Help! My Moms Are Overpowered Tyrants, and I'm Stuck as Their Baby!-Chapter 149: Operation Clueless

(Mara POV)

I stared down at the hastily sketched map that Riven had just slapped onto the wooden table. Its edges were curling upward, charred slightly from an earlier mishap involving fire magic and Aria's misplaced optimism.

Elira peered over my shoulder, her expression equal parts amusement and skepticism. "Riven, what exactly are we looking at?"

Riven waved enthusiastically at the drawing. "It's a strategic map," he said seriously. "I've marked all the locations where Elyzara and Velka have behaved suspiciously."

I squinted. "This just looks like the dining hall, a hallway, and… is that the bathroom?"

Aria winced slightly. "We might've been overzealous with our espionage."

Riven sighed dramatically. "We needed thoroughness."

"Thoroughness," Elira repeated dryly. "Or obsessiveness?"

I gave a helpless shrug. "Honestly, at this point, I can't even tell."

It had all begun innocently enough well, as innocently as things ever could around Elyzara. Riven and Aria had come barging into the guards' quarters a half hour earlier, eyes wild, babbling something about Velka "acting weird" and Elyzara "looking suspiciously flustered." It was hardly compelling evidence, but as their officially appointed guardians, Elira and I couldn't simply ignore it. Well, we could have, but then Riven would've likely combusted from sheer indignation.

Thus, our "emergency" meeting had commenced.

"So, to clarify," I began patiently, rubbing my temples gently. "Your proof of suspicious behavior is… awkward conversations, blushing, and furtive glances?"

"Exactly," Aria confirmed earnestly.

Elira's eyes glittered with barely restrained laughter. "So, what you're saying is that they're acting like typical awkward teenagers?"

Riven's brow furrowed. "But it's Elyzara and Velka. They don't do normal teenage awkwardness. They do intense, magical, possibly-catastrophic awkwardness."

I raised an eyebrow. "And the distinction here is…?"

"Severity," he said promptly, slamming a palm down onto the map dramatically. "The severity is off the charts."

Elira leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms as she cast me an amused glance. "Honestly, Mara, remind me again how we ended up babysitting all four of them?"

I groaned softly. "Because we're apparently cursed."

Riven opened his mouth to protest, but I raised a hand to silence him. "Before you say anything, Riven, let's review your most recent attempt at stealth."

He closed his mouth sheepishly.

Elira smirked faintly. "Aria?"

Aria sighed, her shoulders slumping slightly. "In our defense, the armor really shouldn't have been placed so precariously."

I rubbed my forehead, stifling a laugh. "Right. Clearly the fault of the centuries-old architecture."

Riven muttered something under his breath about "hostile interior decoration," while Aria tried to subtly kick his shin beneath the table.

"Anyway," Elira intervened diplomatically, "has it occurred to either of you that perhaps Velka and Elyzara are simply growing closer as friends?"

Riven made a choking sound. "Friends? Velka doesn't have friends. She has associates. Minions. Possibly victims."

"Riven," I said firmly, "be nice."

He huffed loudly. "Fine. But my point stands. Velka acting… shy? Flustered? It's unnatural. Suspicious. Dangerous."

Aria raised a hand hesitantly. "I do think it's odd. Velka was actually polite to me yesterday. Polite! She said 'thank you.' That's practically an admission of guilt."

I sighed deeply. "You realize none of this constitutes actual evidence?"

Riven's expression turned pleading. "But Mara, we need answers!"

I exchanged a long, knowing glance with Elira. "What exactly are you two suggesting?"

Aria looked thoughtful. "Surveillance?"

"Absolutely not," Elira said immediately. "Your last surveillance nearly decapitated a statue."

Aria blushed deeply, ducking her head. "Fair."

Riven sighed dramatically again, flopping back into his chair like a disgruntled cat. "Then how do we find out what's going on?"

"Maybe," Elira suggested carefully, "we trust Elyzara to handle whatever this is herself."

"Trust Elyzara?" Riven scoffed. "You do realize that's like trusting a dragon with fireworks, right?"

"Hey," I interjected mildly. "We do trust Elyzara. Mostly."

"Mostly," Riven echoed skeptically. "Comforting."

Aria patted Riven's shoulder soothingly. "We just don't want another repeat of the whole forbidden-wing-and-ominous-murals incident."

Elira sighed softly, leaning toward me conspiratorially. "Do you ever feel we're the only two adults in this entire castle?"

"Constantly," I muttered, rolling my eyes.

Riven folded his arms stubbornly. "Look, I just think there's something bigger going on. Velka's family history, Elyzara's mysterious kidnappers two years ago… and now secret meetings It screams conspiracy."

I exchanged another glance with Elira, reluctantly conceding he had a point, albeit delivered with his usual melodramatic flair. Elyzara's recent behavior had been noticeably stranger especially around Velka. They were hiding something, and that something might indeed matter.

