Chapter 195: The Trials
"A pigeon... How interesting..."
Nikolai mumbled to himself as he watched the curious bird fly right past him. He most certainly couldn’t recall ever seeing this bird in Valcrez, considering that ravens and crows were the more common ones seen. Whoever that pigeon belonged to, it wasn’t from their kingdom.
"Oh, did you see it fly past you?"
He turned around to greet the person he was most intimately familiar with. To his surprise, Mineah had snuck up behind him, her eyes remained glued on the pigeon now flying beyond the horizon.
"You recognize the owner of the pigeon, don’t you?" Nikolai casually stated as he looked at her. "Only someone from your kingdom would ever use a pigeon and given the fact that you and your people are the only foreigners living here, there’s no other possibility."
"Ouch! I’m really hurt hearing that. You still think of us as foreigners?" Mineah teased with a fake hurt expression. "Even after marrying into the royal family and spending so much time with you?"
"While I’ll ask you to forgive my choice of words, it’s not as simple as it sounds, unfortunately. At least, not for the average citizen below," Nikolai explained as he moved to hug Mineah from behind. "Also, I know you know that I don’t think that way. Hell, I’m sure nobody thinks you’re a foreigner in the palace. You’re a part of our family now. A Valcrezian true and true."
Mineah hummed in contentment as she leaned into his embrace, his strong back making for a good and warm wall for her to lean on. "You got me there, Lai. I think I’m still more Ebodian than I thought I was."
"Which is why you used the pigeon to send whatever message you needed to," Nikolai finished the thought. "What brought it on? Isn’t Nik at your disposal for such tasks?"