"Emilia... I think I’ll get going," he said, heading toward the door. "Take all the time you need, okay?"

She didn’t respond with words, only let out a soft moan of agreement.

And then he left the bathroom, leaving Emilia inside to finish showering more calmly.

Mark closed the bathroom door behind him and stood in the room for a moment, listening to the sound of water falling on the other side.

While in his mind he could only think of one thing.

Emilia’s behavior.

Because the Emilia who had been crying on her knees on the floor last night and the Emilia this morning didn’t seem like the same person.

’Honestly, I wasn’t expecting such a change in attitude,’ Mark thought as he ran a hand through his wet hair. ’Could she have gone insane?... or maybe that was always her true personality.’

Mark didn’t have an answer for that, so he ended up pushing the thought from his mind and decided not to dwell on it further.

Then he looked around searching for something to dry himself with and saw that on the bed lay a white towel perfectly folded that apparently Emilia had left there before entering the bathroom with him.

Mark took the towel and began to dry off calmly.

He was barely finishing running it through his hair when the bedroom door suddenly opened.

"Master, are you here?"

Zilu’s voice came from the entrance, accompanied by the sound of hurried footsteps.

Mark turned his head toward her just as Zilu looked up.

And then she saw him.

Standing in the middle of the room, completely naked, with the towel still hanging from one hand.

Zilu’s ears shot straight up and her face turned completely red in less than a second.

"—!" she spun around so fast her ears shook from the momentum and she was left staring at the wall with her fists clenched at her sides. "I-I’m so sorry, Master!"

Mark let out a short laugh.

"You don’t have to be embarrassed," he said, resuming the task of drying off with complete ease. "It’s not like you haven’t seen me naked before."

"T-that has nothing to do with it!" Zilu protested, still staring at the wall with her ears trembling.

"We’ve literally already done it, Zilu."

"THAT’S NOT THE POINT, MASTER!"

Mark chuckled while finishing drying off and beginning to dress.

"Alright, alright," he said. "What did you come for?"

Zilu, still facing away with her ears flattened against her head and her cheeks burning, spoke.

"T-the others want to meet with you in the throne room," she said, her voice still trembling. "It seems to be important."

"Did they say what for?"

"Not exactly, but Miss Rose mentioned something about the results of last night’s meeting with the queen’s subordinates."

"I see..."

"They also requested Miss Emilia..." Zilu continued, glancing around the room. "But no one can find her anywhere since last night."

Mark tensed for a brief moment, but quickly composed himself.

"...She’s probably distracting herself somewhere in the castle," he said calmly. "After all, things have been... very hard for her."

Zilu turned her head slightly without fully looking at him.

"You’re probably right..." she said, not very convincingly. "Anyway, if you see her, tell her to please head to the throne room."

"I’ll make sure to tell her."

"Then, with your permission, Master..."

Zilu began walking toward the exit, but just before crossing the door she cast one last glance at the room.

And that’s when she noticed it.

On the bed lay a black piece of women’s clothing, torn and clearly out of place.

With that all the pieces fell into place.

The slight nervousness in her master when mentioning the queen. The faint scent of another woman still lingering in the air, too fresh to be residual.

Upon understanding what had really happened there, Zilu’s face flushed instantly.

"I-I’m leaving!"

The girl practically fled the room, closing the door at full speed behind her.

Mark stood observing the door somewhat confused.

Then, behind him, he heard the bathroom door slowly opening.

"Is she gone?" asked Emilia, peeking her head out with wet hair dripping over her shoulders.

"Yeah..." Mark replied, finishing buttoning his pants. "And you should hurry. The others are looking for us in the throne room and it seems to be something important."

Emilia nodded and went to the enormous wardrobe to search for something to wear.

A short while later, both were already dressing quickly.

Mark put his usual tunic back on, while Emilia changed into a clean dress she pulled from the wardrobe.

When they finished, they left the room and began walking down the palace hallways toward the throne room.

And they hadn’t gone even twenty steps before the stares began.

Every servant they passed stopped and observed them without any attempt to hide it.

The reason was simple.

Emilia was completely clinging to Mark’s arm, holding it with both hands as she walked beside him with an enormous smile on her face.

And that, for anyone who worked in the palace, was a scene impossible to ignore.

Because this was the same queen who barely left her room, the same one who never smiled in public and always seemed to have a sad or vacant expression.

Two servants carrying trays of food froze upon seeing them pass, and one of them even nearly dropped her tray from the shock.

Mark glanced at them out of the corner of his eye before turning toward Emilia, who was still clinging to his arm with no intention of letting go.

"What are you doing?" he asked in a low voice.

"Just playing the part," she replied with complete ease, not erasing the smile from her face. "We need to look like a happy newlywed couple."

Mark observed her for a second.

"...It doesn’t seem like you’re acting at all."

That made Emilia let out a little laugh before leaning her head slightly on his shoulder.

"Who knows..."

Mark decided not to keep insisting.

The two continued walking down the palace hallways, leaving behind a trail of bewildered servants and rumors that were probably already spreading throughout the castle before the morning was out.

Although, for once, they weren’t bad rumors... or so they wanted to believe.

Finally they reached the end of a long hallway that ended in enormous double doors that Mark hadn’t seen before.

The throne room.

Mark stopped in front of them and Emilia finally released his arm to position herself at his side.

"Here we go..." he said before placing both hands on the doors and pushing them inward.