I won't fall for the queen who burned my world-Chapter 289: Mama

"Mama!" Kaelith called again, grinning with all her tiny teeth, like she knew exactly what she’d done.

The word echoed through the courtyard small, high-pitched, and commanding, as if it had been waiting six months to be spoken aloud.

A hush fell over the construction site.

One of the stonemasons dropped his chisel.

A foreman near the scaffolding blinked twice, muttered, "Did that baby just talk?" and promptly walked straight into a wooden beam.

Elysia, standing perfectly still, felt the world spin just slightly. But not with confusion. Not like the others.

For her, it was delight.

Pure and simple.

She didn’t scream or cry or clutch her heart. She didn’t flail with joy or shout to the heavens. She just smiled, soft and slow and deeply, her chest warming like sunlit water.

Kaelith, unbothered by the general silence and broken tools, threw her arms in the air again.

"Mama!"

Raveth, who had just arrived on the walkway with two crates of enchantment seals under her arms, dropped them both.

The crates hit the ground with a loud clatter, scattering gold-etched runes across the stones like someone had shattered a god’s puzzle box.

Lara, mid-conversation with a carpenter, spun around so fast she nearly tripped on her own boots.

"Wait—what?! Did she just—? Was that—?"

"She talked?" Raveth gaped, staring at Kaelith as if she’d just declared war and asked for pudding.

Veylira, who had been standing with a clipboard beside an overwhelmed architect, turned slowly, jaw slack. Her eyes narrowed like someone had handed her a riddle too complex to be real.

Even Malvoria had gone silent.

Elysia looked down at her daughter, who was still trotting toward her with triumphant wobbliness, arms outstretched and cheeks glowing with pride.

She scooped Kaelith up with perfect ease, hoisting her into the air and bringing her close, forehead to forehead.

"I knew you’d do it when you were ready," Elysia murmured, brushing a kiss to her nose. "And you picked the perfect word."

Kaelith laughed, loud and delighted, and patted Elysia’s cheek with both hands, as if stamping her claim.

Malvoria still hadn’t moved.

"Did she—?" she said, voice hoarse. "Did she just say Mama?"

"She did," Elysia replied, rocking gently side to side with Kaelith on her hip, as if the ground hadn’t just opened beneath them all. "And she meant me."

Lara gasped so dramatically she looked insulted. "Wait—her first word is Mama and she means you?! I’ve been coaching her for weeks!"

"She does recognize you," Elysia offered kindly. "As a very noisy aunt."

Lara groaned. "This is betrayal."

Raveth was still frozen in place, a rune stone clutched in each hand. "How do we reward this? Do we throw a party? Do we write it down in prophecy?"

Kaelith snorted and squirmed in Elysia’s arms, one little hand pointing in every direction like a general surveying her troops.

"Mama," she said again, quieter this time, curling into Elysia’s chest as if there was nowhere else she’d ever wanted to be.

Malvoria looked stunned, soft, and a little shattered.

She approached slowly, almost cautiously, as if Kaelith might disappear if she moved too quickly.

"Say it again?" Malvoria whispered, kneeling down beside them.

Kaelith blinked at her. Then grinned. And then—

"Mama."

But this time, she looked at Elysia again.

Malvoria closed her eyes and nodded once, just once.

Not with disappointment.

But with something heavier.

Acceptance.

Because it wasn’t a mistake.

Kaelith had chosen.

And Elysia?

She accepted it with grace, one arm around her daughter, one hand reaching for Malvoria’s.

"We both are," Elysia said softly. "Always."

Malvoria let out a breath that sounded like it had been trapped in her lungs for a century.

"Of course we are."

She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Kaelith’s chubby cheek. The baby squealed and tried to grab Malvoria’s braid, succeeding after a fierce second attempt.

"Ow," Malvoria muttered, amused.

Kaelith held on, triumphant.

Lara slumped against a wall like she’d just survived a war. "You realize I now owe Arin twenty gold pieces."

Elysia raised an eyebrow. "You were betting on her first word?"

"Of course we were," Raveth said. "My money was on ’Boom.’"

Kaelith squeaked at that, probably agreeing.

The courtyard had resumed motion now, though it was wobbly and disorganized. Builders whispered, glancing toward the family.

Someone was trying to hide laughter behind a levitating plank of wood. The enchantment runes still rolled gently in place, uncaptured and harmless for now.

Saelira appeared from the far wing with a fresh cup of tea, took one look at the scene, and sighed like the gods were testing her patience one final time.

"She spoke?" she asked flatly.

"Yes," Elysia said.

"And she chose you."

"Yes."

"I’ll be pouring liquor into my tea now."

Saelira turned and walked off without another word.

Elysia couldn’t stop smiling.

Kaelith reached for her face again and squished it gently, making pleased sounds as if confirming, yes, this one was hers.

Then she grabbed Elysia’s necklace and tried to chew it.

"Nope," Elysia said, prying her fingers off. "We talked about this. Shiny things are not snacks."

Kaelith responded with a grunt and then curled into her chest, settling in with all the elegance of a sleepy cat.

Malvoria stood, brushing dirt off her knees. "She picked the quiet one."

"Clearly she’s wise," Elysia replied.

Malvoria gave her a look that was half fond, half mock-annoyed.

"I just burned an entire section of my reputation as a demon queen to the ground for her. And she rewards you."

"She rewards both of us," Elysia corrected, pulling Malvoria in by the hand. "But she spends more time with the one who doesn’t have daily meetings with granite suppliers and explosive wards experts."

Malvoria grunted. "Fine. You win this round."

"I’ve won the whole tournament," Elysia teased.

Malvoria leaned in, kissed her temple, and whispered, "And yet I never mind losing to you."

Elysia flushed slightly and pressed her cheek to Kaelith’s hair.

She couldn’t have asked for more.

The castle behind them stood half-finished, scaffolding still in place, the great archways yawning with space to fill.

Wind rustled through the open halls, bringing the smell of fresh timber and stone. Sunlight spilled over the new bricks, bathing them in a golden glow.

And here, at the center of it all, stood the three of them.

A family.

Not perfect. Not traditional. Not quiet.

But whole.

Kaelith was already dozing, her thumb in her mouth, her other hand tangled in Elysia’s sleeve like she refused to let go.

Malvoria wrapped an arm around both of them.

"I was wrong," she murmured. "She’s not going to destroy the world."

Elysia glanced at her.

"She’s going to build one."