Parting (3)

"What are you saying now? How could I ever forget about my wives?" Alex inquired as he turned around to stare at the two women speaking behind him.

"Come here, you two," Alex said, opening wide his arms as he drew near Lilia and Anna.

He closed his arms around their waists and pulled the two of them toward him.

"You look stunning today," he complimented them both and kissed their foreheads. "I'm so going to miss the two of you," he said with a slight gloomy expression.

"Oh, don't be like that. We will only be separated for a few days," Lilia said.

She hugged Alex back, leaning her head against his chest, enjoying the warmth of her husband one last time before they separated.

The competition of the Eswald family will happen in a few days, and as the wives of the head branch and future heir of the family, there was no way they would be absent, so they would only be separated for a few days at worst.

"About that," Grace, who silently stood, spoke, "the competition got postponed to three months from now," she informed.

A frown immediately appeared on the faces of everyone present, except Maya, who was staring at them curiously.

"Why did it get postponed?" Alex inquired, the unease he had been feeling about the competition increasing.

Grace shrugged, "That wimp used the excuse that the war at the borders of the empire was getting out of hand to push the competition further. Got the news from Candace just this morning."

The "wimp" Grace was referring to here was the current patriarch of the family.

"I don't understand," Amelia spoke with a slight frown on her face. "Why would he postpone the competition? Designating an heir isn't something that should be happening right now in the first place, and it was him who decided to organize the competition so that his son would become the heir. So, I fail to see how postponing the competition would serve his purpose."

They all turned their gazes toward Grace.

"Don't ask me, I don't have a clue," Grace shrugged, "though, Candace did say that he must surely be waiting for something, that's why he pushed the date," Grace released a faint chuckle, "but it's not like pushing the date by three months will change anything for us, right?" She looked at Alex.

"Yeah... it won't change anything for us," Alex nodded.

He was still going to become the heir of the Eswald family even if the competition got postponed to a later date. In fact, it would only give him more time to train and gather more soul points, so it was definitely good news.

'So why am I feeling uneasy?' Alex wondered.

"If the competition got reported by two months, that means we won't see each other for that long," Anna suddenly said, her face mirroring Alex earlier gloomy expression.

Her words pulled Alex out of his thought process and his expression turned gloomy once again.

"Damn," Alex cursed under his breath, "are you absolutely certain you won't reconsider staying with us?" He asked after a moment.

"Sheesh, stop with the drama, you two," Lilia interjected, rolling her eyes, "it's just three months, I'm pretty sure you can survive without each other for that long."

"Well, yeah, but-"

"No buts," Lilia interrupted Alex, "just let me savor this hug a little longer," she added, nestling closer to him.

It was then that Lilia noticed all the marks Anna had left on Alex's neck.

"Hoh, who did these?" She inquired, her tone tinged with curiosity.

Seeing how Anna suddenly blushed after she spoke, Lilia didn't need to be told the culprit behind these marks.

"As your first wife," Lilia teased, pushing down Alex's shirt until his collarbone was visible, "I suppose I should also leave my marks on you right?"

Before Alex could react, Lilia's mouth closed in on Alex's collarbone. With practiced precision, she grazed her teeth lightly against his skin. With a combination of soft bites and tender kisses, she gradually increased the pressure, focusing on a sensitive spot to induce a faint, yet unmistakable mark.

"Get a room," Amelia snorted at the sight before her.

Maya, on the other hand, averted her gaze, an embarrassed blush on her face.

As for Grace, she observed the scene with an impassive expression on her face. However, if you looked closer, you would notice a glint of curiosity and hunger in her eyes.

A few seconds later, Lilia lifted her head, wiped the drop of saliva dripping down her chin, and gazed at the mark she had left on Alex's collarbone with a content smile on her face.

"Careful there," Alex leaned in and whispered in Lilia's ear, "you might get me going if you act like that."

"Perhaps that's what I desire," Lilia teased in a playful tone, "unfortunately, we can't risk getting you too excited here, so I better cease, right?" She added with a mischievous grin.

"I will miss you too, hubby," Lilia affectionately kissed Alex on the right cheek before parting from him.

She passed by him and went to Maya. "Take care," Lilia said warmly as she gave the young heiress a brief hug.

"And keep an eye on those two, they might be a handful otherwise," she added with a playful tone.

"Hey, don't badmouth us!" Alex and Amelia snapped at her.

"See what I meant," Lilia sighed.

Maya giggled and nodded enthusiastically. "Of course, Lady Lilia, I'll keep an eye on them."

"Good," Lilia nodded approvingly, giving Maya a gentle pat on the head.

Just as she turned around and was about to bid farewell to Amelia, Lilia's eyes couldn't help twitching with irritation.

"You could at least pretend to be sad at our parting, you know," she remarked, fixing her gaze on Amelia.

