Chapter 1606: The Gift and the Fist ( 1606 )

She paused, tilting her head.

"Father must have gone to great lengths to find these for you."

Genevieve crossed her arms and huffed, pouting.

"Hmph! It doesn’t matter how expensive they are! He still doesn’t know what color I like! After all these years, he still doesn’t know! What kind of husband forgets something like that?!"

Gloria closed her hand.

Her fingers crushed both hairpins into dust with a single squeeze. Fine powder sifted down from her fist, glittering briefly in the sunlight before scattering on the sand.

Genevieve’s eyes widened in shock.

Sythaeryn let out a long, weary exhale and shook his head, as if he had seen this coming from the moment his daughter asked to see them.

"Now~" Gloria’s eyes turned sharp, her smile still sweet. "There~ No more cause for fighting. They’re gone. Settled~"

Genevieve’s eyes glistened, her cheeks puffed out in frustration. She spun around and ran toward Sythaeryn, burying her face into his chest. She pointed frantically in Gloria’s direction without even looking at her, complaining against her husband’s chest.

"Your daughter! Your daughter is too cruel! She crushed the gift you gave me! Right in front of me! She just squeezed them into dust like they were nothing! Your daughter is a monster! A cruel, heartless monster!"

Sythaeryn smiled and gently caressed her head, pressing a kiss to her hair.

"There, there. It’s alright, my love."

He lifted his free hand behind her back and gave Gloria a subtle thumbs up.

Genevieve kept sobbing into his chest, her voice muffled.

"I can’t believe she did that! And she smiled while she did it! Smiled! Your daughter! She gets that from your side of the family, not mine!"

Sythaeryn gently pushed her back a little and lifted her chin with one finger, gazing into her eyes. He wiped the tears from her cheeks with his thumb, his voice soft and low.

"You still have me. You’ve always had me, and you always will. Nothing has changed. Nothing could ever change how I feel about you. You are the light of my life, the reason I wake each morning, the only woman I have ever loved and the only one I ever will. Look at me. I’m not going anywhere. Not today. Not ever."

He smiled warmly.

"And I promise, I’ll get you a better gift. One even more beautiful than those hairpins. Anything you want, my love. Just say the word."

"Really?"

"Anything you want, my love."

"Mm~"

She nodded, wrapped both arms around his neck, and pulled him into a kiss.

Gloria let out a weary exhale and mumbled under her breath.

"Here they go again... sigh..."

Edwyrd clapped his hands slowly, his eyes fixed on Gloria.

"Wow... You settled that within minutes. I can’t believe you’re my little sister. The youngest of us all, and you handled Mother better than any of us ever could. Even Father couldn’t calm her down, and he’s been married to her for decades." He shook his head slowly. "You truly are something else."

Gloria exhaled again, then glanced at Edwyrd.

"What matters is that they’ve made up. That’s all that counts. If they’re happy again, then the fight is already behind us."

She paused.

"Where are Nevarth, Ivasaar, Kesefeon, Halamar, and Wyrran?"

Edwyrd smiled.

"They all wanted to come. Every one of them. But they were busy with preparations. You know how it is, they all work for the Elven royals in one capacity or another. Duties to handle, reports to file, arrangements to make. Father couldn’t spare all of them."

He glanced toward their parents, who were now kissing and caressing each other with no regard for anyone around them. He let out a low exhale and lowered his voice.

"You know about the upcoming invasion, right?"

Gloria nudged her glasses up.

"I know. Armand has been preparing for it. Weapons, defenses, fortifications. Everything is already in place. The nation is ready. But even so..." She paused. "We never know what will happen. War is war. No matter how prepared you are, no one can predict everything."

She looked at him.

"Even Liana and I have been training for it."

Just as Gloria was about to continue, Liana’s voice cut in from beside them.

"Are you two really going to discuss that right now?"

Both of them turned. Liana stood with her arms crossed.

"We’re on vacation, remember. This isn’t the time or place to talk about the war." She glanced at Gloria. "We should go. Everyone is waiting at the hall."

Gloria nudged her glasses up and smirked at Edwyrd.

"You heard what she said. Now let’s go."

Edwyrd let out a chuckle and nodded.

"Yeah."

Then he pointed toward their parents.

"What about them?"

Gloria glanced at their parents. Their kiss had deepened, and Sythaeryn’s hands were slipping to Genevieve’s waist, drifting lower. Genevieve was clinging to him, completely oblivious.

Lyzia stood at a distance, watching them, her expression caught between shock and curiosity.

Gloria exhaled and pinched the bridge of her nose. She walked toward her parents as Liana moved toward Lyzia, grabbed her ear, and pulled her away.

"Enough staring. You’ll get plenty of that when you’re married."

"Ow ow ow! Sister Liana!"

Gloria stepped between her parents and planted both hands on her hips.

"Everyone is waiting at the main hall! Enough with the public displays! You’re in front of children! In front of guests! In front of everyone!"

She grabbed Genevieve’s hand and dragged her along. Genevieve tried to pull back, waving her free hand in protest.

"Let me go, you monster! I want to stay with my love! You already crushed my hairpins! Now you’re taking my husband away too?!"

Sythaeryn simply smiled and followed from behind.

Meanwhile.

Outside the portable building.

Celine tossed the ball back toward Gracelle, both of them still waist-deep in the water. Buddy floated nearby, eyes half-lidded, watching them lazily.

Celine paused mid-throw, lowering the ball.

"Gracelle..."

Gracelle glanced at her. "Hmm?"

Celine tilted her head and rubbed her belly.

"I’m hungry..."

Her stomach let out a low growl.

Gracelle heard it and let out a soft exhale.

"I’m hungry too. But Liana isn’t here right now."

Celine fidgeted, her fingers pressing into the ball, before she mumbled softly.

"Husband is around, right? Do you think he could cook something for us? Or maybe he has a food stash inside his dimensional storage?"

Gracelle tilted her head up and tapped her chin.

"Maybe... I don’t know if he has anything. Big Sister Liana said Javier-sama’s magic storage is huge. But I’ve never asked what he keeps inside it."

Celine smiled softly.

"What about the kitchen inside the building? There might be something in there."

Gracelle’s face brightened.

"Let’s go check! There might be snacks, or bread, or something we can eat. If there’s nothing there, we can find Husband. I’m sure he has something."

Buddy swam slowly through the water, following behind them as they waded toward the shore. He drifted to a stop in the shallows, watching them climb out of the water.

"Cuquawked?" (Where are you two going?)

Gracelle froze mid-step. She glanced at Celine, her brow furrowing in confusion.

"Celine... did you hear that?"

( End Of Chapter )