Looking at the fresh, juicy fruits in front of him which had grown almost within the blink of an eye, Austin simply didn't know how to react.

He knew fruits in this world were a bit bigger than the ones from his previous world due to the presence of mana in them.

But none of them had ever been as big as the strawberries he was staring at right now.

And neither had he heard of a fruit growing this fast either.

"So, how did you-?"

Before Austin could ask Sylvia anything, he suddenly heard the hurried footsteps of someone approaching the garden.

Sylvia heard it too and she vanished from sight.

A maid appeared at the entrance to the garden and bowed quickly upon noticing him. "My Lord, forgive the intrusion, but Eunuch Po and Lady Sue request your presence in the east hall."

Austin glanced once more at the garden before returning his gaze back to the maid. "Thank you. Tell them I'll be there shortly."

The maid bowed respectfully before leaving the garden.

A few minutes later, Austin stepped into the east hall.

Po and Sue were already waiting, and both of them were standing beside a small table.

When they noticed Austin in the hall, they both turned and bowed.

"Welcome back, were you able to carry out your task?"

"Yes, my Lord," Po replied.

"These are our reports," Sue added as she handed him two scrolls.

These scrolls detailed the things they had witnessed and heard over the last few hours while they were carrying out their mission.

Austin took the scrolls and sat down.

"Where exactly did you go?" He asked as he began to open one of the scrolls.

"Greenfield, my lord."

Greenfield was one of the four villages within his new estate's territory.

It was also the closest to the Han mansion because it took Po and Sue about 20 minutes to arrive there.

"My Lord," Po said before he began to summarize what he had written in his report. "The situation at Greenfield is worse than we expected. The people are starving and there's a growing resentment in them toward not only their former Lord but also the empire."

Austin blinked and asked. "The empire? Why?"

"The court raised the taxes on the estate for the next five years, and it has barely been a few weeks since they did, yet the people are already suffering from the court's unexpected decree."

"But I thought Greenfield was a place filled with farmers and merchants, so shouldn't the villagers have more than enough food to pay their taxes?"

In this world, if people couldn't pay their taxes in silver, they could always pay it with food, so Austin had expected the farmers and merchants to pay it in such a way.

"If they could, they would, my Lord," Po replied. "The village had been surviving for years due to importation, but due to what the estate is going through, merchants from other regions and provinces have been discouraged from trading with the estate. Now food is scarce, and the people are getting angry and unhappy."

"Then why don't they leave?" Austin asked Sue.

"They can't."

"Why?"

"There are a few reasons why people can't leave the estate. First, they need entry permits to travel to any neighboring province, but the corrupt magistrates of those provinces have made those permits extremely expensive, making it difficult for people to purchase them. Only the wealthy ones can afford it."

Austin frowned as he listened to Sue's explanation.

"Secondly, there have been rumors about how immigrants from our estate are treated like pests in other regions. They're mocked, overworked, underpaid, and blamed for anything that goes wrong. All these things are done to them just for the fun of making life difficult for them."

Listening to this, Austin heaved a deep sigh before reclining back in his chair.

He glanced down at the second scroll he had picked up from the table.

Then he began to read the content of the scroll.

While reading through it, Austin noticed something he didn't quite understand.

"What is the Imperial Oversight Team?" He asked, and Po explained.

"They're a special delegation sent from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Their job is to monitor Lord Han's activities and keep a detailed report for the imperial city. They were assigned shortly after his punishment."

Austin nodded in understanding before closing the scroll. "Thank you for everything. It's been a long day, and I know you both must be tired. Let's call it a night and we'll continue this discussion another time."

Sue and Po nodded in understanding before bowing and wishing him a goodnight.

Right after, he watched Sue and Po walking away, he was the only one left in the hall.

He got up and sauntered toward the window to gaze at the night sky, which now had stars shining brightly from it.

Austin remained silent while staring at the sky as he replayed everything he had discussed today in his mind.

But after some moments of silence, Austin crossed his hands behind his back before opening his mouth to speak.

"Father-in-law, I know this mansion belongs to you, but if someone spies on a Lord of the estate, the punishment for such a crime is death," Austin said as he turned around to face a certain pillar in the hall.

At first glance, it seemed as though there was no one in the hall with Austin, but right after he blinked, Austin watched his father-in-law materialize from behind a pillar.

Meanwhile, Lord Han had a surprised look on his face because he had not expected the fourth prince to easily spot him, especially since he had used a very expensive artifact to erase his presence.

Refusing to dwell on how it was possible, Lord Han stepped forward and bowed low.

"…Forgive me, Your Highness. I wasn't trying to disrespect your authority—"

Austin raised a hand to stop him. "Relax. I'm just teasing."

"Huh?"

"I was joking. Do you really believe that I would order my guards to kill you for eavesdropping?"

"Well… you did say that it was punishable by death."

"Yeah, and next I could say that you'll be exiled if you show up to breakfast wearing socks with sandals."

Lord Han blinked and was puzzled by what Austin just said. "Socks with what?"

"Never mind. My point is, I get that you were curious about the meeting. But you don't have to hide in the shadows if you want to listen in. You could've just joined us. I wouldn't have minded."

Lord Han hesitated for a beat before replying. "I'll… try to adhere to that next time."

"Oh, So you intend to crash my future meetings without an invite? In that case, maybe I should order my guards to chop your head off."

"Huh? But you said…"

"i was kidding again." Austin grinned as he stepped away from the window.

"Seriously, Father-in-law. You're way too uptight. Try to lighten up. And from now on, don't think of me as just a prince, you can see me as your son-in-law."

Lord Han blinked twice before deciding to speak. "Are you sure you want that?"

"Of course."

"Because if I were to see myself as your father-in-law instead of your subject… we'd be having a serious conversation about where your hand landed yesterday."

Austin blinked. "…Which hand?"

Lord Han's face turned deadpan and he replied with a stern look on his face. "The one that touched my daughter's butt."

Hearing this, Austin coughed into his hand and swiftly changed the topic to avoid such a discussion. "Right. So. About that death penalty…"

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