Inside Benjamin’s head was a lot less mature;
[Nggh! Dumb visitor getting in the way of my fun! You made look like a complete idiot back there! Sitting there on that couch like you own the entire palace, legs crossed all smug—I should just walk over and hit her a little on the head, just once, to knock so sense into her!]
But after a few seconds of internal venting, the heat in his thoughts cooled.
[Sigh. Th-That was really childish. Yeah, it did hurt a bit that Titania just left like that after summoning . And I even had sothing cool to show her. But this is a real princess we’re talking about here, right?
[And an ogre at that. Ah... I rember her! That’s the scary woman from the summit, huh? I hope we can beco friends eventually. No point starting a fight over nothing.]
Then, without any further hesitation or announcent, Benjamin simply walked forward.
He reached down and placed both of his hands firmly around Titania’s narrow waist, lifted her effortlessly from the couch as though she weighed no more than a feather.
Then he sat himself down in the exact spot she had just vacated, and gently but decisively dropped her onto his lap, settling her sideways across his thighs as if this were the most natural, everyday occurrence in the world.
Dynamis flinched visibly, her powerful fra jerking back half an inch on the couch, dark eyes widening slightly in genuine surprise.
Even her standing bodyguard, the red-haired ogre, gave a sharp and involuntary twitch, her bronze-armored shoulders tensing as her gaze snapped to the scene.
Vaelora, still standing nearby after dressing Benjamin, only smiled sweetly at the display, her pink eyes softening with open fondness, clearly finding the whole thing utterly adorable.
Isabelle, ever the picture of quiet composure, had already drifted a few steps back toward the entrance, positioning herself discreetly near the doorway.
Close enough to observe, but far enough to give the impression of respectful distance.
(P.S. Two guards stationed at the hall’s entrance had gone completely stiff the instant Benjamin first walked to them naked. So they were too flustered to stop him from entering.)
Titania herself had turned a vivid shade of scarlet from the tips of her pointed ears down to her collarbones.
She fidgeted subtly on his lap, her small hands clutching at the front of his new grey shirt, wings quivering behind her.
And her mind raced in a frantic loop: ’What goes on in this guy’s mind?! How can he just... do that?! In front of Dynamis too?!’
"Uh... about what we were talking about earlier," Titania managed to start again, her voice slightly higher-pitched than usual as she tried desperately to regain so semblance of control, "the rare fruits of Fairylynch...?"
Dynamis slowly dragged her gaze from the improbable sight of the tiny fairy queen perched on the man’s lap, first looking at Titania, then bringing her dark eyes back to Benjamin with deliberate calm.
"Good to see you again, god-touched," she said in a voice that was calm, professional, and deeply feminine, yet carried a resonant timbre that could almost be registered as masculine if one weren’t paying close attention, "I hope you are doing well?"
"Don’t ignore , dummy!!" Titania’s indignant shout cut through the mont like a bell.
"Ah, I’m fine!" Benjamin replied, mildly startled at being suddenly addressed directly by the ogre princess.
He blinked once, then offered a quick, sheepish grin. "I didn’t expect to see you here at all."
"I ca here today for so important political matters," she replied, her voice deep and resonant, carrying the calm authority of soone accustod to high-stakes negotiations across borders and generations.
Then she raised her large, callused hand toward Benjamin in a formal gesture of greeting, leaning forward deliberately from her seated position on the couch.
Enough so, that the spotted animal-skin draped across her powerful chest shifted and parted noticeably, allowing her deep cleavage to spread and beco more pronounced beneath the golden bands encircling her upper arms.
"I truly hope that you and I can see eye to eye," she added, her dark, wild eyes locking onto his with steady, unflinching expectation.
Benjamin began to extend his own hand in response, his fingers already moving to et hers in the anticipated handshake.
But before their palms could fully connect, Dynamis suddenly released a deliberate surge of her aura.
The reddish-black hues unfurled like thick, living smoke, curling and snaking slowly over every curve and contour of her imposing form, wrapping around her broad shoulders, muscular arms, and torso in slow, nacing tendrils that darkened and thickened the air imdiately surrounding her.
[Let us intimidate him just a little, only enough to firmly establish that I hold the superior position in this exchange. That brazen stunt he pulled earlier, the way he so casually touched Tyna and placed her right on his lap in front of ... that was a direct slap to my dignity as much as it should have been to her.] [Dyna]
anwhile, inside Benjamin’s mind the thoughts unfolded in quick succession:
[Whoa... She just suddenly let out so aura right in the middle of a simple handshake. Is this perhaps a traditional way ogres greet one another?
[From everything I’ve ever read or been told, ogres have always been known as violent, dominance-driven folk, so it’s possible this is part of their custom. Alright then, I’ll reply in kind, but I have to be careful not to cause any real problem or escalate this unnecessarily.]
And suddenly, shimring blue essence began to snake and coil outward around Benjamin’s own form as well; bright, clean tendrils of energy that stood in sharp contrast to her darker smoke.
The unexpected display startled the ogre visibly; her dark eyes widened a fraction even as their hands finally t and clasped firmly in the middle of the shake.
’By the gods!’ Dynamis’s inner voice erupted with genuine alarm. ’What in all the realms is this power surging from him? Is he openly challenging my authority right here and now? Is this his way of declaring "You are not superior to "? Very well... if he wants to push back like this, then I suppose I should increase the intensity of my coercion and make my dominance absolutely clear.’
And her aura increased further in response; the reddish-black smoke thickening and expanding outward with greater force.
It was stirring a subtle but notable wind that rustled the hanging vines, fluttered delicate flower petals along the palace walls, and sent a faint chill sweeping through the otherwise warm and fragrant hall.
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