Starting from Ainz Ooal Gown, simultaneously traveling through time

The castle corridor was bathed in moonlight.

The cool, silvery sunlight streamed through the high window, spreading patches of light across the stone floor and enveloping the two people standing side by side.

A hint of unease flashed across Leylin's face as he said, "You're here."

Annie pursed her lips, her eyes showing anger but even more concern, and softly hummed in agreement.

"Have you eaten?" Leylin asked.

"Not yet."

"So late?"

"...I'm waiting for you."

Leylin smiled and extended his hand to her: "Come on, my princess, let's go get something to eat."

Anne placed her hand in his palm, her voice softening: "Okay."

The two walked side by side toward the restaurant, the moonlight stretching their shadows long and slowly overlapping.

Lei Lin didn't really know much about his wife, who had only recently married into the family.

This relationship, which began as a purely transactional one, was as thin as a sheet of paper at the wedding a year ago.

His marriage to Anne was originally a political one. A year ago, he and Anne were basically busy with their own lives and didn't have much contact with each other.

I only learned more about her after we got married.

The marriage between Leylin and Anne was a standard product of the Kingdom of Inberia's centuries-old "strength optimization" national policy.

The plan is to select two of the most outstanding young magic chanters from the royal family or nobility to marry, in order to produce offspring with even greater talent and to consolidate the royal family's magical bloodline and ruling power.

Feelings? No one considered them at the moment the marriage contract was signed.

Before the wedding, they had barely met, each engrossed in their magical studies and royal duties.

It wasn't until they became husband and wife and lived under the same roof that they began to truly get to know each other.

Anne is a true magical genius; at only seventeen years old, she is already a fourth-rank magic caster.

This is a progress that is rare even in a century in the history of humankind.

Although she cannot compare to Leylin, who has now broken through to the seventh rank and possesses the shared space cheat, she relies entirely on her own talent and hard work.

The political factors were secondary to the reason he and Anne married; the main reason was that both of them were geniuses, and their offspring would also be geniuses.

The Kingdom of Inberia is like this: geniuses unite with geniuses, and strong individuals marry each other, ensuring that the royal family will never lack geniuses and strong individuals.

None of the kings of the Kingdom of Inberia were below the level of heroes, which is enough to show that this marriage policy was completely correct.

As for free marriage, it has no place here.

Because once you leave the Kingdom of Inberia, you will enjoy absolute freedom and the right to have no control over your own life and death.

Lei Lin had asked her directly what she thought of the marriage.

Anne, who had just become a princess, replied without looking up while organizing her experimental notes: "Your looks, abilities, and status are all impeccable. I don't have anyone I love. It's just a political marriage. What difference does it make who I live with? With the lights off, it's all the same."

His overly pragmatic and even fierce honesty, along with his nonchalant attitude, shocked Lei Lin quite a bit at the time.

Only after marriage do the two begin to get to know each other.

Marriage is like a long, joint experiment.

I initially thought I wouldn't feel anything, but then I discovered that we actually got along quite well.

Anne often discussed magic with him, and Leylin would sometimes seek out Anne to discuss matters as well.

It was only through repeated interactions that feelings developed between them.

Leylin held Anne's hand as they walked and talked.

"What have you been busy with today?"

"You study magic, what about you?"

"Same here."

"The whole day?"

"Um."

"...You forgot to eat again."

"You didn't eat either, did you?"

Annie gently squeezed his fingers: "Don't do that again next time. Remember that no matter how busy you are."

"Okay, I'll do as you say."

The restaurant was brightly lit, and the long table was already set out.

Upon learning that His Highness and the Queen had finally arrived for their meal, the kitchen prepared the dishes as quickly as possible.

While not an extravagant feast, each dish was exquisitely prepared: crispy baked butter bread, carefully cooked steak and tomato brisket, warm milk, and several different flavored cheeses.

Within the Kingdom of Inberia lies a beautiful grassland where animal husbandry is relatively thriving, and beef, mutton, and dairy products are the absolute stars on the dining table.

In the early days of his transmigration, Leylin was overjoyed by this, but after eating it for over a decade, he now feels numb at the sight of beef, and even wants to shout, "I don't eat beef!"

The two began their meal quietly, their conversation flowing naturally amidst the gentle clinking of knives and forks against the plates.

"How's your magic training going?" Leylin asked.

"I'm quite proficient in the third-tier [Dimensional Movement] and [Flight]. I'm not used to the other elements; it seems I'm more skilled in water elemental magic," Annie replied.

"Then let's focus on the water element," Raylin suggested.

"Um."

Annie, like him, is a rainbow-eyed person. Rainbow-eyed people are a subspecies of humans, whose main characteristic is that their eyes are multicolored, like a rainbow.

Rainbow-eyed people constitute the majority of the population of the Kingdom of Inberia, accounting for over 90% of the nation's population. In addition, there are other races as well.

People with rainbow eyes possess a special talent for enhancing the four elemental magic systems: wind, water, earth, and fire.

However, everyone has different strengths. For example, Leylin is better at enhancing fire elemental magic, while Annie seems to be better at enhancing water elemental magic.

It's not impossible to forcibly use magic of other elements. For example, Leylin can use magic of all four elements, but he doesn't get any additional enhancement effects for the wind, water, and earth attributes.

"I've mastered another fourth-tier spell today."

"Very good. Keep accumulating experience."

"And you? How's your progress?"

"Me? I'm alright."

"What do you mean by 'not bad'?" Annie looked up at him.

Leylin paused for a moment: "I've become more proficient in using fifth-tier magic."

In fact, he was not only proficient in fifth-tier magic, but also in sixth-tier magic, and had just broken through the barrier of seventh-tier magic.

But he knew that in this perilous world, he had to keep his trump cards hidden.

Leylin felt that revealing that he was a fifth-order magic caster was enough. After all, the strongest person he had encountered was qualified to let him use fifth-order magic, and anything higher would be a waste of magic power.

At the same time, showcasing some of one's strength without revealing the full extent of it allows one to demonstrate one's strength to the outside world while keeping the enemy in the dark about the true extent of one's power.

To the outside world, demonstrating the strength of a fifth-tier magic caster is sufficient; it can deter most petty villains without attracting excessive attention from truly terrifying beings.

Referring to the group of cunning old foxes in the original work, it is very important to show weakness to the enemy.

As for why he didn't explain his true strength to Annie?

Although Anne is her husband, she is somewhat weak, and knowing too much might bring her unpredictable dangers.

He would shoulder some of the heavy burdens himself.

However, given Annie's keen perception, she probably already realized that he was hiding his true strength...

"Darling," Annie put down her fork and looked at him quietly, "you've been at the fifth rank for several years now, haven't you broken through yet?"

"Hmm, what's wrong?"

"...It's nothing." She shook her head slightly, but the corners of her mouth curved up. "Just don't wait until I reach the fifth rank and you're still stuck in the same place. That would be so boring."

Lei Lin laughed: "Don't worry, once you reach the fifth rank, I'll immediately break through to the sixth rank to show you."

"Heh, then I'll have to work hard and not hold you back from advancing."

"No rush, I'll wait for you."

Annie glanced at him, said nothing more, but a hint of a smile appeared in her eyes.