Chapter 957 Chapter 956: Grandparents
"Mother, Father, don't you think..?"
The two Elves looked up when they heard Mother Ria speak, and instantly the woman frowned whilst the man narrowed his eyes, both of them not being particularly happy with how comfortably and unbothered-ly Mother Ria was with sitting on Mom's lap in front of them, nor were they too happy to see the slight smirk Mom had as she rested her hands on both Mother and Mother Ria's thighs.
"Think..? Usually I do think, yes."
The dry tone that the blonde took was enough to make Mother Ria roll her eyes as she said "Mother, I mean don't you think you've been a bit too engrossed in Alessandra and Lakshmi? There is your original grandchild still waiting for any sort of communication between the two of you..."
Her sharp blue eyes made their way over towards Jahi at that, whilst the emeralds of her husband joined in as he tilted his head, only to let out a quiet 'Ah!' and nod as he said "Apologies, truly! We're not trying to ignore you, Jahi, it's just... well..."
He trailed off and looked down at Lakshmi, who was still playing around with his monocle like it was some cheap toy and not some instrument that he seemed to value greatly, his lips curling into a smile as he said "It's been a long time since we've last had a baby in our arms, and I have to admit... despite looking more like Chordeva, Lakshmi here is quite reminiscent of little Ria. Curious and absolutely unable to keep her hands to herself! If she sees something she thinks is interesting..."
"And Alessandra here simply looks too much like Ria, from the rich golden hair to the chubby little cheeks... you used to be so adorable. What happened?"
"Mother..."
Giving her Mother a cold glare, Mother Ria let out a sigh a moment later and said "So you're just reminiscing is all? Neither of you ever seemed the types to look back; always pushing ahead no matter what..."
"It's within any sentient beings nature to look back and be retrospective; back then, when we were raising you, there was little for us to learn from since we were successful. Even now there is little to look back on. But... the one thing that we will always look back on and wonder about... it's our baby girl, obviously. We never got lucky again, so we... always wonder if we did everything the best we could have. And now..."
Letting out another sigh, the man stared at Lakshmi and smiled again, finishing his small speech with a nod of his head "Now we're presented with a baby that looks just like you... and we get to see that the baby girl we had raised so long ago has finally grown to the point that she too has children. It's a curious thing... plucks at the heart in certain ways..."
Poking Lakshmi's cheek, he made the baby Demoness giggle before gently taking the monocle away from her, placing it back in front of his eye and handing her to his wife so that he could stand up and approach us, gesturing for Jahi to rise as well.
She easily stood above her Grandpa, and yet the older man still demanded quite a bit of attention, especially when he reached forwards and rested his hands on her arms and looked her up and down, sizing her up and seeing just how much she had grown.
"Even for a Demoness, this is quite the rate of growth! Perhaps it has something to do with your Light Mana? And besides that, you do seem to have far more manners than your Mom, even if some of her other... tendencies have leaked into you."
With that, he glanced over at us and raised a brow, only to turn back to Jahi and add "Though that is only because our views on such things are as drastically different as they possibly can be. Honestly, we were rather surprised when Ria told us she wanted to wed a Demoness of all people."
"It was only surprising because she finally decided she wanted to be a proper damn Haniel for the first time ever! Not just another Elf... a shame that it had to come because of the likes of her..."
"I'll have you know that I had no direct influence on what made Ria change her ways; that was entirely her own whims and desires being made manifest by herself, nothing to do with me. Though I am eternally grateful that she did decide the way she did."
Kissing Mother Ria briefly, Mom shared a smile with her before looking back at her in laws, who were both frowning and rather clearly against that public display of affection, even more so when Mother Ria leaned comfortably into her wife's arms.
"Anyways, I suppose it's to be expected that your... appetite would be as voracious as it is, but still... at least you chose quality and quantity together, and not just quantity. We can be relieved with that - all of us, I imagine. Anput Sera, Leone Presa-Ash, and Katherine Zara... quite a bouquet, no?"
Releasing Jahi's arms, the older man approached us and smiled at each as he said our names, sizing each of us up as well before looking back at his grandchild, who stood beside him quietly.
"And quite the accomplishment, if only because one is a Begum and the another a Princess. The third is also technically a Noble through loose treaties and agreements, but... either way, the here and now is what matters, and that is what makes it even more fascinating. I imagine Belian and Lady Hathor are both scrambling around trying to figure out ways to build relations between us and them?"
Now he was looking towards Mom, who just nodded and watched from afar, still longing on the couch with her two wives resting on her lap, clearly enjoying herself at the moment.
"Well that decision is entirely up to you, Jahi. It's an intriguing thing, the relation between the Clans. And with your current position, you do wield an impressive amount of influence at such a young age... even more so since both Belian and Lady Hathor know that any hopes they have to reach Lakshmi here will rely on keeping things amiable between you and them. They don't need to worry about Chordeva as much anymore, which is a blessing and a curse for them."
"She's still my daughter first and foremost, Pops. Like it or not, they will need to consider my opinion as much as they always do, and unless she wants to taste that 'forbidden fruit' that badly, I'll be doing my damndest to not let them arrange a marriage between her and one of their girls."
"Clearly you don't understand just yet, Chordeva, but you're already being replaced... ah, you won't listen anyways. Jahi, just decide as you want. Now, you three... I suppose introductions are in order? Proper introductions, not just... whatever you may have been told from Chordeva there, or from Ria."
Straightening his suit, the Elf cleared his throat before giving us a half bow, his emerald eyes sparkling in the light as he said "Count Alamar Haniel at your service, though do just call me Grandfather or Grandpa; either works. And call my dearest wife Grandmother or Grandma. Dear..?"
He turned slightly, looking at the still seated woman as she idly stroked both the babies heads and kept them amused, though her blue eyes flickered over to meet her husbands gaze as she just said "Countess Minuvae Haniel." before looking back down at the twins, who were enjoying her caresses very much.
"As you likely were told, I am a businessman, and my dear wife is... many separate things. Saboteur, spy, assassin... So we have a varied skillset that we are more than willing to offer, so long as the reason is right and it isn't illegal. I do hope that you all continue to treat Jahi well going forwards."
Bowing again, Grandpa kept his smile before looking back at Jahi, gesturing for her to sit with him as he asked her "Have you decided on a date for the weddings, or is that still in flux as well? Since you four are technically nothing more than fiancees..."
That question made Anput, Leone and I blink before staring at Jahi intensely, leaning forwards and waiting for the Demoness to answer as she was suddenly put onto the spot; she didn't even turn to look at us, and outwardly she seemed unbothered by the question, but through the bond...
Well, I could feel her emotions do a few flips as she tried to maintain her calmness, and it made me narrow my eyes as I appraised the Demoness, only for her to let out a low sigh of relief when another knock at the door saved her from the question.
For now, anyways.
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