I won't fall for the queen who burned my world-Chapter 248: Banquet clothe for Kaelith

One month later.

The palace was chaos.

Not the loud, violent kind of chaos that came from battle horns or magical explosions—Elysia had seen plenty of that.

No, this was the glittery, fabric-covered, emotionally-charged whirlwind known only to those who had ever tried to plan a formal banquet for a two-month-old royal baby.

Kaelith’s Banquet of Announcement, as the official title now read in all the gilded invitations, was only a few days away.

Elysia had never been so excited.

And Malvoria had never been more unhinged.

To be fair, Elysia hadn’t expected her wife to be this invested. Or rather, she had—just not in the actual planning of the event.

Instead, Malvoria had spent the past three weeks secretly (or so she thought) stalking her own mother.

Yes, stalking.

From the palace rooftop. From behind suspiciously trimmed hedges. From underneath a refreshment table once.

Elysia had seen it all. And she was still not entirely sure how Malvoria had not been caught.

Well. Technically, she had been caught once. By the palace cat, who’d yowled when Malvoria stepped on its tail in the gardens. Veylira hadn’t turned around. Raveth had looked straight at the hedge and said nothing.

Elysia suspected they were just letting her stew in her own paranoia.

Meanwhile, Elysia had the much more important job: deciding what Kaelith would wear for her very first banquet.

Kaelith, now two months old, was a round-cheeked, bright-eyed menace of utter cuteness.

She made everything difficult by being too adorable for her own good. Servants stopped mid-task to coo at her.

Maids paused in the middle of scrubbing enchanted windows to peek at her in her floating cradle. Even battle-hardened demon guards had been caught baby-talking her in the corridors.

She had entire palace wings wrapped around her tiny, fire-tinged fingers.

And today... today was outfit selection day.

Which, Elysia discovered, was just another term for diplomatic war in miniature.

"She can’t wear gold," Veylira said crisply from her corner chair, legs crossed and posture flawless. "It washes her out."

"She literally glows," Lara said, tossing a sparkling gold sash over her shoulder. "She is light."

"That’s not light, that’s fire," Malvoria muttered. She was perched at the edge of the lounge, arms crossed, looking like she’d rather be interrogating a spy. "And she burns through her clothes, anyway."

"Which is why we use fireproof silk," Elysia said patiently, sorting through the mountain of fabrics laid out across the entire suite. "Honestly, I thought choosing a baby’s dress would be fun."

"It was fun," said Faelira from the doorway. "Until they got involved."

"I’m the reasonable one," Malvoria said.

"Hell no," Elysia said, looking at her evenly, "you tried to veto pastel colors on the grounds that they were ’weak.’"

"They are weak."

"She’s two months old."

"She’s the future Demon Queen."

Elysia buried her face in a swatch of lace.

Kaelith, floating happily in her enchanted cradle, made a happy burbling sound and tried to eat her stuffed salamander.

"We could go with traditional red," suggested Thalor helpfully from behind a stack of folded robes. No one knew how he got into the room, but he’d brought tea and no one had the heart to remove him.

"She looks like a cherry when she wears red," Malvoria said.

"That’s adorable!" Elysia cried.

"Exactly," Malvoria muttered. "Too adorable. Someone might try to steal her."

Lara raised an eyebrow. "What kind of person steals a baby because she’s cute?"

Malvoria looked her dead in the eye. "Me."

The room went silent.

Kaelith sneezed, releasing a puff of violet flame that turned a sash into a pile of smoldering ash.

"See?" Malvoria added smugly. "She hates gold."

"She sneezes at everything," Elysia groaned. "She sneezed at the moonlight last night."

"She’s developing taste," Malvoria said proudly.

"She’s developing gas," muttered Veylira.

Lara laughed so hard she fell off the ottoman.

"Alright," Elysia said, clapping her hands. "Focus. We’ve narrowed it down to three choices. Raveth?"

Raveth, who had been suspiciously quiet, was sitting cross-legged on the floor with Kaelith’s blanket over her shoulders. She blinked like she’d just woken from a trance. "Sorry. She made a noise. I blacked out from the cuteness."

"Understandable," Elysia said solemnly.

"Very," agreed Thalor.

"Back to the dresses," Veylira interrupted. "Option one: the cream and rose velvet with pearl embroidery. Elegant, timeless."

"Option two," Lara said, pulling it from the hanger and twirling it like it was a flag, "sky-blue tulle with tiny silver stars and that floating spell that makes it shimmer in the air."

"She’ll look like a cake topper," Malvoria said flatly.

"A powerful cake topper," Lara shot back.

"Option three?" Elysia prompted.

Everyone turned to the last dress.

It hung delicately on its stand: a deep plum silk, soft and rich, embroidered with tiny protective runes in silver thread.

