Kira raised an eyebrow when she heard Gewen's words. "Are you trying to sell your mother to me?"
"What? No," Gewen immediately regretted his words. He was just reminded that Kira was in the business of piracy and she was no stranger to human trafficking.
Gulp.
"No... I am not selling my mother to you. Gosh, Kira..!" He massaged his temple in frustration.
Kira smiled wickedly and patted his shoulder. "Relax! I was just joking. Jeez..."
Gewen batted his eyes when he heard Kira say she was only pulling his leg.
So.. this pirate princess apparently had a sense of humor too.
Hahahha... Gewen let out nervous laughter.
"Very funny...." he said haltingly. "Uhm... Yeah, I am not selling my mother. It's just that... Well, if you need anything from a mother, you can consider my mother like your own. Do you understand?"
He added, "Mars and I are so close, I consider Queen Elara like my second mother. She was very nice to me and Edgar when we were growing up. That's what I meant by you can think of my mother like your own."
Kira looked at Gewen deeply. She was fascinated by his enthusiasm and his handsome face beaming in happiness when he talked about his mother. She was jealous of this man ever since she heard a lot about how Gewen was really that close with his mother.
During their journey, Edgar and Mars would playfully mock Gewen whenever he received letters from his mother.
He would separate himself from the group and enjoyed reading Lady Athibaud's letter. Then, his face would beam all day. He would write a letter back as soon as they reached a new place and send it by pigeon.
Kira always watched the scene with interest. She thought it was really sweet that Gewen cared so much about his mother. This made her feel curious to see, what kind of woman Lady Rose Athibaud was to have that kind of close relationship with her son.
And tonight, she met the duchess. Kira actually felt touched that Gewen's mother treated her really well. Lady Athibaud didn't ask unnecessary questions about her background or if she was from a noble family or not.. and many other stupid questions she saw other noblewomen ask each other when she attended some feasts in Summeria.
Kira didn't know that Lady Athibaud was being especially careful around her since she could tell Gewen was interested in Kira. So, she didn't want to make her future daughter-in-law feel overwhelmed or intimidated.
That's why Lady Athibaud didn't charge Kira with a barrage of questions. She played the cool mother-in-law, taking her cues from Queen Elara Strongmoor herself.
"Okay..." Finally, Kira replied with a smile. Seeing the cold woman suddenly give him a sweet smile, Gewen felt his heart flutter. Gosh.. he really wanted to pull her to his embrace and kiss her passionately.
"Okay..." Gewen smiled sheepishly. The servant came with a tray of wine and he took two cups from the tray. He gave one to Kira and asked her to toast. "Let's drink some more."
Kira nodded. She took the cup from Gewen and drink the wine merrily. Gewen was right when he said Southberry wine was the best. Kira really liked the taste. In fact, this was the first wine that could make her feel tipsy after she drank a few cups.
Being a pirate who was used to drinking alcohol, her tolerance level was quite high. Normally, it took a lot for her to get drunk. So, Kira was pleasantly surprised to feel high after only two cups. The feeling was fleeting and made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
Soon, Kira was sitting on Gewen's lap and wrapped her arms around his neck to drink wine from her cup. The man was too happy with Kira's change of behavior in her way of treating him that he didn't do anything to push her away.
"Your mother is nice," Kira muttered, almost in gibberish. She took another sip of her wine. "You are lucky."
Gewen smiled. He felt his body so warm with Kira on his lap. His heart pounded so hard. Ahh.. being this close to Kira, he could smell her scent very clearly. Why did she smell really nice?
Gewen had been with countless women in the past, but to his knowledge, none of them had this intoxicating scent that made him so turned on, unlike Kira. What was this?
"She is nice... yeah," Gewen replied hoarsely. He didn't dare to look at his mother who was watching him and Kira with bulged eyes. "I am really lucky to have her."
"Hmmm... you are a good son, Lord Gewen," Kira nodded. She downed her wine and dropped the cup to the floor.
The next thing she did made everyone in the banquet hall surprised. She cupped Gewen's cheeks and then landed a deep kiss on his lips.
The man froze in his place when Kira suddenly kissed him. This was totally unexpected and he couldn't believe his luck!
Emmelyn bulged her eyes and gasped when she saw Kira kiss Gewen so bravely. She could tell that Kira was drunk. She turned to look at Mars and asked him with her eyes, what they should do.
"You are closest with Kira. Do you think she liked Gewen that she kissed him like that?" Mars asked Emmelyn.
The woman bit her lip. She was not so sure about it. From what she knew, Kira was into Edgar for a long time, but after Edgar stayed behind in Wintermere to court Lady Clara, Kira seemed to get over her feelings for Edgar.
So, maybe now she was directing her attention to Gewen?
"I do know Gewen likes her, but I am not sure if his love is requited," Emmelyn muttered. "I asked Kira one day what she thinks about him and she didn't give me a clear answer."
"Well.. she is an adult," Mars said. "She drank a lot on her own and she jumped to Gewen's lap by her own initiative too. You know people tend to be the most honest when they are drunk. So..."
Emmelyn batted her eyes when she heard her husband's words. "So.... do you think she actually likes Gewen?"