The eighteen-year-old Hazeyn scoffed as if what was transpiring in front of him was not a trap to bring him down. His cold lilac eyes gazed upon the weak-looking girl, who seems like a child in front of everyone else. But for Hazeyn who witnessed the fifteen-year-old girl in the fighting pit, he knew that she was far more dangerous than the Grand Vizier.
Hazeyn knew that the girl named Kosem kneeled upon hearing the incoming voices towards them. Everyone knew that the emergence of the Grand Vizier's heir was his greatest threat as a young sultan who had yet to prove anything to the bureaucrats. And the conclusion that they would immediately draw upon seeing the crying and kneeling form a young girl who was brought to the sultan's palace for the first was that he imposed an unjust punishment on a child on a whim or because he was feeling threatened – something that did not enter his mind. Now, even the foreign dignitaries before the governors who witnessed the scene would think of him as an immature child rather than a respectable sultan.
And now, this sly old man took the opportunity to make this scene bigger than necessary – igniting the curiosity of the officials who are merely passing by—making them question their support for me. Hazeyn lamented in his thoughts as his cold look did not crack even under pressure created by the Grand Vizier.
Hazeyn's cold lilac eyes shifted to the bearded Grand Vizier. His green tunic was sight for sore eyes for Hazeyn.
"Enough of this nonsense!" Hazeyn's voice boomed, resonating in every pillared hall of the great palace.
Everyone froze upon hearing the warning and anger laced in the young sultan's voice.
Pashalu, the Siberian tiger, which was loitering around the area, heard his master's distressed voice. He raced towards the direction where Hazeyn's voice came from. The moment it arrived, Pashalu released an ear-shattering roar upon the people, who were surrounding his master.
The enormous man-eating cat stood by Hazeyn's side as it roared again – displaying its sharp set of fangs that could tear a man apart in a blink of an eye.
"!!!" Everyone flinched due to fear as they unknowingly took a step back except for Kosem.
Its roar froze everyone except for two people – Hazeyn and Kosem. This elicited a frown from Hazeyn after seeing the young girl's calm demeanor.
He shook his head. 'No. She might be too frightened by Pashalu's presence that she failed to react.'
Kosem, who was the subject of Hazeyn's thoughts, did her best not to drop a single tear. Her bright golden and azure eyes stared at the tiger. Its familiar stripes, its soft-looking fur, and its bright yellow eyes – Kosem's genuine tear fell for the first time after strengthening her resolve and she could not even stop herself.
'Pashalu'. Kosem whispered the name of the tiger in her thought. In her recent memory as Kosem from her previous life, Pashalu died protecting them.
Pashalu died because the loyal tiger chose to become the bait as the Janissaries were hot on their tails. This diversion made Kosem and Hazeyn's escape possible from the great capital city.
A familiar ache arose from the depths of Kosem's heart. No matter how she shut down her memories and feelings, they always betrayed her at the end of the day. The emotions were still fresh for her as if it was only yesterday.
Nails embedded in her palms as she clenched her fists tightly.
Those bright yellow eyes snapped to her and it growled again as if it connected with its master's thoughts. For the first after how many days, Kosem gave off a genuine smile – to a tiger.
'This time, I will protect you as well Pashalu. So don't you ever die and focus on protecting your only master – Hazeyn.' Kosem thought as her eyes connected to the tiger's fierce ones.
Unbeknownst to Kosem, Hazeyn had already caught her genuine smile while she eyed his tiger. For unknown reasons, something stirred in him as he watched her smile like how he remembered when he met her on that bright day.
Muhammet Bey's simple cough pulled Hazeyn from his trance.
"This was all a misunderstanding. Well, to prove my sincerity since I know a lot of you doubt my intention. I hereby announce Kosem Fehrattin as my official playmate," said Hazeyn – startling the Grand Vizier and his advisor.
Muhammet Bey, on the other hand, breathed in relief upon hearing the sultan swerve from the obvious trap. While the foreign dignitaries nodded their heads as if they agreed with the sultan's announcement, Kosem wiped her tears and stood up next to the Grand Vizier.
Hazeyn continued, "With this official title, it will give Kosem hanim the privilege to come and go in the sultan's palace with one purpose – to play with me. I believe that this gesture will satisfy both parties."
Kosem suppressed her grin. She knew that behind the pretext of being a playmate, hid the sultan's real agenda and those were to keep an eye on her and to use her as bait for the Grand Vizier Esad Fehrattin – Hazeyn's greatest enemy.
The feeling of loss and wonder lingered on the Grand Vizier's face after witnessing the sultan move away safely from his trap. After much contemplation, upon realizing that his adoptive granddaughter could spy on the sultan as his new playmate, he smiled politely. "My humblest gratitude to the benevolent sultan," said Grand Vizier Esad Fehrattin as he bowed his head, followed by his adviser and Kosem. "Gratitude to the benevolent sultan."
Hazeyn waved his hand nonchalantly as if he was tired – gesturing everyone to leave, even the foreign dignitaries, who were more inclined to side with the Grand Vizier rather than the young sultan. "Then you are all dismissed."
"With your permission, we shall take our leave, Oh glorious sultan." Everyone bowed their heads at a ten degrees angle while touching their forehead as they muttered the words of farewell to the sultan.