Chapter 35: Mischievous Goddess

Charlotte’s lips trembled as her pout deepened, and her voice cracked as she yelled,

"Mama, this isn’t fair at all!"

Mika winced slightly, turning his head toward the floating girl with confusion and dread.

"Charlotte—"

"No! Don’t even try to talk, Mika!" She snapped, her cheeks puffing like an indignant squirrel.

Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears as she kicked her legs in frustration, still dangling helplessly in the air.

"Not only did you interrupt us when we were finally, finally, getting lovey-dovey...and probably going to the next step, which, by the way, has never happened before!!" Her voice rose to a dramatic wail.

"But now...now you’re making me hang here like some criminal in time-out, and you’re just getting all cozy with Mika in front of me!"

Mika’s eyes widened as he lifted a hand in protest. "H-Hey, it’s not like she—"

"And you’re hugging him so tight...snuggling your face against his chest like you’re some lovesick teenager!" Charlotte continued, her voice cracking. "Then you even had the audacity to ask him to hug you tighter...and even told him to rub your back while I’m right here watching!"

Her voice broke into a soft whimper. "D-Do you even consider me your daughter anymore...? Or am I just some random girl you decided to punish while you take Mika for yourself?"

Yelena’s head slowly turned toward her daughter, her expression calm and unbothered as an unmistakable smug smile crept onto her lips.

"Oh, sweetheart..." She said with false sympathy, rubbing her cheek even closer against Mika’s chest. "You’re being so dramatic. There’s nothing wrong with what I’m doing right now."

Charlotte’s jaw dropped. "Nothing wrong?!"

"That’s right." Yelena’s eyes glinted mischievously as she gave Mika’s back another slow, affectionate stroke. "It’s not like I’m some random girl trying to steal Mika away from you. I’m his his caretaker, his gaurdian."

"...And right now I’m just doting on him with all my love and affection like anyone would after taking care of that same boy their whole life."

"Y-You’re saying that like it excuses everything you’re doing right now, Mama!" Charlotte squirmed in the air, her face turning red with both embarrassment and fury.

"It does excuse everything." Yelena’s voice was calm but laced with playful condescension. "I’m not doing anything wrong at all. I raised him with my own hands, loved him, cherished him...and now I’m just expressing that love."

She glanced up at Mika, her fingers tracing delicate circles on his back. "Isn’t that right, my sweet boy?"

Mika froze as his body stiffened under her touch. "U-Um...I..."

"Don’t ’um’ me, Mika!!" Charlotte shrieked.

"C-Charlotte, calm down—"

"No, I will not calm down!" She cried, her fists trembling. "Mama, you’re literally rubbing yourself all over him like some kind of clingy girlfriend!"

"How am I supposed to stay calm when you’re making me watch this whole thing unfold like I’m some pathetic third wheel?!"

Yelena tilted her head, her smile deepening as she tightened her hold on Mika’s waist. "Ohhh, my poor little girl...is that jealousy I hear?"

"Of course it’s jealousy!" Charlotte yelled. "You’re my mother! You’re supposed to be on my side, not his! Why are you clinging to Mika like he’s your man, when you were just scolding him a few minutes ago?!"

Yelena’s eyes narrowed slightly, her smile now radiating pure smugness as she purred,

"Well...maybe it’s because Mika isn’t just your man and he’s my sweet boy too. And unlike you, I don’t push him or pressure him...I let him come to me when he’s ready. That’s why he’s hugging me back so nicely right now."

)

Charlotte’s mouth dropped open in shock. "H-He’s only doing that because you guilt-tripped him into it! I’m his future wife, he’s supposed to be hugging me like that! Not you!"

Yelena chuckled softly, her fingers still stroking Mika’s back. "Oh, darling...you’ve been trying to win Mika’s heart for years now, haven’t you? And yet here he is, hugging me this tightly while you dangle in the air like a naughty little kitten."

"...Maybe you should learn a thing or two from me."

"Maaamaaaa!!!" Charlotte wailed, her voice wobbling as her tears finally began to spill.

