Chapter 274: The Perfect Gift

A full month had passed since Mark returned to the kingdom.

During those weeks, things had finally begun settling back into calm, and one by one he’d been able to resolve the pending matters he had with his wives.

The celebration of his return, the secrets several of them had kept for so long, and the revelations that had changed a great deal between them.

That month had been, for once, a period of relative peace.

With no major crises or new problems to solve, Mark had finally been able to breathe easy.

Until the day arrived that he and several of his wives had been waiting for.

The day Yuki would return from the beastman kingdom.

In the throne room, the mood was lively.

Three of his wives were waiting with obvious impatience for the assassin’s arrival, and the conversation between them hadn’t stopped all morning.

"I can’t wait for Yuki to get here," Aria said, quite excited. "We have so much to tell her! She missed absolutely everything."

"She’s definitely going to have that poker face of hers," Alice commented, doing a terrible imitation of Yuki. "You know, the ’I don’t care’ one, while inside she’s dying of curiosity."

"Hahahaha, you’re right," Aria replied, quite amused by the comment. "By the way, I even prepared a welcome-back gift for her."

"A gift?"

Aria turned and, with a proud smile, held up what she was carrying.

It was a complete assassin’s outfit, dark, elegant, and clearly expensive-looking, with finely worked details.

"Look at this! The true definition of elegance!" she said proudly, holding the outfit up in front of everyone as if displaying a work of art. "I had it custom-made for her. It’ll fit her perfectly, and it’s a huge upgrade compared to that old rag she always wears."

"Not bad," Ely admitted, inspecting the outfit carefully. "But I prepared something for her too... And mine is better."

"Oh really? And what’s that supposed to—?"

Then, without warning, Ely pulled out a katana from who knows where and raised it in the air.

It was a piece of exquisite craftsmanship, with a sheath as black as night and a hilt wrapped with almost artistic precision.

Even sheathed, the weapon gave off a presence that made its value obvious.

"...Where the hell did you get that from?" Aria asked with curiosity.

"From the royal treasury vault," Ely replied with a shrug. "I was digging around in there the other day, and the moment I saw it, I knew instantly it was perfect for Yuki. Fits her like a glove."

"Wait, wait, wait," Alice cut in, frowning. "There was a katana like that in the treasure vault? I didn’t even know we had that kind of thing stored in there."

"There’s a lot of stuff in there I wasn’t expecting to find," Ely admitted.

Aria, however, had no intention of letting herself be outdone that easily.

"Doesn’t matter where you got it from," she said, crossing her arms. "My gift is still better."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me," she replied with annoyance. "Mine was custom-made, with care and thought put into it for her... you just found yours sitting abandoned in a storeroom."

"A storeroom full of priceless treasures," Ely pointed out. "Besides, what good does a pretty outfit do an assassin? That doesn’t kill anyone. Whereas a good katana..."

"An assassin needs presence too!"

"An assassin needs an edge, not fashion."

"My gift is worth more than your rusty scrap metal!"

"Scrap metal? This katana is probably worth more than your entire wardrobe combined!"

"Girls, girls! Please calm down a little!" Alice cut in, stepping between the two with her hands raised. "Both gifts are good, alright? Yuki is going to appreciate them both equally... there’s no need to fight over who—"

"Stay out of it!" Aria and Ely interrupted in unison.

Alice could do nothing but let out a heavy sigh before giving up on trying to mediate.

Meanwhile Mark watched the whole scene from his throne with an amused smile.

There was something deeply entertaining about seeing his wives argue over such a silly thing with so much passion.

It was the kind of chaotic normalcy that, after everything that had happened this past month, felt incredibly comforting.

Then he leaned slightly toward Emilia, who was seated beside him.

"Hey," he said quietly. "Is it alright that Ely just took that thing without asking?"

Emilia let out a soft laugh.

"It doesn’t matter at all," she replied. "After all, everything in that vault belongs to you now, so she and the others can take whatever they want... technically, she’s not stealing from anyone."

