The Crown's Entrapment

At Cordon Castle

Gilas's nostrils flared the moment he found out that his Mother didn't keep her promise and entered Pinra's cell, even going as far as getting close and hugging his cousin. He couldn't help but scold the guards who had simply let his Mother inside without asking his permission first.

And of course, he rushed to the dungeons as soon as he was informed about it.

"Son, it's not their fault, but mine," his mother reasoned.

Unfortunately, Gilas ignored her as he quickly instructed one of the guards, "Send my Mother out of this dungeon first."

"Son…" his mother sighed.

"We'll talk about this later," he sternly told her before signaling one of the guards to escort his mother back out.

From there, he then immediately scolded them for their negligence before promptly dismissing them. His business with them finished, and he quickly returned to see his mother, who he saw was currently pacing back and forth within the inner courtyard of the castle.

"Gilas… Please don't get mad at the guards," Shila requested. "They were simply accommodating my requests."

Gilas stared at his mother with lifted brows as he tried to contain his disappointment. "You promised though," he whispered with gritted teeth.

"I know, and I apologize for not keeping to my word," his mother weakly replied. Her tone then firmed up as she added, "However, I can't just simply watch after seeing Pinra's situa-"

"She's a criminal! And how many times do I need to remind you that it's dangerous since none of us knows what's going on inside Pinra's head?" Gilas barked out. "What if she decided to kill you? She can easily snap your head the moment you come near her, or maybe even hold you hostage in return for her escape! Don't you value your life at all, Mother? We're finally free from Nasser's clutches, but why do I feel like you still want danger in your life?!"

He could no longer help himself. He was dead worried the moment he heard the news of how her mother had entered Pinra's cell, and even worse, got up close and personal with her to clean and dress her up! And that was not to mention how her mother hugged the woman!

"But she didn't, Son. Can't you see? I'm still here alive and unscathed," Shila reasoned. "She's a lost child, Son, and I feel her need for love and care."

Gilas closed his eyes as he balled his hands up into fists. He was trying his best to contain his anger at the thought of how he had almost lost his mother again.

"I just can't compromise it…" Gilas sighed before he firmed up his voice. "And I hope you understand this Mother. From now on, I won't allow you to visit Pinra!"

"Gilas!" her mother burst out with a frown.

"You broke your promise, Mother, so I can no longer trust your words…" he simply replied.

"Why are you being like this, Son?" Shila retorted.

"I will have my men escort you back to Keen Manor," Gilas plainly answered as he turned around and walked away from his mother.

[Hmm, aren't you going overboard?] Ham protested. [I mean, why not let her visit Pinra still, but this time, make sure that the guards assigned to Pinra won't let her inside the cell no matter how our mother might beg for it?]

[I want Mother to understand how serious I am about her safety, Ham,] Gilas replied. [We just recently freed ourselves to be together like this, and I don't know what will happen to me the moment I lose her because of my incompetency.] He firmly added, [I wasn't able to protect her before, but I will make sure that nothing bad will happen to her now and in the future.]

From there, the day passed by quite slowly for Gilas despite the fact of how busy he currently was with his work. Still, he couldn't help but wonder how the search for Osman was going. As such, he also made sure that he got a report from his men about it from time to time, especially reports regarding his mate Clara.

Continuing on with his work, Gilas yawned while reading some appeals. It was then that Ham chuckled and started teasing.

[You two didn't get enough sleep, I see. Ah, right, you let Clara have at least two hours of sleep while you didn't,] Ham recalled. [How about you take a power nap right now so you won't get knocked out easily later?]

Gilas chuckled back. "We're not even sure if Clara will return for the night," he murmured. "They already built a camp near the incident. Also, our King has a close bond with Osman, so I'm sure he won't stop the search unless he at least finds Osman's body…"

Like a few, he too strongly believed Osman that was already gone. No creature could ever survive that River of Misery unless they were a creature of water, which his friend obviously wasn't…

"I wonder what's the whole story to this…" he murmured to himself.

None really knew yet what truly happened that day, it would seem. Except for the fact that Sephiro, who harbored the Demon King's bloodthread, had attacked the convoy and Osman saved Lady Bella with all his might, no other details of the incident had surfaced.

"They're not mates, but I guess Osman already has strong feelings for Lady Bella," Gilas hummed.

[The power of love,] Ham snorted.

Gilas smiled in agreement. It was no doubt that he too would do the same for his mate should it require him to do so. He would sacrifice his all for the love of his life, and he wouldn't even think twice about it.

Continuing on with his work, he suddenly frowned as the sudden report came to him…

[Her Grace is now back in the castle with Lady Clara…]

"This soon?" Gilas murmured as he quickly got up from his seat to greet the Queen as well as to check on Clara.

[What happened? Why are you back this early?] Gilas couldn't help but communicate with Clara through their Bond as he walked through the hallways.

[Our King sent me back with our Queen and an unconscious woman. She looks like one of the guardians in the Element forest, the Fairy Queen, it would seem,] Clara explained. [Also, Lady Jayra insisted that she was more than enough support for Bella. Hmm… I immediately agreed to the set-up, knowing that Lady Jayra will take good care of Bella. And besides…]

[Besides?] Gilas hummed.

[I already miss you…]

Those words from Clara made Gilas suddenly halt in his steps. Clara's wall was up so he couldn't sense her emotions at the time, but those four words she just spoke almost made his heart burst with so much bliss.

[Can you say it again?] he unknowingly mumbled.

There was a beat of silence.

[I said I missed you, Gilas…]