Mika ran a hand down his face, utterly exasperated as he looked at Charlotte, who was still twirling a strand of her hair with a mischievous smile plastered across her lips.
"Unbelievable." He muttered. "There’s no getting through to you, is there?"
Charlotte tilted her head, pretending to look confused, but her smirk betrayed her.
"Through to ? Mika, don’t say it like that. I only did what needed to be done. You should be thanking , really." She said sweetly, as if she hadn’t just orchestrated psychological warfare.
He turned away from her and looked straight at Yelena instead, his brows furrowed in disbelief.
"And you..." Mika pointed a finger at Yelena, who was calmly watching the exchange with her usual poised smile. "You’re her mother! Aren’t you going to say sothing to her?!"
Yelena blinked at him, her eyes shimring with faint amusent.
"Say sothing?" She echoed softly.
"Yes, say sothing! Scold her! This is your daughter, isn’t it?!" Mika exclaid, throwing his hands up. "Why are you even smiling right now? You should be furious about what she’s done. Don’t tell you’re okay with this?"
Yelena’s expression didn’t falter. She rely placed a slender finger on her chin as though contemplating his words.
"You’re right." She said slowly, nodding. "I have warned Charlotte many tis in the past not to use her blessings so recklessly, especially on normal people like those reporters. It’s dangerous and...unbecoming of her. And yes, I’ve even punished her several tis for it."
At those words, Charlotte stiffened slightly, her playful smirk faltering.
"Mama..." She murmured, her voice suddenly small, as she rembered all too well what "punishnts" from Yelena ant.
Yelena’s smile widened faintly as if she sensed her daughter’s nervousness. "Oh, don’t shiver like that, Charlotte. You still rember, don’t you? Every punishnt I gave you?"
Charlotte’s shoulders twitched involuntarily as mories of grueling training and scolding sessions flashed in her mind.
"Y-Yes, Mama..." She admitted quietly, her earlier confidence visibly wavering for a mont.
But then, to Mika’s surprise, Yelena’s smile brightened even more, not in reproach but in approval.
"...However." She continued softly. "I don’t feel like punishing Charlotte this ti. Not at all."
Mika blinked in disbelief. "What?" He said flatly.
Yelena nodded, her eyes glinting.
"Yes. In fact, I think she actually did sothing good for once. I can’t deny that I, too, felt so frustration simply letting those people go unscathed. But after seeing what she did, and hearing about the little ’carnage’ she’s set in motion..."
Yelena’s calm smile turned into sothing sharper, almost sadistic, as she spoke in a low, velvety tone.
"...I find myself looking forward to seeing the chaos unfold in those won’s hos."
Charlotte’s grin instantly returned, wide and bright. "See, Mika? Even Mama agrees with this ti."
Mika’s jaw fell open as he stared between mother and daughter.
"You, you’re both insane!" He said, exasperated. "Yelena, you’re supposed to be the level-headed one! The rational one! The calm voice of reason in this group. Aren’t you the expert at holding in your emotions, even in the worst situations?!"
Yelena chuckled softly, her gaze warm as she stepped closer to Mika.
"That’s true." She said gently. "I am the calst one among us. I rarely let emotions sway . Even when we’ve faced the worst enemies in the past, I was the one who kept the group grounded and focused."
Mika’s shoulders relaxed slightly as he heard her say this, but then he noticed the soft, tender way her fingers brushed through his hair.
"But you and your mother..." Yelena continued, her voice soft but laced with deep emotion. "You two are different."
Mika looked up at her, startled by the intensity in her gaze.
"You’re the two things I absolutely cannot hold back against. If soone even dares say sothing bad about your na for a second..." Her voice lowered, her eyes flashing coldly as her fingers stroked his cheek. "I would get furious. No, beyond furious."
She straightened, her erald eyes burning with protective fire as she glanced at Charlotte for a brief mont.
"Even if they insulted or Charlotte, I could bear it. I wouldn’t like it, but I’d endure it. But you?" Her tone hardened. "You’re different. You are sothing no one...no one...should touch."
Mika swallowed hard, frozen by her words as she stepped even closer.
"Even speaking ill of you or your mother’s na is a taboo in my heart. And anyone who tries to do so...they’re my enemy. My enemy number one."
Her voice dropped, chilling and protective.
"Even if the whole world sees as a villain, Mika, I will make sure that person pays. I don’t care what it costs ."
Mika’s mouth opened but no words ca out. He could only stare up at her, stunned and at a complete loss.
"Yelena..." He whispered finally.
Her expression softened instantly, her hand cradling his cheek as she smiled tenderly.
"Don’t overthink it." She said softly. "Just know...I won’t let anything hurt you. Ever."
Mika let out a long sigh, his shoulders slumping. He knew it, there was no winning this argunt. Both mother and daughter were completely unshakable in their stance, like an immovable mountain.
Yelena, watching him quietly, tilted her head slightly. Her eyes then softened as she took in his expression, the faint crease of concern on his brow. She reached out, brushing his cheek with her fingers.
"You don’t need to worry so much." She said in her calm, soothing tone. "I was already thinking about dealing with those reporters long before they ever ca here. Today was simply...the perfect opportunity."
Mika glanced at her, his curiosity piqued despite himself.
"...Perfect opportunity?" He echoed.
Yelena nodded gracefully, her fingers retracting as she folded her hands in front of her.
"Yes. For a while now, those specific reporters have been a nuisance. Every press conference I’ve attended, they’ve asked ridiculous, imposing questions."
"And through that it beca clear so ti ago that they weren’t just journalists, they were tools, as no normal report would dare to ask such daring questions."
