Nicholas told his people in the royal villa not to let his condition be known to people outside of the place, but of course, they couldn't lie and keep covering it up when the queen's informant came to look for the king and found out his condition.
Queen Marianne had not seen Nicholas for weeks and she started to feel worried. Nicholas only told her he needed to go to Hauntingen to find out what happened to him six years ago.
After Karenina left the royal palace and Nicholas still didn't give the queen any news of his whereabouts, Queen Marianne felt so lonely being on her own. She decided to ask her trusted butler to send an informant and find out Nicholas' news.
The queen was surprised to hear that Nicholas had returned to Livstad for a week and was now resting in the royal villa. The queen was curious to know her son's findings in Hauntingen, so she set out to visit Nicholas in their villa, on the outskirts of Livstad.
"Gosh... my son..." the queen murmured frantically when she entered the royal villa and the butler told her that the king was injured and was now resting in his room to recover. "What happened? How bad are his injuries? Has the royal physician seen him?"
The butler, whose name was James, nodded respectfully. "Yes, Your Grace. Doctor Edgar has come and treated His Majesty since last week. The king is doing much better than before."
"Why didn't anybody tell me that he is hurt???"
"I am sorry, your grace. It's the king's order. He said he didn't want people to find out his weaknesses." James said apologetically. He quickly added, "He also didn't want Your Grace to worry about him."
"Uff.. my foolish son," the queen complained to herself. She waved at James and asked him to take her to see Nicholas. "I will always worry, no matter what. That's just how mothers are."
Queen Marianne decided to ask Nicholas in private to find out what happened and how he ended up injured. She was worried that it had something to do with Nicholas being a lycan. These people in their villa might start to be suspicious if she forced them to tell her the chronology of the event.
***
When she entered the king's room, Queen Marianne's heart dropped to the floor. She could see Nicholas looking pale and his body was bandaged in several places. He was asleep.
"Thank you, James. Now, you can go." The queen turned to the butler and waved at him. "Your duty for today is done. You may leave."
"Thank you, Your Grace." James bowed down and then left the queen alone. He closed the door behind him.
Queen Marianne pulled up a chair and beside Nicholas. She took Nicholas' hand and kissed it. Her left hand was still holding Nicholas's as her right hand moved and stroked her son's head.
Her heart felt like it was stabbed when she saw her son lying weak and looking very helpless. Then, her tears started to fall when she recalled every memory she had with Nicholas and how she had struggled so far to hide the fact that Nicholas was a lycan.
The queen hid the fact not only from the people but also from her husband. She took little Nicholas here and there and made various excuses to the king so she could make sure Nicholas' life was safe even though they lost precious time as a whole family in return and their bond with the late king was weak from the start.
That reason made him very sure that if the king knew Nicholas was a lycan then he would not think twice about killing Nicholas even if the man was his own son.
It wasn't that she was glad her husband had died but, to be honest, there was a part of her heart that felt relieved when she no longer had to worry about his reaction if he found out about Nicholas' condition.
The time when she had to hide Nicholas' lycanthropy was the most difficult and tense years of her life. She was so happy when she thought that Nicholas had recovered from his lycanthropy.
She felt the heavy burden he had carried for so many years off his shoulders but deep inside she was still unsure if the curse was truly lifted or his condition was just dormant until god knows when.
As years passed by and her husband gone, slowly she finally find peace. However, last month, her worst nightmare returned when Karenina told her she witnessed Nicholas partially transformed into a lycan.
The trouble she thought was over was now weighing heavily on her even more so for Nicholas. Her son must be a lot more burdened, plus now that he's lost his memory, he became very frustrated thinking about his past.
"Ah." Nicholas was restless in his sleep turning right and left. Queen Marianne immediately calmed him down. The woman held her son's head which almost fell off the pillow.
"Shhh shhh. Calm down." She placed her index finger to his mouth and calmed Nicholas like she would a baby. As Nicholas quickly calmed down, she smiled. Queen Marianne was reminded of the time when Nicholas was a baby.
"My dear child." She kissed Nicholas on the forehead affectionately. "Everything will be fine, you won't go through this alone. Just like before, I will protect you and take care of you no matter what."
She smiled and then wiped her tears. She decided to sleep by Nicholas's bedside to make sure she was here by his side when he woke up.
***
The next morning, Nicholas opened his eyes and was slightly surprised to find a woman's head leaning on his shoulder. Just by looking at the woman's blonde hair, he could immediately tell who the woman was.
"Mother."
One low call woke Queen Marianne up. She immediately got up and rubbed her eyes. Her eyes were filled with relief when she saw Nicholas look much better.
"Nic, are you awake? How are you feeling?" she asked after straightening his back and rubbing his face.
"Much better. How long have you been here?" Nicholas was surprised by the presence of his mother in the royal villa at this time. Uff, she must have seen his injuries and was now feeling really worried.
"I am fine, mother," he said as casually as possible.
"How can you say you are fine??" the queen shook her head in frustration. "Did you get in a fight? Who dared attack the king of this kingdom?"
Nicholas perked up his ears to make sure there was nobody around his room that could listen to their conversation. Then he decided to answer his mother's question and told her the truth.
The queen was not dumb and he wouldn't be able to make her believe he was attacked by regular thugs. It was better to tell her the truth but show her that he was capable of protecting himself.
"I fought some lycans and got minor injuries," Nicholas played down his injuries. "I am fine otherwise. I intentionally didn't inform you because this is nothing. You know lycans have great healing and regenerative abilities."
"Lycans?" Queen Marianne thought Nicholas must have encountered the lycans around Hauntingen because that place was close to the border and there might be some lycans from Armeria who bumped into him.
"Yes, they are quite nasty, but I am fine, mother." Nicholas's heart ached when he saw how his mother suddenly look so sad.
"My poor, poor son..." she muttered to herself and wiped her tears with a handkerchief. Then, she looked at her son seriously. "Did they attack you when you went to Hauntingen?"
"No... I met them here in Livstad," Nicholas said.
"Livstad?? Where?" The queen pressed her lips in shock. "Why don't you send the Royal Lycan Hunters, together with our royal army to attack them and wipe them out of Riga?"
Nicholas took a deep breath and massaged his temple. What he was about to tell his mother was a big secret that nobody could know, because it was related to Sophie's and their children's safety.
After Queen Marianne openly told Nicholas she would support him no matter what, even though he had turned into a monster, Nicholas felt more at ease around his mother that now he didn't mind telling her about his biggest secret.
When he found out the queen had also suffered for his sake, Nicholas' perspective of his mother slightly changed. She might be happy if she knew she already had grandchildren and wouldn't care if they were not humans.
"I can't do any of those things, mother," Nicholas said. "Right now, I need to think about my steps carefully, otherwise I would hurt the people I love."
"What does it have to do with this?" Queen Marianne asked again. "What do you mean by hurting the people you love?"
"Well, I...." Nicholas sighed deeply. He sat up and clasped his mother's two hands with his. Then, he started to explain what happened. "I found out very interesting information when I went to Hauntingen to investigate what happened to me six years ago that I ended up losing my memories."
The queen sat in silence, listening to Nicholas' findings. Tears were forming in the corners of her eyes.
"I found out that when I was in Hauntingen I got married."
"You... what?" The queen pressed her lips in surprise. "Married? To who? How did that happen? Who is she?"
"Hold on, mother. One by one," Nicholas chuckled. "I will tell you everything, but one thing at a time."
Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om