"...Okay, that one didn’t count." Austin said quickly as he reached for a second arrow, while everyone behind him was still laughing.

"It absolutely counted, but don’t worry, we’ll give you a second chance to show us your great, amazing skills." Tatiana cackled as she watched Austin shoot his second arrow.

This time his second arrow at least hit the tree, though nowhere near the actual target, and the third skimmed past so closely it startled a bird out of the branches above.

"Hubby." Nora called out gently, trying not to laugh. "Maybe you should just stick to making potions."

"It’s fine. I was just warming up." Austin insisted as he reached for another arrow, though his ears were now red with embarrassment.

He couldn’t believe even Nora was teasing him right now.

Things certainly hadn’t gone as he had predicted.

Yes, he knew he wasn’t good at archery, but he never expected to be this bad at it.

Meanwhile, Rowena, who was nearby, slowly approached him and asked. "May I try?"

"Oh yes, please. You’re more than welcome to give it a try." Austin swiftly handed over the bow and arrow to Rowena.

At this point, it was better to have someone else in the spotlight than him.

Hopefully Rowena wouldn’t be nearly as good as him, so he could at least show the remaining ladies that his weak skills were universal.

And so, Austin remained silent as he watched Rowena take her stance.

But to his surprise, she drew the bow and released it, with the arrow striking near the centre of the target with a solid thunk.

"What....?" Austin uttered with a surprised look on his face.

Since Rowena was a Countess who had grown up in this mansion, he had expected her to be someone who had never taken part in sword or archery training.

But it seemed he had been wrong about that assumption.

"Since when did you know how to shoot?"

"Well, years of elven etiquette training included archery as well." Rowena replied with a shrug and a smug look on her face.

It was a look she had clearly picked up from her friend.

Yes, she had initially found it annoying coming from Austin, but now she was giving him a taste of his own medicine.

"Of course they did. Why didn’t I think of that sooner. Ugh..." Austin muttered, placing his palm on his face, while Rowena chuckled softly.

Meanwhile, Tatiana wasn’t going to just sit back and be outdone by an elf.

She swiftly grabbed the bow and drew it back with far more strength than necessary, then she fired.

And to everyone’s surprise, the arrow didn’t just hit the target, it split clean through the wood and kept going until it vanished into the lake.

Seeing that she had done something amazing again, Tatiana couldn’t help but grin and cackle out loud with her hands on her hips.

"Hahaha.... another amazing masterpiece from yours truly. I am just too good."

Hearing this, Austin placed his palm on his face again.

"Ugh, that’s it. I’m done. You ladies are no fun." Austin walked back to the picnic blanket and sat down.

He wasn’t playing any more games with these ladies.

They weren’t normal.

They were all monsters.

Seeing Austin moping off so suddenly, Tatiana couldn’t help but call out to him with a grin on her face. "Aww, come on, partner. The fun is just getting started."

"Not interested. Leave me alone."

"Don’t be a baby, my friend. You asked us to play the game, remember?" Rowena asked.

"And I deeply regret it."

"So, you’re not going to play with us anymore?"

"Nope, I won’t."

Austin folded his arms and tilted his head with petty annoyance, causing the ladies to giggle in unison.

Time passed, and the carriage could be seen gently rolling through the quiet night as they returned to the mansion.

The moon hung high in the sky, casting a soft silver light over the path ahead.

But inside the carriage, the mood was still as cheerful as ever, except for Austin, who sat with his arms crossed, pretending to stare out the window with a dramatic pout on his face.

Meanwhile, Rowena and Tatiana kept glancing at him.

Of course, their lips kept twitching with amusement and so they leaned closer to him.

"Aww, come on, partner. It was just a game. You can’t still be sulking over a few missed arrows and some stones." Tatiana said, leaning forward with a grin.

"I’m not sulking. I’m simply reflecting on how my so-called friends and wife decided to gang up on me today..... Twice." Austin muttered whilst still staring out the window.

Nora giggled softly beside him.

Then she gently rested her head against his shoulder. "Ufufufu~ hubby looked so confident when he suggested the games earlier. It was so cute."

"Cute?" Austin turned to her with mock betrayal. "I was trying to impress everyone, and you all turned it into my personal humiliation session."

Rowena covered her mouth to hide her smile. "You did say you were the strongest man in the kingdom. We simply wanted proof."

Tatiana laughed outright. "And then you missed the tree entirely on the first try. Even I felt bad for you... for half a second, of course."

Austin huffed and looked away again, though the corner of his mouth twitched as though he were fighting a smile. "Traitors, all of you. I’m never planning another picnic with the three of you again."

Hearing this, all three ladies exchanged amused glances before chuckling once again.

Even little Luna, nestled in Nora’s arms, seemed to coo softly, as if joining in on the teasing.

By the time the carriage stopped at the mansion, the night had grown darker and quieter.

Austin stepped out first, still pretending to be grumpy, but he helped Nora down with Luna nonetheless.

Rowena and Tatiana followed and both of them were still smiling.

"Well then. Thank you for today, Austin. It was... truly wonderful." Rowena said softly with a warm smile on her lips.

Tatiana stretched her arms above her head with her wings shifting slightly as she said. "Yeah, I had fun today too. Even if someone was a sore loser."