The Crown's Entrapment

Meanwhile, back at Cordon Castle, the Queen Mother had received a lot of questions regarding the sudden disappearance of the king along with his mate. She had already stated the reasons yesterday, and here they were again, questioning the sudden absence of the king as if she hadn’t just explained it earlier.

Apparently, not all of them bought the alibi that the King made about his visit to the Kingdom of Valcrez for peace talks to ensure that the alliance between their kingdoms was still solid after the incident regarding the Beholden Law.

Of course, she had already expected this scenario to happen long before it happened. It’s just that she was starting to grow weary of those using this incident against her son, blabbering about with nonsense only to show how they were against their king.

Inwardly sighing, her eyes darted towards the Elders currently inside the great hall. She kept her face calm even as deep inside, she was already throwing daggers in Nasser’s direction along with the rest of his minions.

She couldn’t help but remember the torment that her son had for those ten years with holding himself back from spilling the beans… All while seeing this traitor every day like nothing was even happening._.

Her chest tightened as the pain surged deep within her heart. ‘My poor son,’ she helplessly thought. It had only been a few days for her, and already she felt like she was about to go berserk whenever she would see that smiling face of the traitor acting like nothing was wrong with him. Catching her rage, she closed her eyes as she did a quick bout of meditation to calm herself down.

“If it’s just a simple talk, then why does he need to be gone for such a long period of time?” Elder Karim questioned. “Ten days, maybe even more is a bit too much, don’t you think? At the very least, it should only take six days to travel to Valcrez and back and still have a day left over for the talks to happen.”

“Clearly, the King does not respect the court at all,” Nasser sarcastically scoffed with lifted brows. “He always acts out of his own will without even asking and checking our opinions on such important matters.”

“Hmm… This is far from new, however. We all know of our King’s attitude well enough by now. He has this habit of doing things on his own, but he still always takes responsibility for his actions,” Elder Handi defended at length.

“Also, I don’t think that this simple matter would need any further discussion between all of us. It’s just a simple visit to our ally because he wanted to ensure the solidity of our alliance with the Valcrez. I mean, do we expect to give him further advice regarding such matters? I don’t think so. He is our King, so let us have him handle the simple affairs for the welfare of our kingdom.”

The Queen Mother let out a sigh of relief at the kind gesture. She was glad that Darius’s godfather, Elder Handi, and the rest of the Elders of the royal council who never lost faith in Darius and kept on supporting him all the way were still present. Subconsciously, she smiled even though her eyes were still closed.

“Or maybe he’s out there to enjoy an early honeymoon with his mate at his leisurely,” Elder Nasser pointed out. “Or perhaps he’s giving his mate some special training for the upcoming trials for her to be our future Queen. He could be ignoring his duty to the kingdom in favor of being biased with his support for his mate.”

The man couldn’t simply let it go, it would seem… The Queen Mother kept her eyes closed to hide her disdain as she mused to herself. Indeed, her son was at fault for always doing things his way like this. But with Nasser stoking the flames like this, it just made even sitting in on the council far too annoying!

Opening her eyes, the Queen Mother held her usual poker smile as she fixated her gaze on Nasser. “Elder Nasser, I’m sure you can understand the feelings of my son above all else. Isn’t your wife also a human? Someone who is your mate just like Princess Xenia?” she coolly pointed out.

“As all know, the story about how you fought for your mate to secure her in your arms is well known. I’m also sure that our King was inspired by your brave acts of impulsiveness. I’m honestly baffled that of all his subjects, you couldn’t seem to understand his sentiments when it comes to one’s mate. You are one of the few blessed to feel the Mate Pull enough that you literally moved mountains to get your mate by your side without looking back. Am I mistaken?”

It was a nasty move that someone of her stature shouldn’t dare to do to any of the Elders, Nasser included. She was usually calm and quiet, letting these Elders mumble and speak to their heart’s content without interfering. She would usually be the one gently smile at them and apologize if her son was lacking…

Now, however, she had had enough! Especially so now that she was aware of how much pain her son had to endure from the mere sight of Nasser’s presence inside his court!

To her inward glee, her outburst caught Nasser so off guard that he suddenly pressed his lips, unable to say a word in response.

Pressing the attack, the Queen Mother flashed her sweetest smile before everyone and said, “We all know that my son has never lacked a single thing throughout his reign as our King. He always ensured the welfare of our Kingdom, and he constantly addressed whatever it was that needed his attention.”

She then continued with a lilting voice. “After all, if he didn’t do such things, you will all be free to file a complaint about it along with the corresponding pieces of evidence to support your claim. Again, he has never once disobeyed the rules, traditions, and customs of our kingdom. So now… regarding this issue about his mate, we’re all aware that this is a great blessing and an honor to our kind. For one to find his or her one true mate is a sacred privilege, is it not?”

At that, most of the Elders present also voiced their agreement with her words with a nod. She then continued, “Recently, our King has found his mate, to whom we have rules to uphold against since she was not one of our kind. In spite of this, Princess Xenia was courageous and brave enough to fight for her right to be my son’s lifetime partner and show herself worthy to be our Queen.”

She raised a hand for emphasis as she spoke aloud, “So why can’t we just stay put and witness how this journey will unfold? Do we have any law against a king supporting his mate on this matter? NO, WE DO NOT! Like my son would always say: Let’s not dwell on such unnecessary and unproductive topics inside the court. There are far more important things for us to discuss than to gossip about other people’s lives. Our people need our great knowledge and expertise to help them. Our denizens deserve more than this.”

There was a silence that settled, one that prompted the Queen Mother to continue uninterrupted.

“Now, the King has tasked me to oversee things while he is gone, and I’m greatly honored that my son has trusted me with this task,” she spoke at length.

“This only means that he believes in my capabilities as his regent on all important matters… And that same goes for everyone here inside in this court. Our task is to make sure that everything is in its proper place in the absence of our King. So, shall we begin and exercise the great capabilities that our King saw to entrust in us the important matters that need to be handled during his absence?”

“Thank you for your benevolence, Your Highness, the Queen Mother.”

Everyone in the room answered in chorus as they bowed to her authority. However, the grimace on Nasser’s face didn’t escape Savannah’s observant eyes even as he nodded to the rest of the Elders in the room.

‘This is only the start, you traitor!’ she inwardly swore. ‘I’ll make sure you can never hurt any of my children! Not while I’m still living!’