Its little collar was scalloped, and the sleeves were long enough to hide Kaelith’s habit of grabbing flaming things. It came with matching booties.

No one spoke for a full ten seconds.

Kaelith cooed and reached toward it.

Malvoria’s arms dropped from their crossed position.

"...Well," she said slowly. "I don’t hate it."

"She just smiled at it," Elysia whispered.

"She tried to grab it," Thalor added.

"She didn’t try to set it on fire," Lara said, eyes wide.

"That’s basically a royal decree," Veylira concluded.

They all turned toward Kaelith.

She blinked.

Then sneezed.

Everyone flinched—except the dress.

Still intact.

Elysia exhaled, arms raised in triumph. "It’s chosen."

Malvoria looked at the dress, then at her daughter, who had gone back to gnawing on her stuffed salamander with all the dignity of a tiny, fire-breathing empress.

"She will rule empires in that dress," Malvoria said proudly.

"She might fall asleep in it and drool everywhere," Lara pointed out.

Elysia smiled, her arms crossed over her chest as she looked around at the chaos they called family.

Kaelith let out a victorious squeal from her floating cradle, her chubby fingers still reaching toward the plum-colored dress as if she’d declared herself ready to conquer the world in it. Or at least the banquet hall.

Before anyone else could move, Veylira stood gracefully and stepped forward, her dark gown flowing behind her like a regal shadow.

"Come here, little empress," she murmured, her voice softening in that rare, almost sacred way it only did for Kaelith.

She reached into the cradle and lifted the baby effortlessly, holding her close, one hand steady at Kaelith’s back, the other cradling her head.

Kaelith blinked up at her grandmother for a moment, then released a delighted noise somewhere between a gurgle and a laugh.

"You have no idea the trouble you’ve caused over this dress," Veylira whispered, her lips brushing Kaelith’s temple. "But I’ll allow it, just this once."

Kaelith’s response was to grab a lock of Veylira’s hair and tug gleefully.

From the floor, Raveth watched the scene with a soft, amused smile. Her chin rested on one hand, her expression tender in a way that made Elysia blink. She’d never seen the former general look so quietly enamored.

And of course, Malvoria noticed.

Elysia didn’t have to turn her head to feel it—the sudden shift in the air, the drop in temperature, the metaphorical weight of a glare so sharp it could slice granite.

She looked to her left and, unsurprisingly, found her wife staring at Raveth like she was evaluating the trajectory of a potential lightning bolt.

"Mal," Elysia said, her voice a gentle warning.

Malvoria didn’t blink. "What?"

"Stop glaring."

"I’m not glaring."

"You are glaring so hard I can hear it."

Malvoria’s jaw tightened. "She’s looking at my mother like she invented stars."

"She’s looking at her like she’s holding a grandchild she adores," Elysia said calmly.

"She’s looking at her like she’s going to write poetry and burn it."

Veylira, unfazed, had now begun bouncing Kaelith gently, murmuring something in ancient demonic that made the baby squeal again.

Kaelith’s little hand had found one of Veylira’s earrings, and she examined it with reverence, as if appraising a sacred artifact.

Raveth chuckled from the floor, resting back on her palms. "She’s so calm in her arms. That’s rare."

Veylira arched one elegant brow. "It’s because I radiate authority."

"It’s because you smell like spellbooks and power," Raveth teased, and Elysia saw it again—that soft smile, barely hidden.

Malvoria’s eyes narrowed.

"Mal," Elysia repeated, turning to face her directly. "You’re being obvious."

"I’m always obvious," Malvoria grumbled.

"You’re usually dramatic. There’s a difference."

Malvoria sighed heavily, flopping backward onto the chaise with all the tragic grace of a woman suffering betrayal. "I don’t trust her."

"She’s already proven she’s not going to run off with your mother," Elysia said patiently.

"She might."

"She’d need a head start. And a portal stone. And a death wish."

Malvoria said nothing.

Kaelith, from Veylira’s arms, chose that moment to release a tiny puff of smoke from her mouth—and then yawned.

"She’s tired," Veylira announced, adjusting her grip. "Too much chaos."

"Too much maternal tension," Raveth muttered under her breath.

Elysia smothered a laugh. Malvoria didn’t. She sat up slowly, eyes narrowed. Raveth winked.

"Don’t make me separate you two," Elysia said, lifting a finger like she was speaking to twin infernos rather than fully grown war veterans. "I already have a daughter. I don’t need two more."

Malvoria crossed her arms. Raveth grinned.

And Kaelith, blissfully above it all, nestled into Veylira’s chest and fell asleep—unbothered by dresses, politics, or parental power struggles.

Elysia shook her head and smiled again.

Author’s Note:Starting now, there will be only one Chapter released per day. I’ve unfortunately injured myself, which has made writing new Chapters more difficult at the moment. For now, I’ll be posting Chapters I’ve already written. Thank you for your understanding and support!