***
<Royal Palace of Riga>
In her room, Karenina was overjoyed after being told that His Majesty the King was willing to throw a festive party to celebrate her birthday. Her face was beaming in happiness at the good news.
Actually, she was disappointed that the king was not willing to announce their wedding. That meant, he was still trying to avoid giving her the status she was so longing for.
However, it didn't matter now. Karenina already had a plan.
To be honest, she didn't want to use dirty means to get the king to marry her, but he left her with no choice. Karenina had been waiting patiently for long enough, and now her patience was running out.
He made her resort to this method.
Karenina already plan to ask Queen Marienne to make an announcement on behalf of the king that King Nicholas Hannenbergh and Princess Karenina would soon wed.
Karenina believed Queen Marianne Hannenberghs would support her on this matter because she had been feeling frustrated by Nicholas for almost as long as Karenina.
She would definitely grant Karenina's wish to make the royal announcement. If the queen dowager announced it in public, witnessed by so many nobles in Riga, King Nicholas Hannenbergh wouldn't be able to find any more excuses to postpone their long-overdue nuptials.
In addition to that, Karenina also still had one more plan. She was a smart woman and knew she must have backup plans in case her Plan A didn't work according to her wishes.
She reached for a small box on top of her dresser. She opened the lid and took out a bottle filled with brown liquid.
It was an aphrodisiac that she had specially ordered from a renowned witch. Karenina had prepared for a long time for this plan.
"I love you, Your Majesty, and I will never let you go or let you get away from me," Karenina said to herself, looking at the bottle with a smile.
She would mix the aphrodisiac into the king's drink, and when the king was under the influence of the potion, she would make the king sleep with her.
That way, the king would no longer be able to come up with an excuse to delay their marriage.
***
The long-awaited day had finally arrived.
One by one, the noble families and their children entered the palace ballroom, and it didn't take long for the vast space to be filled with invited guests.
The atmosphere became very lively in a short time and became even more lively when music came into play.
While waiting for the main event to start, the guests seemed to be doing various activities.
Some caught up with their news, chatted with each other, and laughed occasionally, and some enjoyed the drinks and snacks provided.
Don't forget the gossipers who were busy discussing Karenina Varhoven, a lady from a lowly noble family whose status had been elevated to a princess because she was the king's fiancée. However, after almost five years, the king still hadn't married her.
The gossipers would never be absent from parties and other social events because that's where they could get the latest interesting gossips to be discussed and debated.
And sure enough, parties always gave them the news and gossip they needed.
Their attention and all of the invited guests were distracted when unexpected guests arrived. Duke and Duchess Romanov came with their two very handsome young sons.
When she stepped into the vast hall, Sophie was stunned to see the party inside filled with luxury. All the noblewomen were wearing the most beautiful dresses. They all dressed to the nine for this special occasion and tried to outdo each other in terms of appearance.
"Come on," said Leland. He clasped his hand with hers and together they walked together. Tonight, he looked especially imposing with a black robe and a black mask that covered 3/4 of his face.
Sophie nodded. It had been a very long time since she had attended the parties of the human nobility. In the past, when she was still living in Riga, she would often accompany Leland to the various parties held by the nobles in Livstad.
After moving to Frisia, her body was too weak to carry out even normal activities, such as standing for long periods. It was only in the last year that she began to be healthy and able to travel with Leland.
Sophie walked gracefully into the ballroom, holding Leland's arms while Jan and Luciel walked in front of them. Behind them were Lucas and Duncan. The two men took on the role of bodyguards for the family.
Initially, Leland only planned to take Sophie, but she wanted Luciel and Jan to come with them too. The two children were almost six years old. Sophie wanted her children to learn to socialize with other humans.
To keep Leland from worrying, Sophie said that she had taught Luciel and Jan human manners and told them what they could and couldn't do when they were around other people.
Sophie wanted to see Luciel and Jan put into practice what she had taught them. To her, it was very important for them not to forget the human side within them.
Leland didn't mind. After all, according to him, if the children went with them, their family would be seen as a perfect family and would not be suspected.
Plus, he could also take Lucas and Duncan.
Besides being assigned to watch over Luciel and Jan, they could also be assigned to infiltrate the rooms within the palace under the pretext of searching for Duke Romanov's children. He would send the boys out with Duncan and then pretended to have Lucas search for them.
All the guests were still focusing their attention on the Romanovs before finally, a few noblemen stood up to greet them, followed by others.
The Duke and Duchess Romanov were well-known to many people, especially among the nobility. In the past, the couple often attended parties held by the Riga nobles.
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