After the Winter Festival, the land remained frozen, with the distant Oracle Mountain Range shrouded in white snow.

In the courtyard of the Forest Cottage, the tall Emperor’s Guard saw the visitor and politely nodded in greeting, "Hello, Princess Surya, good morning."

"Hello, Mr. Black Gloves." Surya first nodded at the guard and then signaled the female sorcerer behind her to follow.

"It seems this is one of our rare opportunities to chat leisurely." Teresa leaned on her Violet Staff. The female sorcerer was wearing a standard blue Jialan Witch robe, black full-body leather wear, and over-the-knee high boots today. She felt somewhat strange, yet a bit apprehensive, not quite understanding why Surya invited her out at this time: "Is there something you want, Surya... madam?"

"Can’t I just chat with you even if there’s nothing the matter?" Surya had a faint smile on her dignified and elegant face. The female knight wore a white fox fur coat today, with the standard attire of a marchioness and over-the-knee boots underneath. After marrying Laine for over a year, the marchioness exuded the air of a "first wife." Every move she made displayed her style and imposing presence.

And this was precisely what the female sorcerer didn’t like.

She had felt quite unwilling; she didn’t want to be a female courtier; she wanted to be a countess.

For this, the female sorcerer secretly opposed Surya and ended up being firmly dealt with twice.

The first time, she planned to have her mother, Aurora, form a witch visitation group to Laine’s territory. However, Surya, in her capacity as the lady, graciously sent out an invitation inviting the Jialan Council to visit Laine’s territory.

This invitation was delivered into the hands of Speaker Margarita, who immediately declined, citing a crucial magic experiment as her reason.

With the Speaker clearly declining, Aurora naturally couldn’t override the Speaker to bring people over, so the visit to Laine’s territory was called off.

The second time, Teresa attempted to host a tea party, inviting the nobles from the territory to participate. Upon learning about this, Surya sought support from Mogiana and Francois, bringing over twenty "Lady of the Holy Grail" and "Lovers of the Holy Grail" to the event.

That evening, under Surya’s eloquent and warm hospitality, the guests had a great time, and everyone was satisfied with the tea party.

Teresa, who originally hosted the tea party, had to reluctantly admit that in such matters, her capabilities were far inferior to Surya’s.

Having been targeted twice in succession, Teresa felt quite apprehensive toward Surya and somewhat feared her.

The female sorcerer always felt that all her actions were under Surya’s control, and no matter what she attempted, Surya always had a way to resolve it and preemptively strike.

The two of them sat down in the living room, with Surya raising a cup of tea, a faint smile on the countess’s face: "Speaking of, aside from Veronica, you were the first to know Laine, right? Lady Teresa?"

"If you put it that way, indeed, I met him when he was just a Ranger Knight." Teresa nodded, letting her long black hair with a faint glow fall obediently over the sofa chair behind her: "At that time, I didn’t think much of him. After he achieved merit, there was an official witch in our Jialan Council in her thirties who was still unmarried and thought he might have potential in the future, and she offered that if Laine could become a Kingdom Knight before thirty and have his own fief, she might consider marrying him."

"Oh? And what did Laine think?" Surya’s eyes lit up as she inquired further.

A woman simply couldn’t stay silent on such matters.

"Laine politely declined. As for what he thought, I learned about it later from my mother." Teresa said with a playful laugh, curling her lips: "Laine went home and told Lord Norman about it. He said, ’If I am already a Kingdom Knight with my own fief, why would I actively pursue a thirty-something official witch? Let her control the finances? Let her dictate my life? Constantly compare me with other witches’ spouses? On what grounds? If I were truly a Kingdom Knight, wouldn’t there be fewer witches willing to pursue me? Why shouldn’t I find a witch in her early twenties who listens to me and is considerate of me?’"

"Is that why he ended up with Veronica?" Surya found it amusing: "Veronica really saw the potential in him."

"That’s where I’m unlike Veronica. When Veronica became his partner, Laine truly had nothing, as you know, Lady Surya. In Nod, Laine’s position... was a bit awkward. He was an adopted son and was, strictly speaking, only half a noble with no inheritance rights to a fief. His godfather, Duke Ivan, didn’t pay much attention to him. All he had financially was the set of knight equipment on his body and his warhorse." Teresa spoke on the matter with a hint of bitterness and self-mockery: "In other words, if I were in Veronica’s position back then, I absolutely wouldn’t have noticed him. He was just a small warrior that could fight a bit. Such men were plentiful in Nod."

"If you can’t be with him during the low times, you won’t be able to share the glory at the peak." Surya whispered, and then the female knight asked curiously: "And then?"

"Then he dealt with the Beastman Leader ’Sharp Fang’ Gor and was promoted to a Kingdom Knight. My mother and I attended the sealing ceremony back then. He was only twenty-two or twenty-three, and many witches were starting to get interested in him. However, his views on marriage had changed as well. He wondered why he should make himself miserable by marrying a witch home. He saw a great future ahead. At that time, the Princess of Nod, Caroline, had a meeting with him. My mother said it seemed like they were considering inviting him to marry into their family. But Laine wasn’t interested because there were a few others meeting the princess with him. He said he didn’t want to be the princess’s backup option. What does backup option mean?"