The Extra is a Genius!? Chapter 595: Three Generations of Estermont

The tranquility enveloping the chamber faded swiftly. It started faintly, marked by a alteration in Elyra’s respiration, a tense pull in the sinews of her arm where her fingers remained clasped around Noel’s. The transformation was minor enough that a stranger might overlook it at first.

Noel perceived it.

Her digits clamped onto his with vise-like force, abrupt and unannounced. For a woman who usually moved with poised grace, Elyra harbored an unexpected surge of brute power once she ceased holding back. Her nails pierced into his flesh sharply enough to penetrate the toughness of his palm's calluses, and the squeeze compelled his fingers to curve in a way that lacked ease.

He refrained from withdrawing.

Elyra drew in a quick breath via gritted teeth, her poise faltering for the initial instance since his arrival. The attendants bustled swiftly beside the bed, their tones steady and attentive as they coached her onward. "Easy... breathe. Good. Just like that." Elyra offered no reply. Rather, her hold constricted further, yanking Noel ahead sufficiently that he needed to adjust his footing for stability.

'She’s going to break your hand,' Noir’s voice echoed in his thoughts from the rear, evidently entertained.

Noel disregarded her.

"Are you alright?" he inquired softly.

Elyra’s sole retort was yet another escalation in force. Her nails burrowed more profoundly as the subsequent surge coursed over her, her frame tilting ahead mildly while the attendants directed her inhalations. At his back, Charlotte observed with a mildly compassionate look. Selene stayed leaned against the barrier with limbs folded, although a subtle quiver had formed at her lip's edge, one she opted not to pursue.

'You should see your face,' Noir appended.

Yet another spasm arrived. Elyra expelled air abruptly, her unoccupied palm flattening against the bedding as she navigated it, each fiber in her limb stretching rigid. The clasp on Noel’s hand amplified once more, and he sensed an objection from somewhere in his finger joints with vivid insistence that was tough to dismiss.

He clung regardless. Relative to her ordeal, a minor ache in his palm signified little. If she required an anchor, he stayed put.

'Brave,' Noir whispered.

Noel uttered nothing, his mandible firm, his palm steadfast within hers.

The strain within the chamber lingered for a handful of moments post-spasm. Elyra’s respiration gradually normalized anew, although her grasp on Noel’s hand stayed unyielding. The attendants traded a hushed glance during their setup of fresh linens and tools, their actions skilled and streamlined. For an instant, the space reverted to a delicate cadence.

Then the portals flung wide.

Noel swiveled his gaze on reflex. Lord Caeron Von Estermont had evidently barged in prior to any effective halt, his lofty build dominating much of the threshold, his visage trapped amid anxiety and resolve. Trailing him was Lady Elissabeth Von Estermont, appearing thoroughly embarrassed.

"Caeron—" she started, her tone subdued yet incisive.

He was midway across the threshold already, his sightlines locking onto the bed without delay. Upon detecting Elyra, his bearing aligned rigidly. "My daughter—"

Elyra’s lids parted. They located him promptly across the area, and her features neither eased nor illuminated with familiarity. They stiffened.

"Get out."

The declaration emerged toneless.

Caeron halted abruptly as though buffeted by an invisible blow, the assurance propelling him inward evaporating near-instantly. "...Elyra?" he uttered, voice laced with near-injury.

Behind, Elissabeth shut her eyes briefly. Then she advanced. Her palm extended with exacting precision to seize Caeron solidly by the lobe.

"What did I tell you?" she murmured lowly.

Caeron let out a sharp cry. "Elissabeth— wait—!"

She commenced hauling him rearward to the exit with the identical serene command she brought to all gatherings. "I said we would wait outside."

"But I just wanted to see—"

"You will see her later."

"But—"

"Later."

Caeron threw a final imploring glance at the bed while being tugged out, his countenance bearing the clear ruin of a sire freshly spurned by his offspring amid the direst juncture. The portal sealed after them.

Quiet resumed precisely two heartbeats before a healer softly cleared her passage. "Now," she uttered mildly, "where were we?"

Behind Noel, Charlotte had angled her visage marginally from the portal, her frame quivering subtly. Selene made no effort to conceal. She grinned.

The disruption proved too brief to fully interrupt the sequence. With the portal shut, the space snapped back to its prior tempo nearly at once, the attendants reclaiming their spots with equivalent silent proficiency, their speech serene as they steered Elyra via the ensuing phases.

Noel couldn’t pinpoint the precise duration. Moments elongated and intertwined as the area resonated with the consistent rhythm of breaths, subdued directives, and the sporadic clench of Elyra’s hold on his palm. Each surge hit fiercer than its predecessor. Her restraint persisted, yet it deviated from the mastered serenity she wielded in dealings or assembly chambers. This was rawer, more innate. Her breaths deepened, and repeatedly her digits squeezed his with such intensity that his knuckle bones grumbled anew. He remained immobile.

Charlotte had gradually neared the bed’s base, her prior mirth vanished and supplanted by subdued worry. Selene held her usual position, now and then shifting to hand an item to the attendants as required.

"Almost there," one attendant remarked tenderly.

Elyra vented air keenly through clamped teeth as the ultimate push descended. The space collectively paused, and shortly thereafter a fresh noise pierced the hush. A delicate wail, slim initially and hesitant, yet irrefutably vital. The attendant tenderly raised the infant, enfolded the tiny form in gentle fabric, and laid her softly into Elyra’s embrace.

"A healthy girl."

Elyra reclined into the cushions, weariness etched plainly on her countenance, but another element lingered too. Solace. Subtle joy. Noel glanced at the babe. She appeared tinier than Nicolás had, though that might merely be recollection deceiving him. A sparse cluster of raven locks lay atop her scalp, and as her gaze flickered open momentarily, it mirrored the identical lucid silver hue of Elyra’s. She echoed her mother predominantly, with scant traces of Noel evident in the petite visage.

After some minutes, an attendant approached the portal. "They can come in now."

The reaction was prompt. Caeron preceded, and the instant his vision settled on the little one cradled by Elyra, any facade of restraint he’d tried to uphold crumbled utterly. His frame shook as he neared, his eyes already dampened. "My granddaughter..."

Following, Elissabeth glided in with greater composure, though the affection in her stare shone evident. She neared Noel initially. "I apologize for my husband’s earlier behavior," she stated courteously. "He tends to forget himself in moments like this."

Noel inclined his head faintly. "There’s no problem."

The area quieted once more, more hushed, occupied solely by the tender noises of the newborn stirring within Elyra’s hold. Charlotte edged nearer to the bed marginally.

"Have you decided on a name?" she queried softly.

Elyra regarded the child for several instants before responding. "Elyria."

The term flowed seamlessly into the ambiance. Noel canted his head mildly. "You three share similar names."

Elyra permitted a subtle grin as she directed her sight to her mother. "Three generations of the Estermont family."

Across the space, Elena had slipped in soundlessly at some juncture, with Nicolás slumbering tranquilly in her grasp. Lady Elissabeth advanced toward her bearing evident interest, welcoming the lad with a gentle beam. Noel observed the tableau wordlessly. Now two offspring, Nicolás alongside Elena and Elyria beside Elyra, with Charlotte’s moment approaching shortly. His kin expanded swifter than he’d ever foreseen, and thus the estate could soon prove insufficient.