The rest of the day was exactly as exhausting as Rose had warned.

And while Mark had known from the start that the complicated part wasn’t seizing power but rather what to do with it afterward and how to manage it, he hadn’t imagined it would be this tedious.

Because governing, at least on his first day, basically consisted of receiving one group after another of frightened elves who entered the throne room trembling and left trembling even more.

And with each group that came in, Mark had to make decisions.

Is this one loyal or not? Can this one be useful or are they a hindrance? Do we leave this one in their position or do we replace them? Does this one know something we need or are they expendable?

Mark would have preferred to simply be a fearsome tyrant with everyone equally from the very first minute.

That would have been easier and faster.

But he also knew that ruling purely through terror would end up bringing more problems than solutions. And they needed at least part of the existing structure to keep functioning, otherwise the kingdom would grind to a complete halt.

Mark let out a long sigh while watching a pair of elves practically tripping over their own feet from nerves as they left the throne room.

"Finally, this whole circus is over..." he murmured, leaning back against the throne.

The only good thing about the whole situation was that, just as they had anticipated, the moment word got out that the agitators had been eliminated and that the military leadership had been wiped out in a single stroke, the rest of the kingdom’s structure fell into line.

Then Mark felt a hand settle on his shoulder.

"You did great work today, Master," Aria said beside him with a smile.

"Thanks, Aria..." he replied in a tired voice.

After that Mark got up from the throne with a groan he made no attempt to conceal.

His back ached from sitting all day, his head ached from listening to elves babbling excuses, and his eyes ached from watching so many terrified people for hours on end.

Then Rose spoke from the platform steps where she had been sitting for most of the day.

"Master," she said as she rolled up the scroll, which by that point had more cross-outs than legible text. "Now that this place will be our new base, wouldn’t it be a good idea to bring the others here to live?"

"Hmm..." Mark brought a hand to his chin as he considered it. "Sounds like a good idea... after all Cali and the others will be safer and more comfortable here."

Rose nodded.

"Good, prepare a teleportation spell right away."

"Huh?!"

Emilia’s voice came from the side of the throne where she had been standing all day playing her role as a "decoration" as Aria had instructed.

"She can do that?" the queen said, looking at Rose with wide eyes. "Is she also a reincarnated person?"

"Why would you think that?" Mark asked, frowning.

"Because nowadays practically nobody in this world is capable of performing teleportation spells," Emilia explained with evident surprise. "It’s magic of an extremely high level that requires a level of control that only a handful of people throughout all of history have had."

"..."

"And one of them was my father..."

Rose, who was calmly rolling up the scroll, replied without looking at her.

"I’m not a reincarnated person," she said in a flat tone. "I’m simply a prodigy with magic from birth."

Emilia watched her in silence for several seconds, clearly not very convinced by her answer. However, she ultimately decided to drop the matter and not ask any more questions.

"...I see"

"Anyway," Mark said, running a hand over the back of his neck. "How long do you think it will take you to bring the others?"

"Probably a couple of hours..." Rose replied, getting to her feet. "I have to prepare the outbound magic circle and leave one here so I can come back faster with everyone."

"Alright," Mark said, starting to descend the platform steps. "While you’re getting them I’ll take the opportunity to go eat something, I haven’t eaten anything since this morning and I’m starving."

"Allow me to accompan—"

Emilia had barely taken one step toward him when Alice, Ely, and Aria reacted at the same time. And within seconds they had completely surrounded Mark.

Alice took his left arm, Ely positioned herself to his right pressing against his shoulder, and Aria took his back, resting a hand on it as if staking her claim.

"We’ll accompany you to eat, Master!" Ely said with a radiant smile.

"I’ll take care of serving you, my lord," Alice added.

"And I’ll choose the menu!" Aria said, raising a hand.

Mark looked at all three of them.

"Alright," he said, letting out a sigh as they started walking. "But don’t press so close, if anyone in the palace sees us like this the rumors are going to start again."

"Don’t worry, Master, we’ll be discreet," Ely assured him without releasing his arm.

"Nobody will notice anything," Alice added, pressing even closer to him.

"It’ll be as if we’re not even here," Aria finished from behind.

’...This is the exact opposite of discreet,’ Mark thought, feeling them pressing their tits against his body intentionally.

After that the four of them left the throne room walking together.

Emilia stood beside the empty throne, watching Mark walk away surrounded by his three subordinates who were laughing and talking enthusiastically among themselves.

Then she turned her head toward Rose, who was the only one left in the hall. The vampire was on her knees on the floor drawing the magic circle, concentrated on the runes she was tracing.

"Eh... Rose, right?" Emilia asked as she approached her.

"Hmp?" the vampire replied without looking up.

"If you’re not a reincarnated person..." Emilia said in a tone that tried to sound casual but carried a curiosity she couldn’t hide, "then probably one of your relatives was, right?"

Rose went still.

"Because a level of power like yours isn’t nor—"

The queen couldn’t finish the sentence because Rose’s hand closed around her throat, lifting her into the air with her feet dangling several centimeters off the ground.