Chapter 439: [83.2] Play Dumb Games, Win Dumb Prizes
…At the end of the day, Lene came out of her room yawning.
She used her webs to find me and shuffled over to me, still groggy from just waking up. She laid her forehead on my shoulder, "Mother… Lene is hungry."
I rubbed her head with a chuckle, "I guess it is time for dinner… And your breakfast."
Alora and Zephyr were now freed from their punishment as they both were exhausted from the earlier tasks. Zephyr lay on the ground, grumbling and whining about how much his body ached. Alora sat beside him, rubbing his muscles to comfort him.
Asmonious put away his supplies and came over to Lene, "I can make something. What are you hungry for?"
"Stew!!!"
He nodded, "Stew it is."
"And cookies!!!"
Asmonious glanced at me and I nodded in approval. He turned back to her, "Cookies for dessert, but only if you finish everything."
She jumped up and down while cheering, "I WILL! I WILL!"
I laughed at her cute response, "I see you're awake and feeling refreshed."
She giggled, "Brothers cookies are the best!"
"Although I'm not so much a fan of sweet things, I'd have to agree."
Asmonious blushed, "I can make you a lemon tart."
My eyes lit up, "Really?"
He grinned ear to ear, "Anything for you, Master."
I clapped my hands in excitement as he went off to the kitchen. As I waited, I walked over to Zephyr, "Zephyr, Alora. You two can't have any deserts as part of the punishment."
Alora gave a nod to show she understood.
Zephyr nodded, "Okay, okay."
I paused, "...Okay?"
"Okay."
"Wait a second…" My eyes narrowed in suspicion, "Why aren't you whining and begging for me to give you some? Usually, you're on your knees crying for it."
He nonchalantly shrugged and spoke in an oddly mature tone, "I guess I've grown up. I'm not a child anymore so crying would be unbecoming."
I put my hands on my hips, "...What did you do?"
He sat up and gasped, feigning innocence, "Mother! I am offended. Do you think I'm THAT immature that I would do something nefarious?!"
I nodded, "That's right."
"..."
Asmonious suddenly came out of the kitchen looking slightly irritated as his smile twitched, "Who switched my salt for sugar?"
Zephyr clicked his tongue and crossed his arms, "He found out already!?"
Alora giggled, giving Asmonious a side glance full of superiority.
Asmonious ignored her antagonistic attitude and focused on Zephyr, "Zephyr! What if Master had eaten my food that you mixed up!?"
Zephyr furrowed his brow, "Ah. You're right. I didn't think about that."
He let out a sigh, "Exactly. Next time don't-"
"-I wouldn't be able to see her facial expression as she ate it." Zephyr stated as a matter of fact, "That's a big problem."
Alora giggled, batting her eyes next to him as if to encourage his behavior.
"You-" I appeared behind him and flicked the back of his head, "How dare you not respect the one who raised you.'
"-AH!" He looked at me with tearful eyes, "That hurt, Mama! I think I went blind for a second!"
I rolled my eyes, "Don't be dramatic."
"I'm sorry Mama~" He put his hands down and flashed a sweet smile, "It was a lapse of judgment, how could I ever think of making my lovely Mama sad!? My Mama is the best, the most forgiving Mama there is! She's so beautiful! She's the best artist in creation! Everyone is jealous they don't have my Mama~"
I felt my insulin spike as he tried to soften me up, "Don't try to talk yourself out of this."
"-But Mamaaa!" He cuddled up to me, batting his eyes. He whined just like a toddler, "Please forgive me! Pleaaaaase!"
I flicked his nose, "What happened to the mature Zephyr that said he was a grown-up who never whined?"
Zephyr stuck out his tongue, "That's only when I'm not trying to get out of trouble."
I turned to Asmonious, "Make him cookies with salt instead of sugar."
Asmonious grinned at me, "Will do."
"MAMA NOOO!" He cried out and grabbed my dress, "I just wanted to impress Alora!!!"
I smirked at him and rubbed the top of his head, "Is that so?"
He nodded quickly, "Yes! I'm altruistic!!! I only did it to get her to laugh!"
"How sweet." I turned to Asmonious with an evil grin, "Make her some too."
Asmonious skipped back to his kitchen, "Salty cookies coming up."
Alora flinched and glanced at me in surprise. Zephyr's mouth was wide open in disbelief, "Why her too!?"
"Do you really think I didn't notice her encouraging you?" I leaned down and whispered, "And did you already forget what I said about sleeping together? If you think you can hide it, you're wrong."
Alora averted her gaze as Zephyr blushed.
Asmonious came back after baking the cookies and placed them down on the table. They both stared at the plate with foreboding as the confusing smell hit their noses. Zephyr looked up at me with a tearful expression, "Mama…"
I motioned to the plate, "Hurry before they get cold."
Seeing that I wouldn't relent, he cried silently and slowly put the cookie into his mouth. I chuckled as I watched his face change multiple colors.
He heard me laugh and sobbed miserably, "It's not funny…"
I rubbed his head, "It's funny for me."
Alora followed after him, taking a bite of the other cookie. Her face twitched from the taste, but it was almost impossible to see her discomfort due to her face paralysis. I watched as she quickly ate the cookie and reached for more to spare Zephyr, but I held her hand back.
"Nuh-no. That's for Zephyr to finish."
Zephyr's head rolled back as he cried out, "NOOO!"
I pushed the plate with the remaining cookies, "Eat up."
Zephyr let out a tragic cry as he quickly shoved the rest of the cookies into his mouth. After finishing, he dramatically crashed to the ground holding his stomach.
"I think I'm going to dieeee!"
I bent down to pat his head like a puppy, "Did you learn your lesson?"
He looked up at me in aggrievment, "...Maybe."
I squeezed his cheeks, "Naughty."
Lene finished her meal and showed it off, "Can I get real cookies?"
Asmonious gave her a few, "Here you go."
As she munched on it with a fluffy smile, Zephyr glared at her with jealousy. Alora reached out to hold his hand to which he immediately plopped his head down on her lap. I watched as she rubbed his head.
Is that considered being too close?
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