"Fine," I said eventually, sitting up straighter. "We'll pay closer attention. Quietly. Carefully. Without knocking down statues or getting caught spying."

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Riven looked triumphant. "So you admit there's a problem?"

"I admit," I clarified patiently, "that Elyzara and Velka are acting strangely, and it's worth investigating. Calmly."

Riven beamed proudly, turning to Aria with a smug grin. "See? Told you they'd agree eventually."

Elira shook her head, standing and gathering the crumpled map. "But we're doing this our way. You two—" she pointed sternly at them "—are officially banned from any form of spying, sneaking, lurking, or otherwise causing mayhem."

"But—" Riven began.

"No buts," I said firmly, suppressing a smile. "Leave the subtlety to us."

Riven looked wounded. "I can be subtle!"

Aria patted his back reassuringly. "You're about as subtle as a fire elemental at a dry-leaf festival."

He glared at her indignantly. "Betrayed. By my own teammate."

Aria smiled sweetly. "Truth hurts."

Elira chuckled softly, nudging my shoulder affectionately. "All right, wife, shall we officially declare 'Operation Clueless' underway?"

I smirked back at her. "Sounds appropriately chaotic."

Riven brightened immediately. "Oh, we get a codename? Excellent."

"Don't get used to it," I warned lightly.

Riven and Aria scrambled to their feet, clearly satisfied for now. As they left, Aria whispered loudly to Riven, "I still say your boots were the problem."

Riven groaned dramatically. "For the last time, they're combat-inspired—!"

As their voices faded down the corridor, Elira leaned in closer, slipping an arm around my waist. "Think we're making the right call?"

I squeezed her hand softly. "Honestly, I have no idea. But someone has to keep an eye on those two disasters."

She laughed quietly, pressing a gentle kiss to my temple. "Agreed."

t should've ended there a quiet moment, warm and calm in the middle of our increasingly absurd lives. But no. Because Riven, ever incapable of exiting a room with grace, reappeared in the doorway thirty seconds later with the most unrepentant smirk I'd ever seen.

"Forgot my boots," he announced.

Elira and I both turned to look at him. The boots in question were—tragically—on his feet.

"Riven," Elira said carefully, like she was speaking to a confused and dangerous animal. "You're wearing them."

He paused. Blinked. Looked down at his feet.

"Right," he said. "Just testing your observational skills. You passed. Good job, Captain."

And then he vanished again before either of us could say a word.

Elira stared at the now-empty doorway like she was considering a fireball. "You know," she said slowly, "sometimes I genuinely wonder if we're being punished."

"Not punished," I replied, sinking back into the chair with a sigh. "Just… heavily tested."

"With chaos as the test," she muttered.

The silence that followed was oddly peaceful brief, fleeting. The sun filtering through the stained-glass windows painted gold and amethyst shapes across the polished stone floor, and for a moment, it almost felt like the world was normal again. Almost.

"Do you think they'll tell us?" Elira asked eventually. "Elyzara and Velka."

I hesitated, then shook my head. "Not yet. Whatever's happening, they're still figuring it out. And knowing Elyzara… she'll try to fix it herself first."

"Stubbornness runs in the family," Elira said fondly.

I nudged her knee with mine. "You love it."

"I tolerate it."

"You married into it."

Her lips curved. "I did. And I'd do it again."

There was a beat of quiet.

"...You know they're definitely falling for each other, right?" I said eventually, glancing sideways.

Elira didn't even look surprised. "Obviously. I saw the mural too, remember?"

"She's trying so hard not to show it, though. Elyzara. Like she's scared of it."

"Elira," I said, smiling a little, "our girl was kidnapped, tortured, used as a magical conduit, and then called a baby girl in a vampire's dream. She has earned the right to be terrified of feelings."

Elira blinked. "She knows about that dream?"

"Oh, not yet," I said innocently. "But I give it two weeks, tops."

Elira gave a wicked grin. "Want to bet on it?"

I raised an eyebrow. "You'll lose."

"I always do. It's tradition."

We both laughed quiet and full, the kind of laughter that settled deep into your ribs and made you forget, just for a second, the weight of what was coming.

Because something was coming. That mural hadn't been just a mural. The dreams weren't just dreams. Velka's markings, Elyzara's magic, the sudden silence from the rebel factions—something dark and old and very much alive was stirring beneath our feet. And whether they liked it or not, the two girls at the center of it were more than connected.

They were bound.

But for now, Elira rested her head against my shoulder. I closed my eyes and breathed her in, holding onto that fragile moment of peace while we still could.

"Do you think we should warn the Headmistress?" she murmured eventually.

I considered that.

"No," I said softly. "Not yet."

She hummed in agreement. "Let's give them a little longer to come to us."

I reached for her hand, fingers intertwining easily.

"They won't have to do this alone," I said.

"Not if we can help it," she agreed.

And somewhere in the castle, our little disasters were probably planning something ill-advised.

But at least, this time, we'd be watching.