My Servant System

I shut the door behind the two Elves after they entered the room, my eyes still on them as I watched the blonde assassin and black haired businessman remain frozen in place as they looked at the three people in front of them.

"Hello, Grandma, Grandpa..."

Jahi smiled stiffly at the two Elves, her amethyst eyes alternating between the two as she held both of her sisters in her arms, who were looking at the Elves as well, their curiosity only growing as they waited for some sort of reaction from these two new people.

"Mother, Father, this is Jahi; it's been a couple of years since you've last seen her, after all... and these two are Lakshmi and Alessandra. They... were born from Julie over there, who got lucky enough to bear both Chordeva and my child at the same time. We were very lucky in that regard... though at the time I'm sure she found it to be unfortunate at some points haha~!"

They were still frozen in place even as Mother Ria tried to lighten the mood, which made Mom chuckle softly as she said "Y'know, you CAN go ahead and say something to your oldest granddaughter, my dearest parents in law~! It's been a few YEARS after all, so of course she's grown quite a bit! Demoness genetics and all that... might be surprising to you Elves..."

That finally managed to get Lady Haniel to react as she narrowed her eyes and dryly said "It's not surprising, Chordeva. I knew she would grow, but still... it hasn't been that many years, has it? It feels like just yesterday she was but a babe... and now she's infuriatingly reminiscent of you."

"Most people would say that that is actually the most preferable outcome of her being my daughter. Especially those three over there~! I think they are very~ happy that she is almost~ a spitting image of me~!"

She couldn't help herself as she smirked at the blonde, who frowned as she glanced over at Anput, Leone and I, all of us standing together a few steps away from the Demoness and not meeting her gaze as we decided it'd be best to stay silent.

Of course, no one wants to hear that - least of all us - but it... wasn't entirely false, and that only made Lady Haniel click her tongue as she said "Crass as always, your blue brute. I see not even the wonders of parenthood have tempered that edge of yours... a pity."

"Nope, not at all~! If anything, it just made it all the more sharp as I constantly whet it~!"

We all glared at the smug Demoness as she smirked at Lady Haniel, but this time it was Sir Haniel who spoke as he said "Chordeva, I truly hope you haven't imparted this... behavior of yours onto our grandchild..?"

That only made her even more smug as she answered "She has three wives, one of whom was with her since she was able to talk and walk around freely, AND she is a Demoness? I didn't impart anything besides my perfect genes~! And besides... do you see whom she is going to wed? I'd be surprised if she was celibate, and from what we hear... she very much isn't."

Jahi glared at Mom before looking back at the two Elves, who were frowning again as they stared at the younger Demoness, and Lady Haniel clicked her tongue again as she said "A shame... well, I guess it can't be helped. We knew what would happen when Ria decided to choose you of all people..."

"Mother!"

Mother Ria frowned as well, glaring at her parents as she added "I'll have you know I asked both of you for your blessing in regards to Chordeva, and you both agreed to it! Besides, she has been more than incredible as my wife, and as a parent!"

"Hmm..."

They both seemed unconvinced, but Sir Haniel let out a low sigh before nodding, saying "Correct, we gave you our blessing, and besides her... rambunctious attitude and inability to be civil, she is quite the catch. As depressing as that is now... anyways, Jahi, it has been quite some time."

His frown turned into a small smile as he took a step forwards, his emerald eyes flickering between Jahi, Alessandra and Lakshmi, eventually landing on Lakshmi as he gently reached forwards and took her from Jahi with practiced ease.

"I do regret not being able to see more of you over the last few years, but the Empress did have us running about doing this and that... still, it isn't an excuse to have never once visited. My apologies on that... time simply slipped us by... Hello little one! Lakshmi was your name, yes? Ah, you have your Mother's eyes! Unique too..."

Lakshmi stared at the man before babbling something, making him nod his head sagely as he added "Yes, red isn't that common amongst other races. The ambers are nice though. Ah, and the curiosity is boundless!"

She had reached forwards and grabbed at his monocle, and I blinked in surprise as he just... let her take it from him, the two staring at the glass in her small hands like it was some new curiosity, despite it being his for who knows how long.

At the same time, Lady Haniel lifted Alessandra from Jahi's arms and said "Like my dearest husband said, I regret leaving you with your Mom for as long as I did, but I truly wasn't within the Empire's borders for very long... and if I was, I was a tad preoccupied. You have grown far more than I had expected though; the last I had seen of you, you were just a wee little thing, a bit bigger than this munchkin here. Barely able to say much, though I do recall Ria going-"

Alessandra reached up and poked her cheek, making the woman tilt her head as she raised a brow, though despite it being a rather 'scary' expression with how neutral and cold her eyes were, Alessandra just poked her again, before reaching for her ears next.

The baby Elf touched them before touching her own, her lips curling into a frown as she then turned to stare at Mother Ria, then back at Lady Haniel, which made her brow arch even further up.

"Yes? I am indeed an Elf, just like you are little one. Is that curious to you?"

Alessandra tilted her head the opposite way that Lady Haniel did, the two staring at one another for a few moments before the baby pointed at her and babbled, only to then point back at Mother Ria and babble something else.

"Yes, she is an Elf too. You are to her what she is to me. Though... can you understand that? Hm... Ria, have you been reading to her? Did you read to Jahi?"

"Of course I've read to her, and to Jahi. They're both curious by nature anyways. Jahi was reading properly when she was three or so, and she has her own library back at the manor. Alessandra will likely be even more of a bookworm all things considered..."

"Good, good..."

Nodding, Lady Haniel walked past Jahi and made her way to the couch, taking a seat and staring at Alessandra still as she muttered to the baby, leaving us all to glance at Mother Ria as she just shrugged and mouthed 'They're both eccentric', which wasn't caught by either of her parents as they just focused on the babies in their arms and lost themselves into their own little worlds... whilst leaving Jahi to just stand there looking between the two of them before turning to stare at us, confused.

"Um..."

Both Mother Ria and Mom smiled wryly at Jahi and just shook their heads, with Mom heading over to a chair and taking a seat before patting her lap, welcoming both Mother and Mother Ria as she waited and watched the two older Elves.

"So... This is not what I was thinking of... at all."

Her voice was a tad quiet as she glanced back at the two Elves, who were sitting beside one another now looking between the two babies that were in their arms, causing Leone and I to reach forwards and comfort the slightly hurt Demoness.

Caressing her arm, I whispered "It's fine, Jahi... I mean, honestly, the babies ARE a tad more interesting and... not 'important', but... you get what I mean. In a few minutes they'll be talking to you, don't worry..."

She nodded, smiling wryly as she whispered back "I know, I know, just can't say it doesn't sting a bit. But... what can you do." before gesturing for us to join her on the other couch, staring at the two Elves and waiting for them to come back around to Jahi.

It was a bit interesting to see just how 'eccentric' they were though, and it seemed that even Mother Ria was becoming flabbergasted with just how focused her parents were on only two of their three grandchildren.