Help! My Moms Are Overpowered Tyrants, and I'm Stuck as Their Baby!-Chapter 140: The Morning Menace

One thing was certain: this wedding was going to be unforgettable, and possibly banned in at least three provinces.

Aria and I were still recovering from our laughter faces flushed, limbs tangled in a heroic pile of pillows and feathers when the knock came.

No, not a polite knock.

A knock of doom.

Thud. Thud. Pause. Thud thud thud.

[Uh-oh,] the system hummed. [That's the sound of someone who thinks they're morally superior and slightly out of breath.]

"I already regret existing," I muttered, dragging myself upright.

Another knock, sharper this time.

"Elyzara!" came a very familiar, very annoyed voice. "It's almost first bell. Are you both dead or just disrespectful of schedules?"

Aria sat up like a startled cat. "Is that—"

"Yes." I sighed, fixing my hair. "Our favorite person."

[Riven the Righteous, bringer of passive-aggression and perfectly ironed socks,] the system added.

"Do you want to open it or should I?" Aria asked.

"I'll do it. I'm already cursed, might as well take full responsibility."

I padded across the room, shoved aside a particularly fluffy pillow pile, and opened the door.

Riven stood there, arms crossed, eyebrows in a state of war, and the faintest flush across his cheeks from having clearly jogged over from the boys' wing.

"You're late," he said, like it was the worst possible crime.

"Technically," I replied, "I'm fashionably delayed."

"Fashionable is when you're five minutes late to a feast," Riven snapped. "This is combat theory. Professor Larkis already hates us."

"He hates you," Aria corrected from behind me. "I'm at worst 'disappointing.'"

Riven glared at her, then returned his attention to me. "Do I even want to know why you're both giggling like gremlins in here?"

[Say yes. Say yes and confess everything with fireworks,] the system whispered.

I resisted the urge to grin. "We were celebrating."

"Celebrating what?"

"Mara and Elira," I said brightly. "They're engaged!"

Riven blinked. "Wait. For real?"

Aria jumped to her feet. "They kissed. Again. With intent this time. And Mara gave her a ring!"

Riven looked visibly stunned. "I thought they'd just die of emotional constipation before that happened."

"Right?" I threw up my hands. "But no! They actually did it. Aeris and Arion saw everything and immediately tried to organize a cake."

Riven's eyes narrowed. "Wait, the twins told you? How? Please tell me they didn't activate a gate again—"

"No, no. Magic phone call," I said, waving it vaguely like a noble with a fan. "They chirped in at dinner. It was adorable."

He rubbed his temples. "You two are impossible."

"You love us," Aria replied sweetly.

"I tolerate you."

"You carried my books for a month once."

"Because you cursed mine."

I shrugged. "Still counts."

Riven groaned. "Get dressed. Now. We have five minutes to reach the east courtyard before Professor Larkis starts his 'There is no honor without punctuality' monologue again."

I rolled my eyes, moving to grab my boots. "He says that every week. It's practically his motto."

"He had it embroidered on a banner once," Aria added, throwing on her jacket. "I think it was made of despair and recycled disappointment."

"He'll bench us if we're late again," Riven warned, eyes following my very slow, very deliberate attempt to braid my hair. "And I am not spending another lecture in silence while he 'reflects on our wasted potential.'"

"Maybe you do have wasted potential," I offered helpfully.

"Maybe I regret knocking on this door," he shot back.

[This is my favorite sitcom,] the system sighed dreamily. [Can we make this daily? I'll even do a laugh track.]

We gathered our things me, reluctantly; Aria, enthusiastically; Riven, already preparing a speech about tactical discipline. As we exited the dormitory, the courtyard greeted us with its usual morning chaos: students stretching, sparring, or sprinting because they were even later than us.

I squinted up at the cloudless sky. "Why is the sun so bright?"

"Because it hates you," Riven muttered. "Now move."

Aria linked her arm through mine. "So! Wedding plans! Think they'll let us organize the entertainment?"

"I'm voting for enchanted fireworks and dramatic harp solos," I replied.

Riven groaned behind us. "We are going to get detention."

"Correction," I said, grinning, "you are going to get detention. I am the royal heir. I get 'gentle reprimands.'"

Aria laughed. "Privilege at its finest."

We reached the courtyard just as the professor began his speech. Riven straightened like he was about to be inspected by a god. Aria and I stood behind him and very clearly did not stop whispering about cake flavors.

Professor Larkis gave us a side-eye that could set fields on fire.

Still, as I glanced over at my friends Aria humming softly under her breath, Riven glaring at a butterfly like it insulted his honor I felt… good.

Really good.

[Mood status: celebratory. Internal magic: stable. Soul link integrity: 100%. Wedding-fueled serotonin: overwhelming.]

Noted, I thought, smiling faintly.

Professor Larkis finally barked, "Pairs! Move!"

"Oh no," Riven muttered. "He's going to shuffle us."

"Better not stick me with Geralt again," Aria sighed. "He smells like burnt beans."

"And breathes like he's dying," I added.

[And thinks tactical formations are a type of bread,] the system added helpfully.

We braced.

"Elyzara and Riven!" the professor called.

Riven groaned.

"Aria and Velka!"

Aria blinked. "I've never spoken to her. Is she legally allowed to speak to anyone?"

I shrugged. "Maybe you'll bond. Maybe she'll bite you."

Aria patted my shoulder. "If I die, avenge me with cake."

We split off, each to our assigned square on the training field. Riven sulked beside me like a noble horse forced to do a pony show.

"You're unusually broody this morning," I teased. "Thinking about Mara in a wedding gown?"

"No," he snapped. "I'm thinking about how this partnership means I now have a double chance of being set on fire."

[He's not wrong,] the system offered.

"You're my best friend," I said sweetly. "Of course you deserve premium fire proximity."

"I'm going to start wearing wet robes."

I grinned, stepping into position. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be," he muttered.

We fought. We parried. He dodged. I flared. It was glorious.

All the while, I couldn't help but glance across the field at Aria and Velka. Aria was talking. Velka was not stabbing her. This was, honestly, a miracle.

[Maybe they're bonding over your collective chaos,] the system suggested.

Or she's planning to set me on fire in a wedding-shaped inferno, I replied, panting.

[Either way, it'll be memorable.]

By the time the sun reached its peak, we were sweaty, mildly bruised, and fully alive.

Riven flopped down on the grass beside me. "You're lucky you're charming."

"I'm lucky I'm me," I corrected, flopping beside him.

Aria joined us moments later, her braid slightly undone, her cheeks flushed.

"She didn't bite me," she announced cheerfully.

This chapt𝙚r is updated by freeωebnovēl.c૦m.

"Progress," Riven said with mock surprise.

We lay there, looking at the clouds. Somewhere in the distance, the bell rang again.

"I'm still thinking about the wedding," I murmured.

"Same," Aria whispered.

[Same,] the system added dramatically. [I demand a feathered cape.]