"Have the gifts been delivered?" Laine asked Ollica softly.

"Yes, they have been delivered. Ranger Knight Hex personally delivered the gifts to Winford and into Mr. Francois's hands." Ollica replied, her expression calm.

"Very good." Laine had sent gifts to several of his close great nobles, including Duke Boldro Bodric, Duke Bohemond of Bastogne, Duke of Winford Francois, and Marquis Ascot Connelly, as well as Marchioness Surya. The gifts consisted of exquisite deer jerky, Wood Elf jewelry, silk, and fruit wine. They might not be priceless, but they were rare.

As Laine had anticipated, on this day, amidst the heavy snowfall, the Winford Duchy welcomed two distinguished guests.

Within the majestic Duke Helunhilde's Castle, a tall statue of a Pure White Pegasus stood poised for flight. The distant sky was overcast, and the heavy snow blanketed the entirety of Helunhilde. Atop the high tower, at a small round table, three great nobles of Brittania were drinking wine and admiring the snow. Apart from them, there was no one else on the tower.

Duke of Winford Francois held a wine glass and laughed, "The Wood Elf fruit wine sent by Laine might not match our Winford's top-tier wines, but it is indeed rare. I haven't had this kind of fruit wine in nearly ten years."

Duke Bohemond of Bastogne also tasted the fruit wine. Unlike Francois, Bohemond lamented, "I don't have the abundant red wine that you do here. I can only occasionally taste this kind of fruit wine over in Kulona. This time, Laine sent ten bottles of Wood Elf fruit wine, and I plan to treasure them."

"Haha, Bohemond, you're quite lucky. I just finished brewing a batch of the finest wine, 'Lysa Lus.' You can take a barrel back when you leave," Francois laughed, then turned to another person on the tower and said, "You can take a barrel too, our Duke Louis?"

The third person wore red and blue silk great noble attire, with a cloak depicting a Leaping Lion. Unlike the usual Connet Duchy family crest, the Leaping Lion held a golden Holy Grail.

Actually, all three dukes bore symbols showing their identity as Holy Grail Knights — Bohemond's Red Fire Dragon held a Grail in its claws, and Francois's Pure White Pegasus also held a Grail.

"It is indeed rare, but I'm no longer a duke, please don't say that," said the former Duke of Connet, "Honest" Louis relaxedly. He looked as if he had just set down a heavy burden, feeling completely at ease. "Lorne has already taken over my position. I'm now just an ordinary Grand Knight Commander of the Holy Grail Knight Order about to head to the Lady Cathedral. I was merely passing by here when I stopped to see Francois, unexpectedly finding Bohemond here also."

Indeed, "Honest" Louis was no longer Duke of Connet. After his legitimate son Lorne completed the Holy Grail Trial, he officially relinquished all his worldly duties to begin his journey to the Lake Fairy Cathedral in the Kakasong Duchy. He planned to spend the rest of his life protecting the Holy Land of the Lake Fairy.

"Helunhilde will soon be snowbound, so I hurried here to see you," Bohemond said little. The Red Dragon Duke then asked Louis, "Are you that confident in Lorne? He's an excellent knight, but not necessarily an excellent duke."

"It doesn't matter, I've already handed all the duchy's affairs to him, and everything from now on is his decision," Louis said, showing no joy over his son's completion of the Holy Grail path, only a sense of relief.

Francois and Bohemond both knew that Louis did not have a good relationship with his son Lorne.

Lorne was Louis's legitimate son from his first wife, but as a youngster, he lived a reckless life, engaging in numerous affairs. At a young age, he fathered a child out of wedlock with a low-born woman, a matter Louis considered a grave humiliation. Louis ordered the child abandoned in the wild, and from then on, their father-son relationship soured drastically.

Fortunately, after this incident, Lorne realized his mistakes and began to grow from a reckless Ranger Knight into an outstanding Kingdom Knight. Inspired by the Lady, he decided to embark on the Holy Grail path, starting his Holy Grail Expedition as a Mission Knight.

Five years later, Lorne returned to Connet after his first failed Holy Grail Trial, looking more like a beggar than a Mission Knight. At a grand banquet, he entered in tattered clothing, covered in mud, requesting help from his father and the duchy's knights: an Undead Mage had summoned an Undead Army and sought to overthrow the country.

Observed and discussed by countless guests, Duke Louis felt deeply embarrassed and extremely angry with his legitimate son. However, his knightly virtues reminded him to aid his son, recognizing the threat of the Undead to the Knight Kingdom. He pushed aside his displeasure and asked who among the Clan Knights would follow Lorne to fight the Undead.

So when Lorne left Connet Duchy again, he was equipped anew, accompanied by sixteen Clan Knights willing to follow him. He vanished until recently announcing the completion of his Holy Grail Trial and returning alone to Connet Duchy.

Even Holy Grail Knights have their preferences. Although the Lake Fairy acknowledged Lorne's virtues and strength, leaving Louis nothing to say, Louis handed all ducal duties to Lorne early on, choosing to leave.

These were secrets among the kingdom's great nobles, known only to Dukes Bohemond and Francois, aware of Louis and Lorne's conflict. Unable to coexist peacefully, and both being the Lady's Holy Grail Knights, Louis chose to leave the duchy early to avoid further conflict.

"Let's stop talking about this," Francois shook his head, changing the topic, "What has our King been doing recently?"

"Richard? He is utterly distressed dealing with Marinburg's debt collection." Bohemond swirled his glass proudly. "The contract is black and white and witnessed by two deities. He cannot deny it. He intends to use Le Anglong's tariffs as collateral and temporarily borrow funds from Her Highness Mogiana to pay off part of the short-term debt and relieve urgent pressure."

"Hehe~" Francois knew why Bohemond was so proud. During this summer's Knightly War, his youngest son Gabriel performed actively and gained considerable spoils. Bohemond took this opportunity to repay much of Marinburg's debt and seized several bandit hideouts, accumulating wealth.

Francois, too, owed Laine a favor in this matter, along with Bohemond.

"Speaking of which, Casvan recently did something foolish. He saw that Laine Macado could establish trade relations with the Wood Elves and earn substantial profits, so he sent people into Aisloron Forest hoping to trade with them. Our Duke of Paragon thought offering better terms than Laine would win the Wood Elves' approval. And the outcome?" Francois laughed heartily, "His trade team and knights were shot up by the Wood Elves, leaving only one survivor. That person returned to Paragon with the Wood Elves' response. Guess what message the Wood Elves sent back?"

"What was it?" Louis and Bohemond asked with interest.

"And it was..."