Chapter 585: Chapter 585 - What Is Wrong, Qat Got Your Tongue?

This initial bit of political business had been handled, as far as Navuill was concerned. And Qatrand was satisfied that there would be a lack of fallout, compared to her expectation, over her El’s actions. A beat of tangible quiet followed the departure of Goltbred father and daughter, the conversation having reached one of those natural pauses they tend to hit. A lull, where someone had to decide whether to continue it with something more... or close it out to allow the people - who clearly all wanted to be elsewhere - to go on their way.

"Well, then. I think I’ll go look at that flooring. If I can tear my eyes away from my daughters."

It had only truly hit him when he saw the triplets... rather than the total family leadership role, which felt more like a side gig considering the type of people truly backing him within the Yecine. The swordsman had walked into this estate that morning carrying the weight of his new political role, but the duty that felt truly heaviest and most worth growing into upholding was the fatherhood and its years ahead.

Of all people, Elua felt she *really* understood that peculiarly complex emotion he was putting out, as he thought of his children. Eleven parts ’fear’ for the future, seven parts ’joy’ for the now, and a remaining six units of Yecine gold that wobbled in a quantum state between ’pride’ and ’regret’. She’d never measured, in standardized continental units, her own apprehension of being a mother - what felt like sooner than later for someone who thought centuries out as often as an hour ahead.

’But I can’t say I disapprove as a spiritualist. Re-examining his past to constantly judge his worthiness for what he has attained. Thankfully he has Rezzue to pull him back into thinking of only the next minutes. Like I have my Qat.’

"My love, I do have one question before he gets out of earshot. I have pledged eight swords, but do the two I have yet to hand over to your siblings count to that total, or-"

"No. They do not."

"Tch."

Navuill couldn’t help but overhear it because she made sure to ask it loud enough and without any of her forms of privacy creation. Sighing that he had not escaped being pulled back into a conversation, the cousin of the continentally recognized Hero paused his steps... and glanced over at the two people still acting ’worse’ than newlyweds. It wasn’t that he was jealous, but-

"Clicking your tongue is rude, El. Should I hold it in place?"

"Ah? Uh. Mm."

But watching them flirt this openly, so early in the morning, was just a bit nauseating to the variety of person who always made sure to wait quite patiently for his intimacy. He really hoped his wife had not ’learned’ too much of this bolder behavior. Not from the brunette woman closing her eyes and sticking out her tongue! However, he felt he could learn a bit of restraint himself from the woman just staring at it...

"You may not have actually been asking me, but I think she is right. If you prepared gifts to commemorate your relationship with Kaland and Ajoreal in some way, like the wonderful blade your Warden Patrician wielded in the war, then those items should remain a separate matter. It would not do to taint their meaning with a sense of reparation, like these others."

’Well, they are already in part a bit of forgiveness for breaking the ones that Qat-’ 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"What he said."

Mint eyes opened a fraction, squinting with tears forming as the low voice of her husband-wife spoke out. All because her tongue was literally held down onto the side of an index finger by a thumb... and not being ’held in place’ the *kissing way* that Qatrand gil Yecine’s ’randy’ spirit had suggested she meant, by the earlier comment. That being said, while ’this’ was not *that*, it was its own sort of interesting to the ancient cultivator.

Made clear in a spiritual energy churning way that the Empath decided... he no longer wanted to be around.

"We’ll be in contact. I’m sure the Order will want to discuss matters and gather your opinion on things in coming days, while you are still present."

"I’m sure they will."

"Gaw ah fuhhm iff ou-o wahbb..."

Speaking even in that ’bullied’ position, the woman in the dressing gown waved one hand dismissively to the onlooker as if she was the one in control. He really wanted to just take the motion for what it was and leave, but he couldn’t help himself but ask for clarification. As anyone is bound to do... when a perfectly fine-speaking person in most cases suddenly talks absolute gibberish.

"...What?"

"I think she said: Go Have Fun With Your Wife."

An ’affirmative’ feeling spiritual pressure suffused the room. And the next one over... and pretty much the entire mansion. Elua was finding it a bit hard to ’control’ herself in that way, as the calloused thumb rubbed back and forth across the groove of her tongue. Stimulating the papillae on the surface of the movable mouth muscle in a way which she definitely could call yet another novel experience this morning.

In her last life, her Physique had been specialized toward that particular organ. So she knew quite well - from literal experience - all the little physical energy tricks to modify its sensitivities and gustatory sensibilities. While she did not get them ’for free’ in this life, that did not mean the reincarnator had failed to properly improve that whole section of her system at a young age, which made spicy food even more delicious... and incidentally, it made the copious amount of hydrocarbons in the Exclave so much more unbearable.

Elua also did not forget to fiddle with the nerve endings in that organ, *just a bit*, to make her spouse’s early kiss attempts even more interesting than they were. Which was something she knew she never should have done to herself, considering her other Ogre-centric energy technique problems at the time, but it was hardly a whim that she regretted. However, even with all of that in the past, she hadn’t expected to be ’attacked’ late this morning with this sort of manual stimulation!

"...ith ee..."

"Not even a please?"

"Breesuh?"

"Okay."

