I won't fall for the queen who burned my world-Chapter 265: Explication during lunch

Lunch at Saelira’s castle should have been a calm affair.

It should have been a pleasant moment to gather strength after the stormy events of the morning a moment to laugh, to breathe, to feel like family.

Instead, the tension at the table was so thick it could have been sliced with Kaelith’s still-drooly hands.

The long, polished stone dining table gleamed under the light of suspended crystals. Plates of roasted meats, spiced vegetables, fresh bread, and exotic fruits covered the surface.

Steam rose gently into the chilly air, mixing with the scent of baked apples and something vaguely floral.

Kaelith, mercifully oblivious to the undercurrents, babbled happily from her seat in a special enchanted high chair, gurgling and smacking her hands against the little tray.

Elysia sat stiffly beside Malvoria, doing her best to smile and appear normal.

Which was nearly impossible when she couldn’t stop glancing at the growing disaster unfolding around her.

First of all, there was Veylira.

Veylira—normally poised and controlled, the perfect image of demonic nobility—currently had a hickey.

A massive one.

On her neck.

Barely hidden by a collar she kept fiddling with like it was actively betraying her.

Elysia blinked once. Twice.

Nope. It was still there.

Then there was Raveth, sitting two seats down.

The former general looked suspiciously serene. Too serene. Her relaxed, faintly smug posture was a clear betrayal for anyone who knew her better.

She kept sneaking glances at Veylira—little flickers of heat and amusement that no one else seemed to catch.

No one except Lara, apparently.

Because Lara was glaring.

No, Lara was leaning her chin heavily into one hand, murder in her eyes, the fork in her other hand stabbing the air whenever Raveth so much as breathed wrong.

Across from them, Saelira sipped her wine with the eerie silence of someone who had already decided violence was inevitable and was merely waiting for the first blow to fall.

Elysia shifted uncomfortably in her chair.

Malvoria hadn’t spoken yet.

Which was bad.

Because a quiet Malvoria was a dangerous Malvoria.

She was sitting stiffly, one arm looped casually over Elysia’s chair, her grey gaze locked on Veylira’s neck with slowly growing horror.

Finally, unable to bear the silence, Elysia leaned toward her and whispered, "Are we just not going to talk about it?"

Malvoria didn’t move, her voice low and deadly. "Oh, we’re going to talk about it."

Veylira must have sensed the shift, because she straightened sharply, reaching for her wineglass like it was a shield. "Something wrong?"

"You tell us," Malvoria said, far too pleasantly.

Elysia tried very hard not to burst into nervous laughter.

Kaelith did it for her—letting out a happy squeal and banging her tiny goblet against the tray like a drunken warlord.

The moment shattered.

"Alright!" Malvoria said, slapping her hand onto the table, making all the plates rattle. "Who wants to explain?"

Raveth raised one eyebrow slowly, looking all too satisfied. "Explain what, Your Majesty?"

"The hickey," Lara snarled.

"The suspicious behavior," Elysia added quickly.

"The sheer nerve of acting smug about it," Saelira said with a faint smile behind her goblet.

Veylira colored slightly, tugging her collar higher. "It’s... not what it looks like."

Malvoria leaned forward like a predator scenting blood. "Is that so?"

"It’s mostly not what it looks like," Veylira amended, grimacing.

"You were attacked by a love-crazed vampire?" Elysia suggested helpfully.

"You fell onto a kissing trap?" Saelira added, deadpan.

"You forgot how to say ’no’?" Lara growled.

Veylira glared at all of them. "It’s none of your business."

Malvoria’s smile sharpened. "Mother."

Veylira groaned and dropped her head into her hands. "Fine."

All eyes turned to her.

Even Kaelith stopped banging her goblet and stared wide-eyed at her grandmother.

"I might," Veylira said through gritted teeth, "have agreed to... another date with Raveth."

Raveth gave a lazy little smirk.

"One date," Malvoria echoed. "That ended with you being marked like a teenager in heat."

Elysia choked on her water.

Veylira glared daggers at Malvoria. "It’s not like we committed treason."

"I feel personally betrayed," Lara muttered, stabbing a piece of bread so violently it exploded into crumbs.

"You slept with her, didn’t you?" Saelira said calmly, sipping her wine again.

Veylira coughed and went bright red.

