The Crown's Entrapment

At Hindman Manor, Lock Heart Pack Territory.

“He’s quite handsome,” Bella unknowingly whispered.

[He’s gorgeous!] Poona excitedly exclaimed.

Suddenly being aware of her surroundings, Bella tried to compose herself since her body had become stiff for a while now. Maybe it was because she didn’t expect too much from the Admiral’s first appearance?

Surprisingly, Lord Osman had a perfectly cleaned and shaped beard, along with a mustache that also had the same color as his hair. As a combo, it looked pretty manly on his face. His hair was also a bit messy, but it only added some kind of rogue and mysterious aura to his gentle demeanor.

He didn’t smile though. Instead, he just stared at her, and Bella wondered if she should smile at him in turn. Or maybe she should just stare at him like what he was doing. She honestly didn’t want to give him the impression that she was desperate for this meeting. After all, she wasn’t really in a hurry for anything.

[Should I smile?] Bella found herself asking Poona, having no idea what to do with herself. [He looks a bit stiff…]

[Go and give him your seductive smile then!] Poona encouraged. [That lovely man deserves it!]

Bella so badly wanted to hit Poona right then and there. She could feel her wolf’s excitement, and it was as if it was the first time she had met a handsome man when that was far from the case.

[Stop thinking like that! You must admit that he had this sort of impact…] Poona scoffed at her with a squeal [And the sex appeal!]

[Why are you acting like that when I can’t even smell the Mate Pull from him.] Bella retorted.

Inwardly shaking her head, Bella kept her composure as she and her mother finally reached her father and the Admiral.

“Admiral Osman, it’s a pleasure that you accepted our invitation,” her mother greeted.

“Lady Livia,” Osman curtsied, and her mother extended her hand for a greeting, to which the Admiral nodded in kind as he kissed her knuckles.

Her mother then turned to introduce her to him. “This is my only daughter, Bella. She’s twenty-five, and will be turning twenty-six soon,” her mother began. “We’re actually planning to hold a ball for her on her birthday. There, Talon and I are hoping that she can finally at least find someone that will suit her as her lifetime partner.”

Bella’s eyes widened at her mother’s words, the older woman simply ignoring her in favor of upping the sales pitch. She couldn’t believe that her mother just uttered those words with such nonchalance that it was as if she simply slipped and casually blurted it out.

[She’s selling you well, don’t you agree?] Poona laughed. [The question now is, will the Admiral buy you?]

And then came another burst of crisp laughter coming from her wolf. Poona was obviously enjoying her current discomfort.

“Lady Bella. It’s nice to meet you,” Osman greeted her.

Doing as she was raised to do, Bella quickly extended her hand to him, the latter of which quickly accepted.

[You felt that, right?]

Bella heard Poona ask, but she didn’t answer. Instead, she simply stared at Osman, who proceeded to give her knuckles a kiss before quickly letting it go.

[That’s not enough… Stop messing with me, Poona,] Bella sighed. [Please, it’s not like we’re running out of time to have a man, so will you just relax?]

[But you can’t deny that we felt something…]

[And you can’t deny the fact that you smell nothing from him that you can even consider as a sign of a Mate Pull.]

Poona didn’t respond after that. Bartos and Jayra had also gone down to meet them, and soon enough, they all proceeded to the dining area for dinner.

“Lord Osman, I’ve heard that you made Princess Xenia suffer so much during her training,” Jayra boldly commented, making Bella chuckle and Osman cough as the man hastily drank water to clear his throat.

Being put on the spot, he coughed a bit before he explained himself. “I simply did what is necessary to make sure that our Princess Xenia is well prepared for what she has to face, Lady Jayra,” he insisted. “The Element Forest is no joke, after all.”

“Nevertheless, I should also thank you for helping our Princess, milord,” Jayra politely and genuinely mentioned with a light bow.

“Please, it was nothing,” Lord Osman replied with a half smile. “I only did what was asked of me.”

‘Oh, so he can actually smile. It’s such a timid one though,’ Bella mused. She was actually sneaking glances at the Admiral every once in a while, and for some reason, she felt like he was starting to get a bit uncomfortable at the attention.

That thought made her face frown for some reason.

“How is the trial by combat going, Lord Bartos?” Osman suddenly asked as if to change the topic.

“Well, as I’ve always said since it first started, it’s been a pain in the ass, and that includes my sister who’s too stubborn to participate!” Bartos casually complained, and Bella wanted to laugh at the glare their mother was currently throwing daggers at her brother.

She bet that their mother had even scolded her brother telepathically for even mentioning how she was also among the participants. Just seeing how her brother was currently scratching his head was more than proof of that being the case.

“My daughter is quite adventurous and playful,” her mother quickly explained. “She’s bored enough that she wanted to have a bit of exercise with her physical skills, but she definitely doesn’t have the intention to fight all the way for the throne.”

“Who knows though?” Bella couldn’t help but naughtily comment. “I might just end up being Cordon’s Queen.”

“Hahaha! She didn’t mean that,” Livia defended with an awkward smile. “You see, my daughter loves to say things she doesn’t really mean.”

[Oh, heavens… Is she really my strict mother who doesn’t talk too much?] Bella snorted. [How come she’s saying more words than Father right now?]

Seeing the difference, Bella chose to simply not say a word any more in favor of avoiding any more of her mother’s ire. Already, Mother’s flaring nostrils were more than enough to tell her that she was starting to get annoyed at her.

“Lady Bella should yield then. After all, our king is just too dedicated to our future Queen Xenia already,” Osman directly stressed out. “And as someone who has witnessed how she trained, for Lady Bella’s safety, she shouldn’t proceed any further…”

[This man! Did he just look down on me?!] Bella inwardly snarled as she lifted an eyebrow at what she just heard. [Does he think I won’t be capable enough to fight till the last round?!]

She glared at him, and upon their eyes meeting, she saw how he gulped at her expression.

“I didn’t mean to sound offensive, milady,” he quickly defended himself. “It’s just that-“

“Don’t mention it, Lord Osman. I understood what you meant perfectly,” Bella scoffed with a cold smile. “And although I would love to fight till the end, I have no intentions of doing so knowing that our King will only acknowledge one woman as his Queen. Thank you for your concern though.”

There was an awkward silence that followed her words. It was only broken when Osman suddenly said, “I wouldn’t want to see the woman I’ll be pursuing getting hurt or fighting for another man, however, so I would definitely appreciate it if you’ll no longer continue with the trial.”

He then added, “But then again, it’s not like I have a say or authority towards your decisions, Lady Bella, so I’ll probably just wait for you till this trial by combat ends.”

Everyone’s jaw dropped at those direct words from Lord Osman, including Bella as she sat dumbfounded at him.

******

AN: I will post an AI-generated photo as reference visuals for Bella and Osman in the comment section. Not that perfect but they are close enough… *Tell me your thoughts*wink