The Crown's Entrapment

Chapter 760 All by Herself

Bella didn't waste any more time and immediately looked for her brother Bartos to share the news.

"What?!" Bartos erupted, incredulous. "What did you just say?!"

"You heard me loud and clear, big brother. Amon and I are getting married. I'll be joining him on his return to Helion as his new wife. We'll do the Ritual of Marking here tomorrow and hold the official marriage ceremony at Helion," Bella repeated firmly.

Bartos struggled to process the whirlwind of information. "This… Just what in the world is going on Bella?!" Bartos questioned. 

Bella maintained a reassuring tone and said, "Please, calm down.  Why are you so angry and agitated? Aren't you happy that I've managed to bypass all the hurdles to become  Amon's wife? It doesn't really matter what's happening right now, big brother.  What matters is that I can finally be with him."

Bartos let out a sigh, still bewildered. "I know I know… But it's still shocking that things ended up being this way. Weren't you supposed to compete first? I need to know precisely what's going on to ensure your safety Bella! Damn, Mother and Father will have my head if I don't give them a reasonable explanation for this so please tell me everything in detail!" Bartos grumbled.

Bella pouted knowing her brother had a point. After all, it was he who would talk to their parents about this. So Bella started narrating exactly what happened and why everything was so rushed.

"I see, so that's what happened… By the way, the Queen Mother has regained consciousness now and knows that Amon is aware of her situation," said Jayra, who suddenly appeared in the tent. 

"Did you hear everything?" Bella inquired, her curiosity evident.

"I did," Jayra chuckled. "Sorry, I hid my presence and eavesdropped on your conversation."

"That's alright. It saves me the trouble of explaining everything. Since you've heard it all, what's your take on this?" Bartos asked Jayra, who comfortably found a seat beside him.

"Ahhh, I honestly feel terrible that I couldn't do more to help the Queen Mother. Her condition is beyond repair at this point. That damned Devon caused a lot of damage not just to her internal organs but also to her inner energy as well, significantly reducing her life force. Queen Mother Mona received such great torture that I don't even want to elaborate about, especially in front of King Amon," Jayra ranted. 

"I've never felt such satisfaction at someone's gruesome demise in my entire life, but Devon truly deserved his fate at the hands of King Ezekiel!" Jayra couldn't help expressing her deep-seated resentment towards Devon.

Bella's heart ached for Amon, and she silently prayed that Amon wouldn't learn the gruesome details of his mother's suffering. It would be too much for him to bear.

A heavy silence settled in the room, but Bella's brow furrowed when she detected a new scent wafting through the air.  She looked at her sister-in-law because the new scent was coming from her. She stood up sniffing the air around Jayra. Just what was that smell? The scent wasn't overpowering, but it was distinct and carried a pleasant fruity aroma.

Bella's eyes widened with joy as she stared at Jayra, who was obviously holding back a grin. Then, her gaze shifted to Bartos, who was beaming with pride, confirming the news with a nod.

"Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!" Bella screamed, her hands raised in the air, which Jayra quickly clasped. They both squealed in delight. "Heavens!!! Is it really true? Is that our little one?!" she exclaimed, pulling her sister-in-law into a tight hug.

"Yes! I'm really pregnant!" Jayra rejoiced, and Bella couldn't contain her happiness. They spun around together, still locked in a tight embrace.

"When did you two find out? How come I'm only smelling it now?" she asked, her radiant smile never fading.

"We found out yesterday. The scent became apparent when Queen Mineah's blood thread left my body!" Jayra answered.

"Oh, I can't wait to see Mother and Father's reactions once they hear this wonderful news!" Bella was ecstatic. The heavens must have pitied her as they were finally giving her good news, one after the other. Osman's miraculous return to life, her marriage to him, and now the news of becoming an aunt by blood – everything felt almost too good to be true!

"That's enough, you two. Let's get back to your plan of getting married to Osman," Bartos commented, bringing  Bella and Jayra back to their seats.

