The queen's eyes looked puffy when she entered the royal dining room. She looked at the boys and Sophie with a dejected expression that Sophie instantly felt bad. She stole a glance at Nicholas who sat at the head of the table and the man shook his head faintly, motioning her to not worry and let him handle the situation.
"Good evening, Your Grace," Sophie got up from her chair and curtseyed to the queen.
"Good evening, Lady Sophie," said Queen Marianne with a tired voice. She sat in her chair and motioned them to sit too. "Please have a sit."
"Thank you, Your Grace." Sophie sat back down. The servants started coming with trays and trays of delicious dishes.
Luciel and Jan sat on each of the queen's sides and she rubbed their heads lovingly. She started the conversation over dinner by expressing her disappointment to see Sophie go with her grandchildren.
"You know I love all of you," she said with a hoarse voice. "I was so happy when Nicholas came here and brought you and the kids. I thought it must be fate. However, I was wrong... oh, I am really sad to hear you decided to leave the palace."
She looked at Sophie seriously and said, "Tell me, darling, is there anything that bothers you in the palace? Did people gossip? Don't you like the food? Or should we move you to a better and bigger chamber? We have so many beautiful rooms that you can use. Or, maybe you are bored? I can take you with me to meet people or see places. It will not be boring."
"Your Grace is too kind," Sophie felt bad about leaving, but Nicholas had warned her about his mother and she tried not to feel guilty about her decision. "Everything here is perfect. I am grateful for everything that His Majesty and Your Grace have granted me."
"So, what is the problem? Nicholas told me you want to leave. I thought it was because you didn't like the treatment you received here, or maybe it was because our place is not good enough for you."
"No, no... the palace is really beautiful. It's definitely beyond my wildest dream to live in the royal palace," Sophie explained tactfully. "However, I don't think I belong here. Riga needs a queen. Sooner or later, the king will have his family and I don't want to become his burden and create a rift between him and the future queen."
Nicholas coughed when he heard her excuse. That was not what she told him yesterday. Sophie told him, though not explicitly, that she didn't want to stay because she was carrying Leland's child and it would be bad for both their reputation if the king was taking in a pregnant woman whose husband just left her.
People would think Sophie and Nicholas had an affair that incited Leland's anger to divorce her and now the king was taking her in because she was having his affair baby. However, now Sophie framed it as if she was thinking of Nicholas' future with his non-existing future queen.
This way, Queen Marianne could understand that as long as Sophie was around, it would be difficult for the king to open up to a new woman that would become his wife.
Nicholas was still quite young for a man. He would be 29 soon and it was a good age to get married and have a family. However, if he thought he already had his heirs, he wouldn't feel the need to get a wife for himself.
In the long run, it would be bad for Riga because a king shouldn't be single forever. The kingdom needed a queen to help the king rule.
Queen Marianne looked at Sophie seriously. She understood Sophie's every word. She also wanted to see Nicholas get married, have more children, and be happy. However, as his mother, Queen Marianne knew her son well.
She could tell that the only woman who would make Nicholas happy was Sophie. So, why would he need to look for another woman when the person he loved was right here beside him?
"Well, you have a point, dear," the queen replied. "However, you don't have to leave so soon. Can you give us maybe... five years? Let Luciel and Jan grow up behind the palace walls and have the best life they could ever have."
She added, "Nicholas is only 29. In five years, he would be 34. He is still young enough to start a new family, if that's what you are worried about. I think Riga can still accept me to be the queen for the next five years. So, you don't have to worry about it."
A female servant came with a jug of wine and started pouring wine into their cups. However, before she could pour for Sophie, suddenly, Nicholas raised his hand and motioned the servant to stop.
He said, "There is no need to pour wine for Lady Sophie."
The servant bowed down and took his jug of wine to leave the dining room. Sophie shot a grateful smile to Nicholas. This gesture didn't escape the queen's observation.
She asked them, "Why aren't you drinking wine, Lady Sophie? Are you feeling unwell?"
Sophie hurriedly shook her head. Before Nicholas or Sophie could find an excuse to as why Sophie didn't drink wine, Luciel happily informed the queen of the truth.
"Mother is pregnant with our baby sibling," he said with a huge grin. "That's why she cannot drink wine."
The queen widened her eyes and looked at Sophie with a surprised expression. She suddenly understood why Sophie insisted on leaving. Still, in her opinion, it was not a good reason to leave the palace.
"So, you're pregnant?" she asked Sophie. "Congratulations!"
"Thank you, Your Grace."
The queen pressed her chest in a dramatic movement. She turned to Nicholas and scolded her son. "Nicholas! I thought I taught you better than this. How could you be so heartless and let Sophie go when she is carrying a baby?"
"Mom, I didn't..." Nicholas wanted to reply to his mother's words, but the queen kept berating him.
"Don't you know that being pregnant is really hard? Not only she would have to carry her bulging stomach for 9.5 months, her movement will be limited, her body will feel sore, and she will experience morning sickness and many discomforts..."
Nicholas wanted to interrupt his mother, telling her that he understood, but it was Sophie who insisted on leaving and there was nothing he could do to convince her to stay and he surely didn't want to detain her here against her will.
However, the queen kept talking and scolding Nicholas for being heartless and letting the mother of his children face such a problem alone.
"Mother, I did ask her to stay after I found out about her pregnancy." Nicholas finally had the opportunity to speak when his mother was taking a breath. "But at the end of the day, I have to respect what Sophie wants."
The queen was surprised to hear that. She thought there was a problem between her son and Sophie when Nicholas found out that Sophie was pregnant.
She turned to look at Sophie and gave the younger woman her best puppy eyes. "My poor child. Why don't you stay here during your pregnancy? My son will surely take good care of you. Don't you know how hard it is to be alone while carrying your baby?"
Sophie felt uncomfortable by the queen's reaction. She knew exactly how hard it was to be alone and weak while carrying her babies. That's why she sacrificed herself eight years ago and went to Leland to get his protection.
Back then, she didn't know who he was. She thought he was the scary Duke Romanov and she was ready to give up her life and be his trophy wife as long as she could give a good life for her children.
However, Sophie today was different from what she was eight years ago. She was now more confident about her own ability to raise her family. She also didn't want to owe anything to anyone. She was worried that she would be disappointed again.
She wanted to tell the queen that she understood the risk, but she was worried the queen would think she was being rude. So, Sophie could only look down.
"Mother, can we please have dinner peacefully?" Nicholas felt bad about Sophie. He immediately changed the subject. "Let's talk after eating. Sophie is pregnant and she needs to eat well. Please don't make her stressed."
The queen pursed her lips. She still wanted to say something but her son's gaze made her relent.
"Very well," she said reluctantly. When she thought they didn't hear her, the queen muttered to herself. "I don't understand. Why don't you two just get married and everything will be fixed."
.
.
.
____________________________
From Missrealitybites:
I have the picture of Sophie's tavern in the comment ^^
This chapter is updat𝓮d by fre(e)webnov(l).com