The Crown’s Entrapment

Darius smiled as the things that happened inside the Great Hall went all according to plan. Unfortunately, he didn’t expect the sudden blow he received this morning when the Sphinx announced that he had received a parchment containing an offer of gifts in exchange for having malicious intentions on Xen’s life inside the Element Forest. Just knowing that it existed made him so angry that he almost blew up everything that they had planned for so long just to attack and kill Nasser at that instant.

Still, he was glad that despite Zeus also being on the verge of wanting to kill the man, he still managed to control himself and maintain his rational thinking about the situation. He needed more patience, especially now that they were almost there in getting the justice that they longed craved for using the right and proper way. It was slow, but Darius knew that it was what his father would’ve wanted.

Looking at the man before him, he gave him a satisfied smile as he addressed him. “Rise, Calypso Grant, the newly appointed Great Justicar of the Kingdom of Cordon.”

As expected, everyone present was caught off guard, all aside from Darius’s people of course, who were supporting his cause from the shadows.

“This…” Elder Naser murmured.

Raising an eyebrow, Darius heard the Elder’s mumbles. Looking at the Elder with a poker smile, he said, “I’m sure no one will question Calypso’s credibility. He wasn’t away from our kingdom for so long because he wanted to travel or fool around, but because he was away for a secret mission for the betterment of our people.”

“He would have a full report about everything he had witnessed written up before this court after some time, but I will also order him with a more important task at hand,” Darius continued after a sigh. “He is to find and judge the culprit responsible for this attempt at my wife’s life; to have your future queen be killed inside the forest.”

“Now, if you all have nothing more to discuss with me, then leave,” Darius ordered out. “However, the Great Admiral and the Great Constable will be staying behind. I still need to discuss some more things with you two.”

With that, everyone followed his orders and left the room without a word. Although, there were still some murmurs echoing about as everyone walked out of the hall.

As soon as everyone left, Darius called for Caro, his capable Beta who was currently in charge of monitoring Gilas’s movements.

“Sire,” Caro greeted him with a bow.

“Did you find anything?”

“Constable Gilas has been confirmed to have not been involved with any movements made by Elder Nasser,” Caro reported. “I also discovered something about him that might be of importance…”

Darius frowned as Caro then detailed what he found about Gilas and his origins.

“Continue monitoring the situation, Caro. We’re about to wrap things up, and we don’t need any more loose ends popping up after this,” Darius hummed in thought as he instructed. “For now, keep what you’ve discovered to yourself. I will still have to think more about this situation and how to deal with it. It involves his personal affairs, so we shouldn’t act harshly…”

Watching Caro leave, he then got up from his throne and hugged Calypso. “Welcome back, Cousin.”

“It’s nice to be back,” Calypso chuckled as he returned the hug. “It looks like we’ll be having a busy schedule ahead of us. Nevertheless, I’m glad to be home to finally meet our future Queen who managed to capture your aloof heart. Ah, I’m dying to meet her already!”

Darius chuckled as he broke the hug. Looking at Osman, he then asked “Do you remember Osman? He’s now our Great Admiral.”

“Of course, I do!” Calypso said with a smile as he then extended his hand out to Osman before pulling in the latter for a brotherly hug.

“Welcome back, Great Justicar,” Calypso politely greeted.

“Ah! Stop that. Just call me Calypso, especially whenever we’re alone or with people we can trust,” Calypso scoffed with a wink. “In return, I’ll just call you Osman.”

Osman simply nodded with a half smile. Meanwhile, Darius only shook his head as he inwardly told Zeus, [These two will be a great pair. Summer and winter, don’t you think?]

[Hahaha! I agree,] Zeus laughed in reply. [Hot tempered against a cold and calculating one.]

“You two should work together in secret regarding the case involving Helion’s spies inside our kingdom,” Darius suggested. “Osman will be a great help to you while he’s in the city.”

The two simply nodded as Darius then gave them the full instructions and details about the situation. They were two of the best men the king trusted the most, who he believed could pull through on this matter without others suspecting them. Unlike Gideon, Bartos, and the rest of his usual men, they’d be low key enough to avoid Nasser’s gaze, who he was already eyeing carefully.

After a bit, Darius stretched out his body. “Let’s go. You two should accompany me outside the castle in disguise,” he ordered out. “I need a breather, and we need to celebrate Calypso’s return as well. It’s only too bad that Gideon and Bartos are both busy these days.”

“I will have to greet the Queen Mother first, Your Majesty,” Calypso quickly stated. “She would scold me nonstop if I didn’t, though I’m sure that by now, she had already heard that I’m back.”

“Alright, go ahead,” Darius chuckled. “Osman and I will wait for you.”

Calypso soon left the great hall. With the two of them alone, Osman looked at him and said, “Are you sure you want to go outside the castle, Sire?”

“I’m dead sure, Osman. I want to know what the people think about Xen while they watch her,” Darius insisted.

“Freya told me that people have different opinions, but they’re mostly positive as they admire Xen’s actions. Still, I want to hear those praises myself. That way, I’ll be able to calm this growing anxiety inside of me. I need to keep myself from entering the forest and grabbing Xen to safety myself. I don’t want my instincts to rule, knowing how hard Xen worked for this.”

Darius took in a few deep breaths, the tightening in his chest getting worse the more he thought about Xen’s situation. However, Xen’s calm emotions were pacifying his anxiety, for now.

“Alright then, I’ll get changed, Your Majesty,” Osman commented. “I believe I’m too overdressed at the moment.”

“I noticed that too,” Darius chuckled. “Are you somehow trying to make an impression on Chancellor Talon?”

Osman’s face reddened, making Darius laugh.

“I told them that I’ll wait for the trial by combat to be over before pursuing Lady Bella,” Osman explained. “But Sire, will it be alright if I watched her fight in the arena whenever I have the time?”

“Why are you even asking me what you want to do during your free time?” Darius laughed with a teasing smile on his face. “You can do whatever you want, Osman.”

“I want to meet her and make it look like it’s a coincidence… Can you help me make it possible?” Osman timidly requested. “Can you give me an order involving my required presence in the tournament?”