The Crown's Entrapment

At Hindman Manor.

Throughout the day, Jayra noticed how quiet Bella had become ever since the confrontation. Even during dinner, she had remained silent, the mage was just itching to ask her how things actually went. Still, she would love it if Bella was the one to open up to her first. As such, she controlled herself from pushing further, content with simply letting her sister-in-law process everything at her own pace.

That didn’t mean, however, that she would let her stew in her own misery. Jayra would like to lift Bella’s spirits somehow, but she just couldn’t find a suitable time for it with Mother Livia always being there as well.

Some time later, Chancellor Talon asked her to play cards with him over some ale during the cold weather. Apparently, Mother Livia refused, saying that she was going to bed early. So the four of them left ended up inside the great chamber, where the view of the snow was better from its outside window.

“Ah, winter indeed arrived early,” Talon commented as he sipped on some ale in his cup, staring at the falling snow from their window. “Perhaps the summer next year would be longer…”

“Indeed,” Jayra nodded with a smile. “It’s my favorite season of all, Father-in-law. It gives me time to just laze about inside my bedroom,” she giggled. Looking at Bella, she asked, “What’s your favorite season, Sister-in-law?”

Absently, Bella looked outside and said, “I hate winter, Sister-in-law.”

“Well, I love summer the most,” Chancellor Talon interrupted with a grin before he dropped his winning cards. “And that’s game.”

Jayra’s face twitched. She had already lost count of how many times they had to play again. Bartos’s father was too good with cards, it seemed. “I bet no one has ever won against you on this, Father.”

Bartos chuckled, “There’s one that managed to win though.”

“Really? Who?” she asked.

“His Majesty,” Talon wistfully reminisced. “Ah, King Darius is almost unbeatable at everything, I feel…”

“Father, you shouldn’t stay up this late. You should go and follow Mother to rest,” Bartos reminded. “I think you’ve also had enough booze for the night. Remember, you still need to go back to Cordon Castle early tomorrow. We must not slack, especially now that His Majesty is still gone.”

“Alright then, I guess I’ll leave the youngsters for now,” the Chancellor smiled as he stood up. He then gave Jayra a slight bow as he said, “It’s nice playing cards with you, dear.”

“Good night, Father,” Jayra said.

“Good night,” Talon replied before he looked at his daughter. With a fake pout, he joked, “Though my Bella seems to be sulking, I’d rather not pry as to why.”

Bella smiled at him, “Good night, Father. And don’t worry. There’s nothing to worry about. Mother and I just discussed the arranged marriages.”

Talon nodded, and with a solemn look, said, “I’ll talk to your Mother about it, dear, so don’t worry.”

“Thank you, Father,” Bella thanked before giving her father a wink. “Now please go to bed now like Brother suggested~”

By the sidelines, Jayra simply observed the beautiful father and daughter interaction as it happened in front of her. It always brought warmth into her heart whenever she saw such loving scenes between family members.

Even the interactions between Bella and her mother yesterday were something she didn’t take in a negative light, knowing full well that it was only Mother Livia’a way of showing her care and love for her daughter.

With Chancellor Talon gone, Jayra turned to Bartos with a smile. She said, “How about you also go on ahead to bed, husband? Let the women have their wee time to chat. I promise I won’t take long to warm your bed soon enough.”

Bartos could only scratch his head and nod in understanding at his wife’s words. Wordlessly, he left the chamber to the two women.

Seeing the gesture, Bella smiled at Jayra and said, “Don’t worry about me, Sister-in-law. It’s nothing. Honestly, Mother is right. No one knows when Calypso will be coming back. Or if he would even come back. I also understand why she doesn’t like him…”

Like Jayra expected, Bella needed someone to talk to, especially at times when she had no one to confide in regarding certain things like this. That was also probably why she missed Clara so much. The other woman might’ve been the only person Bella could open up to like this. Still, Jayra was sure that she could fill in the gaps. She would try her best to not only be a good friend to Bella but also be a good sister-in-law to her.

“Hmm, what you feel towards Calypso might not be true love though. After all, you were still young at the time, Bella,” Jayra inferred. “How about you try and mingle with others? Hmm… How about we have a ball? In our Kingdom, the lords usually held balls for their daughters once they reached the right age to marry. Those balls help their daughters meet men from different families and allow them to interact. From there, maybe they might be lucky and find the one suited for them.”

Bella’s eyes sparkled at the idea. With a curious lilt, she said, “I’ve heard about balls, but unfortunately, we haven’t done that kind of event here yet. I bet doing so would be spectacular! It would be nice if we recreated such an event. It might even be the first in the history of Cordon!”

Jayra smiled. She had heard that while there were parties celebrated in Cordon, they never reached the same scale as that of an Ebodian ball. And looking through history, a Masquerade Ball was what instantly came into her mind.

“Do you think Mother would agree to it?” Jayra excitedly asked.

​ She hadn’t tried organizing such an event before, but she had some experience in helping out their Queen before. Her Majesty would often organize such events in Ebodia Castle for the entertainment of the Noble Families, and also as a way for the Royal Family to show their gratitude for the continued support of the Nobles to the current Monarch.

“Hah! Mother would definitely be delighted in the idea, knowing that it could be a way for me to fish out some of the best men in the kingdom,” Bella murmured with a grin. “I bet she would love that it would get me occupied and have me forget about Calypso…”

“Hahaha! Look at you being giddy at the idea of meeting other men!” Jayra teased, making Bella blush hard.

Lovingly tugging at Jayra’s arm, Bella moved to rest her head on the former’s shoulder as she hummed, “Hmm… It’s not usually in my personality to sulk too long, Sister-in-law. Besides, I’m really glad and grateful that you’re here.”

She chuckled, “Seriously, my brother is so lucky to have such a wonderful mate like you. Well, the Hindman Family in general is so lucky to have you as part of the family, Sister-in-law. So again, thank you for coming to our home.”

Hearing Bella giggled in gratitude, Jayra tried her best to control her tears and not to spoil the moment. “I’m fortunate too, Bella… To be a part of this wonderful family,” she murmured with a contented smile on her face.