"No, your Highness. Lily isn't dead; at least, I don't think she is."
"What do you mean?"
"She's a Magistrate's daughter, and I haven't seen or heard from her ever since the emperor…" Lina couldn't say more, but Austin didn't need her to do so because he could already guess what she had been about to say.
If Lily was the daughter of a magistrate, then there was a high chance that she was the daughter of one of the three magistrates who were punished for their act of treason.
And that would mean Lily had either been enslaved or possibly killed as punishment for what her father did.
With this realization, Austin got a sharp reminder of how cruel this world was.
For a while now, he had felt somewhat relaxed and even grateful for coming into this world and having the chance to meet someone as amazing as Lina.
But the new information just went to remind him of how his current world truly operated and how easily someone he cared about could be taken away from him if he didn't have the power to protect them.
This was the thought that swirled through his mind as he considered the dangers of this world, unknown to him that his facial expression had suddenly turned into a sad one.
Of course, Lina had noticed the change, including how he had fallen silent, and she couldn't help but blame herself for creating the weird atmosphere between them. So, she tried to lighten up the mood because she didn't want to part ways while the prince still had a sad look on his face.
She would prefer it if he had a smile on his face so that when he fell asleep later that night, he would be thinking of her, because she had no doubt that she would be doing the same thing about Austin as well.
And so with this thought in mind, Lina tightened her grip on her husband's hand, pulling him out of his thoughts and back to her, and then she began to speak as she decided to brazenly tease her husband in return for all the flirting he had been doing so far.
"H-Hubby, if you keep having a sad expression like that, your wife will be forced to think you're begging for a kiss too."
A smile instinctively broke out on Austin's face, and he couldn't believe that his wife just tried to tease him.
In fact, even Lina couldn't believe how bold she had become to be able to utter those words.
Not only did she suddenly have the guts to utter such words, but she was equally surprised by the courage that she had to call her husband, hubby.
However, she didn't regret doing so.
After all, her husband had been calling her 'His Lady', so it was only appropriate for her to have a similar kind of endearment for him as well.
In the end, Lina became so embarrassed by her sudden boldness that she couldn't summon the courage to look Austin in the eyes.
Although Lina could sense that he had a smile on his face right now and she would love to see him smiling, she couldn't do it because a part of her feared that he might really kiss her if she made any eye contact with him, and she didn't think she was ready for that yet.
While Lina's mind was preoccupied with these thoughts, she suddenly felt Austin's hands gently holding on to her cheeks before he leaned down to place a kiss on her forehead.
Although Lina didn't say why she had teased him, Austin could guess why she had done it, and that was why he was grateful.
"Thank you, my lady."
At his grateful tone, a blush bloomed on Lina's cheeks.
"You're welcome." She replied, and shortly after, footsteps could be heard approaching as Sue walked towards them with a maid behind her.
Seeing this, Lina knew that it was time to call it a night, so she turned towards Austin with a beautiful smile on her lips.
"Good night, Your Highness. I'll be seeing you again tomorrow." Even after saying this, her eyes lingered and held on to his, almost as though she didn't want to leave just yet.
Austin noticed this, and he smiled softly.
Although he was also reluctant to leave his wife right now, he knew he could always spend more time with her tomorrow.
"Good night, my lady," he said softly, and he watched as Lina gracefully walked out of the garden with the maid behind her.
But just before she passed through the garden gates, Lina paused and glanced over her shoulder.
Her eyes briefly locked with Austin's, and a beautiful smile appeared on her lips once more before she looked away and continued walking, her pace now quicker than before.
Today had been an amazing experience for the beautiful elf, and Lina couldn't wait to tell her sister all about it.
Meanwhile, Austin was still smiling as he watched his wife's body slowly vanishing into the distance.
He didn't even know his aunt was already standing next to him, and it wasn't until she nudged him that he noticed her presence.
"Look at you smiling like a love-struck boy. I'm guessing my cute little nephew had fun with his future wife today, seeing as how you're still thinking about her with a smile on your face."
"Yeah, today was really... magical."
Austin glanced at his hands as he recalled the magical tricks he had done to impress Lina.
Sue noticed that he was still smiling, so she decided to play the jealous aunt.
*Sighs*
"Ah, I knew it."
"Knew what?"
"I knew it would only be a matter of time before my cute little nephew forgot about his aunt, especially now that he has two beautiful elves as his future wives."
Austin playfully rolled his eyes at her dramatic statement, but he decided to play along with her.
"Don't worry, Aunt Sue. You're still extremely precious to me, and nothing is ever going to change that." He said assuringly, and Sue couldn't deny how cute he looked as he tried to act like a man in front of her.
However, he was still a little boy in her eyes, so she replied grudgingly.
"Hmph, since when did you become quick-witted enough to tease your aunt?" Then she playfully grabbed his nose before letting it go.
"Alright, now you need to go in, get clean, and get dressed. I'll be back later tonight with food for the two of us after I've made sure your wives have gotten something to eat tonight, okay?"
Austin nodded in understanding before watching his aunt leave the garden to go attend to his wives.