"Your Highness… please…" The nobleman smirked annoyingly at the crown prince. He acted like he was keeping a secret that the prince wished to hide.
Nicholas glanced over his shoulder and narrowed his eyes at the nobleman. He felt his heart pound uneasily. He didn't want to say anything but how did this nobleman know?
The only person who knew about his request was…
"Informants talk for a certain price, you know," the nobleman said. "Informants exchange information with fellow informants too. Your Highness, I am just looking out for you and the interest of the royal family. It's not a good image to go after another man's wife."
"What do you want?" Nicholas looked away and felt a wave of shame and embarrassment flood him. If this nobleman knew about this… who else acquired the information that he was looking for Sophia Romanov and her whereabouts?
Already too many for his liking.
The crown prince was a complete mess. He realized he was too careless and let this rat get a piece of information that could ruin his reputation.
He didn't really care about other people but his mother, the queen, had poor health and she might be shocked by this news. Queen Marianne was the definition of prim and proper. Embarrassment could kill her.
If Nicholas brought shame to their family because people spread gossip that he wanted to be a homewrecker by taking a liking to a married woman, his mother would die of shame.
Sigh.
Right now, Nicholas felt like he was in a precarious situation too. One's good reputation as the future king was necessary or else he would have nobility with desires to make him into a puppet king. Those who knew his secret could use this to blackmail him.
He must not let people find his weakness.
His weakness?
This word actually surprised him when he thought about it. Nicholas didn't even know that woman. How could she become his weakness?
Nothing happened between them. All the prince needed to do was deny everything and punish whoever tried to spread false rumors about him.
"I want nothing, your highness," the lord said but then bowed. "At least for now though. This is just a word of advice from a nobleman looking out for you. I look forward to your coronation."
Without another word, Lord Siegfred left Nicholas alone in the hallway and returned to the rest of the nobility while the crown prince was left alone with his thoughts. He was originally supposed to meet with his informant in the office.
Nicholas still headed there and saw the Informant waiting for him outside his study. The person bowed at his appearance and was quick to greet him respectfully, but trust was already broken.
"You're dismissed," Nicholas said and then slammed the door in the informant's face. He looked around his study and was filled with immense shame. The crown prince knew how terrible his search for Sophia Romanov looked of course.
She was the wife of Duke Romanov.
"I am aware of how it can tarnish one's reputation…" Nicholas's gaze flickered around his study. He finally came across an expensive liquor in one of his cabinets. It was a strong cask whiskey.
Some time ago, King William delivered it to him as a birthday gift, telling him that wines were only for social drinking and that if he really wanted to be a man, he needed to drink hard alcohol.
That was one of the few moments that Nicholas actually thought his father attempted to give him a word of advice or try to relate to his son back then. Nicholas wanted to laugh when he remembered that moment, but he sighed instead.
He didn't say it aloud back then, but the prince completely disagreed with that notion. However, now, with so much woes and worries on his mind, the young man wanted to get himself a drink.
"If this can take some of the pressure away," Nicholas muttered to himself. "If it can help take my mind away from Sophie… Sophia, I mean…I should just give it a try. I shouldn't waste good liquor."
The prince knew that he needed to get a grip about his situation.
Nicholas immediately went to get the whiskey bottle along with a small glass. He opened the bottle and poured himself a full glass and took a little sip. Nicholas made a small face when he tasted the liquor, but then braced himself.
He drank it in one go and felt his entire body spin for a moment. However, it didn't take him too long to get used to it. A warmth settled in his body and he felt the nerves that overcame him earlier ease back a little.
He sighed in relief.
Nicholas never realized that he had a body that was fit for heavy drinking. In no time, he already enjoyed several shot glasses.
"My father's relatives tend to grow a gut or two with drinking, but I can handle this just fine…" Nicholas decided to pour himself another drink. And then another one.
It didn't take him too long to realize that he nearly emptied one full bottle of whiskey. The crown prince felt himself grow annoyed at himself for drinking too much, but it did help him.
"And I… I don't even feel drunk at all, how frustrating." Nicholas sighed and shook his head. When he looked out the window to the castle, it was already late evening and the streets of Livstad were more or less cleared.
Tomorrow or the day after that would be his coronation. The real coronation ceremony.
Perhaps he could delay it for a week or so because there were a lot of things that needed to be taken care of. Those lycans who escaped were only smaller in number because they refused to back down until the end.
He still needed to take care of them though.
Nicholas actually couldn't care less about the crown right now.
"It's only a symbol for power… and if I wanted to, I could just take away all of this pompous celebration and just place the crown on my head to get it over with." Nicholas grouched to himself.
However, the coronation ceremony was a big thing for the people in Riga and if he wanted to get it right, he still needed to get through with it. Dignitaries not only from Riga had visited and observed him.
If he chose to avoid a ceremony, it would make Nicholas and Riga Kingdom look weak in the eyes of other kingdoms. His own nobles would disrespect him for not continuing with it just because of an attack by a lycan pack.
And so, like always, Nicholas didn't really have a choice.
While Nicholas was still alone in his thoughts and watching out the window, he saw his own reflection and finally decided to take care of himself. He still hadn't cleaned himself up after the battle.
Before he could do anything like that, however, a sudden knock interrupted him and a servant's urgent voice echoed in the hallway of the castle. "Your Highness! Your Highness!"
Nicholas' eyes widened and he became alarmed.
He rushed and opened the door to find a servant trembling in front of his study. The prince was wondering what had happened outside to make this servant look so distraught?
Did the lycans decide to attack again? Were there any problems with all of the visiting nobilities and dignitaries? Nicholas knew a lot of trouble could occur in the social setting as well.
"Her Majesty, Queen Marianne is on her deathbed." The servant burst into tears.
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