The Crown's Entrapment

At Hindman Manor

Absent-mindedly, Bella found herself staring at the portrait of Calypso in front of her.

“You said that you’ll marry me once I finally become a woman. But then you decided to run off…” Bella scoffed, her eyes narrowing at the portrait as if she was talking to a person. “It’s been ten years already… And I’m old enough for you know… So how come you’re still not back?”

When Clara ignored her… Calypso came into the picture for her. He treated her like a little sister, but she clearly told him that he would be the one she wanted to marry when the time came for it.

The man would then only laugh and pinch her cheek, saying that he was a big bad wolf and that she should consider marrying someone else. She was persistent, of course, and he managed to bug him enough that he finally said yes to her with a condition that she should grow up first. He said that once she was old enough for marriage, she should then perfect and master everything he wanted for a woman. And only then would he consider marrying her.

And at that, Bella’s mouth twitched upon recalling the long list the man gave her to accomplish.

“Tsk… I even have to maintain this purple curly hair!” she snorted.

It was a pain. She had natural black-colored hair, the same as her brother, and it wasn’t even naturally curly. She had to change her straight black hair to purple, curling it as soon as she turned eighteen just for his demands. And she had maintained it up until now since she wasn’t aware of when Calypso would return. She couldn’t just get rid of it. She wanted him to see it as soon as he returned.

“I don’t want my mother to be mad at me for too long, so please understand why I agreed with my sister-in-law to arrange this ball. But don’t worry. My heart will always be with you. Just that let my eyes feast on other men while you’re away,” Bella sighed. “That’s alright, right? I’ll just look and not play around with them like what you would do with most women.”

Calypso indeed loved to play with women. But while Bella was aware of that, she could still somehow sense that there was more to it in him. He simply didn’t meet his match, somehow, and he was simply looking.

[And you strongly believe that you’ll be the one who’ll be able to tame a player like him,] her inner wolf snorted, making Bella chuckle in anticipation.

[How about meeting the Admiral first then?] her wolf, Poona, added. [Mothers know best, after all. Who knows? He could be our mate. We just need to see him…]

Bella took in a deep breath, crossing her arms as she stared at Calypso’s portrait. She then emptied out a long sigh and murmured, “Fine, let’s give the admiral some slack…”

She hadn’t had the opportunity to meet the admiral in person until now. Unfortunately, their paths never crossed at all. She wasn’t present during gatherings inside the palace whenever the admiral was there, and he wasn’t there whenever she was around.

Plus, the Admiral rarely reported to the castle in the first place. He mostly stayed in the harbor, or maybe roaming around and exploring the sea. She even heard that he was a human pirate once, one with a huge bounty on his head before King Darius put him under his employ.

Clearly, the Admiral didn’t have a good background, but her mother and father respected Admiral Osman well for earning what he had right now out of his own capabilities. Her mother was very vocal about how she admired the young Admiral for being a responsible man. Rightfully so, as he chose to dedicate his life to Cordon and his King.

He was a Lycan, and yet that didn’t make him any less capable compared to them. The Admiral was a genius. One who was blessed with talents when it came to inventions that could help their Kingdom prosper.

[Aren’t you curious about what he looks like?] Poona coaxed.

“I heard that he’s fine, Poona. But I bet he’s not as handsome as my Calypso,” Bella chuckled. “Anyway, let’s look for Mother. I can’t take the silent treatment that she’s giving me any longer.”

She grabbed the nearby white cloth, and she once again covered Calypso’s portrait, shielding it from view.

She then went out of her private chamber and looked for her mother, who she found sitting in her private sanctuary where she loved to embroider and read some books. The older woman was there, seated near the window while doing her usual needlework.

Walked towards her, she sat down and asked, “Is that for sister-in-law, Mother?”

“Yes.”

She bit her inner cheek and shrugged. A moment passed, and the silence was almost ready to kill her.

“Mother, please don’t be mad at me anymore,” Bella relented. “You know how stubborn my heart is. What can I do if I can’t simply get Calypso out of my chest? He’s my first love…”

Hearing her, her mother turned to her with a frown and said, “You were only fifteen when he left, Bella! That’s nothing more but infatuation. Not love.”

“Maybe…” Bella sighed. “Look, I’ll try and meet other men. Hopefully, I can find someone I like. But please… Just stop with the arranged marriage idea. I’m strongly against it…” she snorted, “Also, you can invite the admiral. That way, we can meet and have a talk first. After that, let me decide on whether or not I’ll give him a chance.”

Having said her piece, Bella shook her head at seeing how her mother’s face lit up at her proposal.

“Alright,” her mother nodded “I’ll arrange and invite the men you wanted to check out to our house. From there-“

“Mother, it’ll be too much if we’ll invite them here one by one. It’ll look like we’re trying to hire servants here,” Bella denied, steeling her resolve as she then added. “Sister-in-law thought up of a good plan where we can invite all the bachelors you wanted into our Manor. She suggested that we conduct a Masquerade Ball, like what they would often do back at Ebodia. Sister-in-law said it will be fun.”

“Hmm… I’ve heard of it, but none have tried it yet in our kingdom,” her mother hummed in thought. “Alright then. I will let our Jayra handle this affair then. However, she will still need my guidance. And I will handle the invitees as well.”

[We shouldn’t skip sending Calypso an invitation, Poona,] Bella inwardly told her wolf with a bright smile on her face. [I’m sure His Majesty knows where he is, so I’ll just personally give the invitation for Calypso to our king.]