The arrival of Emilia meant that the peaceful days had come to an end.
In the worst case, the two of us will end having a big fight of epic proportions.
And unlike Ysnay, Emilia's abilities are specialized in raw power. The clash between us could easily destroy a few planets.
But to my surprise, Emilia was much calmer than I expected.
"I have made my choice, dad."
I stared at the petite fox girl calmly before heaving a sigh.
"Okay, let's talk."
"Mm. However, bring your women with you. I need to talk to them as well."
I raised an eyebrow curiously, but seeing that Emilia was being serious, I nodded.
With a thought, I roughly explained the situation to my women through our shared soul and told them that they needed to come.
Right now, almost every one of my women were my dependents. The only women who had slept with me but I had not turned into my dependents were Empress Lilia, Christine, Aunt Sera, Lluvia, and the daemon princess, E'Athar.
I planned to turn Aunt Sera, Princess E'Athar, and Lluvia into my dependents eventually. I should do that soon.
The place where we decided to gather was in the main hall of the palace. Dina told the empire's officials to leave for the day and asked the servants to prepare the place for the meeting with Emilia.
One hour later, Emilia, my women, and I were gathered in the palace hall.
"What is it all about, Claus?" Dina was the first to ask with a frown.
Most of my women shared Dina's doubts. After all, I had not told any of them about Emilia.
The only one that knew about Emilia was Raven, who learned about her when our souls got fused and she saw a portion of my memories.
I smiled wryly and got ready to explain the situation to the girls, but Emilia spoke first.
"… I really don't understand what dad saw on you. None of you is worthy of him."
"What did you say!?"
"Claus, who is this little fox!?"
"And why is she calling you dad?"
I smiled wryly at Dina, Katherine, and Aunt Dayana's angry words and sighed.
"It's a long story." Then, I looked at Emilia with a serious expression. "Emilia, I'm sorry, but I won't allow you to speak ill of my women."
"… You always take their side." Emilia pouted, however, I did not miss the jealously and killing intent that sparkled in her eyes.
Although the killing intent disappeared quickly, it's a fact that it was there.
I heaved a sigh. As expected, it's not easy to get Emilia to accept them.
However, I did not want to give up on hope yet.
"Emilia, you told me that you made a choice, right? Can you tell me what it is?"
The fox girl nodded. She looked at the women gathered in the hall and her eyes glinted with ice-cold light.
"… To be honest, I can't accept any of them, dad. Besides the cat girl, none of the others is worthy of you. I can't understand why you became interested in them."
"Emilia…"
"But, I understand that this is what you want." She said with a sigh and a downhearted look. "I love you, dad. More than anything. Nothing is more important to me than you. Thus, I decided to take a step back."
"A step back?"
"Yes. Listen, women. I, as my dad's most beloved daughter, will challenge you to see if you are really worthy of being together with him!"
"Wait a moment. Who do you think you are to decide whom Claus is with!?" Dina scoffed displeased.
Emilia smirked, and in the next second, her full aura was released.
The ground shook, and the air turned still. All the mana in the world seemed to converge around her.
At the same time, the girls felt an immense force over them, as though the universe itself wanted to crush them out of existence.
The girls turned pale. They tried to struggle against the pressure, but her efforts were futile.
Emilia was too powerful for them.
But when they thought that they would be killed, I snorted.
"Hmph!"
In the next instant, the pressure was completely erased.
"Emilia, how do you dare to hurt them?" My voice was extremely cold.
"Sorry, dad, but if they are unable to resist this much, how do they deserve to be beside you?"
Emilia then looked at the girls mockingly.
"You understand what I mean, right? You are weak, and a burden to dad. People like you don't deserve to be beside him. You are not worthy."
"You…!"
I could see Dina, Daisy, Louise, and the other girls gritting their teeth in rage. Emilia's words had injured their pride.
Immediately, I understood. Since the start, this was Emilia's goal.
She wanted to provoke them to accept her proposal.
And as I expected–
"I won't allow anyone to deny my place beside His Highness," Daisy spoke up angrily. "What is the challenge, fox!?"
Emilia looked at her and grinned. "I like you, servant lady." She then moved her gaze through the rest of the girls. "What about you? Are you going to accept my challenge or not?"
The girls looked at each other before accepting one after another.
"You don't have the right to separate me from my brother."
"Claus is my husband. As his wife, I need to teach you your place."
"Sigh, why is my nephew so popular? So many girls are going after him."
Hearing Raven, Dina, and Aunt Dayana's words, and seeing the rest of the girls agree, Emilia's smile became wider.
"Great. Then, I will explain the challenge to you.
"One month from now, my men will declare war on this empire. They then will start an invasion.
"The rules are simple. If you manage to defeat my men, then I will accept your place beside dad. However, if you fail–
"I swear in my name, Emilia Softley, that I won't rest until killing every one of you, even if that means making dad my enemy."
Emilia's ice-cold voice pierced the souls of the girls. For an instant, they felt a chill on their spines.
They knew that Emilia was not joking.
Emilia chuckled when she saw their stiff expressions. She then looked at me, and her fierce expression became soft.
"… I'm sorry dad, but this is the biggest concession I can do."
I looked at her with a complicated expression before sighing.
"I understand."
"Thank you, dad." Smiling softly, the fox girl rushed towards me and hugged me tightly. She then looked at the girls in the hall and her expression became bloodthirsty.
"Don't disappoint me, women chosen by dad. Our war has already started."
With these words, Emilia disappeared from the hall, leaving behind a group of angry, confused, and irritated girls.