"Oof! Hey! Who–?"

The door slid shut behind him, and Austin found himself staring at his beautiful wives, who were standing in front of him with their arms crossed in front of them, their brows raised, and their cheeks still flushed pink from the earlier conversation.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't His Royal Highness." Mira said as she stepped forward with a sly smirk on her lips while Lina came to stand beside her.

"You enjoyed that dinner a little too much, don't you think?" Lina asked as well.

Austin chuckled nervously as he slowly took two steps backward.

"My ladies, I meant no harm. I-I was only trying to bond with my mother-in-law."

"Bond?" Lina's eyes narrowed while Mira added, "You were laughing so hard you nearly fell out of your chair."

"Hehehe..... Okay, that's kind of true. I mean, I really enjoyed Mother-in-law's stories. They were really entertaining and watching you two get so flustered was simply a bonus."

"Oh, is that so?"

"So, are you planning to ask for more stories tomorrow?"

"Yep," Austin replied immediately.

"Get him," Lina commanded and Mira lunged forward in an instant.

Austin yelped, spun around, and tried to dash out of the room, but his wives quickly grabbed a hold of him and tackled him into a futon they had previously laid out.

Both girls landed on him, pinning him down with their elbows and legs while they giggled.

He tried to escape from their grip but his wives were holding him down perfectly.

"Give up, hubby, you have five seconds to apologize," Lina said.

"That's right, darling, this is your last chance. Say you regret what you did or we'll begin our attack." Mira warned, but Austin's mind was already made up.

"I regret nothing!!" He declared proudly and his wives looked at each other with raised brows.

"...Wrong answer," Mira said and the next thing Austin knew, his wives began to relentlessly tickle him, causing his laughter to fill the room.

Lina and Mira didn't stop and they had no intention of doing so anytime soon, unless Austin admitted defeat.

But after a while, Austin finally gave in.

"I yield! I yield, I'm sorry!" Austin gasped while he was still laughing. "I promise not to ask Mother-in-law for any more embarrassing childhood stories."

The twins exchanged glances before breaking into giggles and finally letting him go.

"Good, apology accepted," Lina said as she settled down beside him with a triumphant smile on her lips.

Then, Mira added as she curled up on his other side. "If you ever want to know about our past, just ask us directly. Deal?"

"Deal," Austin replied with a smile as he wrapped his arm around each of them, drawing them closer until their heads rested comfortably against his shoulders.

Lina and Mira smiled contentedly as they simply enjoyed the feeling of cuddling closely with their husband.

Today had turned out far better than they had expected.

Neither of them had thought that Austin would get along so easily with their mother… and after tonight, they knew that it was only a matter of time before he became close to their father as well.

Speaking of their father, Mira suddenly recalled something important.

Their father had asked her and Lina to see him before they headed over to their room.

Mira quickly reminded Lina about this, and the two girls rested a bit longer before heading out to meet their father.

Once they were gone, Austin also made his way to the bedroom that was prepared for him.

The Jade Mansion was currently undergoing renovations, so Austin would have to stay at the Han Mansion for the next few days before moving into his new home.

But that wasn't a problem for him.

In fact, he was happy about this, because he knew that staying here would give him the chance to grow closer to both his father-in-law and mother-in-law.

With that thought, Austin stepped into his room and plopped down on the futon.

He stared up at the ceiling, smiling to himself at how well the day had turned out.

Of course, he wasn't close to Lord Han yet, but he was proud of how easily he'd connected with Elena.

'Mm, it's been more than three days since I last practiced my sword training.'

Since leaving the palace, Austin had been so focused on traveling that he hadn't trained the past few.

Back at the palace, he used to practice every morning with Mira.

He wondered whether he should resume that routine with her… or try something different.

'Maybe I should try training with Little P.P. alone.'

'Usually, the three of us would train together, but now… I want to know if my stats will increase if it's just me and him.'

Over the past few days, Austin had gained a lot from sparring with Mira and Little P.P.

Not only did it make her affection level increase to level three, but it also enabled him to be rewarded with the affinity to cast lightning magic.

However, something else had caught his attention.

During one of their training sessions, Little P.P. had conjured two lightning whips.

And Austin had been quietly practicing that technique ever since.

That was why, when the mercenaries attacked a few days ago, he was able to conjure the spell so easily.

'Alright, I've made up my mind.'

'Tomorrow morning, I'll train alone with Little P.P. And maybe Little Sylvia too. I want to see if I can learn more spells.'

Since arriving in this world, Austin had noticed something very important.

The system didn't reward him for the spells he could cast, rather, it only rewarded him when he worked hard to perfect them.

And honestly? He preferred it that way.

He didn't want his power to be handed over to him on a silver platter.

If he was going to thrive in this world of swords and magic, he wanted to earn it with his sweat and hard work.

Feeling satisfied with his decision, Austin allowed himself to relax.

But his thoughts wandered toward something else, once again.

This time, it was to Lord Han and the territories that were now under his care.

Because of Lord Han's treason against the empire, the emperor's punishment didn't just affect the Lord; in fact, it had far more consequences for the land and the people living within his territory.

Financial burdens.

Imperial restrictions.

Distrust from the citizens.

In a nutshell… Austin's new role as the Lord of the Jade Swallow Estate was not going to be easy.

Still, with a deep sigh, Austin allowed a smile to spread on his lips.

Although he would be faced with a lot of challenges as the new Lord Of The West, Austin was ready to tackle them all.

With his knowledge from Earth, Austin knew different things that would help him live comfortably in a world similar to the early 13th century of his previous world.

'Alright, let's get some sleep now.'

'I have a lot to discuss with my Aunt, Eunuch Po, and possibly my father-in-law.'

Austin said as he tucked himself into bed.

But just as he closed his eyes, a glowing blue panel appeared before him.

[Congratulations to the host, Lina's affection level has successfully risen to Level 4]

[Mira's affection level has also risen to Level 4]

[The host has, therefore, been rewarded with his first recipe scroll, along with Strawberry seeds (x10,000) and Cantaloupe seeds (x5000)]

Reading the string of words displayed before him, Austin swiftly jerked upright as his eyes widened in surprise.

"What?!"

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