Nicholas didn't respond. He finally realized the reason why Noel acting suspiciously since he came knocking on the door to his study earlier.
Apparently, the head of the Royal Lycan Hunter suspected him of being a lycan.
Well.. why wouldn't he? Noel had been working as a lycan hunter for so long, that he must be able to see something not quite right about Nicholas.no
The king was only safe from suspicions because he didn't show any signs of lycanthropy for the past six years after the wolfsbane made him lose his memory and suppressed his lycanthropy.
The fact that Noel took him for sparring and then intentionally injured him to prove his suspicion, instead of directly accusing him, could mean either he was not sure, or he didn't consider the king his enemy, and so he wanted Nicholas to tell him the truth with his own mouth.
Which one was it?
Could Nicholas trust Noel?
It will be really nice if Nicholas could change their minds. There will be peace. At least if one side is trying to work on peace, Leland would slowly change too. It takes two to tango (or fight).