I won't fall for the queen who burned my world-Chapter 333: Just one smile

The castle felt too big and far too quiet, which was never a good sign.

Malvoria, fresh from her sisterly wrestling match and a mostly peaceful stretch of babysitting, was sprawled on a rug near the window.

Sunlight made wild patterns across the stone floor, and a gentle spring breeze danced in, carrying the faint scent of the orchard.

She would have called it relaxing, except that Lara was determined to make Aliyah smile, and Aliyah bless her new and fiercely stubborn soul had apparently sworn a solemn vow never to do so.

Lara was pulling faces, making strange cooing sounds, and waving a battered stuffed bat in the air with all the grace of a berserk magician.

Aliyah, not even a month old and already the most unimpressed person Malvoria had ever met, responded with a majestic scowl, followed by a stream of baby babble and a bubble of spit.

"Come on, little shadow, just one smile. Your cousin Kaelith was grinning at this age," Lara pleaded, making her cheeks puff out.

Aliyah produced a noise that was somewhere between a war-cry and a squawk, then kicked her legs in defiance.

Malvoria couldn’t help but laugh—soft and helpless. "Give it up. She’s got your sense of humor, which is to say: none."

Lara grinned, undeterred, and tickled Aliyah’s belly. Aliyah blinked up at her, then, after a thoughtful pause, let out a long, rumbling fart.

Malvoria lost it. "Oh, she’s your daughter, all right!"

Lara rolled her eyes and held Aliyah upright. "You’re just jealous because she didn’t fart on you."

Malvoria tossed a pillow at her, half in jest. "Not yet. I’m sure she’s plotting it."

Aliyah, apparently satisfied with her day’s rebellion, settled into a stream of nonsense syllables—"ba, ba, rrrr"—her little fists waving. Lara, undaunted, kept trying to win her over.

It was a peaceful, sun-drenched, slightly absurd scene. And just as Malvoria was settling in for what looked like a long afternoon of competing baby impressions, the castle exploded into noise.

The front doors banged open—two, maybe three voices overlapping, echoing off stone and banners. Footsteps thundered down the corridor.

Someone squealed (definitely Kaelith), and Elysia’s laugh rang out, rich and unmistakably happy.

Malvoria didn’t even have time to rise before the sitting room was invaded. The "gentle souls" of the house—Elysia, Veylira, Raveth, Sarisa, and, in the lead, Kaelith herself—spilled in like a flood of spring after a long winter.

Kaelith was first, racing ahead in a tiny bathrobe still streaked with massage oil and splatters of something blue (was that paint?).

Her hair stood out in wild curls, and her cheeks were pink with joy.

Behind her came Elysia, glowing and relaxed, followed by Veylira (who looked suspiciously smug). 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Sarisa (still pink-faced from laughter), and Raveth, who was trying to balance a fruit basket, a handful of damp towels, and a bottle of some suspiciously demonic-looking spa oil.

Kaelith barreled straight for Malvoria, shrieking, "MAMA! MAMA!" and launched herself into Malvoria’s lap like a catapult.

Malvoria’s arms closed instinctively around her daughter, who squirmed, hugged her neck, and immediately attempted to climb onto her head. "Kaelith, what—?"

"We went to the spa! There was water! And stones! And FIRE!" Kaelith’s voice was shrill with excitement. "And cake! And more fire!"

Malvoria lifted her, checking for bruises or scorch marks. "How much fire?"

Elysia, breezing in and setting down a tray of snacks on the table, grinned. "Not enough to set off the alarm. Barely."

Raveth staggered in after them, looking both refreshed and slightly traumatized. "Never again. That child started juggling the hot stones and nearly set my hair on fire."

Kaelith beamed with pride. "I win!"

Veylira flopped onto the nearest sofa, tossing her hair back. "You should have seen it, Malvoria. She built a flaming pyramid and declared herself Queen of the Spa."

Sarisa added, "And then she tried to anoint Raveth with honeyed fruit. And possibly a demon blessing."

Malvoria raised an eyebrow, unable to suppress a smile. "And this is what you call a ’gentle’ spa day?"

Elysia shrugged, her eyes dancing. "It was relaxing, in a... dangerous, sticky sort of way."

Lara, trying not to laugh, lifted Aliyah so Elysia could see. "Kaelith, tell your cousin what she missed."

Kaelith, undeterred, clambered over to Aliyah, who regarded her older cousin with regal suspicion. Kaelith held out a purple-stained finger. "Look! Spa fire!"

Aliyah blinked, unimpressed, and babbled, "Bah. Bah."

Kaelith scowled, then looked at Malvoria. "She not talk yet."

"She’s only a baby," Malvoria said. "You were born making speeches. Give her time."

Veylira, biting into a sticky bun, added, "Frankly, I’m grateful for the peace. One Kaelith is more than enough."

Kaelith immediately took this as a challenge and started running laps around the room, yelling, "Kaelith! Kaelith! Kaelith!"

