"Th... Th... Th-Thank you v-very much!"
The Amazon smiled nicely in response, her stern features softening with genuine warmth as she gave a single, respectful nod before stepping back to her position.
"Kyaaaahhh! My little girl is so polite and incredibly cute!" Titania squealed with unrestrained delight.
Her small body sohow having already maneuvered her seat right up beside Grey Ivy on the side by Benjamin. They had Ivy in the middle now.
She pressed the petite grey girl into a warm, enthusiastic cuddle, her delicate butterfly wings fluttering rapidly behind her as she wrapped both arms around the child with obvious maternal affection, nuzzling her cheek gently against Grey Ivy’s dark hair.
"My, my," Renard held his chin thoughtfully between his fingers, leaning back slightly in his grand chair with an intrigued smile playing across his lips as his bright blue eyes sparkled with curiosity. "Who might this pretty little princess be?"
Then the blonde woman standing close behind Renard twitched visibly.
Her composed posture was stiffening as she nearly glared at him with sharp disapproval, and her elegant features tightened for a brief mont.
"Your majesty," she began in a asured, professional tone that carried a faint edge of exasperation, her striking blue eyes narrowing slightly, "it was all clearly detailed in the report I PAINSTAKINGLY prepared. Did... you not read it?"
"Uhhhh, I had Judais read it for and only give the important details, why?"
Renard casually replied, waving one hand dismissively while his shoulders remained relaxed and his expression stayed light and unbothered, as if the matter were of little consequence.
The woman’s face twisted in slight vexation, her lips pressing into a thin line as she exhaled slowly through her nose, her intricate braids and wrapped coils of blonde hair shifting with the subtle shake of her head.
Then she turned her gaze toward the trio — Benjamin, Grey Ivy, and Titania — now seated closely together and spoke with careful clarity.
"This girl is Grey Ivy, a titan born from the god-touched and Queen Titania..."
A heavy silence fell over the entire grand hall in an instant.
The living ironwood trunks seed to hold their breath, the glowing veins of vines pulsing more slowly as pin-drop quiet settled across the wide oval table.
Of course, this sudden stillness was largely because Sakura and Elara were staring with their eyes widened dramatically and their jaws fallen open.
It happened in such a comically exaggerated manner that several of the other leaders had to bite back the urge to laugh outright.
Their bodies leaned forward involuntarily in their seats, shoulders tense, while they fought to maintain so semblance of dignity, knowing any chuckle would only escalate the already volatile situation.
"H... Haha..." Renard was sweating nervously now, a thin sheen of perspiration glistening on his forehead as he raised both hands in a placating gesture.
His usual confident posture was faltering just a touch while he forced a shaky laugh. "Seraphina, by now, you should be smart enough to know when to shut the hell up. Okay, everyone, let us all calm dow—"
BANG!!
Two pairs of hands slamd down onto the surface of the large oval table at the exact sa mont.
The impact sent a resonant vibration through the ancient ironwood and causing the vine inlays to flare brightly for a second.
The sound also echoed sharply off the living canopy overhead.
As they did so, both queens stated in perfect unison, their voices cutting through the hall with unmistakable demand, "Titania, explain yourself, right now..."
Titania flinched visibly in her seat, her small fra shrinking back as she quickly raised one delicate hand to hide her face behind her palm, her butterfly wings folding tightly against her back while her cheeks flushed with a mix of embarrassnt and mischief.
Nevertheless, a tired and still sleepy Benjamin leaned forward slightly in his chair.
His droopy oceanic blue eyes were blinking slowly as he began to explain the entire matter to them in a calm, asured voice;
Detailing exactly how Grey Ivy and her siblings had co into existence through the unusual circumstances of his aura bonding with Titania’s.
Not like the explanation did anything to lessen the sharp waves of jealousy radiating from the two queens, but at least they fell quiet for the mont.
Their bodies settled back into their seats with audible sighs, arms crossing tightly over their chests as they processed the information with visible tension in their shoulders and jaws.
"And she could truly speak?" Elara asked after a long pause, rubbing her temples slowly with the fingers of one powerful hand.
Her expression was a mixture of disbelief and lingering irritation as she looked directly at the small grey girl seated so innocently between Benjamin and Titania.
Her arms remained folded, but her posture had shifted forward with renewed focus.
"Hahaha!" Titania burst into bright, unrestrained laughter, her earlier embarrassnt lting away as she clapped her small hands together once. "Elara is so cute when she acts dum—!! S-Sorry!"
She imdiately clamped her mouth shut tight, her body going perfectly still as Elara’s death glare dropped heavily upon her like a physical weight.
The Amazon queen’s dark eyes narrowing dangerously while her shoulders squared with unmistakable warning.
Elara explained herself in a calr but still strained voice;
"Since her arrival, she has not spoken a single word but only watched after you silently... I genuinely thought she was mute."
"Look here, you insect," Sakura pointed the long stem of her elegant kiseru pipe directly toward Titania, her sharp amber eyes flashing with irritation as a thin curl of fragrant smoke rose from the bowl, "Just because you had a child with him first doesn’t an anything special at all!"
"So... if you had the chance to have a child with him first, you would simply pass it off?" Titania asked experintally, tilting her head with feigned innocence while her butterfly wings gave a quick, playful flutter.
"I... I w-would... n-n-n.... Stop fooling around!" Sakura suddenly lashed out, her cheeks flushing a deep shade of pink that spread rapidly across her face as she drew another quick puff from her kiseru to hide her embarrassnt, her free hand gripping the edge of the table tightly.
She continued; "We have a very important eting here right now!"
Renard nodded firmly from his end of the table, his bright blue eyes scanning the group as he tried to regain control of the room.
"Indeed. This is not so casual family reunion — you can handle all of that AFTER this summit has properly concluded."
"Of course... Benjamin absolutely did not propose to to be his wife or anything like that, haha!" Titania added fuel to the fire with a cheeky grin.
Her voice lilting playfully as even more waves of jealousy and simring anger were directed straight toward her from the other two queens, their postures stiffening and eyes narrowing further in unison.
"What is even wrong with—" Renard clicked his tongue sharply at the fairy’s mischievousness, his shoulders rising and falling with a tired sigh while he ran one hand through his blonde hair in mild frustration.
Then he raised his calculating blue eyes directly to Benjamin, his expression shifting into sothing more serious and focused as he leaned forward once again, elbows resting lightly on the glowing vine-inlaid surface.
"God-touched," he started, "before we move on to the next phase of this eting, I want to explain the summary of our previous discussion, which largely concerned you."
Benjamin’s breathing was a bit labored now, his chest rising and falling more noticeably as the lingering effects of blood loss and magic drain still weighed on him.
His droopy, sleepy eyes slowly lifted toward Renard, heavy lids blinking once as he tried to focus through the haze of exhaustion that still clouded his mind.
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