Help! My Moms Are Overpowered Tyrants, and I'm Stuck as Their Baby!-Chapter 138: Doors Were Made for a Reason
Mara grinned, nerves melting. "A promise. For more walls, fewer interruptions… and all the lifetimes we're owed."
Elira stared at the ring.
Not at Mara. Not at the velvet box. Not at the flickering hearthlight that cast Mara's hopeful expression in soft golds and oranges.
Just. The. Ring.
Time stretched like thick syrup. The silence expanded, a dense fog of uncertainty that settled into Mara's lungs and refused to leave. She'd fought necromancers with steadier breathing. She'd faced down an enraged wyvern with more confidence.
But this? This was Elira.
And Elira, unlike wyverns, did not roar. She contemplated. She thought. She wielded silence like a blade, and right now, she was sharpening it against Mara's heart.
Still kneeling, Mara tilted her head slightly. "I mean, it's not cursed. Probably."
Elira's lips twitched. Barely. Almost imperceptibly. But it was there.
Mara's voice dropped lower. "I can offer... moderate emotional stability, excellent swordplay, and a shocking ability to dodge small children with large questions."
Still no answer. Elira's gaze slowly rose, eyes locking with Mara's, blue-gray and unreadable.
"I'll take that as a maybe," Mara muttered under her breath.
Finally , finally Elira exhaled, slow and deliberate. Her fingers reached forward, brushing gently over the ring, tracing its curve. She lifted it delicately from the velvet, turning it once between her fingers.
"It's not a wedding ring," Mara clarified quickly. "Just a promise. Unless you want it to be. In which case it can be. But also not. I'm flexible."
"You're babbling," Elira said softly, eyes still on the ring.
"Only because I'm terrified."
A pause. Then, with the gravity of a storm building behind calm skies, Elira slipped the ring onto her finger.
It fit perfectly.
She looked up at last, a quiet, knowing smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "Yes."
Mara blinked. "Wait. Yes?"
"Yes."
"To what?"
"To you, idiot."
Mara laughed, breath catching as joy surged up her spine and out her fingertips. "I didn't think you'd say it that easily."
"I didn't either," Elira admitted.
Mara surged to her feet, pulling Elira up with her into a tight, grounding embrace. Elira didn't hesitate this time. She wrapped her arms around Mara's waist, resting her forehead against Mara's shoulder, just for a moment. Just enough.
They stood there in the golden hush of the firelight, the castle quiet around them, the ring catching the light between them like a tiny constellation forged in silver.
"WE HEARD EVERYTHING."
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.
The door flew open with the subtlety of a battlefield.
Mara jumped.
Elira sighed deeply. "No."
Aeris, Elyzara's four-year-old sister, stood in the doorway with her tiny hands on her hips, twin braids bouncing with righteous indignation. Arion stood beside her with wide, sparkling eyes and a look of complete betrayal.
"You got married," Aeris announced accusingly. "Without us."
Mara opened her mouth. Closed it. "It was just a proposal," she tried.
"AND YOU DIDN'T TELL US?" Aeris stomped into the room, small boots thudding dramatically against the stone floor. "We were literally right down the hall!"
"We weren't even invited to the hug," Arion added, looking genuinely hurt.
Elira pinched the bridge of her nose. "We're not married yet. And the hug wasn't scheduled."
"We schedule hugs now?" Mara whispered.
"Apparently, we should," Elira muttered back.
Aeris narrowed her eyes. "We demand cake."
Arion nodded solemnly. "And music. And matching cloaks."
Mara blinked. "For... what?"
"The wedding," Aeris said, as if explaining gravity to a boulder.
Elira stared down at them, deadpan. "You're not even allowed near sharp objects."
"Then we'll supervise," Arion offered helpfully. "We're very good at standing in the way and yelling important things."
"We once yelled at a goat until it ran away," Aeris added proudly.
"That was impressive," Mara admitted, turning to Elira. "I say we give them minor roles. Ring-throwers?"
"Ring bearers," Elira corrected, exasperated.
"They're feral," Mara whispered affectionately. "Perfect for our brand."
Elira rolled her eyes and turned to the twins. "We're not married yet. And there's no official date. So no cake. Yet."
"But—" Aeris started.
"No cake," Elira repeated firmly. "And if you eavesdrop again, I will assign you to laundry duty."
Arion gasped. "The towels?"
Elira nodded grimly. "All of them."
Both children looked appropriately horrified.
"We're sorry," they chorused, inching backward toward the door.
"And next time," Mara added, raising a finger, "we're putting a magic lock on the door."
Aeris narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "The scary purple one?"
"The very same."
They fled.
The door clicked shut behind them.
Mara slumped against it. "They're going to tell everyone, aren't they?"
"Every single person," Elira confirmed.
Mara laughed, breathless, then turned toward her. "Well. We're officially doomed."
"Or officially engaged," Elira offered.
Mara grinned, catching her hand. "Same thing."
Elira looked down at the ring again, then up at Mara's face bright, familiar, infuriating, and somehow always exactly what she needed.
Yes. This was the beginning of everything , and next time, they were locking the damn door.
*******
I had never loved roast duck more in my life.
It was golden. Crisped to perfection. The skin glistened with a sweet glaze that tasted like honey and spices and possibly something illegal. The vegetables were roasted just right, tender and buttery, and the wine sauce? Divine. I didn't even know what kind of wine it was, and I didn't care. I was a tyrant-in-the-making and, at this moment, I was being personally defeated by the power of good food.
I sat cross-legged on the thick carpet of my dormitory chamber, alone, peaceful, surrounded by pillows and trays. The dormitory was technically shared, but my room was sealed off by ancient runes, two grumpy guard statues, and a very explicit warning sign that read:
"Enter and turn to ash. Have a nice day."
No one had ever tried.
I dipped another piece of duck into the sauce, eyes fluttering shut with dramatic pleasure. "I deserve this," I murmured.
[You say that every time you eat something with more than two spices,] the system said lazily.
Because I do, I replied without shame.
That's when my magic phone began to chirp. Not ring. Chirp. Like an over-caffeinated bird trying to form a sentence. I glared at it.
"No," I whispered to the duck. "Not now."
The device buzzed harder, the crystal face glowing brightly. I sighed and tapped it with two fingers. Immediately, the shimmering image of two small, overly excited four-year-olds exploded into view.
"Elira said yes!" Aeris shrieked.
Arion bounced beside her. "They're gonna get married, Lya! They were kissing again! And Mara gave her a ring! A shiny one!"
I blinked. "Wait, she actually said yes?"
"They were holding hands and whispering and being gross," Aeris confirmed, looking positively delighted. "It was romantic and weird."
Arion nodded. "We're planning the cake."
A laugh slipped from my lips before I could stop it. "They're really engaged?"
"Uh-huh!" both chimed in unison, cheeks flushed with excitement.
I leaned back on my palms, duck momentarily forgotten. A warmth bloomed unexpectedly in my chest surprise, happiness, something softer I didn't have a name for. Elira had actually said yes.
"Well," I murmured, smiling at the image of their gleeful faces, "it's about time."
[Called it,] the system said smugly. [Should I start designing their wedding outfits or are we still pretending we're not emotionally invested?]
Shut up, I replied fondly.
But the smile on my face didn't go anywhere.
