My Harem of Dangerous and Crazy Women as a Reincarnated Necromancer

Chapter 261: A Truth That Can No Longer Stay Hidden

"We’ll be waiting for you here, Master."

Mark nodded, left the room, and closed the door behind him. However, the moment he found himself alone in the corridor, the calm on his face disappeared completely.

After all, he had never actually intended to go take a shower.

The only thing on his mind was finding Emilia.

He made his way through the palace corridors toward Emilia’s chambers, mentally rehearsing how he would approach the subject.

However, he didn’t get very far with that, because halfway there he ran into someone.

"Master!"

Cali was coming from the other end of the hallway, carrying a stack of folded blankets and sheets in her arms.

The moment she saw him, her face lit up and she quickened her pace toward him, her tail swishing back and forth without the slightest attempt at concealment.

"You’re back! How wonderful!" she said with a huge smile. "How did the trip go? Did everything go well?"

"Pretty well, yeah," Mark replied. "We sealed the alliance, sorted out a few problems, and I made it back in one piece. Can’t complain."

"That’s fantastic! The palace became such a gloomy place without you," Cali readjusted the blankets in her arms so they wouldn’t slip. "Zilu and the others kept sighing so much I was starting to learn the rhythm by heart."

"You’re so dramatic," Mark said, somewhat amused.

"It’s the truth!"

"Anyway... do you know where Emilia is?"

"Yes, Lady Emilia is in her chambers," Cali replied immediately. "In fact, I just came from changing her sheets. She loves having them changed at this hour, she says she likes how the clean ones smell before she goes to sleep."

"Wait, you change her sheets?"

"Of course, I am her personal assistant after all," Cali said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Didn’t you know that, Master?"

Mark looked at her for a few seconds, not knowing what to say.

After all, he still remembered perfectly the first time the two of them had met.

The moment Emilia discovered a succubus casually walking through the halls of her palace, she had frozen completely.

She had gone pale instantly and, for days, hadn’t even been able to look her in the face, avoiding her every time they crossed paths.

And Emilia hadn’t been the only one.

Most of the servants hadn’t handled it much better either.

After all, demons were the kind of creature an elf usually fled from, not one they invited to live under their roof.

"Are you sure we’re talking about the same person?" Mark said, frowning.

Cali let out a little laugh.

"A hundred percent sure," she confirmed, clearly delighted. "Though at first it looked like she was going to have a heart attack every time we crossed paths... In fact, one time I even saw her hide inside a closet just to avoid walking past me."

"So what the hell happened?"

"Well, I suppose she got tired of avoiding me," Cali said with a shrug. "One day she found me in the library and, before even saying hello, asked me if I was planning to devour her soul."

"..."

"Obviously I told her no, that I had enough on my hands organizing books, and that I could give her a hand if she was looking for one."

Then Cali’s smile widened.

"And to make a long story short, we ended up discovering we both really liked books," she explained. "So we started talking about that, and before we knew it, hours had gone by."

"That’s..."

"Unexpected?"

"Yeah."

"It was pretty funny, honestly," she admitted. "Lady Emilia is a much more fun woman than she seems, you know? That whole facade of the elegant, impeccable queen falls apart the moment she’s been talking about novels for half an hour."

Cali leaned toward him slightly, lowering her voice conspiratorially.

"Also, she has some pretty... scandalous tastes. You wouldn’t believe the kind of books she asks me to get for her."

Mark let out a long sigh, though inwardly he felt strangely satisfied and happy.

He never would have imagined that Emilia, the elven queen, and Cali, a succubus, would end up becoming friends after discovering they shared the same hobby.

Not to mention this was the first time he’d heard that one of his wives actually got along well with Emilia.

"Anyway, I’d better get going," Cali said, readjusting the blankets again. "I need to drop all this off and then bring her dinner. If I leave her alone with a book, she’s liable to not eat until tomorrow."

"Go on, go on," Mark said. "I’m going to talk to her for a moment."

"Of course. Excuse me, Master."

Cali said goodbye with a wave and continued down the hallway, humming happily.

