The Crown's Entrapment

[She seems annoyed,] Zeus commented. [Or maybe she’s just bored with talking to you about war?]

Darius tilted his head as he blankly stared at the tent. He tried replaying the conversation he just had with Xenia, but he still couldn’t find anything that could’ve somehow ruined her mood. She had a long face when she suddenly stood up earlier, and he quickly knew that she seemed to be displeased… But with what?

[Just ask her what’s wrong,] Zeus suggested. [Come on, follow her. It’s not good to have any misunderstandings between us. Look, she didn’t even finish her meal.]

[No. Let’s give her some space. I’m sure she’ll be more annoyed if I followed her inside the tent or called her out,] Darius shook his head. [Besides, I might end up doing something stupid once I enter that tent.]

He knew he had to control himself. Xen has brought him so much grief with her mere presence affecting his body in ways he never truly expected. If that was what he expected every time she was merely near him, then being around her in an enclosed space in private was absolutely not a good idea.

Letting out a loud sigh, he turned around. From there, he saw Bartos coming, so he walked towards his direction.

“Where’s Gideon?” Darius asked with a frown.

“Right here, Sire!” Gideon answered from behind him with a wide smile. He then sighed as he continued. “I just got a report from Cordon castle…”

“What is it?” Darius asked. Gideon’s sigh meant that it shouldn’t be anything good. Although, he already expected that to happen anyway.

“The Queen Mother is back, and Leon has given them the good news about the upcoming marriage,” Gideon began.

“However, Elder Nassar is apparently questioning your decision. It seems like he’s trying to convince the other Elders of the Royal Council that you made the wrong call on this, especially since you didn’t even ask the Ebodian King for more benefits in the deal beyond taking the Princess on your mate.”

He then concluded, “As it is, Elder Nassar is giving emphasis on how selfish your decision was… a decision that you supposedly made for your own self-fulfillment and nothing more.”

Darius’s face darkened, but his lips quickly curled up into a cunning smile.

“What’s new? Nassar will never stop contradicting most of my decisions,” he scoffed. “Well, at least it’s enjoyable seeing his futile efforts constantly fail throughout the years. He’s powerless to do anything anyway. At best, he keeps me entertained during those boring court meetings.”

“We should’ve gotten rid of that old man a long time ago,” Bartos sneered, his eyes darting towards a particular direction. “In fact, I’m willing to snap him into pieces. I won’t even mind getting punished for it.”

“Look at you, always getting into a killing mood,” Gideon shook his head in exasperation. “Besides, you took an oath, remember? You must keep your vow to our king.”

Hearing his companion’s reminder, Bartos let out a loud sigh as he replied, “I know, and it’s thanks to that vow that Nassar’s still wasting precious air right now.”

Gideon shrugged. “What can I say? Our King likes to keep his enemies close,” he chuckled. “Just let them do their thing for now. We’ll have the last laugh anyway. Them unknowingly stewing on their mistakes would only make our surprise attack on them even better.”

Darius simply kept his silence as he watched Gideon and Bartos go through their usual love and hate relationship. Turning back to look at Xen’s tent, he cut into their lover’s quarrel, “I don’t want any hiccups to happen upon me and Xen’s arrival in our Kingdom.”

He then turned his eyes back to the two men, “Knowing Nassar, he will take this opportunity while I’m away to set up his own plans. Tell Clara and Leon to keep their eyes open. Have them monitor the situation and act in response.”

“Yes, Sire!” the two Commanders replied in chorus.

Darius then dragged his eyes to Bartos as he asked, “Any update about Gilas?”

It was a constant habit. The king always kept an eye on Gilas and his movements.

“Gilas is still clean thus far, Your Majesty,” Gideon promptly replied. “According to Caro, he had done no unusual or suspicious activities aside from his usual pestering of Clara.”

Darius nodded at the news. It was no secret to them how Gilas admired Clara in every way a man admires a woman. It was obvious though that the man wasn’t vocal about it. None knew if Clara was also his mate or not except for Gilas alone.

Satisfied with what he heard, Darius relaxed his back and breathed in some air. After all these years, he still couldn’t fathom if Gilas was someone he could trust or not. Was he an enemy, or was he simply an eccentric friend? The man’s actions were contradictory.

After all, in his years of reign, Gilas showed nothing more but his excellency in his duty as Cordon’s Great Constable. And he always acted like he had something more up his sleeve.

Darius suddenly found himself recalling the circumstances that had Gilas taking on the role in the first place.

The position of The Great Constable was automatically given to the man seeing as he was the last physically-abled Alpha who fought in the last round for the Battle of the Throne against him, the winner.

And since the Great Constable was the second highest position next to the King in the kingdom’s hierarchy, Gilas naturally became the best fit for the role. After all, none deserved such a position except for the one who had the privilege of fighting the future king.

It had been ten years since that day… The last battle when he won the crown… That tragic event ended in a way that was too painful for him to feel victorious as a winner. It just didn’t fit the mood, seeing as it was also during that time that he lost his father, the former king.

Thinking back, he could’ve decided to kill Gilas at the time. Doing so would’ve made the position of The Great Constable automatically be given to Gideon, who came up third in the rankings of the battle. Except… he didn’t kill Gilas… Even now, Darius wondered if it was a decision he would regret later on…

“Are you still doubting him?” Gideon asked, interrupting him from his stupor.

“Who wouldn’t be when his father is that vicious geezer Nassar?!” Bartos spat out Unknown to others, Darius and his closest allies knew how vicious Nassar could get if it meant he could hold more power in their kingdom.

Darius clenched his jaw and said, “Gilas still plays neutral. He would sometimes vocally contradict his father in the Royal Court Meetings. He would often side with me rather than his father, though he also opposes some of my ideas that he thinks will not work.”

He shook his head, “It’s an admirable trait for an advisor, but I still can’t let my guard down around him. We have to continue observing his movements if only to make sure that he isn’t doing anything too detrimental to the kingdom.”

Darius then intently looked at Gideon and Bartos as he relayed the message he wanted Cordon castle to receive. It was just audible enough for only the two to hear his words.

“Ahhhh… So that’s the real reason why you also agreed to this alliance?” Gideon gasped upon hearing Darius’s message.

Darius chuckled at Gideon’s reaction. He then patted his shoulder as he replied, “No, my friend. The only reason I agreed in this alliance is to entrap my mate and have her with me for eternity.”