Chapter 225: How Hard Could It Be? (Famous Last Words Before Absolute Chaos)
Chapter 225: How Hard Could It Be? (Famous Last Words Before Absolute Chaos)
Elyn’s POV
I should have known.
I really should have known, especially given the fact that I had the tendency to always attract the opposite of what I intended.
Take the fact that I didn’t want to get married, for instance. I had even lied, saying I was into a demon I had no idea existed, and tada, here I was in the demon realm, the fiancée to a demon that was absolutely sleeping by this time of the day.
Sentences like ’how hard could it be?’, ’how much work could it be?’, ’it can’t be that hard?’ always, always ended up doing the opposite.
How hard could it be? It always ended up being extremely hard. Like the hard version of a game where one silly mistake could get you killed by the villain.
What’s the worst that could happen? Someone may die!
How much work could it be? Too much. A lot. Too fucking much.
And like the fool I was, my words had been ’how much work could it be?’
Cue in a laugh that wasn’t really humorous because I had apparently dug a hole for myself with that one.
Now let me explain why I was crashing out. I was standing in the middle of what could only be described as a disaster carefully disguised as childcare.
I exhaled slowly and shook my head, taking in the scene before me.
Azerion and Velira were arguing... again, and very loudly at that. It was a passionate argument too, though when it came to the both of them, their arguments were always passionate.
Like two tiny nobles in a courtroom fighting over land neither of them owned.
"I told you, it’s not yours!" Azerion snapped, arms crossed tightly over his chest.
"It is mine!" Velira shot back, her wings flaring behind her. "You just want it because I have it!"
"I don’t want it! It’s mine."
"You stole it, and I found it on the floor, so it’s mine now. Finders keepers."
I pressed my fingers lightly against my temple. I was going to have a headache with those two, but at least they were loud in their actions, right?
Anyways, across the room, Aziren was sitting beside Zayrion.
And unlike the chaos unfolding between the other two, those two were... quiet. I mean, they were laughing at me, but yeah... it wasn’t the chaos that was Azerion and Velira.
To properly understand how I had ended up here—surrounded by arguing children, one suspiciously quiet genius, and my dignity in question—you would need to go back a few minutes.
Just a few minutes. I’m not even certain it was up to fifty minutes, maybe thirty at most, but that was all it took.
After I convinced Ysera to leave and that I could handle these children, I decided to do the obvious, which was to go back to my bedroom to change into appropriate clothes. And by appropriate clothes, I mean fire-resistant clothes so I could at least hold Aziren and hug him without feeling like I was two seconds away from having my skin burned off.
That was the plan. Quite simple, right?
So I left the office.
And before I did, I gave instructions.
Clear instructions.
Very clear instructions.
"Rin," I had said, "go to the kitchen and get snacks for the children."
She had nodded.
Vaelory had nodded too, even though I wasn’t talking to her... don’t ask me why.
Morthen had adjusted his glasses, which I had come to understand meant he acknowledged the instruction. And perhaps that was good for him because apparently Rin dragged him along with her.
Now I should have at least left an adult to watch these children and maybe told Rin not to take Morthen with her, but hindsight wasn’t a gift I was particularly blessed with.
And besides, everything was in order. Everything was under control. I’d be out for a few minutes and then get back. Simple.
I was gone for minutes. It wasn’t even a day or perhaps hours, just a few minutes, and I returned to what I’ll now describe as shocking events.
The first thing I noticed when I stepped back into the office was the noise.
Azerion and Velira were arguing, but again, I wasn’t curious to know what it was about.
Instead, I was focused on Rin, who was apparently in the office and now staring at the two children arguing.
Like it was a form of entertainment.
I paused in shock.
"...Rin?"
She turned to me.
"My lady."
I blinked in shock.
"Didn’t I send you to the kitchen?"
She nodded.
"You did."
I frowned slightly.
"Then where are the snacks?"
Before Rin could answer, Vaelory spoke.
"Maybe the snacks were shiny," she said thoughtfully. "And she ate them."
Rin slowly turned her head toward Vaelory.
"I do not particularly like snacks," she said flatly. "And I did not eat them."
Vaelory gasped.
"Wow. That’s shocking, even though they were shiny."
"Rin," I said before she could reply to Vaelory, which could result in an argument, "if you didn’t take the snacks, where are they?"
"They’re on their way," she told me calmly.
On their way?
I opened my mouth to ask what that meant when another Rin walked into the office.
Vaelory frowned.
I blinked.
Once.
Twice.
"...Why are there two of you?" Vaelory asked, pointing.
The second Rin looked at her.
Then tilted her head slightly.
"Vaelory," she said calmly, "you should get your eyes checked. Perhaps the fact that you are human is affecting your vision."
Vaelory gasped.
"This has nothing to do with me being human!" she snapped.
Then she pointed at the other Rin, who the second Rin apparently had not seen.
"There is another Rin right there."
Rin turned and stared directly at a mirror image of herself. They were wearing the exact same dress. The same everything. The same expression.
The first Rin blinked.
The second Rin blinked.
They raised their hands at the exact same time.
Mirroring each other perfectly.
And then—
In perfect synchronization—
"Who are you?" they asked each other.