Chapter 277: A Small Oversight

An instant later, the two portals met at the midpoint and disappeared along with Rudolf and Angelica, leaving no trace of their presence whatsoever.

The room fell silent until Aria slumped back against her chair with a huff.

"I don’t like them one bit..." she said, crossing her arms with obvious annoyance.

"Couldn’t agree more," Ely seconded.

Rose let out a heavy sigh while running a hand over her face.

"Girls, you know perfectly well that none of us are thrilled about cooperating with them," she said, massaging her temple. "Believe me, I know exactly how insufferable they can be."

She turned to look at her companions.

"But no matter how much it bothers us, keeping the ’alliance’ with the Demon Lord and her subordinates is essential... We’re not in a position to afford turning it down."

"Rose is right, girls," Alice cut in, crossing her arms. "Besides, we’re the ones who benefit the most from keeping good relations with them."

"You think so?" Ely asked.

"Without a doubt," Alice replied without hesitation. "Just think about it — not only do we avoid being attacked, which would already be reason enough, but on top of that they’re actively helping us with our own goals... even if reluctantly."

"And don’t forget we owe all of this to the Master," Rose added with a small smile. "He was the one who managed to turn what should have been our greatest threat into our greatest advantage... not just anyone could have pulled that off."

Ely huffed from her seat, though there was no real disagreement in the gesture.

"I understand perfectly well what you’re saying," she replied, waving a hand. "And I know that, from a rational standpoint, it’s in our best interest to have them on our side, but that doesn’t change the fact that those two drive me up the wall."

She frowned.

"Did you see how they talked to us? With that arrogance and superiority, treating us like a bunch of kids who need everything spelled out slowly so we can understand."

"Exactly! That’s precisely what bothers me most too!" Aria seconded, slapping the table. "That attitude of ’we’re better than you and we’re doing you a favor just by talking to you’... it irritates me to no end."

She puffed out her cheeks.

"Especially that conceited metal-headed bitch... every time she opened her mouth I felt like she was treating me like a damn child."

"We all agree on that," Rose conceded with a soft laugh.

From where he sat, Mark listened to his wives’ conversation in silence, not interjecting, simply nodding every now and then.

And the truth was he agreed completely with Alice and Rose.

But unlike his wives, he was perfectly aware that none of this had turned out so well thanks to some brilliant plan on his part.

The reality was that if things had ended up this way, it was because of a combination of luck and the fact that Mary had decided to play on his side.

And that simple whim had changed everything.

If she hadn’t taken a liking to the idea of having him specifically as a collaborator, instead of simply crushing him like any other obstacle, they would very likely all be dead by now.

Mary had more than enough power to do whatever she wanted with him, whether that meant turning him into her slave, leaving him to his fate, or simply ignoring him.

But instead, for reasons Mark still didn’t fully understand, she had decided to offer him a deal between equals.

In the end, no matter how much several of his wives had objected at first, all of them had eventually come to accept the reality of the situation.

Even Emilia, who had by far been the most reluctant of all and had put forward the most arguments against that alliance, had ended up giving in once she saw that, like it or not, it was the most sensible option.

But then a comment brought Mark back to reality.

"Hey, don’t you feel like we’re forgetting something important?" Aria suddenly asked.

She had her brow furrowed, as if something were nagging at the back of her mind.

"...Now that you mention it," Ely murmured, narrowing her eyes. "I have that feeling too."

"Something important?" Alice asked, thoughtful. "What could it be..."

"I don’t know," Aria replied. "But it’s that annoying thing, you know? That feeling like there’s something right on the tip of your tongue and you just can’t—"

The silence stretched on as they all frowned, trying to remember exactly what it was that was escaping them.

Rose brought a finger to her lips, Alice tilted her head, and Ely crossed her arms with an expression of absolute concentration, as if she were trying to solve the greatest mystery of her life.

It was then that Mark, who had also been mentally reviewing everything that had happened that day, opened his eyes wide.

"Yuki..." he murmured.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"YUKI!!!" Mark’s wives all shouted at once.

Meanwhile, on one of the palace’s terraces, bathed in the warm light of the afternoon, Yuki waited in silence beside the railing.

The druid had left her there quite a while ago, exactly as they had agreed, but nobody had shown up since.

With her luggage beside her and the same impassive expression as always, the assassin kept waiting patiently... though she was beginning to suspect that this supposed welcoming committee was never going to show up.

Yuki scanned the empty terrace once more and then leaned slightly toward the palace’s interior, looking for any sign of life.

But she saw no one.

"...Hello?" she said quietly, in her usual flat tone, though tinged with the faintest hint of bewilderment. "Girls? Master?"

Nobody answered.

"..."

The wind blew gently across the deserted terrace, stirring her red hair.

"...Seems like they forgot about me," she murmured, letting out an almost imperceptible sigh.

Yuki picked up her luggage, slung it over her shoulder, and set off toward the interior on her own.