Sarisa, setting down her bag, dropped into a chair with a sigh. "Next time, we leave her with you, Malvoria."

Malvoria gave a withering glare. "You wouldn’t dare."

"Oh, we dare," Raveth replied, and tossed Kaelith a leftover fruit tart, which Kaelith caught with surprising dexterity—then promptly stuffed into her mouth whole, cheeks bulging like a chipmunk.

Aliyah, perhaps inspired by the noise, gave her first real giggle—a high, delighted bubble of sound that stopped everyone for a heartbeat.

Lara stared at her daughter as if she’d just solved a riddle of the universe.

Malvoria, still holding Kaelith (who was now bouncing on her knee and humming some nonsensical tune), felt her own heart squeeze. It was chaos, but it was the best kind.

Elysia moved to Malvoria’s side, wrapping an arm around her waist, warm and solid. "Did you miss us?"

Malvoria sniffed, affecting cool indifference. "I barely noticed you were gone. The house was peaceful. Orderly."

"Liar," Lara snorted, "You were sulking in your office by the third hour. I checked."

"I was busy," Malvoria retorted. "Unlike certain people who abandon their family for massages and hot stones."

Kaelith, mid-bounce, piped up, "Mama, we bring you present!"

Raveth handed Malvoria a tiny parcel—a bar of lavender-scented soap, molded into the shape of a dragon. Malvoria sniffed it, face neutral, then managed.

"Thank you. Did anyone actually wash with this, or is it for ceremonial burning?"

Kaelith grinned, her mouth and cheeks still streaked with purple. "BURN!"

Elysia laughed, low and fond. "No burning. This time it’s for relaxing. Or as close as you ever get."

Malvoria set the soap on the table, trying to look stern, but it was a losing battle. The room was alive again, vibrant and full of laughter, and the quiet hours she’d endured now felt like an exile, a waiting room before life returned.

Suddenly, Kaelith turned to Aliyah and reached out, patting her gently on the head. "No cry, Aliyah. Kaelith here."

Aliyah regarded her cousin, blinked, and promptly sneezed, spraying everyone with a fine mist of baby drool.

Lara recoiled, wiping her sleeve. "Fantastic. She’s learning from the best."

Malvoria, surrendering, scooped Kaelith up and hugged her tight, then passed her to Elysia, who took her with a smile.

The room was loud, bustling, alive with a kind of energy that was half exasperation, half joy.

Raveth collapsed into an armchair, rubbing her temples. "Next time, I want to be left at home with the quiet ones."

Veylira, not missing a beat, replied, "There are no quiet ones. Not anymore."

Malvoria, surrounded by her wild, beloved family, let out a long, theatrical sigh. "Traitors. Every last one of you."

This, apparently, was a cue.

Kaelith—still full of spa energy—threw her arms in the air and declared, "Kaelith is not a traitor! Kaelith is queen!"

She tried to climb onto the coffee table to make her announcement official, but Elysia swooped in, catching her mid-scramble and plopping her safely back onto the rug.

"Queen of crumbs, maybe," Elysia teased, brushing pastry flakes from Kaelith’s hair.

Veylira, leaning back with a lazy smirk, nodded gravely. "Long live Queen Kaelith, ruler of mayhem and sticky fingers."

Kaelith beamed, not at all discouraged. She promptly grabbed Aliyah’s stuffed bat and waved it like a scepter.

Aliyah, delighted, immediately lunged after her cousin, launching herself forward with surprising speed.

The two tumbled into a giggling heap, arms and legs everywhere, until Kaelith rolled to the top and planted a victorious kiss on Aliyah’s brow.

Lara and Sarisa watched in horror as Aliyah retaliated by drooling enthusiastically on Kaelith’s shirt.

"It’s a diplomatic incident," Lara groaned. "My daughter’s first act as Celestian-demon hybrid is... aggressive moistening."

Raveth, not missing a beat, declared, "Quick, someone draft a peace treaty before Kaelith burns the evidence."

Malvoria, biting back laughter, feigned sternness. "If there is to be war in my living room, you’ll both serve a time-out in the dungeon."

Kaelith immediately straightened, eyes wide, then grinned, knowing her mother was all bark, no bite when it came to such threats.

Elysia, still holding the lavender dragon soap, quipped, "Honestly, you’d love a bit of dungeon time, Mal. A break from all these traitors?"

Malvoria rolled her eyes, but couldn’t keep the fondness from her voice. "At least the walls are soundproof."

Kaelith and Aliyah, now allies once more, conspired to steal the fruit basket. Kaelith handed grapes to Aliyah, who squished them in her fists, purple juice flying everywhere—over the table, the rug, and unfortunately, Malvoria’s uniform.

Raveth laughed so hard she nearly fell from her chair. Veylira pretended to swoon in horror, and Lara buried her face in her hands, half-laughing, half-resigned.

Malvoria just shook her head, eyes sparkling with reluctant delight. "You see?" she said, looking around at the faces she loved best. "This is the price of treason—total anarchy."