Chapter 270: A Matter That Can No Longer Go Unresolved

Mark could only let out a sigh and flash a resigned smile at seeing the reactions of the rest of his wives.

’Well, that went more or less as expected,’ he thought with amusement.

But of all the reactions that erupted around the table, there was one that caught Mark’s attention above all the others.

Rose’s.

While the others got up amid congratulations and joy to surround Emilia and Cali, congratulating them, hugging them, bombarding them with questions, Rose didn’t move from her seat.

While the rest chatted and laughed, the vampire remained completely still, her gaze fixed on Emilia.

There was something strange about her expression, a mix of surprise and unease that clashed completely with the atmosphere in the room.

Mark couldn’t help frowning at the sight of her, since this was the first time he’d ever seen her react that way.

He was about to go over and ask what was wrong when Aria’s voice interrupted him.

"Wait, wait, wait," Aria was saying, gripping Emilia’s shoulders. "When exactly did all of this happen? Master only just got back today. How the hell did you get pregnant so fast?"

Aria’s question caught Emilia completely off guard, and Mark noticed instantly.

He saw the elven queen’s smile tighten, saw her eyes flick for barely a fraction of a second, searching for an answer that wouldn’t compromise her.

Because answering that question was far more complicated than it seemed, and with it would come everything she had been hiding for so long.

And that wasn’t something she could just blurt out in the middle of a celebration, in front of everyone.

"Well, I..." Emilia began, swallowing. "It was... I mean..."

Mark decided to step in before she sank completely.

"It just happened," he said with a shrug, drawing the attention toward himself. "Sometimes these things just happen... luck, fate, call it whatever you want."

Then he turned toward Emilia and Cali with a half smile.

"Right, girls?"

They exchanged confused glances, but quickly understood what Mark was trying to tell them.

"Exactly!" Cali said, grabbing onto the lifeline. "Luck! Pure and simple luck."

"That’s right... it just happened," Emilia seconded, recovering her composure. "There’s not much more to tell, honestly."

Aria looked at them with a raised eyebrow, not entirely convinced, but in the end shrugged.

"Lucky you two," she said with a hint of envy. "At this rate Master’s going to populate the kingdom all by himself."

But fortunately for them, that was enough to put the topic to rest.

Nobody brought it up again, and before they knew it, the conversation had returned to congratulations and hugs.

And what had started as a celebration for Rose’s pregnancy turned, practically overnight, into a triple celebration.

The celebration continued with more wine, food, and an endless string of toasts.

But sooner or later the conversation drifted toward the three babies, wondering if they’d be born just days apart and whether they could be raised together within the castle.

Zilu proposed turning part of the palace into a space where the children could play and grow up together.

Ely, for her part, offered to become the three children’s combat instructor, though her proposal was unanimously rejected before she could even elaborate on it.

Meanwhile Aria had already started talking about the possible magical affinities the children might inherit.

And Cali, once she got past the initial embarrassment, threw herself into enjoying being the center of attention for the first time in a long while.

Watching them laugh and joke around, Mark found it hard to remember the last time he’d had such a peaceful night.

However, no matter how hard he tried to ignore it, there was something that kept catching his attention.

Throughout the entire celebration, Emilia and Rose avoided making eye contact... or at least tried to.

Whenever one of them spoke, the other would end up watching her out of the corner of her eye, and if their gazes happened to meet, both would look away almost instantly, as if that brief eye contact was too uncomfortable to bear.

None of the others seemed to notice, since they were too busy laughing and enjoying the celebration to catch such a subtle detail.

Mark, on the other hand, didn’t miss it once, and he didn’t like it at all.

’What’s going on between those two?’ he wondered, watching them discreetly while pretending to listen to Zilu rambling about baby names. ’Those two are acting really strange... Something’s definitely going on here.’

But it wasn’t the time or the place to find out, so he kept it to himself.

The celebration went on for a good while longer, until, little by little, the exhaustion and the late hour started to take their toll.

One by one, the women began retiring to their rooms, amid yawns and goodbyes.