Waiting for the door to finally click fully shut, the swordswoman responded to the Kiss Me as appropriately as she wanted. While the ’scholarly’ woman - finding the long, brown dressing gown very annoying to turn and mount her throne of a warrior’s lap while wearing - began to escalate the kisses quite inappropriately. She even forgot, for a half dozen minutes of existing as a barnacle on the other woman’s lips... that this room’s door did not lock. And that in the case of common rooms like this-

"M-m-m-my apologies!"

House staff working on their cleaning schedules did *not* knock. Though she hadn’t forgotten at all that many of the mortals here were a bit too bold, thanks to the occasional open displays of home affection between Yatrel and Ondua. The woman was pleading their ’sorry’ outwardly and inwardly: while only half covering their face... and standing there without shutting the door as they clearly enjoyed the unintentional voyeurism.

"Do you mind?"

"Y-yes, my Lady. I do. But I can, uhm, clean around you?"

’Five years away isn’t a long time, but I don’t remember this cheeky one. Maybe she’s new? Still no excuse to fidget that way...’

"El. We should get up and moving anyway. Don’t be petty."

"Tch."

Cradling the brunette as she stood with her, wiping stray saliva from her own face with the back of her hand, the woman’s pigeon blues focused forward while walking past the servant. While she didn’t need everything to happen in absolute privacy, she was still a former Yecine - and therefore a certain amount of starchiness was to be expected. Especially around people that ’wanted’ to see them making out, not just feeling joy at them sharing a quick kiss...

"I’m not holding your tongue like that again just because you clicked it."

"...Tch."

⟠ ⟠ ⟠

"There have been problems while I was gone, hm?"

Qatrand gil Yecine had been away from her wife an unbearable hour the afternoon before and exactly three and a half excruciating hours this next morning. So of course, that meant that Elua... had gotten bored and made her sister a nice new rucksack that would be useful on sudden trips. Of course, going all out with her re-refined abilities after letting loose in the Astral Exclave meant that she finished the entire thing - which she began staging materials for the night before for after being told Qat had Guild meetings - in only about an hour.

"That contrite look is not an answer to my limited patience."

Which is why now, with hours more of less husband-wife on the horizon... her hands were currently placed ominously on the desk. The owner’s side of the furniture, as she stared down the Silversky merchant group’s boss. His face had managed to compose itself for the duration of her sudden arrival, the brief escort up the stairs, and of course even when she inhabited his own chair.

However, all that fled when she grew ever more serious while flipping through the ledgers that she hadn’t asked to see so much as instructed her long time business partner to obtain. He had also set down the small, paper-wrapped pastry he’d tucked away. A luxury from a local bakery that meant he had needed to get up forty minutes early before coming in to work before they were sold out.

The older man had been looking forward to eating it himself. Especially along with the tea that his *other* secretary had been getting better at making... and not with this mint eyed powerhouse in the shadows, who technically held that job title still in name only within the employment registry. He had expected she would show up eventually, but imagined he had another week or two at hand to deal with her approach!

Though he wasn’t entirely stupid in his chosen way of currying favor, even with such a trifle of an offering. He had slid it not to his sudden auditor, but politely toward the small body of the sort-of but not-quite mini-Yatrel. Onya was currently seated very happily upon the unhappy Elua’s lap, having been told to wait to eat the food by her sister until after the brunette had finished reading... and the closed wrapping had not remained closed even two seconds after the transaction records were shut and pushed away.

’At least she’s enjoying it... but I really wanted it...’

Thankfully, it was easy enough *not* to stomach a bit of hard earned comfort food when your golden goose had finally returned from wherever it had flown. He was sure he could buy the entire bakery with the sort of quality, auctionable work sure to return to the scene thanks to the heiress. He knew what she was capable of - like the immaculate white leather bag they had showed up with. It was the sort of clean and eye-catching work that would have caught his own gaze at any event, with the kind of professional stitching that suggested either a very experienced master craftsman...

Or in this case a cultivator who had no qualms at all spending Triple-Breacher energy focused on a child’s travel bag. Just in case her spouse came home early and her chosen distraction itself became another distraction for glomming onto her beloved!

"Business has not been great, no. Not so terrible that we are threatened with going under... but profits have been slim or missing compared to five years ago."

"Well, your investments aren’t panning out in the north. And I think I could tell you why. We’ll also get to the other problems in time."

"At least you are back now. From wherever you were. It seems like you haven’t lost your touch for creating quality items..."

Gesturing at the clean white leather, his eyes burned with the sort of greed that had always made him useful to El. If he knew just how the internal structure of the bag had been lined with sigils - and what all of them did - he’d probably realize he could do far more than take over one pastry shop. He would also be able to ’sell’ those expensive treats at a total loss for a whole few months... should any merchant be so inclined to disrupt the local bakery market in search of some long term commercial dominance.

Though if he did have such a plan, he might be less surprised to learn just how deep the Goltbred heiress’s social claws still ran in this city in the strangest places. Especially with pastry shops that also make spicy-savory items. Or anyone at all she felt would make a good connection for Qatrand gil Yecine and the territory the Hero would surely be given.

Even if she had to begin making those connections from the moment she joined the Youth Guild, when she could ’travel’ more freely.