Chapter 463 Housewarming
"This is actually a lovely home," the queen commented when the carriage stopped in front of a lovely white building with an arc made of rose plants in front of it.
The building had two stories and the first one had a big open-plan layout with many tables and chairs that looked very comfortable. There were big wooden stairs going to the second floor and the queen was informed that it was where Sophie and her children would live.
The front part of the property was a beautiful terrace with a pastel-colored awning and several tables and chairs that made it look like a beautiful terrace cafe. There were many huge pots filled with flower plants and small pine trees around the terrace which made it look very lush and refreshing.
The queen imagined drinking tea here with a book in hand, eating cake with friends, and gossiping about the latest news with them would be a nice thing to do, among other things.
"Come on in," said Sophie to her guests. She opened the door and went inside, followed by her sons, Nicholas with Anne, Max, and the queen. A female knight named Yara welcomed them with a smile and she bowed her head to the royal family.
Yara was one of the two female knights assigned by Nicholas to keep his sons safe in this place and they were working undercover as Sophie's maids. Yara was a tall woman with short black hair, and sharp emerald eyes, and she had a sword hidden under her apron.
Her partner, Misty was a bit shorter than her and had long brown hair that she kept in a ponytail. She had brown eyes and her face had freckles that made her look much younger than her real age. Misty came out from the kitchen and welcomed them too.
"Welcome, Your Majesty," said Yara and Misty in unison.
"Hey, Yara, Misty," Nicholas nodded at them. "How is everything going?"
"Captain Noel has cleared the perimeter," said Yara politely. "He has made sure that there are no suspicious people living around the area. They are just honest people, working to make a living."
"That's good. I know I can always rely on Noel," said Nicholas. After peace was reached between the lycans and humans, there was no more need for Royal Lycan Hunter, so Nicholas decided to turn Noel's group into a special force tasked with protecting the royal family.
Since Luciel and Jan were the king's sons, their safety became Noel's and his subordinates' responsibilities. He sent his people to patrol and lived around the tavern on an undercover mission to make sure Sophie and her children could live safely as commoners.
Actually, Noel didn't understand why Lady Sophia was so adamant about leaving the royal palace. He honestly thought it was better for her to stay with Nicholas considering everything that had happened. However, he didn't voice his questions and just did as ordered.
To make sure that Sophie and her children could live in peace, their identities were kept top secret, and no one outside of the inner circle of the palace knew that they were going to live in the city center of Lievstad.
Nicholas had decided to follow whatever wishes Sophie had and supported her decision. He secretly wished, after she experienced the life as a commoner and realized it was not easy, she would want to come back to him out of her own accord.
"This is lovely," the queen commented again. She looked at the stairs and pointed at it. "Is that going to the second floor? Where is the kids' bedroom?"
"Yes, it is. Luciel and Jan can take you to their bedroom, Your Grace," said Sophie. She nodded at her sons and both Luciel and Jan pulled their grandmother's hands and took her to take the stairs.
"We have a nice room," said the boys happily. "The room has a really big balcony and it's quite spacious."
The queen laughed and followed them. She wanted to see what their room looked like so she could send them whatever things they needed. If the boys didn't have a good mattress or comfortable chairs, she would send those here tomorrow.
"Yara, can you make us tea and bring some wine here?" Sophie asked her maid. "We want to celebrate the moving."
"Yes, Your Grace," Yara replied. She went to the kitchen and made tea. Meanwhile, Misty went to the storage and brought a jug of wine. She poured wine for Nicholas, Max, and later the queen.
Queen Marianne came down from the second floor fifteen minutes later. She looked satisfied when she saw her grandchildren didn't lack anything in this new home. She didn't need to send them anything because they had the best mattress, the most comfortable chair, a huge closet, and a wonderful bedroom to share between them.
During the renovation, Nicholas had stepped in without Sophie's knowledge and ordered the designer and builder to spare no expenses to make her home a really beautiful and comfortable one. They lied to Sophie about the cost, because most of it was paid by Nicholas already.
After the renovation and redecoration, Sophie still had a lot of money left which went to her savings.
"It doesn't seem like it from the outside, but inside the house, it's really nice," the queen commented. "I mean, the outside is nice too, but people wouldn't suspect that the second floor of this building is a very luxurious home."
She looked at her son with a glint in her eyes. The queen suspected that Nicholas had a hand in making sure this house was designed really nicely.
Sophie smiled and looked at Nicholas with a grateful expression. "Nicholas gave really good recommendations for the builder and designers. I got the best people working on renovating this place in such a short time."
"Ah, I am glad everything works out well," said the queen. She sat down beside her son and took the wine glass before her. She looked at Sophie and asked, "This wine is for celebration, isn't it?"
"Yes, Your Grace," said Sophie. She raised her teacup and smiled at the mother and son duo. "Welcome to our humble abode. It's such a great honor to have Your Majesty and Your Highness the queen. This home is blessed."
The queen and Nicholas raised their wine glasses and smiled back.
The queen said sincerely, "May your home know joy. Every room hold laughter. Every window opens to great possibilities. And may your home always be too small to hold all your friends."
Sophie was touched to hear the queen bless her new home. She knew the queen secretly wanted her and her children to keep staying in the royal palace and maybe someday Sophie would open her heart to Nicholas again.
Sophie was glad the queen never confronted her about it directly and asked her to stay. Because if she did, Sophie wouldn't know how to say no. The queen had been so kind and accepting toward her and her children, even the ones that weren't Nicholas'.
Fortunately, Nicholas knew his mother so well and had kept her from going to Sophie about it to prevent her from feeling discomfort, having to reject the queen openly. This was something that Sophie truly appreciated.
However, now, seeing how much the queen still supported her even though she decided to leave, and even sincerely blessed her new home with so many well wishes, Sophie felt like crying. She lost her mother when she was really young and she missed her mother so badly.
Deep inside, she thought Nicholas was extremely lucky to have such a mother who supported and accepted him no matter what. The queen did anything to make sure Nicholas was safe, and have a good life. She didn't stop loving him and supporting him even though he was now a big mature man, a king of this kingdom, no longer a boy.
To Queen Marianne, Nicholas would always be her son. After she spent a lot of time in the palace and got to know the queen more, Sophie felt closer to her and she slowly thought she found the missing mother figure that she had been longing for all this time.
"Thank you, Your Grace," said Sophie with tears brimming in her eyes. "That was so beautiful."
"You know I would love to have you in the palace, so we can meet often," said the queen softly. "I really like you. I really like the children too. Oh, you all make me feel so happy and young. However, I understand you want to have your own place. It's okay too."
She put down her wine glass to the side and hugged Sophie. "Please know that you will always have a place in the palace, anytime - ANYTIME you want to come home."
Sophie was surprised by the queen's action. She let herself be hugged and didn't immediately know how to respond. Truly, Queen Marianne treated her like her own daughter. A feeling of warmth immediately filled Sophie's heart.
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