Mika groaned, running a hand down his face. "Oh, for the love of—Yelena, can you put her down already? She’s going to cry her eyes out at this rate!"

"Hmm?" Yelena tilted her head, looking utterly unbothered. "And let her interrupt our precious moment?"

Charlotte gasped dramatically. "Precious moment?! This is torture for me!!"

Mika let out a long sigh and rolled his eyes as the mother-daughter bickering continued in front of him.

To anyone else, this scene might have seemed surreal.

One of the goddesses of the world sparring verbally with her own daughter like a petty schoolgirl. But to Mika, it was just another Tuesday.

He’d seen this exact dynamic play out so many times before that he could practically predict every line before it came.

His gaze then drifted to Yelena, her soft smile still plastered on her face as she held him.

The public would never believe this side of her. In their eyes, Yelena was the epitome of grace and discipline, the most responsible and refined of the five goddesses.

People praised her as the "ideal wife" and "perfect mother" of the group, the one who kept her eccentric peers in check and acted as the anchor for their chaos...And they weren’t wrong.

Yelena was responsible. Among the goddesses, each with their quirks, she was undoubtedly the most composed, the one who could be trusted to take care of others.

Even now, Mika could see that part of her in how fiercely she cared for him.

But what the world didn’t know, and what Mika had discovered years ago, was that this woman had a mischievous streak as sharp as her maternal instincts.

This teasing, this slyness she displayed with Charlotte, wasn’t malice, it was her way of doting on the ones she loved, just like how she was coaxing out reactions from her daughter.

It was probably where Charlotte had inherited her own devilish personality, her ability to pout and scheme and manipulate with wide eyes and trembling lips.

But as entertaining as it was watching them, he knew Charlotte was seconds away from crying for real if this kept going. So, with a snap of his fingers, the dagger that suspended Charlotte in midair feel down.

And Yelena who noticed this couldn’t help but frown in indignation as even a SS-Class blessed wouldn’t be able to suppress her blessing even if they had a solid amount of time.

And here Mika simply did it so easily like he was simply calling a waiter over which made damaged her pride as one of the women who saved the world, even though she already knew just how capable Mika actually was.

Meanwhile, Charlotte yelped as her feet touched the floor.

"Finally!" She cried out, glaring up at her mother.

But she didn’t waste another second, as she then shouted and launched herself at lover who was torn away from her, "Mika!!"

Before Mika could react, she grabbed one of the arms that was still wrapped loosely around Yelena and yanked it away.

"Mine!" She declared with righteous fury, then all but dove into his chest. She buried her face against him and rubbed frantically, her arms locked tightly around his waist.

"Oi, Charlotte, what the hell are you doing?"

Mika asked, his voice half annoyed, half baffled. He then peered down at her as she rubbed her cheek against his shirt like a cat marking its territory.

"Wait, are you...are you rubbing your snot on me? Do you have a cold or something? Because if you do, I swear—"

"I’m not doing something that disgusting!"

Charlotte snapped back, shooting him a wounded look as he reached for a tissue and shoved it in her face.

"Well, it mostly definitely looks like you’re doing exactly that and there’s no way you can be sneaky with me. So, instead of lying use this instead of smearing it on my shirt." Mika said flatly. "This is white, you know. It’s gonna stain."

Charlotte let out an indignant huff. "I told you, I’m not sick! I’m rubbing my face on you to erase Mama’s scent. You reek of her right now, and I can’t stand it!"

"Oh, for crying out loud—"

But before Mika could finish, Yelena let out a soft laugh behind him. "Erase my scent, hmm? That’s an interesting approach."

Charlotte shot her mother a venomous glare. "Don’t you dare laugh at me, Mama! You’ve already ruined everything today!"

"Ruined everything?" Yelena tilted her head, her tone honey-sweet but her smirk devilish. "I was simply expressing motherly affection to the boy I raised. There’s nothing wrong with that."

"There’s everything wrong with that! You’re acting like some...some flirty girl trying to steal my boyfriend!"

"Charlotte." Yelena said calmly, her arms still lazily resting around Mika’s shoulders. "You’re being dramatic. I’m his caretaker. You have no right to tell me how much I can dote on him."

