Chapter 347: A Painful Absence

While Mark was still processing Aria's words, he couldn't help feeling irritated once he understood who was behind all of it.

Mary.

And though it was true she'd told him that time flowed completely differently inside her dream world, Mark, like an idiot, had simply never imagined just how vast that difference could be.

What had been seven days for him had been seven months for the rest of the world.

Mark let out a heavy sigh.

The next time he saw Mary, he intended to have a very serious talk with her about what she'd done.

But that would have to wait.

Because as much as he wanted to lecture her right this instant, he had more pressing problems right now.

Starting with explaining where the hell he'd been and finding out what had happened during his disappearance.

So, once the emotional reunion had run its course, the three of them headed to the meeting room to talk things through calmly.

Once inside, Mark gave them a summarized account of how he'd ended up in Mary's dream world, how long he'd spent there, and how he'd used that time to level up.

Some details, especially the more personal ones, he decided to leave out for the time being.

Rose and Aria stayed silent as Mark spoke, unable to hide the disbelief on their faces.

When he finished, it was their turn to tell him what had happened during his absence.

And that was when Mark understood that his disappearance had been far harder on them than he'd imagined.

They explained that, at first, everyone had tried to stay calm. They kept telling each other he'd surely be back any moment, that there was no reason to assume the worst.

But the days kept passing until they turned into weeks.

From there, things descended into full-blown chaos.

And although everyone was convinced Mary had something to do with their master's disappearance, agreeing on how to act had proven impossible.

Ely, Yuki, and Aria no longer wanted to keep waiting.

Mark was still missing, and for them, standing around with their arms crossed, not knowing what had happened to their master, had become unbearable.

If Mary knew the truth, they'd go straight to her dungeon and force her to talk.

It didn't matter what they had to do to get answers; as long as there was any chance of finding Mark, they were willing to walk straight into the lion's den.

Their desperation eventually drove them to try leaving on their own, but fortunately, Rose and Emilia managed to stop them in time.

They reminded them that none of them had the strength to face down Mary and all her subordinates.

Not to mention that wasn't the only problem they'd have to deal with.

As they well knew, Mary's dungeon was surrounded by the seven great human kingdoms, and both the Inquisition and the Church kept their eyes on her, watching for any move that could disrupt the balance.

In such a delicate situation, one wrong move, one single spark, could ignite a conflict capable of blowing everything apart.

So as much as it hurt, as much helplessness as they felt at being unable to do anything for Mark, they couldn't afford to act impulsively.

The wisest course was to wait for their master's return.

But that suggestion only deepened the rift among Mark's wives.

For days, the argument stayed tense and unresolved, with neither side willing to budge.

The situation only started tipping toward caution when Cali, Luna, and Zilu stepped in and voiced their concerns about the kingdom.

The south of the continent had just been unified. It was a fragile territory, still in its earliest days, where a multitude of different races were only just beginning to learn to live together.

If everyone left and abandoned the kingdom with no one to guide it, everything Mark had worked so hard to build could collapse in an instant.

So, in the end, and very reluctantly, all of Mark's wives arrived at the only sensible decision... to wait.

And for the following months, that was exactly what they did.

They divided up the responsibilities and took control of the territory in Mark's absence, managing administration, mediating between the different races, and making sure the territory's development kept moving forward.

For months, Emilia had carried a large part of the kingdom's burden on her own shoulders, until her pregnancy finally forced her to step back and delegate her responsibilities.

Aria was the one who took over, suddenly finding herself buried under an ever-growing mountain of work. That explained the endless stack of documents and the enormous stress she carried every day.

Meanwhile, Bayle and Vorax had simply followed their master's wives' decisions, making themselves available for whatever task was needed.

Together, they managed to keep the kingdom running, clinging to the hope that Mark would return someday.

Waiting, though, didn't mean sitting idle.

Over those seven months, they never stopped searching for him for even a moment, scouring every last corner of the southern continent for any clue to his whereabouts.

Mark listened to all of it in silence, feeling a mix of pride and guilt build up in his chest.

Pride, because against all odds, his wives had managed to support each other instead of trying to kill one another.

And guilt... a lot of guilt.

Because while they had spent months believing he might be dead or that he'd abandoned them, he had spent entire days screwing Mary inside a dream world.

"I'm so, so sorry for all of this…" Mark murmured, visibly remorseful. "If I'd known this would happen, I would have—"

"There'll be time for apologies later, Master," Aria cut in with a small, tired smile. "Right now, just having you back is enough for us."

Mark returned the smile and, for a moment, allowed himself to enjoy the simple relief of finally being home.

Until something caught his attention.

As he'd listened to everything that had happened during his absence, he'd been mentally running through the names of his wives.

Ely, Yuki, Aria, Rose, Emilia, Cali, Luna, and Zilu.

Every one of them had come up at some point in the conversation.

Every one but one.

Mark frowned as the relief he'd been feeling started to fade.

"Wait," he said, looking first at Aria, then at Rose. "This whole time you've been talking, you haven't mentioned Alice once."

The reaction was immediate.

Aria's tired smile vanished completely, her gaze dropping to the table. Rose, for her part, pressed her lips together and looked slightly away.

The sudden silence and the tension on his wives' faces were enough to make Mark realize something was wrong.

"Girls… where's Alice?" Mark repeated, unable to hide the nervousness in his voice.

"Alice is…" Aria opened her mouth, but the words refused to come out.

"Is what?" Mark pressed, feeling his chest tighten. "Did something happen to her? Is she hurt?"

Rose and Aria exchanged a silent look.

"No, she's not hurt," Rose answered carefully. "Alice is fine... physically, at least."

"Then what's going on?"

Rose sighed and looked down for a moment before meeting his eyes again.

"I think it's best if you come with us and see for yourself," she answered, standing up with some difficulty due to her advanced pregnancy.