Nicholas had decided to reveal the truth about himself. However, before he did that, he realized he needed to discuss the issue with his mother. Queen Marianne Hannenbergh was the one who made the decision to hide Nicholas' condition for years.
If he wanted to open this secret, people would know that the queen secretly defy her husband and this wouldn't look good on her reputation, even though some people might understand why she did what she did.
His truth shouldn't have to make his mother put in a bad light because she only wanted to protect him. With that thought in mind, Nicholas put away his drink and decided to go talk to his mother about it.
He had just stood up when his mother suddenly came into his room. The queen knocked and she entered after Nicholas asked her to come in.
"Are you okay? I heard you trained with Noel and he injured you badly," said the queen while examining and looking for wounds on her son's body. She looked very worried.
"I'm fine, Mothe. Just a small wound and it's healed now," Nicholas explained. "You see, it's one of the benefits of being a lycan. Their regenerative capabilities are amazing."
He showed his wound to his mother and assured her that it was nothing. He still referred to the lycans as 'them' as if he was not one of them and this made him feel slightly embarrassed.
He wanted to open up to other people about his condition being a lycan, thinking he had accepted this side of him. However, he still unconsciously think he was different from those other lycans. It was true he was true and he didn't want to be a lycan.
But his children were born lycans and it was the fact that he had to accept and be proud of.
Nicholas clenched his fists to the sides, feeling frustrated.
Now, he finally realized another reason why Sophie decided to stay with Leland after she thought he had died.
Leland was an Alpha of a werewolf pack. He was a prideful creature. Nicholas could tell from the way he carried himself. He was proud to be a lycan.
Maybe, Sophie wanted Luciel and Jan to grow up around people who were proud of who they were, unlike Nicholas who always hid his condition because he grew up thinking he was a monster.
Nicholas had confided in her a lot about how his family hated lycans and he always had to hide and that resulted in him being so determined to find a cure. The beginning of all their problems.
Nicholas remembered seeing Jan and Luciel back in the manor. Both boys were so happy and healthy. They didn't have his fear of being found out that he was a monster. They walked proud and tall being themselves.
He hated to admit it, but it seemed Sophie and Leland did a great job raising the boys.
Queen Marianne immediately breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Nicholas' wounds were truly minor. She thought it was severe and his life was in danger.
She hugged her son and heaved a sigh of relief. The warm embrace of his mother made Nicholas feel slightly better. No matter what, this woman had always stood by him. She was the only person who cared so much about him and would do anything for him, even if she had to defy the king.
"I was just about to see you, mother. I have something important to talk to you about," he said, patting the queen's back gently.
"What's that?" Queen Marianne sat on the bed a moment after Nicholas sat back down. "Is it related to Noel? What about Luciel and Jan? Didn't you tell me that you needed to confirm something about them?"
She looked at Nicholas with a hopeful expression.
Nicholas smiled faintly when he saw her looking at him that way. He knew she really liked Luciel and Jan and was really hoping they were actually her grandsons. He thought the news would make her so happy.
However, when he remembered that Sophie asked him to stay away from the kids, his throat felt dry and he didn't know if it was wise to share this with his mother now.
"Later," he finally said to change the subject. "What I wanted to talk to you now about is Noel and the Royal Lycan Hunters."
"What about Noel? Did he intentionally hurt you???" the queen got up in anger. "How dare he!"
Nicholas quickly held her arm and gently pulled her to sit down. "It's not it, mother. He didn't mean to hurt me but.... he was suspicious of me being a lycan."
"W-what?? He was suspicious of you?" Queen Marianne was very surprised to hear this. What she had been worrying about all this time finally happened. "Is that true?"
Nicholas nodded. "He told me himself. He didn't attack me and called me a lycan or anything, but he expressed his suspicions because he had observed some lycan traits in me."
"H-how could Noel be suspicious? We've done our best to hide this from him, not even your father knew this! W-what should we do now?" Queen Marianne stammered. She knew how sadistic Noel and his troops were when they killed the lycans they caught.
She couldn't imagine that Noel would do the same cruelty to Nicholas. Even though Nicholas was currently sitting on the throne, Noel and his troops strongly adhere to the previous king's orders, namely to fight the lycans.
In addition to that, when the Riga people knew that their king was a lycan, it was possible that they would rebel because they had been indoctrinated to hate werewolves since the reign of the previous king.
There would be many who oppose Nicholas and it is not impossible if Nicholas would be overthrown by his own people. The fact that Noel suspected the king was such a delicate matter. Queen Marianne realized her son must act carefully.
R𝑒ad latest chapt𝒆rs at f(r)eew𝒆bnovel.com Only