After Lina registered what Austin said, her cheeks immediately reddened because an image of the prince leaning close to her with his lips touching hers came to mind.
She immediately looked away as her face was now as red as a tomato.
Of course, Austin noticed this, and he couldn't help but grin at how cute his wife was.
"I knew it; you were definitely staring at me because you wanted me to kiss you," He continued to tease his wife, and she could neither deny nor admit that he was right.
"Or maybe you were staring because you've finally noticed how amazing your husband is?" Austin gently tightened his grip on Lina's hand.
Lina noticed this, and she glanced back at Austin, but her eyes widened the moment she noticed cherry blossom petals bursting out of his left hand.
The pink petals surged out of his hand like a fountain, but they stopped the moment Austin clenched his fist.
"How did you do that?"
Austin smiled and replied. "You haven't seen anything yet."
He opened his palm once again, but this time a beautiful butterfly emerged from his hand.
The butterfly was unlike any other butterfly Lina had ever seen before, because every time it fluttered its wings, the butterfly's color would change from red to blue, green, and several other colors she could think of.
In short, it was the most beautiful butterfly she had ever seen.
Meanwhile, the butterfly continued to hover above Austin's hand before turning its attention towards Lina.
Seeing this, Lina slowly extended her hand, hoping that it would perch on her palm so that she could have a better look at it. But to her surprise, the butterfly weaved around her arm in a spiraling motion before doing the same to her body, then it finally perched on the bountiful assets on her chest, and Lina shot her husband a knowing look.
But Austin swiftly began to whistle a random tune while avoiding eye contact with her, and Lina couldn't help but giggle and smile at how cute her husband looked while pretending to look elsewhere.
By now, Lina was certain that Austin was the one controlling the movement of the butterfly.
She already had a hunch about the type of magic he was using, but she needed to confirm a thing or two before she could be certain of what magic it was. That was why she had wanted the butterfly to rest on her palm and not on her chest.
Lina tried again by gently bringing her palm towards her chest, and she watched as the butterfly slowly landed on her palm. But this time, she gently cupped her hands together to prevent the butterfly from escaping from her grasp.
Lina had to do this because she had a feeling her husband would help the butterfly escape if she didn't.
For now, she needed to ascertain a few things, and she didn't want the butterfly to escape, but when Lina slowly opened her hands, a kaleidoscope of butterflies burst out of them, similar to the way the flower petals had done with Austin.
Lina's lips widened into a smile as she watched the butterflies circle around her.
Each of them glowed with different colors, and their colors continued to change with each flutter of their wings.
The scenery was definitely beautiful, but it wasn't as beautiful as the image of the elf who was smiling at what her husband was capable of doing.
Lina slowly placed a hand in front of the butterflies, and she watched as they passed through her hand, confirming what she had been wanting to prove.
"Illusion magic?" She asked, and Austin replied.
"Yes."
"But...." Lina was speechless after realizing that Austin could actually cast an illusion spell. "It's a rare class, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is."
" I've heard a thing or two about them in the past, but I've never seen one until now," Lina replied, still in shock.
In this world, exorcists who were proficient in casting illusion magic were not only few in number, but they were also viewed as one of the weakest classes of mages because of their inability to inflict direct or physical damage on their opponents.
However, there have been records of a few clever illusion experts who used their clever minds to indirectly, psychologically, and tactically gain an advantage against their opponents during war.
In other words, there was a high chance Austin could do the same if he worked very hard to improve his understanding of illusion magic.
These were the thoughts spiraling around the beautiful elf's mind, but what Lina didn't know was that she was currently staring at her beloved husband once again, but this time, it was with a profound sense of respect and adoration for the fourth prince.
Of course, Austin noticed this once again, and there was no way he wouldn't use the chance to tease his wife again.
"You're staring again." He reminded her, and Lina swiftly pulled her mind out of her reverie.
"Is your husband simply that irresistible, or has my wife finally acknowledged how amazing her husband is?"
Lina's cheeks reddened. She couldn't deny that she was thinking about that, but she also didn't like how Austin was the only one teasing her, however he liked, so she saw this moment as her chance to tease him in return.
And so, with her mind made up, Lina decided to reply.
"M-Maybe she has, maybe she hasn't, but I guess we'll truly never know." Lina playfully poked her tongue out at Austin.
"Nah, you do know, unless you don't want to tell me."
"Yep, it's a secret for now," Lina smiled and boldly held Austin's hand before lacing her fingers with his, and the two of them resumed their stroll along the garden.
"T-Thank you for coming to see me today,"
"The pleasure is all mine, my lady."
"Will I see you again tomorrow?"
"Yes, you will."
Lina smiled and tightened her hand, holding onto Austin's hand. "I'm really glad you came to see me today, both as yourself and as a court jester, and I really enjoyed your stories as well."
"I'm glad to hear that, my lady, and I'll be happy to tell you hundreds of them if you want me to."
"I would like that very much, but it would have been nice if Lily were here too."
"Lily? Your sister or a friend of yours from the Western Estate?"
"Yes, she's a friend of mine and she loved listening to stories as much as I do."
"Oh? She sounds like a great lady already. I can't wait to meet her once we arrive at the Western Estate."
Hearing his words, the smile on Lina's face slowly vanished, and when Austin noticed this, he asked.
"What's wrong? Is it about Lily? Is she…?"