"I believe Bella is an adult responsible for her own actions. If she chooses to accept that offer from Amon, then I will support her. We both know that she and Amon have feelings for each other. Amon may not remember her, but his feelings for her must obviously be stronger for him to offer marrying Bella instead of Lena…" Jayra pointed out.

[We really have the best sister-in-law in this world, don't you agree?] Bella beamed at Poona.

[That's true, but won't you miss her once we settle in Helion? She won't stay there with us for long, that's for sure] Poona hummed.

[Don't worry, there's always a way to see each other whenever we miss them,] Bella commented, referring to her parents as well.

Bartos turned to Jayra and asked, "Are you sure that it's safe for you to use the teleportation spell? It won't cause harm to you or our baby right?"

"Of course, didn't you see how often Queen Mineah teleported when she was pregnant? It's really safe for me to use it, don't worry," Jayra snorted. Bella frowned a bit upon hearing her and said, "But Queen Mineah is a Nephilim, sister-in-law. How about we ask for help from one of Queen Mineah's ladies-in-waiting? I heard one among them can cast the teleportation spell."

She gave Jayra a worried smile and said, "We know you're the most powerful mage in Ebodia next to Wizard Lurio, but we still can't risk the baby in your womb. It's always better to consider everything for the safety of our little one."

Jayra remained quiet and contemplated Bella's words. "Right, it's still best that I don't compromise. It's our first baby, so I should take extra care. Don't worry baby, I won't let anything happen to you," Jayra hummed as she caressed her still flat tummy.

"That's true, we have other options anyway, so please just focus on being healthy for the baby," Bella added with a grin.

" Let me talk to Dani. She came here with Her Majesty so I'll ask her to cast that teleportation spell," Jayra quickly said and immediately stood up to leave the tent.

Bella smiled while staring at Jayra's retrieving back and said, "She's no longer stubborn when it comes to our little one…"

"Hey, why are you calling my baby  'little one'? Call my unborn baby Aquarius from now on. Jayra and I decided to name our baby Aquarius regardless of our baby's gender," Bartos scolded.

Bella chuckled and said, "Fine… Since Aquarius is too long, I'll call my future niece or nephew Aqua. It's such a good name. Goodness, you two got so excited that you came up with the name the same day you found out about the good news, huh?!"

"Haha, we happened to come across it because Jayra saw the formation of an Aquarius in the sky last night. I thought it was a sign from the heavens to see it when we celebrated the good news, so we decided on that name. Aquarius… it sounds fitting for either girl or boy," Bartos commented with a grin.

"Indeed, it is a gender-neutral name," Bella hummed with a nod. Her thoughts drifted to having a child of her own with Amon, and her cheeks turned a shade of red at the idea. After all, there might be a sense of urgency in providing Queen Mother Mona with a grandchild.

"Tsk… Look at you blushing while having lewd thoughts," Bartos teased with a straight face.

Bella blinked rapidly as she defended herself, "What lewd thoughts?! I was just thinking about my future babies. Hmmph!!!"

Bartos chuckled and said, "Fine, fine, I won't tease you anymore. By the way, once Lady Dani agrees, I will have Mother and Father teleported here tonight so they can bear witness to the Ritual of Marking tomorrow. I'm kinda of sad that this is such a rushed event. It would have been nice if we did it in our Manor, properly following the customs. After all, you're the Lady of the pack. Don't you think you should at least show yourself with your new husband to our pack? I suggest that you and Amon teleport back to our Manor and perform your ritual there."

Bella didn't comment. It seemed like a better option. She was sure Amon would come to talk to her brother about the necessary arrangements any time now, especially since the Queen Mother was already awake.

"Hmm, you and Amon should talk and make a decision about it, Big Brother. I'm honestly not picky about anything as long as the end result will remain the same… which is me marking my mate and getting married to him in accordance with both our Kingdom's customs," she said with a wide smile.

That is the only thing that matters to her… Having Osman… Amon all to herself!