"I did not!" The female sorcerer was a bit flustered.

Upon hearing this, Veronica couldn't stop laughing, she could bet Teresa originally thought so.

"Did he give you that mark?" Veronica continued to prod the female sorcerer.

"Mark what?"

"The spirit rune on your lower abdomen."

"He... he did, it hurt a bit, but it also brought a sense of peaceful... comfort." The female sorcerer hid her face with a blanket, the scene of Laine embracing her and imprinting the spirit rune on her lower abdomen was something she might never forget.

"That's good." Veronica also sneakily placed a hand on her own lower abdomen.

Mine is already mature, maybe I could have a child now.

........

Outside the carriage, the sky was clear and wide after a snowy day, coldness pervaded, on the plains of the Bastogne Duchy, the landscape was covered in white snow and rolling hills that obscured the knights' view, in the distance, the snowy scenery of the Arden Forest was magnificently spectacular.

Clad in luxurious robes and silver plate armor, Brittania Kingdom Knights marched across the plains, their ornate decorations showcasing the identity and status of the master knights, the Pegasus banners waving in the cold wind, the Winford Duchy Kingdom Knights surrounded the Dwarfs' carts and carriages, and moved forward on the snowy plains.

Laine's brother-in-law Julius and cousin Sir Jerald were present, Laine and Surya were also riding pure-blooded Elf warhorses, slowly moving, Eight Peaks Mountain King Belgar stretched his legs sitting on a Dwarf cart, counting the goods, though his gaze often swept over the chatting knights.

He was eavesdropping on the knights' conversations.

"Laine, it seems quite lively inside your carriage." Surya, dressed in military attire, an imposing female knight clad in a Marchioness gown, with a mink coat draped outside, smiled at Laine.

"Them? The two patients, what can they do, all they do is argue, I'm used to it; if they don't argue, that would be strange." Laine sighed lightly, he turned his head towards Julius and Jerald: "I'm surprised you came to meet us at the Axe Bite Pass."

Julius and Jerald were already family with Laine, so they didn't need to use polite or respectful language, Julius wore a stern expression, watching his sister's happy demeanor, he nodded imperceptibly before speaking in a solemn tone: "After father learned about the Hemgart incident, he was very anxious, not only did he send us to meet you, but also led two hundred knights at the Duchy's border to personally greet you and Surya."

"Indeed, after arriving at Montefel Castle, we realized the severity of the situation, the whole of Hemgart was destroyed, Duke Fulcard is still leading the knights in battle with the Skaven Ratmen, Axe Bite Pass is in chaos, who knows how much of the trade route will be restored once everything is over." Jerald, stroking his goatee, had a hint of regret on his serious face: "Fulcard remains stubborn, insisting on solving his territory's problems by himself."

"The Axe Bite Pass is Fulcard's lifeline, he won't allow anyone else to touch it." Laine shook his head.

Even within the Kingdom, Duke Fulcard is notoriously tenacious, he despises all alien races, including Elves and Dwarfs, hence he is very dissatisfied with Laine's blatant activities and trade with Wood Elves and Dwarfs within his own territory, Duke Fulcard has repeatedly protested to the King, demanding action against Laine.

Richard had suffered losses when ordering Laine before, knowing well that with the support of the Lake Fairy, the King is evasive, after Fulcard made several complaints with no response from the King, he realized Laine, a Divine Chosen Champion of the Lake Fairy, is difficult to deal with, especially after witnessing Laine's several brothers at the wedding, it increased the stress, so he chose to avoid confrontation, citing busy military affairs when Laine passed through Axe Bite Pass.

Laine didn't find it odd; in this world, typically gods belong to gods, mortals to mortals, Duke Boldro Bodrick claims himself as a Prince and Descendant of the Sea God, domestic nobles dislike his dual belief, and continue to dislike him; despite having several demigod brothers and a True God (?) father, some great nobles dislike me regardless.

As long as I unite the majority, it's impossible for everyone to like me.

Moreover, from another perspective, Duke Fulcard of Montfort treats his peasants possibly the best in the entire Kingdom, this Duke not only established a welfare system but also cooperated with the Merciful Goddess Church, frequently engaging in charity, his territory not only has the Merciful Goddess's sanatorium, but also the largest Justice Church in Brittania Kingdom.

The Duke despises alien races, yet he welcomes humans, with Montfort Duchy having the highest number of Imperial people residing.

"Duke Fulcard and Duke Bohemond have poor relations with father." Wearing Secret Silver Rune Knight Plate Armor, holding a Unicorn Golden Cross Helmet in hand, Julius said to Laine: "The territorial dispute between Bastogne and Montfort Duchies hasn't ceased since the founding."

"Bastogne People are always arrogant, the knights here might be the most arrogant in the entire Kingdom." Sir Jerald also chimed in: "After all... this is the birthplace of King Arthur, the Founding Knight King."

"Hmm." Laine nodded, King Arthur, the Founding Knight King was not from Kulona, he was from Bastogne, and was the leader of Bastogne Tribe at the time, before he met the Lake Fairy, he had already slain a True Dragon, earning his family the title "Red Fire Dragon Family", the Duke of Bastogne's Family was also known as "Red Dragon Family".

Duke Bohemond is directly descended from Arthur, after Arthur slew the dragon, the armor made of dragon skin still resides in Bastogne Castle.

Thus, Bastogne's knights look down on knights from other duchies the most, they always clamor about the former King's will and glory beginning here, knights from this Kingdom love bragging and flaunting their glorious history.

Yet they indeed have the capital to boast, almost all the great noble lords of Bastogne Duchy are Holy Grail Knights, the virtues and strength of Holy Grail Knights are unquestionable, and their longevity lends to relative stability in its governance.

"Recently, after seeing the effects of your reforms, Duke Bohemond is planning to change from the Ten-Nine Tax to a flat-rate tax." Jerald continued: "Since almost all the lords and great nobles are Holy Grail Knights, compared to Francois's gradual advancement, Duke Bastogne faces far less resistance to reform, the Holy Grail Knights are indifferent to whether it's Ten-Nine Tax or flat-rate tax, they prefer long periods of praying in the Holy Grail Church rather than governing their territories."

"We can't expect the Kingdom's nobles to all be Holy Grail Knights." Laine retorted: "That's too unrealistic."

Julius and Jerald were somewhat envious, admiring Laine for becoming a Holy Grail Knight at such a young age, Julius already plans to start the Holy Grail Expedition, Jerald, despite being older, is still busy familiarizing himself with territorial affairs and accumulating experience, far from being ready for the Holy Grail Expedition.

"By the way, Duke Hubert completed the Holy Grail Trial and returned to Kakasong Duchy, ending the history of joint rule by the Lake God Prophet and Regent Earl, resuming control under Duke Hubert." Julius said, furrowing his brow: "It's unclear what Duke Hubert's stance is on the Kingdom's current situation, however, he is interested in trading with you, Laine, frequently sending people expressing intentions to import Dwarf equipment and Wood Elf medicines from your territory."

"We'll discuss everything when I return." Laine nodded, Duke Hubert's character is very harsh and cold, his proactive proposal for trade with Laine already indicates his attitude.

After marching for several days, everyone was already near Charon Forest.

"Ahead lies the Kuileu Ancient Tomb Belt."

"There is a cemetery cluster of the Kuileu Tribe, one of the fourteen Brittani Tribes before Brittania's founding, father is already waiting for us there with the army."