Sophie took a deep breath and turned to Leland. Her voice sounded tired when she spoke. "Can we talk again later? Perhaps we both need to think separately on how we should deal with this problem."
Leland didn't want to think separately because he already knew what he wanted and how he would make his decision. However, he didn't want to force Sophie to stay with him when she wanted space to be alone.
"All right," Leland said expressionlessly. He closed his eyes and leaned his back on the headboard. Sophie took a deep breath and patted his shoulder gently before she climbed down the bed and went to open the door.
She didn't want Luciel to feel worried about her. Leland opened his eyes when he heard the door was closed from outside and Sophie's scent no longer lingered in the room.
"Luciel," Sophie smiled widely and pulled Luciel to her embrace.
She wanted to cry but tried so hard to hold back her tears from falling. What should she and the boys do when the two men that were important to them were waging war against each other and they were stuck in the middle?
If Leland could forget about his mission and leave Riga with her, Sophie wouldn't mind cutting all ties with Nicholas, perhaps even never revealing that secret to Luciel and Jan. She just wanted peace.
If they left now, Nicholas might never even come to them and they could pretend that he was never part of Sophie's life at some point.
However, Leland was adamant to stay and continue the war. This was bad on all levels. They would face Riga's royal army and the Hannenberghs.
Sooner or later, Nicholas would find out about Sophie and the boys, and Luciel and Jan would know about their biological father being the enemy...
And then they would surely get stuck in the middle.
It was easier to hate Nicholas if he was a bad man, but he was not.
"Mommy..." Luciel looked at his mother seriously. "You look unwell."
"Do I?" Sophie smiled. "I am just tired, I guess. What have you boys been up to?"
"Oh, Jan and I played catch today," said Luciel, suddenly forgot abut his concern. "I always won."
"Ohh... you are amazing," Sophie rubbed his hair and took his hand. "I will reward you with your favorite cake. I will make one today."
"Aaahhh... I like it!!" Luciel jumped happily and hugged Sophie's waist. The mother and son duo were walking together toward the kitchen. Sophie had learned some cooking in the past years and she could now make some simple cakes that her sons and husband really liked.
***
Nicholas didn't waste time. He decided to immediately get ready to leave for Hauntingen. He couldn't wait to find out whatever information he could get from there.
After he got all the supplies he need and his horse was ready, Nichola went to the courtyard of the palace, prepared to leave and mount his horse. He planned to travel alone to minimize the number of people who would find out about his secrets.
After his fight with that strange lycan the night before, Nicholas was now feeling so confident about his own capabilities.
He could feel that his injuries were healing quickly and his combat prowess was so good, that he could surely protect himself without relying on the king's guards or Royal Lycan Hunters. They were the last people he wanted in his journey.
"HELP! HELP, PLEASE!!"
Nicholas just climbed on top of his horse when suddenly a loud commotion was heard coming from one corner of the palace. The sounds distracted him. The king turned around toward the noise and he immediately furrowed his brows.
"What the—?"
Nicholas clicked his tongue in annoyance when he saw Karenina was climbing one of the tallest towers of the palace.
Everyone on the ground was screaming, trying to persuade the woman to come down. In an instant, the state of the palace became very troubled and in a state of turmoil.
Nicholas let out a long sigh, dismounted his horse, and walked over to the crowd. He really didn't expect that Karenina meant what she said. She said earlier that she no longer wanted to live if she had to bear the shame.
Nicholas largely thought it was an empty threat, but now he was not so sure anymore.
"What's going on here?" Queen Marianne, who heard the commotion from inside the palace, came out and tried to find out what was going on. "Oh my god... Karenina! W-what are you doing?"
The queen was extremely shocked when she saw Karenina standing on the windowsill, which was at the top of one of the tallest towers as she prepared to kill herself.
"Your Highness...!" Her maidservant quickly ran toward the queen and supported her since her knees suddenly became weak.
"K-Karenina..." Queen Marianne's eyes bulged and then she lost all her strength. The queen fell unconscious from the shock.
"Mother!" Nicholas ran as fast as he could toward his mother and checked on her condition. Once he made sure she only passed out, he immediately looked up. Karenina was standing by the window on the highest tower, her hair was fluttering with the wind and her face was covered with tears.
Frustrated, Nicholas decided to approach Karenina and persuade her to come down. He patted the maidservant and ordered her to take care of his mother. "Take my mother inside."
Nicholas strode toward the tower and quickly ran up the stairs to the top of the tower. If he couldn't convince Karenina to change her mind, he would have a better chance of saving her if he could get close to her.
In less than five minutes, Nicholas was outside the room where Karenina was in. He knocked on the door forcefully. "Karenina, it's me. Open the door. Stop this craziness already!"
Karenina didn't reply. Only her sobs could be heard from outside. Nicholas massaged his temple. Why must this woman do this at this very unfortunate time? He was in a hurry to go to Hauntingen.
.
.
__________________________
From Missrealitybites:
I know at this point many of you are trying not to vomit because of the stunt that Karenina is pulling... hahaha. Please bear with me for a little bit, Nicholas will soon arrive in Hauntingen and got his memory back.
The sourc𝗲 of this content is free(w)ebnov(𝒆)l