A week had passed since the incident with Rose in the meeting room.

And Mark had fully recovered from the blood loss.

The first two days had been the worst, with constant dizziness and a weakness that barely allowed him to stay on his feet.

Fortunately, Alice and Ely had taken charge of giving him iron-rich meals and forcing him to rest until he stopped looking like an undead.

Thanks to that, Mark was now fully recovered and was straightening his robe in front of the mirror in his room, trying to look presentable for the important meeting he was about to have.

But then the door opened and Alice walked in.

"Are you ready, my lord?" she asked, stopping at the entrance.

"Almost," Mark replied, giving one last tug at the collar of his robe. "How do I look?"

"You look impeccable as always, my lord," Alice replied with a small smile. "Though still a little pale."

"Blame Rose..."

"I know," she said, letting out a small laugh. "But even so—"

Alice didn’t get to finish the sentence because Yuki materialized in the middle of the room without warning.

"Master," she said in her usual flat tone. "I need you to come to the docks immediately. Something happened."

"What happened?" Mark asked, surprised to see her there.

"Three vessels have just docked at the capital’s port."

Alice frowned.

"And what’s strange about that?" she asked, crossing her arms. "The port receives ships every day."

"Because they’re not ordinary ships," Yuki replied, unfazed by Alice’s tone. "They’re warships... And they belong to a human kingdom."

After saying that, the atmosphere in the room changed instantly.

"Warships?" Mark asked. "What are they doing here? Did they come to invade us?"

"...No, that’s not the case."

"Then what did they come for?" he asked, confused.

Yuki stayed quiet for a moment, as if looking for a way to explain it. But in the end she simply shook her head slightly.

"It’ll be easier for you to see for yourself than for me to try to explain it... If I tell you, you’ll think I’m joking."

Mark let out a sigh.

"Alright," he said, heading toward the door. "Let’s see what kind of madness is waiting for us now."

After that the three of them left the room and headed to the docks.

The walk from the palace to the port was short, but it was enough for them to see that the news had already spread through the city.

People were murmuring in small groups, pointing toward the docks, and leaning out of windows, all clearly aware that something unusual was happening at the port.

When they finally reached the docks, Mark saw the scene.

Three enormous warships were moored at the main piers, with their sails furled and gangplanks extended to the embankment.

However, what caught Mark’s attention most was the people disembarking. They wore armor he recognized immediately.

It was the same armor he had seen at the slavers’ camp they had destroyed several weeks ago.

’Eldia...’ Mark thought instantly, feeling his jaw tighten. ’What the hell are these people doing here?’

The soldiers were formed up around a young man who stood out at the center of the group.

He was blonde, with his hair combed back, sharp features, and a posture that radiated confidence.

He couldn’t have been past twenty-five, roughly the same apparent age as Mark.

And surrounding all of them, in a wider circle, were the elven imperial guards with their weapons drawn, clearly unsure what to do with the situation.

The tension in the atmosphere was so thick it could be felt from a distance.

But then the blonde man spotted Mark.

And his face lit up completely.

"Oh, wow!" he exclaimed, throwing his arms wide open. "You must be the great Emperor of Death! It is a genuine pleasure to finally meet you!" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Mark stopped a few meters away and leaned slightly toward Yuki without taking his eyes off the blonde man.

"And who is this lunatic?" he asked quietly.

"He is Emperor Joseph, of the Eldia Kingdom," Yuki replied just as quietly. "According to him, he came to establish friendly ties with you."

"Friendly ties?" Mark murmured, confused. "Bringing three warships packed with soldiers?... What a curious way to make friends."

"That’s exactly what he said," Yuki replied. "Word for word."

Seeing that the man was now just a few meters away, Mark forced himself to smile and stepped forward to receive him.

"So the Emperor of Eldia himself in person," he said in a tone that sounded cordial. "Forgive us for not having a proper reception ready, as you’ll understand, we weren’t expecting visitors."

Joseph walked directly toward Mark and wrapped him in a hug.

"I can’t believe it!" the emperor said, patting his back with a familiarity completely out of place for two people who had just met. "All the rumors were true! And you’re even more impressive in person than people say!"

Mark went stiff during the hug, with his arms half-raised, not quite knowing how to react to such an effusive display from a complete stranger.

"...Thank you," he said finally, giving him a couple of awkward pats on the back before pulling away as soon as possible.

Joseph stepped back without losing his smile, as if he hadn’t noticed Mark’s evident discomfort.

Or perhaps he simply didn’t care.

"I’m truly sorry about all this commotion," Mark said, regaining his composure and making a vague gesture to the guards to lower their weapons. "As I said, my men weren’t informed of your visit, so they weren’t quite sure how to proceed."

"Oh, please, don’t apologize!" Joseph said, waving a hand with ease. "No, the fault is mine for showing up like this without any warning. Honestly, anyone would have been on guard seeing me arrive."

"I’m glad you understand."

"In fact," Joseph continued, and his smile widened a little more, "precisely because I’m aware of how discourteous my arrival was, I took the liberty of bringing you a small gift. As a gesture of apology, you know."

"A gift?"

"That’s right," Joseph said, turning toward his soldiers. "I’m sure you’re going to love it... Bring down the Gift!"

The Eldia soldiers obeyed instantly.

They headed back up the gangplanks toward the ships and, a few moments later, began descending dragging something heavy between several men.

They were large metal cages.

Inside them were elves crammed behind the bars, dirty, with their clothes in tatters and terror written on their faces, as the soldiers dragged the cages along the dock toward Mark.

Mark watched the scene without his expression changing in the slightest. However, inside, his mind went completely blank for a second.

’What the hell is this...’