I AM A MAGE BUT WITH MILF SYSTEM-Chapter 654: Recounting all the past

"I'm sorry," Julian said quietly. "I'm sorry for the worry I've caused. But I'm here now. I'm safe."

Augustus pulled him into a surprisingly strong embrace for such an old man, and Julian felt the grandfather's body shake with sobs of relief.

The three generations of Easvil men stood there in the doorway—Julian in the center, held by both his father and grandfather, all three crying openly without shame.

Eva stood to the side, tears streaming down her face again as she watched her family come back together. She'd been holding everything together for three months, being the strong one, the responsible one, and now she could finally let that burden go.

After several long moments, Alden finally pulled back, wiping his eyes roughly with the back of his hand.

"Come inside," he said, his voice still thick with emotion. "Sit. Rest. Tell us what happened. Where you've been. How you escaped whatever battle you took."

Then his gaze fell on the three beautiful young women standing respectfully behind Julian, and confusion entered his expression.

"Who are they?" Alden asked, looking at Seraphine, Lyanna, and Cassandra with curiosity and wariness. "Julian, who are these women?"

Eva, who had recovered some of her composure, stepped forward with a half-laugh, half-sob.

"Father, these are Julian's wives," she said. "Apparently, while we thought he was dead, he was off getting married. Three times."

Alden's eyebrows rose dramatically, and he looked at his son with an expression that mixed shock, confusion, and something that might have been pride.

"Your... wives?" he repeated slowly. "Julian, you've been gone three month. How in all the hells did you acquire three wives?"

Augustus, still standing close to Julian, started laughing.

"That's my grandson!" the old man declared. "Missing for three months and comes back with three beautiful women! That's the Easvil blood showing through!"

Julian couldn't help but smile at his grandfather's reaction.

The reunion then continued for a couple of hours.

His father asked him what had happened, where he had gone, how he had survived. Julian simply lied, crafting a convenient story about being trapped in some kind of portal that had swallowed him. He explained that it had taken him three months to navigate his way out of the strange dimension, during which time flowed differently.

He also added that he had met Seraphine, Lyanna, and Cassandra in that same portal—other travelers who had been trapped there, and through their shared struggle, they formed deep bond.

It was a terrible lie but his family wanted so desperately to believe he was safe that they accepted it without too much questions.

Eva teased him mercilessly about his inability to keep his hands to himself even in life-threatening situations. Augustus declared it the greatest adventure story he'd heard in decades and demanded Julian write it all down for the family archives.

They shared a meal together and the food tasted exactly as he remembered. But eventually, exhaustion claimed the castle and new room were prepared for the "newlyweds."

Now, Julian was in his old room—the chambers he'd occupied before his death. Everything was exactly as he had left it as if waiting for his return. The furniture, the books on the shelves, even the clothes in the wardrobe—all were untouched.

And he wasn't alone.

Seraphine, Lyanna, and Cassandra were with him, seated on various pieces of furniture around the room.

All three were looking at their father as if they were holding back from asking questions.

Seraphine spoke first, as she usually did.

"So," she said, her tone carefully neutral. "That was quite the performance, Father. A portal? A dimension where time flowed differently? Meeting us there as fellow trapped travelers?"

She leaned back in the chair, crossing her legs.

"I'm impressed by how quickly you constructed that story."

Lyanna nodded from her position by the window. "Your father—Duke Alden—he wanted to believe you. They all did. So they accepted your explanations even though they had hundreds of questions."

She paused, then her expression became more curious, almost mischievous.

"And Father... I have one question. Does Grandpa know that you've taken his wife, Mother Regina, as your own wife?" 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Julian laughed at that.

"No," he said, still chuckling. "He would kill me if he knew about it. Absolutely murder me. No one knows about it—not him, not Eva, not anyone in this world."

Cassandra's and Lyanna's eyes widened simultaneously.

"So you mean they don't even know that their own son has stolen their wives?" Cassandra asked, her voice rising with shock. "You're married to your father's wife, your father's mother, and your own sister, and none of them know?"

Seraphine laughed as well, the sound bright with amusement. "That's so you, Father. I'm not surprised at all. You've always had a talent for... complicated family arrangements."

Julian shook his head, though he was still smiling. "Let's not continue this topic. It's giving me a headache thinking about how to eventually explain it."

He straightened up and his expression became more serious.

"I have something to say."

The three immediately became attentive.

"I'll be heading back to the Hermes Kingdom," Julian continued. "And I won't be in contact for a few weeks. You three are to stay here, and I'm going to give you some tasks. You have to complete them diligently."

The three nodded as Julian began briefing them.

"First, familiarize yourselves with the noble society here. Learn the power structures, the family alliances, who's connected to whom. Second, observe my father and the household carefully. Look for any signs of unusual activity, strange visitors, anything that seems out of place. Third, protect the family. If anything threatens them while I'm gone, you handle it immediately."

He looked at each of them in turn.

"Seraphine, you're in charge. Your political instincts are the sharpest. Lyanna, you handle any physical threats—your combat skills are superior. Cassandra, you observe and analyze. Between the three of you, you should be able to handle anything that comes up."

All three nodded seriously.

"We won't fail you, Father," Seraphine said firmly.

"I know you won't," Julian replied with a smile.

He stood and moved toward them, embracing each daughter briefly.

"I'll return as soon as I can. But the situation in Hermes Kingdom requires my attention, and I can't delay."