The Crown's Entrapment

At Castle Cordon.

Darius shook the disc in his hand as he grumbled, “Come on! Why isn’t this working?!”

[I need a messenger!] he instantly shouted telepathically.

At his command, one of the royal messengers quickly rushed inside his bedchamber.

“I need Osman here right now!” he commanded.

Receiving his orders, the messenger immediately went out to heed his command. He would’ve also loved to ask for the white wizard Magnus, but he knew that it wouldn’t be necessary for him to do so, what with the wizard having already explained to him that the disc wouldn’t work perfectly whenever they pleased. Its performance would be based solely on the guardians’ discretion, whether or not they would allow them to watch every scene that they were in.

With a sigh, Darius got up from his chair and picked out a bottle of wine from his private pantry. Popping it open, he drank from the bottle itself, his face dimming whenever he recall the cunning smile on that Sphinx’s face. That guardian dared to casually spend some time with his wife. He even enjoyed a drink with his Xen, all while he himself was alone all on his own.

Throughout the day, he tried his best to monitor Xen’s emotions. So far, it was still as calm as it could be, meaning that there was currently no danger lurking around her. Still, that didn’t mean that she could let her guard down.

That Devas was well known to be a womanizer to all the women who had entered the Element Forest for the trial. It was even written that some of these women had actually fallen for his charms.

[Xen is aware of that, so stop worrying already,] Zeus scolded. [Don’t you trust our mate?]

“Hah! Of course, I trust Xen, but that damn lion with a man’s head is someone that I don’t trust with a ten-meter pole!” Darius grunted. That Sphinx was able to shift into his human form, and he even played with women whenever he wanted!

[Hahaha! Look at you drowning in your insecurities. This is truly a scene to behold,] Zeus openly mocked. [Xen will definitely enjoy this story once she returns. I’ll tell her that this side of you while she’s away fighting hard to be by your side is pretty entertaining.]

Darius simply scoffed as he continued to drink on his own. He frowned as he waited for Osman, his admiral somehow taking longer than usual to appear.

[He’s a Lycan, remember?] Zeus snorted at his impatience. [It’s not like he can shift into a four-legged wolf and run here quickly.]

Right, Osman was probably still on his way back from the Lock Heart Pack’s territory. Absently, Darius walked towards his bed where he could still mostly detect Xen’s lingering scent. He even had her nightdress there, still unwashed just to avoid washing out her scent from it. Grabbing the nightdress, he took in a long whiff before letting out another sigh.

“I miss her so badly. It’s making me go crazy,” he weakly murmured. “I’m gonna lose it soon if this keeps up…”

It was unavoidable. Their Mate Bond was so strong that with each passing day without Xen by his side, knowing that she could be in danger at any moment, it only made his heart ache for her safety.

After some time of waiting, Osman finally arrived and entered his bedchamber, snapping Darius out of his downward spiral.

“Sire,” Osman greeted. “You were looking for me?”

Instead of answering, Darius grabbed Xen’s nightdress before walking out to his balcony, his other hand still holding onto the bottle of wine he was drinking. Logically, Osman followed him.

“Sit with me,” Darius instructed.

Osman did as he was told. Silently, they sat, until the admiral broke the serenity as he asked, “Are you worried, Sire?”

“Zeus already scolded me about that, so don’t start,” Darius grumbled. “I’m just jealous since that sphinx was able to spend time with my wife like that, while here I am all dry… Drinking alone…” He let out another sigh before he offered, “Oh, here. Have a drink with me.”

Seeing the offer, Osman took the opportunity to drink as well. Beside him, Darius frowned upon seeing how his admiral also seemed to be looking weary than usual.

“Did your dinner not go well?” he inquired, his curiosity piqued.

“I think I messed it up, Sire,” Osman answered with a sigh.

“It’s unlike you to mess things up. You’re a perfectionist, and a very composed and rational man,” Darius stressed out, seemingly going on a tangent as he recounted his admiral’s virtues. “You always think twice before saying or doing things. You’re also good at balancing your priorities first before even making a decision.”

“I don’t think I follow.” Osman  smiled. He then let out a self- deprecating chuckle as he continued, “I guess I’ve just deprived myself from mingling with women for so long that after all these years, I ended up acting like a fool in front of a beautiful lady. It’s been a while since I’ve been caught off-guard by a beauty like that.”

“I understand what you’re feeling, but I asked for you here so that I’ll have someone to vent my misery to,” Darius chuckled. “And yet here you are venting your regrets to me instead. “

“Right… My apologies, Sire. Let’s talk about the Sphinx first then,” Osman apologized as he took on a more serious look.

“But honestly, I’m surprised that the other guardians are properly introducing themselves to Princess Xenia like this. During my time, only the Queen Fairy Helena did such a thing, while the others simply didn’t bother. Also, they usually wouldn’t even bother to ask for a name, simply addressing me as ‘human’ whenever they talked to me.”

“Is that a bad thing?” Darius asked.

Osman shook his head. “I guess it isn’t, but it could also be… I mean, the sphinx is spending time with the Princess, and it’s obvious that he has taken a liking to her, so he might try coax her to spend a bit more time with him,” he elaborated.

“Or perhaps it could be a thing where he’d liked her to the point where he would make his trial easier for her. Nothing is for certain right now, and to be honest, the Sphinx is just someone that’s hard to read.”

He kept on rambling as he explained, “Sometimes, he’s kind, but he’s also cunning. It’s in his nature to play around, but I believe that I’ve warned the Princess enough about him for her to keep her guard up around him.”

Hearing his admiral’s lengthy explanation, Darius let out a long deep sigh of frustration, one that filled the outside air with his emotions. It was so infuriating, but he had to hold it in. For now, he could only pray to the Almighty that He helps his mate through these trials.

“I’m going to change the rules, the laws, and the tradition about this after this is all over,” Darius firmly stated. “Help me revise it for the next generation, Osman. This kind of tradition should be changed. We’ll still keep the tradition alive, but we’ll definitely revise it to become a better and fairer one.”

“I will do my utmost to assist you on this, Your Majesty…”