any good news for the kingdom of Riga to know that their crown prince was unwillingly dragged off to the coronation ceremony, right?"
Nicholas stood up and slowly nodded.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel