Chapter 349: The Surprise

Emilia opened her eyes slowly, still half-asleep, and took a moment to get her bearings. She was in Mark’s room, just like every morning for the past seven months.

Ever since he’d disappeared, that bedroom had stopped being simply his room and, without anyone proposing it or needing to say it out loud, had ended up becoming a space nearly all his wives shared.

It was as if none of them wanted to stray too far from the last traces Mark had left behind.

His scent, his belongings, the small memories scattered around the room... all of it gave them a warmth they couldn’t find anywhere else in the palace.

It was their way of feeling him close, even though he wasn’t.

The only one who never joined in that habit was Alice, for reasons everyone understood and respected.

Emilia sat up with some difficulty, resting a hand on her swollen belly as she looked around the room.

Only Cali and herself were there. Rose, Aria, and Zilu were nowhere to be seen.

Aria and Zilu’s absence was easy enough to explain.

Neither of them was pregnant, so they’d probably gotten up early to handle matters of the kingdom, just like they’d been doing all month.

But Rose was a different story.

Her not being there was genuinely strange.

Ever since entering her eighth month of pregnancy, the vampire had started sleeping a lot more, and was rarely one of the first ones up.

So seeing her awake and out of bed this early wasn’t exactly typical.

Emilia ended up brushing it off with a simple shrug. Rose was probably walking in the garden or helping with the preparations for Luna’s arrival.

The queen of the beastmen was due to arrive that very day, having decided to spend the last month of her pregnancy at the palace and give birth there alongside the others.

Emilia had to admit she still didn’t feel any particular fondness for Luna. There were things between them that couldn’t vanish overnight, but she didn’t want to keep clinging to them either.

Luna was carrying one of Mark’s children in her belly, just like she was, and that was something the two of them would have to learn to share.

If their children were going to grow up together and they’d have to raise them as one family, there was no point starting that relationship out of resentment.

So, even though it still wasn’t easy, the elven queen was making a sincere effort to get along with the beastmen’s queen.

Emilia looked down at her belly and couldn’t help but smile warmly. She stroked it slowly, savoring that feeling of closeness with her child.

"Don’t worry, little one," she murmured. "I know Daddy’s not with us right now, but it’s okay... I’ll give you double the love to make up for it, alright? All the love he’d want to give you, and a little more."

Her eyes grew slightly misty as she smiled.

"I promise you..."

The elven queen stayed like that for a moment, stroking her belly, quietly savoring that small connection with the life growing inside her.

Until finally, she decided to get up.

She was hungry, and was starting to grow curious about what Zilu and the maids had prepared for breakfast.

But before leaving the room, Emilia turned and took one last look at the bed.

Cali was still deeply asleep, curled up under the sheets, her own swollen belly peeking out from beneath the covers.

Her brow was slightly furrowed, and she murmured unintelligible things in her sleep, letting out the occasional nonsense mumble that drew a small laugh out of Emilia.

Seeing her like that, Emilia decided to let her sleep. Of all of them, Cali had had the most complications during her pregnancy, though fortunately none had amounted to more than a minor issue.

Even so, those months had been harder on her than on the others, so the succubus deserved all the rest her body asked for.

Careful not to make any noise, Emilia left the room and started making her way through the palace corridors toward the kitchen.

But she’d barely walked a few steps when she ran into Rose, coming from the opposite direction.

"Ah, Emilia. Just who I was looking for," the vampire said the moment she saw her.

The smile accompanying her words made Emilia narrow her eyes slightly.

Rose seemed to be in an unusually good mood, which was rather strange at this hour of the morning.

"Good morning, Rose," she answered. "I missed you this morning. Is everything okay? You don’t usually get up this early these days."

"Everything’s wonderful, actually," Rose replied, her smile widening a little. "Listen, I need you to get ready. Ely and Yuki are about to arrive with Luna, and when they do, I want everyone ready."

"Ready for what?"

"Aria and I have prepared a surprise," Rose answered, a glint of excitement in her eyes. "We’ll all gather in the throne room as soon as Luna arrives. So don’t wander too far, alright?"

Emilia looked at her, curious.

"A surprise? What kind of surprise?"

"If I tell you, it wouldn’t be a surprise anymore," Rose replied with a little laugh.

And without offering any further explanation, the vampire continued on down the hallway, leaving Emilia behind with more questions than answers.

For a while, she tried to imagine what they could have prepared, but none of her guesses seemed particularly convincing.

Knowing Aria and Rose, though, it probably had something to do with the babies. Maybe they’d had little outfits made for when they were born, or prepared some kind of gift for the mothers-to-be.

Or at least, that’s what Emilia figured. With that thought in mind, she decided to set the matter aside and carry on with her morning as usual.

The hours passed peacefully until, around midday, word finally came that Luna had arrived at the palace.

Emilia went to greet her along with the others. Ely and Yuki had escorted her during the journey, and Bayle had come along as well.

Luna already showed a fairly pronounced belly, and though she looked a bit tired from the trip, she was clearly happy to finally be at the palace.

Alongside her came Sarah, who had become her new attendant after Emi’s retirement.

And the moment she arrived, Sarah couldn’t contain her excitement at seeing Zilu again.

Several months had passed since mother and daughter had last seen each other, so they wasted no time embracing with obvious joy.

After a quick welcome, filled with hugs and greetings, Rose reminded everyone they had something to do and invited them to follow her to the throne room.

The moment had finally come to discover the famous surprise.

None of them, however, expected to find Alice waiting for them in front of the throne room.

Emilia recognized her instantly, but for a few seconds she struggled to process what she was seeing.

This wasn’t the Alice of the past several months.

The woman standing before them stood tall, back straight, with a calm expression.

Her hair was clean and neat, her face no longer carried that gaunt look, and her eyes, though still holding a hint of tiredness, had regained their usual spark.

There was no trace left of the mentally unstable Alice they’d seen for so long.

Seeing her, a murmur of emotion swept through the group.

"Alice!" Aria exclaimed, though she already knew, feigning surprise so as not to ruin the moment.

"You have no idea how happy I am to see you better!" Emilia said, stepping closer. "You had all of us so worried."

The others quickly gathered around, surrounding Alice with hugs and congratulations. After so many months of fearing for her, seeing her recovered was a joy none of them could hide.

Some even exchanged knowing glances, convinced they’d just discovered the famous surprise.

"So this was the surprise, huh?" Ely said, resting a hand on Rose’s shoulder. "Alice finally recovered... Honestly, I don’t think there could be any better news."

"Same here," Yuki agreed.

Alice listened to that with a small smile and shook her head gently.

"I’m afraid you’re mistaken. I’m not the surprise."

The others exchanged confused looks.

"Then what?" Emilia asked, not understanding at all. "If it’s not you, what’s the surprise?"

"The real surprise," Alice answered, stepping aside and placing a hand on the throne room doors, "is waiting for you in there."

And without another word, she pushed the doors open.