The two servants who had been busy chatting were surprised when they saw the arrival of the king.
As the king continued to walk closer to them, they could only look down in fear because they thought the king had overheard their chatter and was going to punish them. They finally breathed a sigh of relief as the king passed them by without saying anything.
Nicholas continued to make long strides down the corridor, and before long, he finally arrived at his mother's chamber.
"Mother," Nicholas called from the open doorway. The queen, who was sitting by the sofa with a maid combing her long blonde hair, immediately turned around and was surprised to see her son had come home.
Nicholas walked in and approached his mother. Queen Marianne immediately rose from her seat.
"Mother, I need to talk to you."
Surprise appeared once more on the queen's face when she saw several scratches on Nicholas' face and wounds on his son's neck and hands.
"Nick, w-what happened?" Queen Marianne looked at every wound on Nicholas' arms and neck, then turned to look at Nicholas' face. Her son's face was pale, and he looked sick. The queen was immediately worried. "Oh no... my son. Did somebody attack you? Who dare did it?"
"Mother, I am fine now," Nicholas said, lying. "They just look hideous, but they don't hurt that much."
"Oh, Nick. How could you say that? This must hurt so badly," Queen Marianne said. She cupped Nicholas' face and cried as she hugged her only son. "Have you seen the royal physician?"
Nicholas winced when he heard his mother's words. There was no way he would let other humans check his wounds. They would know immediately that they were caused by a werewolf.
It would invite way too many questions. He was not ready for them to have that kind of question about him. "I did. He already took care of them. You don't have to worry, mother."
Queen Marianne let go of his face. She wiped her tears and looked at Nicholas carefully. She saw he did look fine. At least, he wasn't showing that he was in so much pain. So, maybe he did ask the physician to treat his wounds.
However, she still wanted to know what happened. Queen Marianne let out a long sigh. "What happened to you? Who did this to you?"
Nicholas looked at every servant in his mother's room. He needed to kick them out before he could speak with the queen. Or, he should ask his mother to come to his study. It was more private and no one could eavesdrop.
"I want to talk privately with you, mother," he said.
"Oh, okay. You heard His Majesty. Please leave..." Queen Marianne ordered her maids to leave the room, but Nicholas immediately shook his head.
He said, "No. I want us to talk in my study."
For a moment, the queen looked closely at Nicholas. Her son's face looked very solemn. She wondered what matters Nicholas wanted to talk to her about? Was it about Princess Karenina?
"Very well." The queen nodded. She realized this conversation must be quite serious for her son to ask to talk to her in his study. She got up and walked with Nicholas out of her chamber. Nobody said a word until they reached the room.
After a few minutes, they finally arrived at the king's study. Nicholas closed the door behind him. Then, he sat in his chair while his mother sat on the chair across from the table.
"Nick, what happened? Noel said you were sick, but how did you get hurt like this?" asked Queen Marianne, immediately throwing a few questions at Nicholas.
But before Nicholas gave an answer, the queen opened her mouth and spoke again. This time she discussed Princess Karenina, who claimed to have been raped by the king.
"Nick, tell me what really happened that night? Did you really do that immoral thing?" The Queen's eyes were full of questions. "That night, I bowed my head in shame, my son. I did so in front of Viscount Verhovent and everyone who witnessed and listened to Princess Karenina's confession."
The queen then desperately revealed all the things she had wanted to say to Nicholas for the past few days.
"Mother, I don't know what happened, I don't remember anything. We'll talk about this later, okay? Right now, there are more important things than that," Nicholas said. His words made the queen stare at him without blinking.
"Is there anything more important than saving our family's reputation? Do you know how this matter tarnished the reputation of the Hanenbergh Family?" she asked in frustration.
The queen added, "What will happen to us if the people decide that you are unfit to lead the kingdom? What will they do to you? The nobles can take advantage of this if Viscount Verhoven uses it. No, in fact, he is already using it."
"Mother, I told you that I don't remember anything. The last memory I remembered was that I woke up in the meadow as a lycan," Nicholas explained, which instantly made the queen's eyes widen.
"You-what did you just say?" Queen Marianne stammered, her heart suddenly beat faster.
"I said... something unexplainable happened to me last night. I suddenly woke up in a meadow... as a wolf."
"Oh..." Queen Marianne pressed her lips in shock. Memories from the past suddenly flashed on her mind. Nicholas was found in Hauntingen after he was kidnapped by a lycan tribe. Then, he suddenly transformed into a wolf when he was upset after having a nightmare...
She thought Nicholas was cured, at the expense of losing his memory.
Apparently, she was wrong.
Her son still shifted last night, after years of suppressing the lycanthropy, which only meant one thing...
He was not cured. He was still a monster.
Oh god... what to do??
"Do you know anything about it?" Nicholas stared at his mother pleadingly. "Please tell me everything you know. There's got to be something that happened to me in the past that turned me into something like this. You and father are humans, so I can't possibly be born a lycan"
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