"I do have a right!" Charlotte wailed, her voice pitching high as she squeezed Mika tighter. "You already hogged him long enough! Now it’s my turn to erase you from him completely!"

As Charlotte continued rubbing herself against Mika’s chest, Yelena’s smirk deepened. "You poor thing...but I’m not done yet either."

Before Charlotte could respond, Yelena scooted closer and pressed herself against Mika’s other side, and started to rub herself on him just like her daughter was doing.

"If my daughter thinks she can erase me so easily, she’s sorely mistaken."

"Mama! Stop it! That’s cheating!" Charlotte cried, her cheeks puffed in outrage.

"There’s no such thing as cheating when it comes to motherly love." Yelena replied smugly, tightening her hold on Mika.

"Both of you..." Mika muttered under his breath, his brows twitching as he looked down at the two women fighting for his scent like a pair of territorial animals. "This is ridiculous."

"It’s not ridiculous!" Charlotte protested, her voice muffled against his chest. "This is war!"

"You do realize both of you smell the exact same, right?" Mika said dryly, glancing between them. "Mother and daughter. Same shampoo, same perfume, and literary the same blood...it’s pointless."

Charlotte froze. "W-What?"

"It only makes sense." Mika added with a shrug. "You’re her daughter. You two are practically copies of each other."

Charlotte pulled back slightly and sniffed Mika’s shirt, her eyes widening. "...He’s right."

Yelena chuckled softly, resting her chin on Mika’s shoulder. "Of course he’s right. You’ve always been too much like me, Charlotte. That’s why I know all your tricks."

Charlotte’s lips trembled, but determination soon replaced her shock. "If that’s the case, then I’ll just have to one-up you!"

Before Mika could stop her, Charlotte climbed onto the bed and straddled him fully, pressing her entire body against his. "Now you can hug me properly, Mika! Go on, hug me tighter than you ever hugged Mama!"

Mika’s eyes went wide. "Wait, what the hell are you doing?! Get off!"

"Smart girl." Yelena said approvingly, her eyes glittering. "As expected of my daughter."

Then, to Mika’s utter horror, Yelena followed suit. She slipped onto the bed beside Charlotte and leaned against Mika’s other side, her body pressing against him with delicate but unyielding pressure.

"If Charlotte gets to do it, so do I."

"Wha—" Mika started, but both mother and daughter looked up at him with wide, expectant eyes.

"Go on." Charlotte demanded, her pout deepening. "Hug me tighter! More than her!"

"No, Mika..." Yelena murmured, her tone low and dangerous. "Hug me tighter."

"...You’ve got to be kidding me."

Mika groaned, looking between them like a man facing his execution. But with their combined gazes boring into him, he knew resistance was futile.

"Fine, fine! Don’t blame me if I snap in half..." He muttered and slowly wrapped his arms around both women, pulling them tight against him.

Charlotte and Yelena let out contented sighs at the same time, their faces lighting up with identical, angelic smiles so dazzling it could have blinded an ordinary man.

And honestly? If it had been anyone else in Mika’s place, one arm holding a legendary battle angel, one of the most powerful beings to ever walk the earth, and the other arm wrapped around her daughter, who had inherited the same godlike potential, they would have died right then and there from sheer euphoria.

Their heart would’ve given out with a stupid grin plastered on their face, and their soul would’ve floated peacefully to the afterlife thinking, "Yeah, this is fine. Nothing else in life will ever top this.""

But Mika?

Mika stood there with the most reluctant, begrudging expression imaginable, as if he’d been forced into hugging heaven’s finest creations against his will.

It was the kind of scene that would make anyone watching want to grab the nearest chair and smash it over Mika’s head.

No, not just a chair, an entire house.

The sheer audacity of this man, looking so annoyed while holding not one but two of the most extraordinary women alive, was enough to send even the most patient monk into a jealous rage.

"How...How dare he look so miserable?!"

An imaginary crowd of onlookers would’ve screamed, clutching their chests as they keeled over from secondhand frustration...

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

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