And when the celebration finally ended, Mark set off back toward his room, with Emilia and Cali accompanying him down the hallway, since all three chambers were in the same direction.

They walked for a while in a comfortable silence, until Cali, who had been lost in thought, finally spoke.

"Excuse me, Master, but... are you really not going to tell them anything?" she asked, glancing at him sideways. "About Emilia’s fertility spell, I mean."

She looked at him, confused.

"Don’t you think it would have been easier to mention the spell instead of going with all that ’luck’ business?"

Emilia also turned her head toward him, evidently with the same doubt.

"Do I really need to explain it?" he said, letting out a short laugh.

"Of course."

"Think about it for a second," Mark replied. "What do you think would happen if I told the others that Emilia has a spell capable of guaranteeing that any of them gets pregnant?"

Cali stayed thoughtful for a moment.

"Well... that..." She began connecting the dots, and little by little a look of understanding crossed her face. "...Ah."

"Exactly, the moment they find out, all of them without exception are going to want to be next," Mark explained with a half smile. "And knowing them, they wouldn’t accept ’wait your turn’ as an answer."

"That’s true..."

"We’d end up with all nine of you pregnant at the same time before the month was out."

Emilia brought a hand to her mouth to hide a laugh.

"And don’t get me wrong, the idea doesn’t bother me in the slightest," Mark continued. "In fact, under any other circumstances I’d be pretty happy about it, but... we have to think a bit further ahead."

His tone grew more serious before he continued.

"Just with Rose stepping back from missions outside the kingdom we already had to reorganize quite a bit... now imagine that, but with all of you at the same time."

"...We’d be left completely defenseless," Emilia murmured, understanding.

"Having all of you out of commission for the next several months would be an enormous problem," Mark explained, frowning. "It would practically be an open invitation for anyone with bad intentions to try to take advantage of the situation."

"Makes sense..." Cali admitted. "A charming disaster, but a disaster all the same."

"Yeah."

The three of them continued walking in silence until they reached Mark’s room, where Cali finally stretched with an enormous yawn.

"Well, this is as far as I go," she said sleepily. "Between this afternoon’s ’welcome’ and the celebration, I don’t have the strength left to even make it to my bed."

The succubus gave Mark a tired but affectionate smile.

"Rest well, Master."

She rose onto her tiptoes and gave him a soft kiss on the lips, brief but warm, before pulling away.

"Rest well, Cali," he replied. "And don’t stay up too late."

"Not even if I wanted to."

And with that, the succubus wandered off down the corridor toward her own chamber, dragging her feet slightly from exhaustion.

Which left Mark and Emilia alone, standing in front of his bedroom door.

"Well, I should get to sleep too," Emilia said, stretching a little. "It’s been a pretty intense day, to say the least."

She gave him a soft smile.

"Rest well, Your Highness... and thank you for tonight."

She leaned slightly to say goodbye, but before she could turn away, Mark’s voice stopped her.

"Emilia," he said calmly. "Did something happen between you and Rose?"

She went still.

Her smile disappeared for an instant, her body tensed, and her eyes opened slightly wider than usual.

"Rose? What do you mean?" Emilia said, letting out a laugh that sounded too forced. "Nothing happened between us... why would something have happened? Everything is perfectly fine."

"Emilia..."

"Seriously, you’re imagining things," she insisted, speaking a little faster than usual. "It was a long night, everyone was tired, and you probably misread a look or two... there’s absolutely nothing to—"

"Emilia," he cut her off calmly, but firmly. "I’m not blind."

"..."

"I spent the whole celebration watching the two of you," Mark continued, looking her in the eyes. "Nobody else noticed, true. But I did. So don’t tell me nothing happened, because we both know that’s not true."

Emilia lowered her gaze and stayed silent for a few seconds.

Her fingers tightened slightly around the fabric of her dress, a small sign of nervousness she couldn’t hide.

"You’re right... something did happen," she said finally, quietly, letting the breath out slowly. "You see, a while ago, when I—"

"I think it would be better if I explain it."

The voice came from the hallway, making both of them turn at the same time.

Rose was walking calmly toward them, stopping a few meters away with her arms crossed and a serene expression.