The Crown's Entrapment

Turning to Osman, Bella quickly greeted, "Lord Osman? I thought you were still supposed to be with my brother doing work?"

"Indeed, but I had some time to spare," Osman replied as he then signaled for his pageboy, Sephiro, to arrange the blankets, the baskets of food, along with his coffee-making tools right before them. "I then spotted you when I came to shore, and I quickly made some arrangements for us"

"I see," Bella smiled. Looking at the arrangements, she then laughed once she noticed the forming picnic… Or at least, what looked to be a picnic. "Hahaha! What are those?!"

"Well, the men told us that you're here to paint, so I thought I'd do the honor of bringing you some snacks," Osman explained with a smile. "These are the only ones available nearby, so I hope these would still suffice. And before you ask, the men were about to inform you about our arrival, but I stopped them by saying I'll go to you personally."

"Thank you for your efforts then," Bella sincerely thanked. She then noted, "Also, are you this dependent on Sephiro? Or is he just that attached to you?"

Osman chuckled, "Him? Oh, this boy is just too clingy that even if I threw him out, he'll just keep on following me around." He shrugged, "In truth, I already gave up on trying to get rid of him. I just let him do what he wants now…"

Sephiro blushed as he scratched his head. Mumbling, he pouted, "I just want to serve my savior with all my heart. Is that so hard to understand? After all, Master Osman's all I've got…"

Judging by the look of the kid, he was only sixteen. Still, the way Bella saw it, Osman was actually treating the boy more like a young brother than any sort of squire.

"Alright, fine. No one's stopping you already, so stop pouting, lad," Osman scoffed before signaling for Sephiro to leave. Likewise, the boy gave him a curt bow, while Bella simply winked at the leaving boy.

Turning back to Osman, he had comfortably sat on the blanket to face her, and Bella couldn't help but feel special with how thoughtful he was in making this quick arrangement.

"This is so gentlemanly and thoughtful of you, Lord Osman," Bella cheekily slipped out. "You're definitely the opposite of what I've heard about pirates' attitudes!".

"Hmm? And what would constitute a pirate's attitude?" Osman curiously asked.

"Well, they're cocky, audacious, cheeky, and of course, a thief!" Bella burst out.

"All of those, I still am, milady. Of course, I've learned a lot from His Majesty, especially in regards to the proper etiquette expected from a noble Cordonian," Osman chuckled. "In a sense, I'm more tamed now than I was before. Still, a thief? Hmm… I guess I'm still one, but the difference between I want to steal back then and now is vastly different…"

Blinking her eyes at Osman, Bella murmured, "Huh? Steal what?"

"I want to steal all of you… Lady Bella…" he seriously replied. "Can I steal your heart, body, and soul? All of your being?"

*Thump thump thump*

Bella unknowingly held her chest, the loud banging of her heart making her choke on her own emotions.

[So smooth! Tell him 'YES'] Poona excitedly yelled.

Unfortunately for Poona, Bella was too lost in the moment to even hear her own wolf. Doing her best to compose herself, she frowned and snorted, "It would seem that pirates truly are womanizers! Only now am I experiencing it."

Osman shook his head. "I'm serious, my little vixen. I meant every word I said to you. Besides, I'm no longer the pirate I used to be," he sincerely explained. "I've turned over a new leaf the moment I became a Lycan and a Cordonian. I haven't even looked at any other woman for thirteen years until you came along…"

"Oh? So you're admitting that you were a womanizer before?" Bella murmured as she grabbed her chalk and started working on her canvas.

There was no response, so Bella stopped what she was doing to look at Osman. As he was, he simply gave her an awkward smile while nervously massaging his nape.

"I guess that's a yes then," she nonchalantly uttered as she inspiringly continued to work on her drawing, looking at Osman every once in a while to act as her new muse without him knowing. Letting her hands do the work, she found herself concentrating enough that she just kept on looking at him.

"Don't move!" she quickly instructed when she saw Osman move. "Just keep that previous position where your right leg's bent with your arm resting on it. You look comfortable, and…"

"And?" Osman questioned as he kept his previous position.

"Dashing…" Bella genuinely answered after a pause, her cheeks blushing without her knowing.

Seeing her current state, Osman held a cheeky grin, being obviously pleased with her answer to his question. Likewise, Bella only smiled as she shook her head.

Time passed, and Bella was hard at work with her new work. Osman held her position, and the comfortable silence between them soon broke once Bella let her curiosity get to her.

"So when was the last time you looked at a woman?" she asked.

"Thirteen years ago," Osman promptly answered.

"A Cordonian?"

Osman shook his head, making Bella knit her brows. She was dying of curiosity.

"A human then?"

Osman shook his head. After a while, he then said, "A fairy…"

"A fairy?" Bella squinted in confusion. "But aren't all fairies inside the Element Forest?"

"Indeed," he nodded. "They live in the Realm of Eferia…"

Bella's eyes widened as she murmured, "So you've entered the Element Forest?"

"It should be top-secret, my little vixen, but I trust you enough that I'm willing to share my everything with you whenever you want it…" he smiled. "My past… present… and hopefully future will be yours should you want it."

Bella gulped. Osman was just too good at making her heart flutter like this. She would never stop blushing whenever she was with him.

[And squealing inside too…] Poona teased. [You keep doing that too if I must remind you!]

Curiosity piqued, Bella said, "Tell me about it. I want to know."

Osman heaved a long deep sigh as he started his narration. Soon enough, he got to the part she was most curious about, and her heart almost skipped a beat when he mentioned the Fairy Queen.

"You saw her yesterday then," she murmured.

Osman nodded. She did not know why, but she felt a niggling feeling that she quickly hid well.

"I have a disc that His Majesty gave to me since I wanted to witness how Princess Xenia was doing with her trials," Osman revealed as he removed the necklace he was wearing. "I trained her, after all… I should be able to watch how she's faring."

He then stood up and walked towards her to hand her the necklace he had just removed.

"Here… Keep this with you," he nodded. "This might come in handy for the tournament tomorrow. This necklace will protect you. It's yours now."

"But Helena gave this to you, right?" she weakly protested. "This is special and important to you…"

"Yes, but I'm giving this to you now because you're more special and important to me," Osman insisted. "Please use this to protect yourself. I can't bear to watch you getting hurt tomorrow, Bella."