"Mother!" Malvoria hissed.

"What? Someone needed to ask."

Elysia buried her face in her hands.

Kaelith banged her goblet again and let out a happy squeal that somehow sounded suspiciously like a laugh.

Veylira sighed explosively, grabbing the wine bottle and refilling her glass to the brim.

"For your information," she muttered darkly, "I did not sleep with her."

A heavy pause.

"Yet," Raveth added with a wink.

Lara made a noise like a dragon choking on lava.

Malvoria slammed her hand down again. "Enough!"

Everyone froze.

Kaelith gurgled happily, kicking her tiny feet.

Malvoria massaged her forehead. "Okay. We are going to pretend that my mother’s love life does not exist for the next twenty-four hours."

"Agreed," Elysia said immediately.

"Seconded," Lara muttered.

"Thirded," Saelira said with clear amusement.

"Denied," Raveth added, grinning wolfishly.

Veylira groaned again and dropped her head onto the table with a thunk.

Kaelith took the opportunity to grab a piece of fruit from Veylira’s plate and shove it gleefully into her mouth.

Elysia couldn’t help it.

She laughed.

It spilled out before she could stop it, bright and helpless, shaking the tension loose from her chest. Kaelith, delighted by the sound, giggled too, banging her little fists on her tray with renewed energy.

"Alright," Malvoria said, straightening with a weary sigh. "New subject. For the sake of all our sanity."

"Agreed," Elysia said quickly, wiping her eyes and stealing a glance at Veylira, who was still pretending to be fascinated by her wineglass.

"So," Saelira said smoothly, folding her hands, "tell us about your training session this morning. Before the tiny empress decided to sabotage it."

She gave Kaelith a conspiratorial wink, earning another squeal of glee.

Elysia straightened a little, exchanging a glance with Malvoria. "It was... intense."

Malvoria gave a low chuckle. "You nearly killed me."

"You deserved it," Elysia teased.

Veylira leaned forward eagerly. "Wait, wait—start from the beginning. What did you work on?"

"Fire control," Elysia said, sitting back and running a hand through her hair. "Learning to focus it. Direct it, not just unleash it whenever I’m emotional."

"You made a lot of progress," Malvoria added, her voice warmer now, almost proud. "Faster than expected."

Elysia smiled shyly under the praise, feeling a small spark of pride stir in her chest. "I wasn’t perfect. But it felt... natural. Like the fire wasn’t something outside me anymore. It was mine." ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

"She hit me," Malvoria said blandly. "Repeatedly."

Saelira smirked. "Sounds like a perfect training session to me."

"And then," Elysia said, the smile slipping slightly into awe, "something... unexpected happened."

All eyes turned to her.

"Kaelith," Malvoria said, glancing at their daughter, who was now gnawing fiercely on a piece of bread, "intervened."

Veylira blinked. "Intervened how?"

"She used her magic," Elysia explained, voice softening with wonder. "She—she sent out her own fire. This purple flame. And it merged with mine."

Saelira sat up straighter. "Merged?"

Elysia nodded. "It didn’t hurt me. It didn’t even feel foreign. It was like... it recognized me. Strengthened me. I could feel her in it. Protecting. Lending me her power without even knowing what she was doing."

"A two-month-old," Raveth said slowly, "casually tossing magical buffs at her mom in the middle of a training duel."

"That’s terrifying," Veylira muttered into her wine.

"Terrifying," Malvoria agreed. "And impressive."

Elysia glanced at Kaelith, who was now sucking thoughtfully on her fingers, violet eyes wide and innocent. "She’s stronger than we thought."

Saelira tapped a finger against her goblet. "It’s not entirely surprising. She’s the heir of two of the strongest bloodlines in the realms. But for her magic to already react intelligently... that’s rare."

"More than rare," Veylira added grimly. "It’s unheard of."

Malvoria leaned forward, her expression sharpening slightly. "Which means we’ll need to be careful. Teach her to control it early. Shield her from those who might want to use it."

"Or fear it," Saelira said quietly.

The table fell into a thoughtful silence.

Elysia reached out and brushed her fingers lightly over Kaelith’s soft hair, heart aching with fierce, protective love.

"We’ll keep her safe," she whispered. "No matter what."

Malvoria’s hand found hers under the table, squeezing tightly.

"We will," she promised.