"What kind of absurdity are you speaking now? I'm genuinely upset," Amelia replied with a hurtful tone.

Lilia scoffed dismissively, "You might have sounded convincing if that grin of yours wasn't stretching from ear to ear."

"I have a tendency to smile when I'm sad. It's a bad habit of mine," Amelia explained, her smile growing slightly wider.

"Anyway, you both don't need to worry, I'll take good care of our— I mean, your husband," Amelia reassured, her smile still present on her face.

Both Lilia and Anna, who were hugging Alex, snorted, "yeah, we don't doubt that."

"Come on, Anna, let's get going," Lilia said.

"I suppose we'll reunite in three months," Anna remarked before planting an affectionate kiss on his left cheek.

"Goodbye," Alex waved to his wives.

They waved back and headed to their carriage, where Cedrix and a furiously blushing Anita were waiting for them.

Amelia approached Alex and said, "we should also prepare to—"

"What? Are you not going to give a hug to your old grandma?" Grace suddenly spoke, startling the two of them.

Before they could react, they were both pulled into a bear hug by Grace, their faces sinking into her ample bosom.

"I thought you were mad at us," Alex whispered, relishing the sensation of Grace's soft bosom beneath him.

"How could I ever be mad at the two of you?" Grace chuckled, her laughter warm and genuine. "I just wanted to know if you were serious about each other or if it was just a fling."

"What if it was the latter?" Amelia inquired, gazing into Grace's sparkling gray eyes.

"I would have intervened," Grace replied with a serious tone. "Such a relationship is likely to cause harm to someone's emotions."

"I don't know about the validity of that claim, but you sound strangely mature right now," Alex commented, his tone tinged with amusement.

Grace glared at him, her eyes narrowing slightly. "You brat, are you calling me immature?"

"Yeah, that's wha- OUCH!" Alex suddenly jolted mid-sentence, feeling something hit his head hard.

"You were saying?" Grace inquired innocently, a dangerous glint in her eyes.

"Nothing, forget it," he said, rubbing his head.

"If you say so," Grace smirked playfully, "what was I saying again? Ah, yes, since you two are serious about each other, then you have my blessing to be together."

'Not like we needed it in the first place,' Alex snorted, rolling his eyes at Grace's remark.

Grace grinned mischievously at her two grandkids and said, "Now that this is out of the way, tell me, when can I expect my great-grandkids?!"

"Grandma!" Amelia exclaimed, her cheeks turning slightly pink as she shot Grace a playful yet embarrassed glare.

Grace sputtered in laughter, finding Amelia's expression amusing.

Meanwhile, Alex took the opportunity and moved his hand towards Grace butt, wanting to once again cope a feel of her tantalizingly soft butt cheeks.

However, just as his hand slid towards her plump and shapely ass, he felt something slap his hand away.

Smack!

'Fuck, it hurts,' Alex thought with a grimace, feeling a stinging pain.

He could only wonder what the hell Grace used to slap his hand away.

'She's keeping me in check,' Alex remarked.

Despite her uproarious laughter, her guard remained raised to prevent Alex from taking advantage of her body.

'Tsk,' Alex clicked his tongue and settled to enjoy the softness of her large bosom.

'Heh, pervy brat,' Grace grinned internally, seeing the defeated expression on Alex's face.

As he thought, she now had her guard raised against him just in case he tried something.

'Gotta hand it to him, he is persistent,' Grace remarked, 'but too audacious. I need to teach him a lesson.'

Head of the branch or not, he was still her grandson, and she wouldn't mind punishing him if he was out of line. She had never done something like that because she loved him too much, but she would have to if he continued to try to feel her up.

Although, she wouldn't admit it, but Grace was feeling a warmth spreading through her, knowing that he was attracted to her.

Unfortunately, she couldn't allow herself to repeat what happened between them in the forest.

'That passion, that desire, that warmth, the sensation of my li- damn, snap out of it!' Grace scolded herself.

"Alright, alright, that's enough," she said, gently pushing her grandkids away from her.

"Are you absolutely certain you don't want a carriage?" she inquired.

"No, it won't be needed," Alex replied.

"In that case, I'll bid you farewell. Take care," Grace said, her feet lifting off the ground as she levitated into the air.

"Take care, kiddo," she said to Maya, whose eyes gleamed with wonder as she witnessed Grace's levitation.

"Y-Yes, thanks," Maya nodded excitedly, "y-you too, take care," she said a moment later.

Grace nodded. She waved at the three of them one last time before heading off towards the carriage.

As she flew, she discreetly glanced behind just in time to witness Alex licking his lips as he stared at her body.

'What a pervert,' she shook her head.

At that moment, she sensed a certain dampness in her panties and could only smile bitterly, 'I guess I'm also a pervert.'