The Crown's Entrapment

At Cordon Castle

"I can't believe that I just bargained myself away for this…" Clara muttered as she made her way back inside the castle. It had been a while since she stepped foot inside of it, and somehow, it already felt like an eternity for her. Cordon Castle had been like home to her for all these years, and to be away from it felt more surreal than staying in her actual mansion.

Last night, she had a serious talk with Gilas regarding the matter at hand despite the tensions that still brewed between them. She had made sure that she make her offer sound like a good bargain… ending up more like a marriage alliance in simpler terms.

[You're being too harsh on him!] Sheba scolded.

And throughout it all, her inner wolf never stopped nagging her about how rude she was being to their mate. Unfortunately, she couldn't help it. She wanted Gilas to not expect too much in this bargain. Sure, she promised herself to him, but that didn't mean that she would give him her all…

[Hah! And where else do you want to give your all? To the wind?!] Sheba snarled.

Clara couldn't help but chuckle at her wolf's current temper. Sheba wasn't usually like this, but ever since they confirmed that Gilas was their mate, her wolf began constantly taking Gilas's side.

[Stop it already, Sheba. Aren't you happy that I've accepted him? I already agreed to be with him as soon as things regarding his father settles down, so keep quiet, please?] Clara sighed. [Please don't push me too hard. You know well enough that I'll still need time. You do know how some things will always be easier said than done.]

Sheba no longer commented, but Clara could still feel the impatience coming from her wolf. Another sigh came to her… She was on her way to see Freya or the Queen Mother like her usual morning session with the two women before, but in truth, she would be acting as the bridge between Gilas and Darius through the two women so that Nasser wouldn't become suspicious.

Why would he, after all, when Nasser knew full well how close she was to the royal women since?

Like their usual routine, Clara knew well that the Queen Mother would be in her private chamber arranging flowers as soon as she was done with her family breakfast. Darius was finally awake, so Queen Mother would take this free time to finish up with her leisurely activities like usual.

Meanwhile, Freya would become busier with her involvement in the tournament. As for Clara herself, she was free today since her next schedule for the tournament wouldn't be until tomorrow.

In fact, she even first confirmed if the Queen Mother was in her private chamber. Once she had done so, she directly made her way up there. Stopping by the door, Clara took in a long sigh before knocking.

"Queen Mother, it is I, Clara…" she called out from behind the door, and in that instant, the servants opened the door for her.

"It's so nice to see you again like this, Clara! I missed you," the Queen Mother warmly greeted her as she stood up and gave her a hug. "I'm glad you finally came to visit."

After the warm greeting, the older woman dismissed the servants present in her chamber. She then pulled Clara to her to sit beside her.

"How are you doing, my dear? I honestly wanted to call for you, but I thought you would still need some time away from us, so I simply kept on reminding myself to just wait patiently and check on you from time to time through our men," the Queen Mother commented with a smile, looking at her intently while tucking some of her locks behind her ears. "I've heard that you're doing well in the tournament. I'm glad you're keeping yourself safe."

Clara tried her best not to cry at the warmth she was feeling. She too had missed the Queen Mother, the one woman who was like a real mother to her after all this time.

"I'm so sorry that I'm not able to help you, my dear," the older woman continued, and Clara could see the sadness in the Queen Mother's eyes. "Unfortunately, there's not much else I can do for you now…"

Hearing the genuine hurt in her mother figure's voice, Clara forced a smile and then said, "I'm doing much better now, Queen Mother. Although, I still might disappoint you and Darius, seeing as I have no intentions of backing out from the tournament. Also, I'm here for another reason."

Savannah creased her forehead as she asked, "What is it, dear?"

Clara didn't beat around the bush as she began talking to the Queen Mother about her intentions, along with the information she found out from Gilas, facts that the latter had just found out from his own mother.

"Nasser had his own brother Ramon killed so that he could have his mate. The death of Lord Ramon was all orchestrated. He has connections with the Demon King of Helion, and he also deceived Lady Shila by posing as Lord Ramon and marking her…" Clara started as she narrated every single detail.

No one knew of the real story behind it, unfortunately. All they knew was that Nasser fought hard for his mate despite Lady Shila's rejection.

Supposedly Nasser did everything he could to get Shila through an arranged marriage agreement between him and the Marquess of Ebodia during that time, Shila's father. In the end, he succeeded because of his deception, posing as Ramon and marking Shila the day he also sent his own brother Ramon to war to get killed.

The Queen Mother's face darkened upon hearing the story. Gnashing her teeth, she chided, "That monster! How could he have done such a despicable thing to his own blood?" Her face fell further as she growled, "And Lady Shila… the poor woman… How could he?!!!"

"Gilas's real father is Lord Ramon, and only Lady Shila knows about this truth," Clara added. "She hid the truth to protect Gilas in fear that Nasser would kill him before he was even born should he find out, but just recently, Lady Shila had confessed everything to Gilas…"

"So Nasser is currently threatening Gilas through his mother's life?" the Queen Mother asked.

When Clara nodded, she retorted, "I shall relay this information to Darius so that he can plan accordingly. We must rescue Lady Shila from her suffering, even if it might end up harder than it might seem because of their Mate Bond. Lady Shila is still human, so she has no ability to reject it. Nasser could easily inflict pain on her through the Mate Bond… It's no wonder then that he was able to manipulate Gilas using his own mother as a bargaining chip.."

Clara sighed as she and the Queen Mother discussed things further, the things Gilas had wanted to relay to them…

"I understand, Clara. Tell Gilas that tomorrow Darius would attend the tournament and there the two of them could telepathically talk about this important matter…" the Queen Mother finalized their plans.

Clara nodded in understanding, hoping that all the problems regarding Nasser would come to a satisfying end sooner rather than later.