Chapter 1996: Charitable Hexwitch

The smell of lunch drew Blossom’s attention to Anna and Beatrice as they reached Quinlan’s chair on the terrace of his Iskaris estate. Beyond the garden wall, Ayame and Iris were still trading blows and shouted insults.

"Master..."

With Vex occupying his right knee, Blossom had settled on the left. From there, the dogkin leaned across him to inspect the twins’ tray, her ears rising in anticipation.

"That smells delicious! Even after tasting so many new flavors, Blossom loves the maids’ cooking the most!"

"Lady Blossom..." Anna and Beatrice beamed at her, immense pride lighting their matching faces. Even Clarisse’s composed expression gave way to a broad smile as she set down her tray.

All those new things to taste in the wider world, and Lady Blossom still wanted their cooking most! Returning from the house, Emily paused beside Dorothy with her chest swelling with pride. Dorothy’s grin told her she’d heard it too.

"Then we’ll make sure you have plenty, Lady Blossom," Emily said warmly.

"It does smell phenomenal, doesn’t it?" Vex accepted a plate from Beatrice with a smile. "Thank you. I’ll take care of Hubby."

The tray held everything Vex needed to spoil him: sliced meat from Anna, bread and sauce from Clarisse. She balanced the plate on her lap and offered Quinlan the first bite, watching his face as he tasted it.

"Good?"

"Very."

A swallow came from his other side.

Blossom was staring at the plate with such naked longing that Vex broke into a giggle. She dipped the next piece into the sauce and offered it across Quinlan’s chest.

"For the hardworking miss."

"Thank you!!"

Blossom accepted it eagerly, her tail brushing the chair leg as she chewed. Vex was already choosing another piece when Quinlan’s hand tightened affectionately on her thigh.

She looked up to find him smiling at her.

Oh, she knew that smile.

Her heart filled with joy at the approval in his eyes. He loved seeing his women care for one another, and she had made him happy with something as simple as sharing a plate with Blossom instead of only caring for his appetite.

Vex leaned in to kiss his cheek, unable to keep her own smile from interrupting it. Then she kissed him again, pressing closer while she held the next bite out for the dogkin.

"Love you, Hubby."

Quinlan turned his head and caught her lips with his. The hand holding Blossom’s food stopped halfway across his chest as Vex promptly forgot what she was doing.

"Mm..."

That little sound turned hungry when his tongue slipped between her lips. Vex pressed into him, her free hand curling behind his neck to keep him close.

She tasted him again, slower this time, and gave a soft, pleased moan when his hand squeezed her thigh even stronger.

By the time he drew back, her lips were wet and she was already following him for more. A thin thread of saliva stretched between their mouths before Vex caught his lower lip and pulled him into another long, sloppy kiss. Beside them, Blossom waited with her mouth open.

The morsel remained out of reach.

"Vex!"

The sharp little sound brought the white-haired woman back with a startled laugh. She glanced at the waiting bite, then at Blossom’s indignant blue eyes.

"Oh! I’m sorry. I completely forgot about your existence. Here~"

"Cruel Vex..." Blossom whined but took it before Vex could become distracted again. Quinlan kissed the Hexwitch’s cheek while she fed her, and Vex laughed against him, warm with the pleasure of being wanted and having somewhere to spend all the affection crowding her chest.

Once the dogkin had swallowed, she took hold of his sleeve.

"Blossom would also like one."

Vex lifted the plate.

"Not that. A kiss!"

"Ah. An order I can’t fulfill. Well, I technically could, but-"

Quinlan drew Blossom against him and kissed her, interrupting the witch’s monologue.

"Mmmn!!" The blonde dogkin gave a happy hum into his mouth, then licked at his lips with even more eagerness than she’d shown the plate. He opened for her, and she nearly climbed over his lap to get closer, kissing him hard enough to leave both their mouths slick.

Blossom pulled back only long enough to breathe, blue eyes shining. "Master tastes better than lunch!"

"I’m flattered," Quinlan chuckled, wiping a little saliva from her chin with his thumb, and she promptly closed her lips around the tip before he could move it away.

Vex leaned across his other shoulder and kissed him again, refusing to let Blossom have the last of him. Her tongue found his, and the two women took turns drawing him back into wet, open-mouthed kisses until he was laughing against their lips. Vex’s plate wobbled on her knee.

At the workbench, Sera watched with an unabashed smile.

"That looks lovely~"

"You’re supposed to be watching the patient," Aurora reminded her, though the grin tugging at her own mouth spoiled the rebuke.

"I have two eyes."

"And they’re both over there." Aurora shook her head at Quinlan. "Get a room, you three. I hear sloppy slobbering instead of my own thoughts."

"Mmmh Master..."

"Hubby..."

*Chu! Chu! Chu!*

"They don’t hear anything..." Seraphiel laughed and returned her attention to the woman on the reclining slab. Beside her, Silky watched Vex offer Blossom another bite, then lowered her head far enough to bring Rosie closer to the tray.

"Little one... hungry?"

"Rosie could eat."

The answer came with enormous dignity.

Quinlan beckoned to Anna, who brought a small plate to his daughter. Silky held still while Rosie accepted it, then raised her head just enough to keep the girl’s dangling feet clear of the workbench.

"Thank you, Silky."

The queen’s mouthparts clicked softly beneath her.

Vex followed Quinlan’s gaze toward the pair. Her smile softened at the sight of Rosie sharing a piece of meat with her mount, lowering it carefully past the edge of the shell.

Silky took it with astonishing care.

"She really is behaving," Vex murmured.

Quinlan rested his cheek against her hair. From beyond the wall came Iris’s furious demand that Ayame stop smiling at her, followed by the samurai’s laughter and another clash of blades.

His daughter was feeding a monster. His women were helping one another, bickering, laughing, filling the garden with the voices he loved.

He held the two in his lap closer, deeply content to sit there while Aurora stirred her preparation. Beside the workbench, Black Fang adjusted the dish beneath Silky’s mouth to collect another sample.

"Again," the assassin said.

Silky held her mouth over the dish without moving.

"Good girl," Rosie added through a mouthful of bread.

...

By the time Aurora was satisfied with her draught, Rosie had returned her empty plate to Anna and was lying forward across Silky’s head, one green hand resting against the shell.

The patient still lay on the slab beside the workbench, trapped in the memory of the nest despite Sera having healed her wounds. Aurora brought the draught over and supported her shoulders while the elf helped her drink.

With her fingers against the woman’s wrist, the alchemist followed the disturbed flow of mana, waiting for the preparation to interrupt it.

The woman caught Sera’s sleeve.