Queen Sakura was starting to really panic:

She waved her hands subtly at first, then more urgently, trying desperately to alert my mother that Benjamin and I were standing right there, pitifully witnessing everything from the side of the grand hall.

Her usual composure had cracked, replaced by wide-eyed alarm as she glanced back and forth between us and the cuddling pair.

Maybe, through some subtle and quiet telepathic suggestion sent by Sakura across the grand hall, it appeared she had successfully managed to draw Mother’s full attention over toward the spot where Benjamin and I stood waiting at the entrance.

The moment hung there in the air for what felt like an extended beat, heavy with sudden shared awareness as Mother’s silver gaze finally lifted and settled directly on us. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Oh, good morning, my dear husband!!" Violette called out in her usual warm and enthusiastic voice, waving one of her arms with open delight in Benjamin’s direction.

Her tone carried clearly through the sunlit chamber, full of genuine happiness as she continued holding Mother securely and comfortably in her lap without showing any intention of releasing her affectionate grip.

Benjamin remained standing still right beside me, his blue eyes wide with surprise as he tried to process the unexpected sight before him.

He was probably a tad puzzled on how to see my mother now, nestled there so contentedly and naturally in Violette’s lap like it was an ordinary morning ritual in all of Verdant Spire.

[Author’s note: Sara didn’t know Benjamin was thinking "So cute! Elara is so adorable when she’s in little girl mode!"]

"Wait... Sara, I can explain what is going on here!" Mother tried to stand up properly from her position, her voice rising with a noticeable touch of frantic urgency.

But Violette’s strong arms stayed wrapped firmly yet gently around her waist, refusing to let her rise even an inch.

Mother continued; "I am not normally like this at all, believe me! Yes, Sakura, please say something helpful right now to support me and clear up this misunderstanding!"

"Uhm...." Queen Sakura, the elegant Beast Queen, looked around the grand hall with visible hesitation, her sharp amber eyes darting all over the place.

She set her delicate ceramic teacup down with a soft, deliberate clink against the table, buying herself a little extra time before finally offering a sheepish and somewhat awkward smile.

"E... Elara-chan was simply so incredibly cute and endearing in that particular moment that I couldn’t even think straight..."

"Sakura?!"

Mother flinched visibly at the response, her silver eyes widening in clear betrayal as she tugged insistently at the edge of the beast queen’s intricately patterned cloth, urging her again and again to come up with something—anything at all—more convincing and helpful to say in the embarrassing situation.

I had had enough of witnessing the entire display, and I believed so had Benjamin standing there beside me with his own growing discomfort.

How disappointing. She’s a queen, for goodness sake.

"We will excuse your... fetish now, Mother," I announced calmly but firmly, reaching out without hesitation to grab Benjamin’s hand in mine as I turned us both away from the scene.

Mother’s heartfelt cries for forgiveness began echoing behind us down the long corridor, her voice filled with genuine embarrassment and lingering pleas that gradually faded into the distance as we walked further away.

So... what was even that entire thing?

I also heard earlier that Violette had personally bathed her and put her to sleep the night before with the same tender care.

Had that ancient Grootslang lived for so many countless millennia that Mother now genuinely looked like an adorable little baby in her ancient eyes?

Then she probably viewed me as nothing more than a tiny fetus still waiting to fully emerge into the wider world.

"Benjamin, whatever thoughts might be swirling through your mind right now after seeing all of that, I need you to trust me completely on this one important thing..." I stopped walking once we had reached a quieter section of the corridor lined with detailed carvings.

I grabbed Benjamin’s shoulders with both of my hands to snap him fully out of his distant and distracted daze.

My fingers pressed firmly against him as I looked straight and earnestly into his beautiful blue eyes, searching carefully for any hint of judgment, discomfort, or disappointment.

"Please... do not allow yourself to become disillusioned by what you saw of my mother back there in the hall. She is just someone who can be easily influenced when people apply the right kind of gentle pressure and warm affection in the right moments. I do not think she is truly pathetic or weak-willed in any real or lasting sense, so please do not feel any disgust toward her because of this. She remains the strong and wise queen who has guided our people through so much... and for such a long time."

"What? Hm...? Oh... okay?" Benjamin nodded slowly in response, his words coming a little hesitantly as if he were still carefully processing everything he had just witnessed in the grand hall.

[Author’s note: Benjamin does not even understand that Sara views her mother being babied as abnormal, not adorable, so her justification here is puzzling to him.]

And with that lingering awkwardness finally set aside and out of the way, I felt a fresh and bright wave of excitement beginning to rise warmly inside my chest once more.

"Can we... go to space now?" I asked softly, squeezing his hand tightly in mine, already feeling genuinely thrilled and eager about the entirely new world I would soon get to see at his side in this grand adventure.

"Of course!" He smiled warmly back at me and wrapped one arm securely around my waist, pulling me closer into a protective and comforting hold that made my heart flutter with that familiar warmth. "I had been already covering both of us with a special protective barrier just in case the conditions out there in space would be bad for even powerful beings like us."

Oh? A barrier? Truly?