The Crown's Entrapment

At Cordon Arena

"That woman is very dangerous," Osman couldn't help but whisper to himself as he watched Pinra slay another one of her opponents. After winning this fight, the woman would get her spot with the final twelve together.

Osman worriedly looked in Bella's direction, who was currently in another fight against another opponent on the other side of the arena.

Currently, there were three fights simultaneously going on to fill the three remaining spots for the tournament. If things went smoothly, then the final twelve for the finals would be selected and ready in four days.

"She's raised to kill," Gilas, standing beside him, nonchalantly commented.

Turning to the Great Constable, Osman raised an eyebrow and said, "I'm not surprised, knowing she's from your pack."

Osman and Gilas weren't close, but they would still occasionally talk regarding some serious matter regarding the Kingdom of Cordon.

Gilas had a smirk as he replied, "Hmm, I'm surprised to see that the Great Admiral knows a lot of things. I thought you only have passion for the waters."

Osman shook his head. "I make sure to know quite a lot of things going on to make sure that I can contribute to pulling out some of the more dangerous weeds in our Kingdom," he casually stated. "I vowed to help and assist His Majesty with the utmost of my capabilities, and I intend to do just that."

"That's good then," Gilas nodded. "It's nice to know that more people are supporting a good cause..." Then the latter walked away from him.

As Gilas went and stepped on the makeshift stage to announce Pinra as the winner and a contender for the final twelve, Osman darted his gaze towards Bella's direction. He let out a sigh of relief, seeing how Bella's opponent had already yielded.

It was good that Bella's final opponent to get her spot in the final twelve was someone that wasn't willing to fight till the death. Even now, he was trying his best not to smile because of how happy he was that Bella wasn't hurt in the slightest.

Still, Osman had a job to do as he walked towards her direction and proudly announced, "Bella Hindman had won this bout, and she will proceed to the final round of the tournament!"

Cheers filled the arena at his declaration. This time, there were more Cordonians watching the tournament since there was still no vision coming from the shrine. With the lack of entertainment going on, most people went to the next best thing to watch.

"Looks like you've got a lot of admirers, milady," Osman murmured beside Bella.

"That can't be helped," Bella scoffed. "For you see, I'm kind of too hot for my own good..."

Osman chuckled at her statement as he watched her leave the stage. He loved how direct she was. She was way too attractive indeed, even her fighting outfit looked way too sexy to fight in. Many men were ogling at her while she moved, and Osman almost wanted to poke all their eyes out for even looking at her.

There was no mistaking it now. He had to conquer the seductive and alluring Bella Hindman just so that no man would have any right over her being except for himself. They could all ogle her all they wanted, but only he would be the man to have all of her.

Shaking his head, Osman let out a loud exhale, knowing how deep in trouble he was for having those kinds of feelings inside of him... It was strong enough that he was starting to feel worried that he might end up breaking his own word to Lady Bella.

*****

Meanwhile, Gilas had already finished wrapping up today's tournament and was well on his way out from Cordon Arena when he saw Nasser's carriage.

[Get in...] Nasser telepathically ordered him.

Gilas's face dimmed, but he still followed his father's orders. Without a word, he went inside Nasser's carriage; the carriage moved forward as soon as he was inside.

"How is the tournament proceeding?" Nasser, who was sitting opposite him, casually asked.

"Pinra won," Gilas nonchalantly uttered. "She will proceed to the finals."

Nasser chuckled. "Son, don't you think that I already know that? How about Clara then? Will she still fight?" he asked. "I saw her inside the castle a while ago..."

Gilas inwardly sighed. Like he expected, Nasser would want to know more about Clara's plans.

"The Queen Mother had probably asked for her presence," he coolly replied. "You're well aware that the royal family is Clara's family, yes?"

"That, indeed," Nasser clicked his tongue. With a frown, he hissed, "From the looks of it, you haven't won her over to our side still even after using your mother..."

"I already won her over. She had already even accepted me," Gilas promptly retorted. "However, the fact that you're my father is making her hesitate. You do know that Clara is very close to the royal family, the latter of which doesn't like you. She doesn't like you one bit, much less trust you. She won't back out if only because she doesn't want Pinra to win..."

"Hah, so if she wins, she'll be the Queen? Are you dumb, Gilas?" Nasser mocked. "Why are you here claiming you've finally won her over then? The way I see it, she's manipulating you in the palm of her hands instead of it being the other way around!"

There was silence as his father's words hung over the wind... Before long, Nasser narrowed his eyes as he authoritatively commanded, "Mark her before the final round begins!"

Gilas clenched his hands as he tried his best to keep himself calm. He then turned his gaze away from the window, meeting Nasser's blaring glare.

"Aren't you confident that Pinra will win in this fight? I'll mark her after this tournament. That's for sure, Father," he calmly replied. "That way, I'll fully have Clara's trust with her knowing that I waited for her because of what she told me... I told her that I'll wait till this tournament is over, and that's what she needs before she can fully submit herself to me."

Just saying the word 'father' made his stomach turn upside down, but he had no choice but to put up with it for now just for his mother's sake and sacrifices. There was silence once more, and Nasser's face remained impassive in its frown despite his words.

Seeing the man's unchanged expression, Gilas added, "Not all can be achieved through force, Father. You know Clara's attitude and temperament. She's not someone you can get by using force and deceit... You must show her sincerity, and that's what I'm doing at the moment." He did his best not to sigh. "So please don't meddle with my plans if you want me to fully succeed in gaining power over the Midnight Pack..."

[Who would've thought that you have a talent for acting?] Ham teased.

He inwardly scoffed. Still, his wolf was right since Nasser seemed to be convinced by his words. The latter no longer uttered any more words, leaving him to sweeten the deal somehow. And to make things more convincing, Gilas added, "Make sure that you instruct Pinra not to touch a single hair on my future Luna, because if she does... I'll kill her with my own hands!"

******************

Nov. 2, 2022 A/N: We'll have more chapters within today for ranking up in the Golden Ticket ranking. Please continue voting and supporting our book. Keep safe everyone. *kisses and hugs*