Behind this noble, four humans carried a wooden box engraved with the family crest of the Duke of Jisoleox—a white stag head on a red and black shield emblem.

Dozens of dwarf eyes were fixed on the visitor, which made him feel a bit pressured. He performed a standard universal gesture: "Honorable Dwarf Your Majesty, King Belgar of Eight Peaks Mountain, I bring greetings from Duke Hagen of Jisoleox, wishing your body as strong as steel."

The dwarves exchanged glances and made way. Belgar sat behind the beer table, irritated because he had to look up at the visitor.

Do these humans understand no etiquette at all?!

"Who are you?" Belgar’s tone was not very pleasant.

"I am Jean-Harun, Count of North Gisele Oakes, the cousin of Duke Hagen."

"Oh!" Belgar’s expression became more favorable. Dwarves place great importance on blood relations, especially with rare female dwarves, where cousins are equivalent to brothers, nieces and nephews to children.

From a dwarf’s perspective, sending one’s cousin showed Duke Hagen’s importance to the matter. So Belgar continued, "So you’ve agreed to our proposal for a trade station? And why did Duke Hagen himself not come?"

"The Duke doesn’t quite understand the dwarven way of speaking, which could easily lead to misunderstandings. We’ve agreed to your proposal to establish a trade station, but we have a small request," Count Jean-Harun said cautiously.

"Oh~ so you need the help of dwarves?" Belgar spoke directly and bluntly, "Go ahead, what help? Speak up! What do you want the dwarves to do?"

Count Jean-Harun’s face changed repeatedly, even though he’d prepared himself, he was still startled by the dwarf’s directness. If someone spoke like this in court, nobles would tell him to leave.

"There’s a rebellion in the Duchy, King Belgar. We need your help, or it will be difficult to establish a stable trade route and develop that wasteland amidst peasant uprisings." Count Jean-Harun straightforwardly stated.

"Help? Then you should go to your king, or ride your war horses to kill the enemy yourselves. What does this have to do with dwarves? Why should dwarves pay the price to help you fight?" Belgar’s attitude remained poor.

Count Jean-Harun thought it fortunate that Duke Hagen had not come in, otherwise, both parties would surely have fallen out.

It was time to negotiate terms, and Count Jean-Harun signaled his men to open the wooden box.

Inside the box were several dwarf Oath Gold coins, a stack of gold bars, a pile of Gold Crowns, and a handful of shimmering silver coins. The full box of gold and silver emitted a metallic friction sound that entranced the dwarves, with the golden and silver light reflecting in the room.

Belgar and his clansmen were immediately captivated by the gold and silver in the box: "Is this...for us?"

"The Duke is generous, King Belgar. We won’t let the dwarves foot the bill for our troubles, please assist us in this matter!" Count Jean-Harun carefully used his tone, feeling a bit proud, knowing the dwarves’ genetic craving and desire for gold and silver.

"Very well, I accept!" As Count Jean-Harun expected, Belgar was satisfied with the money. He agreed, and the King of Eight Peaks signaled his men to take away the box, suddenly asking, "So...how do you plan to deal with those rebels? Execute them all?"

"Ah? This..." Belgar’s question caught the visitor completely off guard.

"I have a proposal... the dwarves need manpower..." Belgar began haggling according to a plan made with Laine.

......

Night, inside the winery.

The fireplace in the room crackled, the cold wind outside blocked by the window, while inside, Tiriel’s carpet covered the wooden floor. Laine sat behind a cherrywood desk, reading documents. Little Maid Amelia sat next to Laine, affectionately leaning against him, enjoying their alone time.

After this year’s end, next spring, Amelia would return to Nuer to become the Duchess and Prince-Elector.

Unlike before, when she liked to straighten her golden long hair, Amelia now had her hair up, symbolizing she was no longer a young girl.

After reading the documents for a while, Laine suddenly said, "Amelia?"

"What is it, Laine?" Amelia looked at Laine with deep attachment, her face full of reluctance: "Do you have something to tell me?"

"What kind of Winter Festival would you like to have?" Laine casually asked, "I’ll do my best to satisfy you."

"Eh?!" Amelia, who was daydreaming, suddenly turned extremely red. Thinking for a moment, the little maid said inexplicably: "Laine, you’re something else! Your mind is just full of those kinds of things!"

"Ah?!" Laine thought, are we even talking about the same thing?

At that moment, Surya pushed the door open, the Countess carrying a tray of snacks, smiling: "Laine, Amelia, you’ve worked hard, have a break!"

The snacks were some pastries and three cups of hot milk. Laine did not refuse, and the three sat down to enjoy the snacks. Laine placed the exquisite pastry into his mouth and smiled at Surya: "I was thinking whether Duke Hagen would agree to Belgar’s terms?"

"Duke Hagen won’t agree, but Count Jean-Harun will convince him. Laine, you don’t need to worry," Surya’s sea-blue eyes carried a hint of reproach; she knew her husband asked on purpose: "You have the answer in your heart, yet you want me to say it~"

"We are one as husband and wife; I need to seek your opinion on some things." Laine grinned mischievously: "Hearing you say it makes me feel more assured."

"Duke Hagen has no reason to refuse; it’s a mutually beneficial cooperation." Surya put down her teacup, the Knight repositioning her long, silk-clad legs, then continued: "But King Belgar’s temper or perhaps the temperament of dwarves could make the cooperation unpredictable. Laine, I suggest you send a unit to act with King Belgar too."

"Yes, indeed." Laine agreed with a nod.

They chatted a few more lines, and it was quite late. Amelia kissed Laine on the lips a little resentfully before going to the adjacent room to rest, leaving time to Surya. The Knight had already arranged for the servants to prepare the bed; the couple snuggled under the covers, Laine’s hands fondly wrapped around his wife’s slender waist: "Is there nothing much happening in the territory lately?"

"Not much, the biggest trouble was Lady Teresa encountering some issues while repairing her Wizard Tower, but it’s resolved now." Surya leaned against her husband’s chest, her golden curls cascading like a waterfall; she said with interest: "It was just that she wanted to build it too well, the budget was a bit insufficient. Besides, the Jialan Council sent over a group of Ice Element Witch Apprentices; they evidently are not used to the relatively warm and humid climate here in Brittania, some even fell ill and went to the hospital."

Thick curtains blocked all light, only a floor lamp emitted a dim yellow glow, and the wind howled outside the window. Hearing this, Laine’s expression changed slightly. He hugged Surya tightly and whispered: "In fact, I wasn’t very supportive of Teresa coming here to establish the Wizard Tower. Firstly, as you mentioned, it’s maladaptive. Additionally, she could have inherited her mother’s Wizard Tower; building another one is too demanding of energy and money."

"But you had no reason to refuse since my husband is so excellent?" Surya turned, staring at Laine’s face: "You respect her choice, so you didn’t stop her. You feel both affection and guilt towards her, hence you accepted her."

"After all, I am a man." Laine blushed slightly, feeling embarrassed under Surya’s teasing gaze.

"Then...how about we organize a party during the Winter Festival?" Surya’s eyes sparkled with brightness, and she continued: "Gather Lady Veronica, Lady Teresa, Amelia, Her Highness Mogiana, Ollica, and enjoy a turkey feast together, how about that?"

"WTF?" Laine’s mouth hung open.

The even more surprising event followed.

Suddenly, a dazzling light appeared in the bedroom, and a soft delicate figure fell from the light, the scent of irises filling the room. The visitor hugged Laine’s neck, slipped into the bed, and lay on top of Laine.

"Great idea~ I’m in!"