Queen Marianne nodded at Nicholas and the young king went out to call a servant and asked them to bring tea to Sophie's room.
"Your Grace is too kind," Sophie said. She respectfully welcomed them to sit on the sofa by the window. "Please have a seat. We can see the moon from here, the window is quite big."
The queen sat next to Sophie and she studied Sophie's face carefully. The young woman's face looked slightly wrinkled, her skin was dry, the eye bags were drooping and there were dark circles around her eyes. All of which explained that she was sleep deprived.
She also looked thinner than the first time she came to the palace. Ever since Leland left she had not had much of an appetite.
Queen Marianne held Sophie's cheek and said softly. "I understand how you feel. Back when Nicholas' father went to the battlefield, I was like this too. I couldn't sleep because I was so worried about him. Wondering if he's all right now? When is he coming home? Why it took so long? I was nervous."
Sophie fell silent and looked deeply at Queen Marianne. Everything Queen Marianne had said was exactly the same as what she was feeling right now.
Nicholas also looked deeply at his mother. He felt sorry for his mother's words. He loved his father and worried about his father but his father probably doesn't know that and didn't care if his mother was worried about him or not. One-sided love was very sad.
"There's something we can't ignore, though." Queen Marianne saw Sophie's babies in the baby box. Little Anne and Little Jack were sleeping soundly on their bellies. They both looks so adorable.
"I used to have Nicholas to look after while my late husband went to war or did his royal duties," the queen said. "And now you have the babies and the older boys to look after. They need you. So you have to take good care of yourself."
She added, "When their father is not around, we as the mothers have to look after the children. In order to do that, we have to be strong.".
What she conveyed was not just words but it was an experience that she was sharing. When Nicholas was small and was affected by lycanthropy, the queen was the one who looked after and protected her son. The most painful thing that she had to endure was that she had to protect Nicholas from his own father.
Sometimes, she wondered how she got through that hard time. She was a fragile woman without power. Yet, she managed to steel herself to take care of Nicholas.
"What my mother said is true, Sophie. You must take care of yourself for your children," Nicholas spoke up. He looked deeply into Sophie's sad face. He really couldn't bear to see Sophie's condition. "Before leaving, what did Leland say? I mean, did he say when he's coming back?"
Sophie turned to look at Nicholas. "Leland said he'd be back in seven days, but it's been more than a week now. He was not usually like this. If he said he'll be home in seven days then he'll be home in seven days. This never happened before.
Sophie took a deep breath. She was truly worried that something bad happened to her mate, but she bit back the word. She didn't want to jinx things. She could only say, "I'm really worried…."
She cut her own sentence. Actually, Sophie wanted to ask Nicholas for help in finding Leland or at least sending people to search for information. Surely, as the king, he had the manpower to do that.
However, she hesitated and wondered if it was okay to do so. Leland went to Armeria to help his childhood friend Eloise and it had nothing to do with Nicholas. If Nicholas couldn't help her, then she would find a way to contact Lucas and ask him to send a rescue team or any team at all to find Leland and his men.
Understanding what Sophie was trying to say to him, Nicholas smiled and then said, "We'll wait until tomorrow. If Leland still doesn't come back by tomorrow, I'm going to Armeria to check what really happened there."
Sophie was stunned when she heard his words. No.. she didn't mean to ask HIM to go and search. He was the king...
Meanwhile, Queen Marianne, who heard her son's plan, immediately uttered her disapproval.
"No, I don't agree." She touched Nicholas' arm and looked at him deeply. "Nicholas, you shouldn't go."
"But, Mother..."
"I know your intentions are good but you're just a lone Alpha who doesn't have a pack. There is no one to help you."
"I can handle it, Mother. Please don't worry too much about me, I can take good care of myself." Nicholas tried to convince her but Queen Marianne wouldn't budge at all.
"No, I still disagree. Nic, you are a king, your responsibility is to this kingdom and all the people of Riga. You have no responsibility whatsoever for the safety of the other Alphas and any packs."
Queen Marianne tried to make her son understand the responsibility he had on his shoulders. She also didn't want Nicholas to risk his life out of pity for Sophie.
Nicholas had sacrificed his own love for Sophie's happiness. Would she as a mother let Nicholas sacrifice his life for Sophie's happiness too?
No way!
Nicholas had sacrificed enough. She touched Nicholas' face and for a moment her hand remained there.
"Nic… please understand what I'm saying. You are the head of this kingdom. If you are caught, what will happen to this kingdom? Think, what if the Obsidian Sand Pack caught you through the same method, and then what happened to the people of Armeria will happen to the people of Riga. Think about it." She looked at Nicholas seriously. "The people of Armeria are basically under the slavery of the Obsidian Sand Pack. We don't want the same thing to happen to our people here in Riga."
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