Sophie accepted the potion from their healer and drank it to take care of her nausea. She let Luciel accompany her in her bedroom all day. The boy's presence gave her a sense of comfort. She had a lot to think about and she took the time alone to ponder on what Nicholas told her.
He would change the law, he would do anything for her, including ending the war with lycans. He was willing to make up for what happened in the past.
Regarding her parents' death, Sophie could forgive the royal family because the people who were responsible for them had died. The old king was dead and she didn't want to put the blame on Nicholas. He was really young when her parents were killed. So, Sophie knew Nicholas didn't have anything to do with it.
However, when it came to the lives of so many lycans that had been killed during the decades of war between humans and lycans, Sophie couldn't force Leland and his people to forgive Nicholas and his kingdom. It was not her place to do it. It was not her decision.
"Stop it, Sophie..." she chided herself. "You shouldn't think about those things. It will only give you stress. You must not be stressed. You have your baby to think about."
She closed her eyes and tried to forget everything.
Gosh... it was so hard.
***
Leland didn't want to leave Sophie in the room but he knew his mental state was not great. He had witnessed how Luciel apparently guess that Nicholas was his biological father, and the boy seemed to like that man.
It would be easier if Nicholas was dead, or if he was a bad abusive man and Leland saved Sophie and the kids from him. However, that was not the case. He was not a bad man by their accounts.
He was the enemy, yes, but he was not a bad nor abusive man, and Leland didn't save Sophie and the kids from Nicholas. He was only protecting them while Nicholas was going through a hard time.
He thought he had everything under control, but he was wrong. He was so jealous and feeling insecure, even though Sophie said she chose him and the boys called him father. He felt like he was sitting in a house of cards that could crumble anytime if he made any mistakes.
Sophie could feel bored by him or think he was no longer interesting, or worse, she no longer thought she needed him to protect her and her kids.
He knew the reason why Sophie came to him in the first place. She needed protection for herself and the babies in her womb. After one year, she decided that it would be better to make that arrangement permanent, so she could secure the future for Luciel and Jan.
She was wise and he loved her no matter what. Even if she never loved him, he could accept that and be grateful for having her by his side.
But now, she could easily get another man to protect her. Nicholas was also physically formidable and he had even more resources than Leland, being the king of this big kingdom. Leland was now just an option.
"No, she doesn't see me as an option," Leland chided himself. He was sitting on the roof of the manor, trying to calm his mind.
He was fighting an inner demon who kept telling him how worthless he was and that he didn't deserve all the good things he was having. That he would lose all the moment he made mistakes.
However, usually, when someone tried extra hard not to make mistakes... he would end up making them. That's just the nature of the human mind.
It was much harder than fighting Nicholas in their last battle or even fighting many enemies at once.
***
Nicholas looked so down that nobody at the palace dared to talk to him. The king was usually an easygoing man and he didn't easily look upset. So, to see him looking this down was unusual.
The servants and guards were wondering what happened. However, they could only make guesses. They didn't want to disturb him.
Nicholas immediately called his butler to get the royal physician to see him in his study. He wanted to send the man to the Romanov manor to check on Jan's condition. No matter what Sophie told him, he must insist to send a doctor there. As the father, he couldn't stay still not doing anything, knowing that his son was injured or unwell.
He would send the doctor with several of his best knights. He actually hoped Leland would allow the doctor to enter and check on Jan, if he truly cared about the boy. So, the knights won't be needed.
However, if those bloody lycans were so heartless to kill a messenger in good faith, a doctor who came to help the Alpha's 'son', they could all go to hell and Nicholas would see it as a sign that he really should stop thinking that peace was possible between them.
"Your Majesty." A doctor in black robe knocked on the king's study. Doctor Samuel Lehman was the royal physician since five years ago after the previous one passed away. He had been serving the king and his family faithfully all these years.
Nicholas thought he could trust this man since the doctor had been treating his mother's illness for so long and she was still alive now, despite her frail physique.
Nicholas thought the queen would die five years ago when she begged him to propose to Karenina on her deathbed. However, she was slowly showing good progress after he granted her wishes and with Doctor Lehman's care, Queen Marianne had even recovered.
He wouldn't tell this doctor about the patient he was assigned to visit, but knowing how similar Jan look to Nicholas, Doctor Lehman might be suspicious and could guess the relationship between Nicholas and Jan, and the reason why the king sent him to the Romanov manor.
However, Nicholas didn't have any other choice. He had to send him there, to show Sophie that he meant every word when he said he wanted to step up for his kids now.
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