Nicholas wanted to roll his eyes when he heard his mother. She was so good with words and could be manipulative for sure. He regretted that she did manipulate him many times when he was younger and didn't know better.
However, even though his mother was this way, he couldn't hate her. That's just who she was. Everything she did was according to what she thought was best for her son and their family.
Nicholas would never forget how much she worked so hard to protect him from his father who hated lycans. She always chose him over her husband. Even though it cost her their relationship which was not great, to begin with. She prioritized Nicholas above everything else.
After he became an adult, Nicholas started to see things more clearly and had a better understanding of his parents' relationship. Even though his mother never admitted it, Nicholas could see that his father didn't love her and by extension, didn't love him.
Queen Marianne did try hard to work on their relationship, though one-sidedly, so that King William could see her worth and perhaps slowly love her for being a good wife to him. It might work had she not been away from the palace so much.
As the king's wife, Queen Marianne spent too much time outside the palace with her son, visiting their relatives, leaving her husband with his work. King William didn't know that his wife did it to hide the fact that Nicholas had lycanthropy.
So, even if he started to appreciate her presence after ten years together and she served him wonderfully as the perfect wife, from the eleventh year, things changed and she no longer seemed to care if he needed her by his side all the time to take care of his needs and desire.
Their patchy relationship became colder and the king finally withdrew himself further from his wife and son. Knowing how much his mother loved his father, Nicholas felt guilty for causing his mother to lose the opportunity to have a happy marriage with the late king.
So, of course, no matter what the queen did, no matter how much Nicholas was angered by it, since he knew she did it for his sake, according to her own wisdom, and remembering how he owed his mother his life, Nicholas always forgave her and loved her.
However, he drew the line with Sophie. He wouldn't let his mother manipulate Sophie into doing what the queen wanted.
"They are my heart and soul too," said Nicholas calmly. "But I won't say I am dying if they left the palace."
"That's because you are young and healthy," said the queen in protest. "Your mother has poor health."
"Mother, we can always see them whenever we want to," said Nicholas. "I will have them study here three times a week. I will also ask Sophie to allow them to sleep over from time to time. And, if you want to go to their new home, I will go with you."
The queen looked away, hiding her tears. "Why don't you just marry her and get back together? This would solve a lot of problems."
Nicholas rubbed his temple. Did his mother really think it was that easy to make Sophie want to marry him? That was actually the first thing he thought about, the only thing he dreamed of that bothered him in his sleep.
He wanted to get back together with Sophie and make her his official wife, his queen, and the mother of his children... but Sophie didn't want it. So, Nicholas had to respect her wishes. He also thought it was too soon. She was heartbroken and had a lot of problems to solve. He didn't want to add to her trouble.
***
"You can sell your jewelry to me," Nicholas said when he helped Sophie sort her jewelry. She brought a wooden jewelry box filled with diamonds, gold, and many other precious gems. "I will give you a good price."
Sophie turned to him and furrowed her brows. "I don't want your money."
"No, no... this is not a handout," said Nicholas firmly. "I am taking your jewelry. The royal palace always needs more jewelry to add to our collection. We sometimes have to send gifts to some lord's daughter's birthday or wedding. It's important to keep a good relationship with my supporters."
He added, "If you sold it to a jewelry shop, they will haggle with you and give you a bad price. Please don't do that."
Sophie looked at the pearl necklace in her hand that she just took from the box. She remembered it was gifted to her by Leland for her birthday five years ago. It was one of her favorites.
If she sold it to Nicholas, someday it might be gifted to a noblewoman by the court and Sophie would see her favorite necklace be worn by another woman. This thought made her feel really sad.
She looked dejected but didn't say anything. She put the pearl necklace back, together with her other jewelry, and then pushed the box toward Nicholas.
"You are right. I will sell my jewelry to the court. Please give me a good price."
"Definitely," said Nicholas with a smile.
The past few days he saw a change in Sophie's demeanor. She became busy with planning and doing things to prepare for her move. She didn't have time to be sad. Well, at least not under his watch. He didn't know if she still cried when she was alone like her sons said to him back then.
"My treasury will be here very soon to give the estimate and then make the payment to you," said Nicholas. "If your business is doing well and you have money to buy your jewelry back, as long as they are not yet gifted by the court to those noblewomen, you can have them."
He lied to ease her mind. Of course, he would immediately keep her jewelry in his treasure chest and not allow them to be taken to the court's inventory. Someday, if Sophie wanted them back he would return them all to her.
"Thank you," said Sophie. She got up from the couch and asked Nicholas. "Can we see the shophouse now? I want to see it as soon as possible and see what we still need to buy to make it habitable."
Nicholas told her earlier that his men found a nice big shophouse in the city center. It was a two-story building with a classic design. The first floor could be used for her tavern and they could use the second floor for their family.
Nicholas had bought it from the owner and now told Sophie that the building was available to purchase. Sophie was excited to know slowly her dream was coming true.
"Yes, we can visit the shophouse now," said Nicholas. "I will go with you."
Sophie was glad to see Anne was sleeping soundly. Usually, she would sleep for several hours after she was nursed. So, if the shophouse was not too far from the palace, she could go there and return before her daughter woke up.
"It's half an hour carriage drive from here," Nicholas informed her. "I have the carriage ready for you."
"Very well. Let's go now." Sophie turned to her older sons and told them to watch over their siblings. She would return very soon.
"Yes, mom. We understand," said Luciel with a smile. Seeing her sons looking so confident, Sophie smiled in relief. She rubbed their hair and then walked out of her room, followed by Nicholas.
The king wore the simple clothes of a commoner today. He didn't want people to recognize him and by extension recognize Sophie. He didn't want her effort to start a new life outside the palace to be ruined by his presence.
The carriage that took them to the city center was an old one and looked very modest. Nobody would suspect that the humble carriage actually had their king inside it.
"Here we are," said Nicholas. "I hope you like the place."
The coachman opened the door for them and Nicholas got out first. He reached out a hand to help Sophie get down from the carriage. The passersby were all interested in seeing the handsome tall man help a beautiful woman get out of her carriage.
Many thought they were a couple. The husband was helping his wife get off the carriage. If Nicholas could read their minds, he would be so happy they thought that way
They stopped in front of a big shophouse and the man hired by Nicholas to pretend to be the owner was welcoming them with a sweet smile. "Welcome, Miss. I heard that you are looking for a property to buy?"
Sophie nodded. "I am. Can I take a look around this house?"
"Yes, feel free. I rented it out last year to a family and they didn't extend it," said the owner. "It's now empty if you want to take a look inside."
"This is beautiful!" exclaimed Sophie when she entered the shophouse and saw the living room.
.
.
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PS: From Missrealitybites:
I decided to post the teaser for my new book in the next chapter (It will be published as a comic mainly because I am busy, so I may not have the novel until next year).
If you don't want to read it, please just skip it and read the next chapter so you don't have to pay coins.
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