Mark watched her go until she disappeared around the corner.

Then he turned his gaze back to the bedroom door and looked at it for a few seconds.

’Alright... here we go,’ he thought as he took a breath and stepped into the room.

The chamber was dim, lit only by the orange light of sunset coming through the enormous window.

And beside the glass was Emilia.

She had settled into an armchair by the window, her legs tucked up and a book in her hands, completely absorbed in her reading.

Her back was to the door, her long light-green hair falling over her shoulders, and she didn’t even bother turning around when she heard the door open.

"Oh, you’re back fast, Cali," she said without looking up from the pages. "Leave the things on the table, I’ll eat in a bit... I still have a few Chapters left."

Mark stopped, raising an eyebrow.

"By the way, I have to admit... this novel of yours is really good," Emilia continued, turning another page with an enthusiasm Mark had never seen from her. "Maybe we should publish it and distribute it throughout the kingdom. I’m sure it would be a hit."

A small laugh escaped her lips.

"Though maybe a couple of scenes would need to be censored," she murmured before shaking her head with a laugh. "They’re a bit too fetishy."

Mark crossed the room in silence and, once behind the armchair, covered her eyes with both hands.

"Ah!" Emilia startled, dropping the book onto her lap. "Cali! Don’t do that to me, you goof, you almost scared me to death! What’s gotten into you today?"

"Try again," Mark said.

Emilia went completely still, and for a couple of seconds gave no sign of having reacted.

Only then did Mark slowly move his hands away.

She turned her head, and the moment she saw him standing behind the armchair watching her with a small smile, her green eyes went wide.

"Huh...?"

Emilia was left speechless for an instant.

But then the surprise gave way to a much stronger emotion, and before Mark could say anything, she shot up from the armchair.

The book fell to the floor, completely forgotten, as she threw herself at him and hugged him so tightly Mark had to step back to keep his balance.

She wrapped both arms around his neck and, without giving him time to react, kissed him.

It was a kiss full of relief, of need, and of everything she had been holding in since he left.

Emilia clung to him as if she feared that letting go would make him disappear again.

And Mark, taken completely by surprise, took only a moment before kissing her back.

When they finally separated, she stayed there, forehead resting against his, breathing hard.

"I missed you," Emilia murmured. "So much."

"Really?" Mark asked with a hint of teasing.

"You have no idea," she replied with a tired laugh. "And don’t think I was the only one who had a hard time... Your absence was felt throughout the entire palace."

"Was it that bad?"

"Though, if I’m honest, what wore me out most were the others," Emilia admitted. "Every conversation ended up circling back to you, something you’d done, something you’d said, or how much longer until you got back. And when they weren’t talking about you... you could just tell they missed you."

"Sounds awful."

"It was."

Mark let out a laugh, still holding her.

"Well, speaking of the others," he said casually, "they’re putting together a little celebration for tonight."

"Oh, really?" Emilia said, raising an eyebrow. "Let me guess. Is it for your triumphant return? Because honestly, knowing them, I wouldn’t be surprised if they threw you a parade."

"Partly, yes," Mark admitted.

"Partly?"

"Yeah... but it’s not just that."

"Then what?"

"The others found out Rose is pregnant," Mark confessed, looking her in the eyes.

And then Emilia went completely still.

Her expression, which a second earlier had been relaxed and warm, simply emptied out, and for one very brief instant there was absolutely nothing on her face.

However, the surprise didn’t last long.

Emilia recovered her composure almost instantly, as if that small moment of unease had never happened.

"Oh!" she exclaimed with a smile that came too quickly. "Wow! That’s... that’s wonderful! I’m so happy for her, really... Rose is going to be a wonderful mother... We should congratulate her and—"

And as she spoke, Emilia began to pull away.

Subtly, still smiling, sliding her hands off his shoulders and taking a small step back to put distance between them.

But Mark didn’t let go.

His hands, which until then had rested gently on her waist, closed firmly, holding her in place.

"What’s wrong?" she said, somewhat nervous.

"Emilia, I know you’re pregnant."

"..."