Chapter 249 - The Queen Thinks She Is Dreaming

"Hey, Luciel, Jan... would you like to marry auntie's daughter? Her name is Carla. She is five and she is so pretty," the Countess bent down and touched Jan's and Luciel's heads dotingly. "What do you think?"

Jan raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Marry?"

"Hm. Yes, would you like to marry Carla?"

For a moment, Jan turned to look at Sophie. Their mother had never taught them anything about 'marry'.

Jan then turned to look at Luciel and both exchanged confused looks.

"What is 'marry'?" asked Luciel.

The woman became confused as well. She tilted her head, thinking about how to explain 'what is marriage' to the two children. Now she felt silly for discussing marriage with six-year-old children.

"Hmm, it's a celebration. A party. Getting married is a party," she replied after a few seconds.

"Party?" Jan and Luciel furrowed their brows.

"It's a party like this. There's a lot of food, drink, cake and–"

"Is there meat?" Luciel asked. He really liked to eat. His favorite food was all kinds of meat. Ahh… imagining a meat feast, it feels really good.

"Meat? Well, sure. There's a lot of meat at the party. So what do you think?" The woman leaned closer to Luciel and Jan. She looked at them with a twinkle in her eyes. "So, would you like to get married?"

Luciel and Jan looked at each other for a second, then nodded in unison. "Yes!!"

Instantly, everyone who had been listening to their conversation burst out laughing. Sophie also couldn't help but laugh when she heard the innocent answers from her two sons.

She was happy to see Luciel and Jan interacting well. She was relieved that her efforts to educate her children to look like normal humans were going well.

The nobles then expressed their joy and said that the arrival of the Duke and Duchess Romanov was a complete surprise. This was because the Duke and Duchess Romanov had been away from Riga for five years, and now suddenly they were back with two adorable sons.

Sophie looked happy and enjoyed the conversation, while Leland was mostly silent. He only occasionally smiled and nodded at the person who greeted him.

While listening to the chatter of the people nearby, Leland quietly looked around, combing every side of the room, and observed every detail.

***

While the atmosphere in the ballroom was filled with excitement and joy, Princess Karenina was far from happy.  She paced back and forth in her room.

She had started to worry because the party already started fifteen minutes ago, but King Nicholas had not yet shown even the bridge of his nose.

Queen Marianne, who saw Karenina's concern, tried to calm her down and invited the younger woman to officially open the party with her.

"Nicholas has been through so much lately because of the crises at the border," the queen told Karenina. "I am sure he is getting ready and will come very soon. Let's come out and meet our guests."

Karenina bit her lip and then forced a smile. Nicholas must be tired, she told herself. He didn't plan to avoid coming to the party, did he? He was the one who suggested this party after Karenina came to see him.

He wouldn't intentionally do it, pretending to grant Karenina's wish to have her birthday celebrated, but he didn't come just to embarrass her. He was not such a man. He might not love her, yet, but he was not a jerk who would intentionally hurt her.

Very well... Karenina decided to trust the queen and Nicholas. She must come out and meet the guests because this was her night. Nicholas was just busy, or tired. He would definitely come.

"Your Majesty is wise and right as always," Karenina nodded respectfully. "Let's go and see the guests."

***

Outside, Luciel and Jan were playing with the children of the other nobles. Leland and Sophie were not the only parents to bring their children to the party. So, as soon as they were introduced, the children immediately got along.

Sophie's heart was truly satisfied to see Luciel and Jan's improvements. Not only were they now able to chat with the other children in fluent human language, but they also made friends easily.

She smiled happily as she watched Luciel and Jan play catch. They seemed in a very good mood and laughed a lot.

Suddenly the music stopped playing and an MC entered the stage at the front side of the ballroom. He was a man in his forties, wearing red robes and looking very serious. He cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.

"Ladies and gentlemen, my lords and my ladies… please welcome… Her Majesty Queen Marianne Hanenbergh and Princess Karenina Verhoven!"

He announced the arrival of Queen Marianne and Princess Karenina who entered the ballroom from the massive entrance on the other end of the room.

Princess Karenina Verhoven was a very beautiful woman. Tonight she made extra efforts in her hairdo, makeup and looked even more stunning than usual. She wore a green dress studded with crystals that glittered under the lights.

She could have been the most beautiful woman in the room easily if it wasn't for Sophie's presence. Since everyone had seen Duchess Romanov first, Princess Karenina's beauty become unremarkable.

When the queen and the princess entered the ballroom, Luciel was running while turning his head to see Jan. He wasn't aware of his surroundings. Luciel only paid attention to Jan who was chasing him and he didn't realize that he was running towards Queen Marianne and Princess Karenina.

"Luciel, stop!" Sophie jumped from her seat when she realized what was going on.

Luciel, who looked back to the front, immediately stopped for a moment before he bumped into the woman in the red dress in front of him, not long after Jan came over.

The two children looked up to see the middle-aged woman in front of them.

"Ohh..." The queen was stunned at the sight of the two boys. She pressed her lips in astonishment.

Queen Marianne batted her eyes in confusion. She almost thought she was dreaming.

The two handsome boys before her were very similar to what Nicholas looked like when he was still a child their age.

For some reason, when the queen saw the two children, she felt warmth fill her heart. Was it because they looked like Nicholas?

.

.

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From Missrealitybites:

Sorry for the cliffhanger XD

I will publish more chapters tomorrow (this is already the third chapter today). In tomorrow's chapters, you'll read how Sophie finally saw Nicholas again and Leland put two and two together.

Are you excited???