Chapter 274 - Karenina Comes To See Nicholas

The image of the little girl with slightly pinkish-gray hair was still visible in Nicholas' mind. More and more, Nicholas felt that the girl resembled Sophia Romanov.

Now he knew the reason why he was so obsessed with Sophia Romanov. It was because Sophia Romanov resembled the little girl who might have helped him fourteen years ago.

Was that what happened? Because they looked similar? Oh... Nicholas was very curious to know the answer. 

Was there a slight possibility that... Sophia Romanov and that little girl the same person?

Sigh. Nicholas chided himself. He must be too obsessed with her that he was secretly hoping that she might be the little girl from his past.

But... if Sophia was not her... then, where was the little girl now? Who was she? Was she still alive?

Nicholas tapped his fingers on his desk and tried so hard to remember what happened fourteen years ago. After thinking about it deeply, he realized that the answer to his questions about what happened to him in the past might lie in the place called Hauntingen.

"Mother... what's the place called again?" He turned to Queen Marianne and looked at her seriously. "Hauntingen?"

The queen nodded. "Yeah. What do you want to do? Are you going there to investigate?"

Nicholas looked away and stared at the garden outside his window. He turned to think about Duke Romanov, who he suspected of having ties to the lycans. He was momentarily in a dilemma. Should he investigate Duke Romanov first or look for his past in Hauntingen?

Queen Marianne studied Nicholas' face, who seemed to be silent with furrowed brows.

"What are you thinking, Nicholas?" she asked and wiped away the few tears that were in the corners of her eyes. She had stopped crying, but her face was still red and very moist.

Nicholas looked at his mother intently.

"I'm going to Hauntingen," he decided.

***

Meanwhile, Karenina was seated in her room with a teacup in her hand. She was staring at a painting on the easel standing in front of her.

It was a painting of her and King Nicholas Hanenbergh. She had ordered it two weeks ago, and today it was just delivered to her.

She set down her teacup on the table beside her and caressed the painting of Nicholas' face. A sweet smile curved up on her beautiful face.

"I will never let you go or let you get away from me," she muttered to herself.

Karenina stood still and thought about the man. Their upcoming wedding was already announced and people also knew that they already slept together. Soon, they would become husband and wife for real.

She really couldn't wait for the day she could call him husband. 

KNOCK

KNOCK

The sound of someone knocking on the door was heard, moving Karenina from her reverie. It followed by a woman's voice calling out to her.

"Your Highness... I have news for you."

"Come in!" said Karenina. She quickly covered the painting with a cloth and stood facing the door. A maidservant opened the door and entered. It was her trusted maid. Karenina raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms on her chest. "What is it?"

For a moment, the maid bowed down slightly and then said, "Your Highness, I would like to inform you that His Majesty King Nicholas has returned to the palace, and he is currently in his study with Her Majesty Queen Marianne."

Karenina was slightly shocked when she heard what her maid said. "Is that true?"

She stood looking at the maid and then quickly walked out of the room as soon as the maid nodded and said, "That's right, my lady."

As Karenina walked briskly towards the king's study, the smile that spread across her face seemed to never fade. She was relieved that Nicholas was fine. 

It made the servants who saw her wondered what happened. The princess looked fine and no longer miserable. It was such a contrast to the time she was found in the king's chamber, naked. Many remembered how she looked devastated and shaken.

How could she recover from the shock so quickly?

Karenina didn't seem to have the slightest shame when she walked and passed by the servants even though she was supposed to be dishonored, leading her to become the object of gossip by the servants, and the spectacle of some guards too.

The attitude she showed now did not look like a woman who had just been raped.

Karenina kept walking briskly toward Nicholas' study. She didn't notice how the maids were staring at her in surprise.

When she heard her maid's words that the king was talking with the queen, Karenina was very happy because she thought that at this moment Queen Marianne must be pressing the king to take responsibility.

At the thought that she would soon marry the king, she couldn't help but smile. She was overjoyed.

After walking for a few minutes, Karenina finally arrived at the king's study. The door was still open after the queen left. For a moment, Karenina was silent in the doorway, looking at the king who was leaning on the chair, massaging his temples.

She looked around the room, trying to look for Queen Marianne, but the queen was nowhere to be seen. Karenina then looked at the king, who seemed oblivious to her arrival.

It was true.  The king was deep in thoughts and didn't pay attention to his surroundings. He was so focused on the figure of the little girl that appeared in his mind.

For him, there was nothing else more important in this world. The little girl had the same hair color as Sophia Romanov. Curiosity had pushed him to try to remember his past yet again and again. He felt like his skull was going to split open.

"Sophia Romanov…" Nicholas muttered to himself as Sophia Romanov's face appeared in his mind. "Are you that girl?"

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From Missrealitybites:

It's great that Nicholas decided to go to Hauntingen and look for answers there. Do you think he will remember immediately? What do you think he will do when he got his memory back?