The Crown's Entrapment

Chapter 718  [Bonus chapter] Celestine Forest

Amon and his entourage continued on with their journey, but this time he chose not to follow the tracks on the road as was initially planned.

"Let's make camp in the Celestine Forest instead…" Amon instructed Rendon.

The Commander blinked at him, and Amon could only shake his head as he reiterated, "You heard me, Rendon. My mother has been working hard lately, so I want her to at least enjoy the sights during our journey. Not just her either, but the entire entourage as well."

He pointed at one of the nearby ruins and stated, "There are a lot of destroyed infrastructures throughout our path, so it'll be nice to at least have a stopover somewhere that Devon didn't manage to destroy. We're ahead of our schedule anyway, so I'm sure it won't cause a delay…"

Hearing his sound logic, Rendon nodded in understanding. And with that, he immediately relayed the King's instruction throughout the rest of the convoy.

Meanwhile, Amon looked at Lucia and said, "Bring some of our men with you and check the way ahead of us…"

Lucia gave him a curt nod before quickly leaving to enact his orders.

"Your Majesty!"

Amon gulped upon hearing the familiar high-pitched tone of Samari, Rendon's younger sister. "Lady Samari," he greeted as the woman rode up to his side on her own horse

"I heard from my brother that we'll be having a stopover in the Celestine Forest. I've actually been wanting to go there, and I just want to thank you for your kind gesture," she sincerely stated, her eyes twinkling with gratitude.

"That includes the rest of the entourage as well. We're going through such a long journey, and having a bit of rest in a beautiful place is a great and thoughtful idea."

Amon felt so uncomfortable at the young woman's heartfelt thanks. He wasn't naive when it came to women. He could clearly tell how much Lady Samari adored him. She was intentionally flirting with him, and it wasn't the first time this has happened as well.

"It's nothing, Lady Samari," he courteously waved her off. "Please go back in your line. You're not allowed to ride here out front.

"Samari! What are you doing here?" Rendon scolded, having arrived back from doing his earlier orders. "Go and stay with Father inside the carriage."

"Your Majesty, I-I'll be going ahead then," Samari timidly stuttered before she hastily turned and left. But not before throwing a sharp glare at her older brother.

Amon chuckled the moment she left. "She just killed you with her glare there."

Rendon clicked his tongue and snorted, "I don't know what's wrong with her. I already told her that she doesn't stand a chance with you since you already see her as only your sister."

He let out an amused sigh as he shook his head. "She's so stubborn. She still insists on joining the Competition for the Queen's Throne even now."

Amon let out a heavy sigh. He had a feeling he wasn't going to shake her off that easily.

"Have you seen all the candidates by the way? The Queen Mother had already downsized them to twenty candidates, and Samari passed her checks." Rendon sighed. "She's so hellbent on becoming queen that it scares me sometimes. Can you please do something about this like eliminate her by default? Please?"

"If only I have a say on it, Rendon," Amon snorted in resignation. "Mother is the one handling it. I only have a say in the final selection. And if Samari is still there, then don't worry… I'll kick her out as soon as I can."

"Ah, thank you so much for your grace, Your Majesty!" Rendon cheered.

Amon chuckled at the man's reaction. He loved Rendon's honesty and sincerity. He was a simple man. What you saw was what you got when it came to him. He was outspoken, and he would often say whatever was on his mind. Amon wanted that.

Amon needed someone like Rendon close by his side. Rendon and his father Casimir were unlike the other nobles in their kingdom… they who were willing to sell their blood just to gain more power and a high position.

Well, Samari was quite different as well since she wanted to be queen. But at least she was vocal about her dreams, unlike some hypocritical women who would only pretend that they liked him for who he really was when in truth, no one knew who he truly really was.

*******

On the other side of the forest, Bella continued on with her journey in her wolf form. It had been a long time since she had a fun time running around like this, and she was making sure to relish every step that she took.

[This feels so great!] Bella cried out as she ran across the wilderness. [I feel like I'm free and I own the wilderness!]

[How about some rest, huh?!] Poona complained. [We've been running nonstop for a while now!]

Bella chuckled as she chortled, [See? I let you laze around for far too long. You need this exercise, Poona. Come on. Is this all you've got?] She chuckled as she teased, [We need to run faster. I want to reach the Celestine Forest before nightfall! We'll miss the view under the sun if we go any slower!]

Poona sighed, and Bella simply enjoyed her sightseeing while she ran. She sensed no danger along the way, which meant that she could freely focus her attention on the sights before her.

After tiring herself out, she finally had a stop at the edge of a hill. Shifting into her human form, she didn't not minding how naked she was under the sun. She smelled no threats around her, so she freely basked in the sun's radiant rays.

[Would be nice to have a refreshing bath right now, don't you think?] Poona hummed.

[We're already bathed in sweat, you know,] Bella chuckled. [Still, that's not a bad idea. Come now. Let's have a refreshing bath in the famous pristine waterfalls of the Celestine forest.]

With her mind made up, Bella continued on in her tracks and soon, she reached the forest itself. Slowing down her pace, she simply walked right in as she enjoyed the lush and beautiful surroundings around her.

[I'm glad this forest remained untainted during Devon's invasion,] Bella hummed. [I heard that a mighty wizard from Zion gave his all to protect this place, casting a barrier so no one could enter it so easily…]

After a bit of walking, Bella reached the aforementioned waterfalls. "Marvelous!" she shouted as she shifted back into her human form.

[It's the largest waterfall I have ever seen,] Poona remarked.

True enough, it was indeed considerably massive. The waterfall consisted of two drops. The first had a plunge ending in a shallow pool, while the second had a cascading drop leading into a larger and deeper pool that was perfect as a swimming hole.

Not wasting any time, Bella quickly dipped herself into the pristine waters. Enjoying herself, she almost lost track of time as she busied herself with climbing and jumping into the pool and going for a swim.

[We have company,] Poona quickly remarked, sensing someone approaching.