"Puppets, set up by factions in the Federation...the governnt...maybe even certain royal family mbers."
Mika’s eyes flinched slightly as she spoke, realization dawning on his face.
"They..." He muttered. "So all those annoying questions they asked you in the past, those were part of their tactics? To annoy you into reacting?"
Yelena smiled faintly, though there was no warmth in her eyes.
"Yes. A petty tactic, really. Their masters wanted to provoke us, leeching away at our patience in hopes of making us falter...But I refused to give them that satisfaction. I’ve tolerated it all this ti because it was too lowly of to act against their trivial attempts." Her gaze then hardened slightly. "But now? Today, they ca here willingly, barging into my family’s private space...and that was truly the last straw."
Mika stayed silent, watching her as she spoke so serenely about dismantling their livelihoods.
"Don’t let it weigh on you...I know just how rciful you are when it cos to anything anyone does to you, sotis even having the patience a sage so much so to the extent that you wouldn’t even react if soone were to punch you right on the face" Yelena said softly. "They weren’t good people, Mika. They chose this path."
Hearing all this, Mika glanced down thoughtfully before speaking again.
"So all those higher-ups, they’re still bugging you and the others, even more then before?"
For a mont, Yelena’s smile faltered. Her gaze flickered, and for a heartbeat she looked as though she wanted to say sothing. But then she shook her head, her smile returning.
"There’s no need to talk about unsavory people like that...especially to a child like you." She said gently, patting his head. "Those are adult matters, Mika. Keep your mind light, and leave such burdens to ."
Mika frowned slightly but didn’t press further. He wanted to ask more, wanted to understand how things were unfolding behind the scenes, but seeing her relaxed expression, he let out another sigh and let it go for now.
"...Still." He murmured, shaking his head. "Those reporters...they’re pitiful. They ca looking for an interview, and instead, they lost their jobs. Lost their livelihoods. So of them probably have families to feed."
At that, Charlotte stepped forward with a sharp smirk, her eyes glinting mischievously.
"Pitiful?" She repeated, her tone almost mocking.
Mika raised an eyebrow at her. "What?"
"You really want to pity them..." Charlotte asked, stepping closer until her face was re inches from his. "...when you’re no different, Mika."
"...What’s that supposed to an?" Mika said warily.
Charlotte grinned even wider, her voice dropping into a taunting whisper.
"I an...the only reason you’re so calm right now...even pitying them...is because they went after you this ti, isn’t it?"
She murmured, her tone soft but laced with sothing sly and probing.
"You’re soone who doesn’t really care what people say about you. Either you look down on them so much their words don’t even scratch you...or you’re just too damn kind for your own good."
Her lips curved ever so slightly, and her voice dropped to a huskier whisper as she leaned in closer. "But...that’s only for you, isn’t it? What if it wasn’t you they were talking about?"
She tilted her head, blue eyes glinting as she spoke in a slow, almost scandalous tone.
"What if it was ...or Mama...or one of my sisters or Aunts they were mocking?"
"What if they said I was a filthy little slut who spreads her legs for any man who so much as glances at her?...Or called Mama a cheap whore who moans for anyone willing to stuff her holes?"
"...What then, Mika? Would you still be this calm...or would you react in a much different way?"
Her words dripped with both heat and a teasing challenge, almost daring him to answer and for a mont, Mika didn’t answer.
Instead, his eyes, which were already dark, seed to deepen even further, like a shadow swallowing what little light remained. His skin, usually pale, seed to go even whiter as his lips curled into a faint, gentle smile.
It wasn’t warm.
It wasn’t kind.
It was cruel.
So delicate and tender in appearance, but so terrifying that both Yelena and Charlotte felt a chill run down their spines.
Charlotte’s smirk cracked instantly, her breath hitching as an icy chill crawled down her spine.
Yelena, ever poised and unshakable, felt a rare, alien shiver slide through her body.
A bead of cold sweat ford on Charlotte’s temple, trailing slowly down her neck as her muscles locked in place, her instincts screaming at her to stay still.
It felt less like standing before a man...and more like standing before sothing ancient and hungry, a ghoul playing with its prey, not out of need but sheer amusent.
"Ah, ah! see?!" She shouted suddenly, pointing a finger at Mika as if trying to push back the invisible pressure she felt. "You’re the crazy one here! You call us overbearing, but you’re definitely the most overbearing of us all!"
Yelena, too, let out a small breath, dabbing her forehead lightly with her fingers as she smiled wryly.
"She’s right, Mika." Yelena said softly, her voice almost playful now. "You shouldn’t be the one talking. Even without saying a single word, you’re showing us exactly what you’d do...and it’s far, far worse than anything Charlotte or I could conjure up."
Mika blinked innocently, tilting his head slightly.
"What are you two even talking about?" He said, his tone soft and confused. "I didn’t say anything. You’re both overreacting. And honestly, I wouldn’t even do anything since you two are SSS-class blessed after all who could easily take of your own problems."
"...So, why in the world do you think that a support-class like with no blessing whatsoever bother to put my head in sothing that can handle yourself."
But even as he said that excuse and smiled that quiet, angelic smile, both Yelena and Charlotte knew, knew from past events and unspoken mories, just how terrifying this boy could truly be when pushed.
Even though Mika was usually so easygoing and carefree, there were tis when he’d shown a darkness that surpassed theirs entirely.
And both won, powerful, feared, revered as they were, silently hoped no one in this world would ever be foolish enough to harm them again.
Not for their sake. But for the sake of the unfortunate soul who might incur Mika’s wrath.
Because a move from him wasn’t sothing the world could endure without breaking apart even a little...
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