It had been just over ten days since Mark took control of the elven kingdom, and against everything he had expected, things had stabilized with surprising speed.

Although the purge on the first day had been brutal and from the outside looked like the beginning of a bloody dictatorship that would end up plunging the kingdom into chaos, the reality turned out to be very different.

Because what Mark and his subordinates had done wasn’t destroy the kingdom’s structure, it was prune it.

The executed nobles were the only ones with enough influence to organize a real rebellion. Once they were gone, the rest of the nobility lost all capacity for resistance and ended up accepting the situation.

The officials kept their posts, taxes continued to be collected, trade routes kept functioning, and the markets stayed open.

For most elves, life had barely changed.

In the end, things had changed much more on paper than in practice, and when the population realized this, it adapted with a speed that left Mark genuinely surprised.

Just as Emilia had said.

’They’re incredibly passive... Not even a week had passed and they were already acting as if nothing had happened,’ Mark thought, staring at the ceiling while lying in his bed.

It was strange, but also extremely convenient.

Ironically, things were more tense inside the castle than outside it, because over the past few days Mark had sensed a strange atmosphere between himself and Emilia.

It wasn’t hostility or anger exactly, but something much harder to define.

Emilia didn’t avoid him, but she didn’t seem to seek him out the way she had before either. While she continued treating him with the same courtesy as always, the smiles from the first few days had disappeared, along with the determination she had shown the night of the speech.

Now, when they crossed paths in the corridors, they limited themselves to exchanging a few words about kingdom matters and then each continued on their way.

It was as if there was an invisible wall between them that hadn’t been there before.

And for two people who were supposed to appear to be a happy married couple, that was incredibly problematic, especially because he wasn’t the only one who had noticed the change. The palace servants were also starting to pick up on it.

"Maybe I was too abrupt that time..." Mark murmured, still looking at the ceiling.

Because after the night they had spent together, neither Mark nor Emilia had brought up the subject again. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

They also hadn’t tried to repeat it, nor talked about what it meant for the supposed spousal relationship they were maintaining.

It simply stayed there, floating between the two of them like something whose existence they both knew perfectly well but neither dared to address.

Mark let out a sigh.

"Better to talk to her and clear all of this up before the situation gets even more uncomfortable..." he said quietly.

He lay looking at the ceiling for another minute before lazily getting out of bed.

After stretching until his back cracked, Mark walked over to the enormous wardrobe in the room Emilia had assigned him on his first night in the castle.

He had ended up deciding to stay there. The room was so spacious and comfortable that he never found a reason to move to another.

Then he got dressed calmly, fixed his hair as best he could with his hands, and walked toward the door.

And when he opened it, he found Aria.

She was standing beside the door with her back against the wall and her arms crossed, waiting for him.

"Good morning, Master," she said, straightening up when she saw him come out.

"Good morning, Aria."

"Are you planning to keep going through the list of pending things Rose gave you today too?" she asked, walking beside him.

Mark was thoughtful for a moment.

"Yeah..." he replied, remembering all the work he still had piled up. "But first I need to talk to Emilia about a few things."

"Oh..."

"Do you know where she is?"

"Probably in her chambers as always," Aria replied in a tone whose disdain she made no effort to hide. "She’s been shut in there all week doing practically nothing."

"..."

"It’s really ironic... She begged us to take back control of her kingdom and now she’s leaving all the hard work to us," Aria continued, frowning. "Rose has been reviewing the finances for days, Alice hasn’t stopped reorganizing the palace guards, Ely trains the few soldiers who stayed loyal, and I’ve spent a whole week training the new servants."

Aria paused.

"And her? In her room. Looking at the ocean through the window."

"...Don’t be too hard on her," Mark said with a compassionate tone. "Emilia hasn’t had it easy either."

Aria studied him for a few seconds before letting out a long sigh.

"Master, seriously," she said, shaking her head. "You’re too kind to pretty women."

"..."

"You should be more careful about that," Aria continued, glancing at him sideways. "Some dangerous crazy bitch might try to take advantage of you."

Mark let out a nervous laugh while looking away.

’Wasn’t that exactly how you and I met?...’ he thought, remembering certain events he preferred not to mention out loud.

"You’re right," Mark said, scratching the back of his neck. "I’ll be more careful."

"I hope so."

"Anyway," Mark said, picking up his pace. "Better to get things settled with Emilia as soon as possible."

"Very well," Aria said, falling into step beside him. "I’ll come with you."

The two walked through the palace corridors in the direction of Emilia’s chambers.

The place was more than familiar to Mark by now.

After ten days walking the same corridors several times a day, he knew by heart the route from his room to the throne room, from the throne room to the dining hall, and from the dining hall to Emilia’s chambers.

When they finally reached the queen’s chambers, Mark stopped in front of the door.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Emilia? Are you awake?"

"..."

"Can I come in?"

"..."

The silence stretched on for several seconds, long enough for Mark to start wondering if she was really there.

But then a voice came from the other side of the door.

"...Yes," Emilia replied in a quiet voice. "Come in."

Mark put his hand on the doorknob and looked at Aria.

"Wait for me out here," he said, making a brief gesture with his hand. "I won’t be long..."

Aria watched him for a moment. It was clear she didn’t like the idea of leaving him alone with Emilia, but in the end she nodded.

"Alright, Master," she said, leaning against the wall beside the door. "I’ll be here."

Then Mark entered the room and stopped in his tracks at the sight of the queen.