"I suppose you’re right," Mark said, somewhat thoughtful.

It was then he realized a small detail he’d overlooked. He had never actually gone into that treasure vault.

In fact, until that exact moment, he hadn’t even known the palace had one.

"Now that I think about it," he said, turning toward Emilia with some curiosity. "What else is in that vault, exactly?"

"Not much, honestly," Emilia replied with a shrug. "Some gold, jewelry, a few weapons. Things my father accumulated over the years, either through tributes or things he found during his reign."

"I see..."

"I never made use of anything in there, so most of it is just gathering dust."

Mark’s gaze settled on the katana Ely was still holding.

’If a weapon like that came out of there, maybe it’s worth taking a look,’ he thought, not looking away from the blade. ’You never know... there could be something in there useful to me.’

"Emilia," he said, looking at her again. "Could you take me there?"

"Of course," she replied with a smile. "Are you planning something in particular?"

"Nah," Mark replied, getting up from the throne. "Just curious... I want to see with my own eyes what else we’ve got stored in there."

Then the two of them started walking toward the exit of the throne room.

"Girls, I’ll be back in a bit," Mark announced in passing, walking hand in hand with Emilia. "I’m going to take a look at the treasure vault. Please don’t destroy anything while I’m gone."

"Master, wait!"

Aria’s voice stopped him.

Mark turned around only to find his three wives looking at him expectantly.

"Before you go, I’d like to ask you something," Aria said with a wide smile. "You’re impartial, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Then I’d like to know, which gift do you think is better? Mine or Ely’s?"

Mark sighed internally at Aria’s question.

He knew perfectly well this was a trap, no matter what he answered.

"Hmm..." He looked at both gifts, weighing them. "I think I’m going to have to say Ely’s... a good weapon never hurts for someone like Yuki."

"HA! IN YOUR FACE!" Ely exclaimed triumphantly, pointing a finger at Aria. "You hear that? The Master has good taste!"

"That’s not fair!" Aria protested, and immediately turned toward Alice, eyes pleading. "Alice, you’re on my side, right? Tell them my gift is better."

"I’m sorry, Aria," she replied, looking away with an apologetic grimace. "But I also think the katana is better."

"You too?!" Aria turned her head toward Emilia, utterly desperate, as a last resort. "Emilia! You understand me! Tell these tasteless people that my gift is superior!"

Emilia, who had no intention whatsoever of getting involved in that dispute, saw Aria’s pained expression and, simply to keep from hurting her feelings, gave in.

"Well..." she said with a conciliatory smile. "I think your outfit is lovely, Aria. Very elegant."

"HA! See?!" Aria straightened up, her pride instantly restored. "Someone with good taste, finally!"

"I also prefer Lady Aria’s gift, for the record."

"Exactly! It’s a tie! Two against two and—!"

But then Aria stopped, and a sudden silence fell over the room.

Because that last voice, deep and raspy, didn’t belong to anyone present.

And then, slowly, everyone turned toward where it had come from.

Beside the throne, leaning casually against one of its sides with his arms crossed, as if he’d been standing there his entire existence, was Rudolf.

From the depths of his empty eye sockets, two small points of light glowed intensely.

That creature watched them all in silence, as if the situation simply amused him.

Nobody knew when he had arrived.

They hadn’t seen him come in, hadn’t heard his footsteps, and hadn’t felt his presence approaching.

He had simply appeared before them, as if he’d cut through reality itself to get there.

Ely was the first to react and, katana already in hand, drew her sword in a swift motion, ready for combat.

Alice wasn’t far behind and summoned her gauntlets, while Aria raised her staff, taking a defensive stance.

And Mark, tense, positioned himself instantly between the skeleton and Emilia.

But Rudolf didn’t even flinch at any of those reactions.

On the contrary, he tilted his skull slightly, and somehow, despite having no lips or muscles, gave the impression of smiling.

"It’s been a while, Emperor of Death."