The first thing Mark saw when he opened his eyes in the morning was an unfamiliar ceiling.

Dark wooden beams crossed white stone from side to side, illuminated by the warm morning light streaming through the enormous window.

For a moment his mind remained completely blank, still trapped in that confused state between sleep and reality, typical of someone who had just woken up.

But then he felt something on him.

A warm weight pressed against his left side, accompanied by a leg intertwined with his and an arm resting on his chest.

Mark slowly lowered his gaze.

Emilia was lying beside him, completely naked, with her head resting on his shoulder, her light green hair spread across the pillow and over his chest.

Her breathing was slow and steady, and one of her legs was draped over his in a way that made it clear she had no intention of letting him go anywhere.

Mark turned his gaze away from the queen and fixed it back on the ceiling, remaining like that for a long time in complete silence.

’Maybe I shouldn’t have let myself get carried away...’ he thought as memories of the previous night arrived in a jumbled fashion. ’She clearly wasn’t in a condition to make rational decisions... everything she did last night was a result of impulse.’

Because, although Emilia had been the one to initiate the kiss and the one to take things further, Mark knew perfectly well that she had spent all day on the edge of an emotional collapse.

And that wasn’t precisely the mental state of someone capable of thinking with a clear head.

’Though to be fair,’ Mark thought, still looking at the ceiling, ’I wasn’t thinking very clearly either...’

The accumulated exhaustion, the lack of sleep, the residual adrenaline from the fight against Rudolf, and all the stress of the day had left his mental defenses in ruins.

And when Emilia kissed him, his brain simply didn’t have the energy to say no.

’It doesn’t matter... what’s done is done,’ he thought, letting out an internal sigh. ’Worrying now won’t change anything.’

Mark felt Emilia move slightly against him as she continued sleeping, and an instant later the queen’s fingers gently brushed his collarbone as she stretched the arm resting on his chest.

"Good morning... my beloved husband," the queen whispered softly near his ear. "How did you wake up?"

Mark turned his head toward her and found Emilia’s gaze watching him from his shoulder with a small smile that made it quite clear she had been awake before him.

He let out a short laugh.

"Quite well," Mark replied, looking around the room. "The bed is incredibly comfortable and the room is pure luxury."

Emilia laughed softly.

"I’m glad to hear that..." she said, nestling more against him. "I like this room very much too."

Her hand began to make lazy circles over Mark’s chest with the tip of her fingers.

"As a child I used to sleep here a lot," she continued in a softened tone. "I would sneak in through the door when my parents were already asleep and squeeze in between them."

"...Was this your parents’ room?"

Emilia nodded without stopping tracing circles.

"Since they died I hadn’t had the courage to come back in," she said, lowering her gaze slightly. "Every time I tried I would end up too sad to stay for more than a couple of minutes."

"..."

"That’s why I had it closed and never used it again."

Emilia’s fingers stopped on his chest for a second before resuming the circles.

"But last night..." she said in a lower voice. "Last night was different."

Mark looked at her without saying anything.

"It didn’t feel sad," she added with a small smile. "For the first time in a long time, being here didn’t feel empty."

"I understand..."

The two remained like that for a long while, as the morning light slowly filtered into the room, expanding little by little as the sun rose in the sky.

The moment stayed calm until Mark decided to get up.

He rose slowly until he was sitting on the edge of the bed, then stretched until a slight cracking sound ran through his muscles.

Emilia reacted instantly. She slid behind him and pressed her body against his back, wrapping both arms around him while resting her head on his shoulder, as if trying to prevent him from leaving.

"...Wouldn’t you like to continue what we did last night?" she murmured near his ear in a seductive tone.

Mark turned his head slightly toward her until only a few centimeters remained between their faces. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

The morning light made Emilia’s green eyes shine, and the small smile on her lips made it clear she had no intention of hiding what she wanted.

He ended up leaning forward and kissed her softly, slowly, without any rush.

It was a short kiss, but enough that when they separated, Emilia was left looking at him with her eyes a little wider and a delicate blush spreading across her cheeks.

"It’ll be for next time," Mark said with a half-smile.

"You’re going to reject me just like that?"

"Yeah... there’s a lot to do to stabilize the kingdom," Mark replied, gently extracting himself from her embrace and standing up. "And the sooner we start, the better."

Emilia looked at him from the bed with an expression that was half disappointment and half resignation.

"I suppose you’re right," she admitted, letting herself fall backward onto the sheets.

Mark stretched once more, then looked around.

"By the way... where’s the bathroom?" he asked, looking around. "I’d like to take a shower before I start the day."

Emilia, who was lying on her back on the bed looking at the ceiling with her hair spread across the pillows, raised one hand and pointed toward a corner of the room without lifting her head.

"That door over there," she said. "It’s the room’s bathroom. Take all the time you need."

"Thanks."

Following the direction Emilia had indicated, Mark walked to the bathroom and closed the door behind him as he entered.

The place was more spacious than he expected, with white walls and a shower installed in one corner.

Mark turned the valve and, almost immediately, cold water began to fall.

He stepped under the stream and let the water fall directly on his head, running down his face, neck, and shoulders as he closed his eyes.

’Today is definitely going to be a very busy day...’ he thought, remembering all the work he had ahead of him.

Then a soft click broke the sound of the water.

The bathroom door had just opened behind him.

"Hm?"