Dear Broom Knight

Countess Hamilton nodded. "She is indeed perfect according to our requirements for her. But actually, you should also be able to see that she is spurred on by Selestia's aura, unwilling to admit defeat..."

"Darling," Ezra interrupted her, "When faced with strong pressure, Pearl's instinctive reaction is to stand tall and meet the challenge head-on.

Our daughter is already very good.

Our daughter doesn't need to strive for perfection and work hard unless she needs to."

Almuss does it because he wants to.

That child is naturally competitive, hoping that each day ends with him being stronger than he was yesterday.

Ezra really couldn't understand. Although he and his wife were also quite competitive, they really weren't... this extreme.

Pearl is actually very much like them both.

She will work hard for her future, but not desperately.

His wife, rather than feeling that Pearl was inferior to that Miss Selestia, couldn't stand seeing another young girl trying to overwhelm her with her aura.

However, when they were young, they would basically do the same when encountering knights of similar age.

Even if they hadn't officially entered the Knights Order sequence, they would still learn some methods during training on how to quickly cooperate with unfamiliar knights.

If they really encountered a state of war, even if they couldn't form a proper knight formation, they would have to set up formulaic formations like a circle or a long serpent formation... at least to be able to cooperate with those around them.

However, every knight formation must have a center point.

Even a long serpent formation must be composed of small formations of three to five people, with one or two visible and two or three hidden, and then these small formations are combined.

If knights who have been together for many years might yield because a companion is more intelligent or better at commanding, who would be so humble when meeting for the first time?

This has even extended to many areas.

And among them, the most enthusiastic about this are those younger peers under sixty.

Those older ones don't necessarily not want to continue competing.

But after sixty, most mid-level and lower knights start to decline.

And those at the high level certainly know each other, even knowing the other's rank very well.

Of course, more importantly, they have reached an age where they can no longer pretend to be ignorant and fearless, and must learn to be in awe of the strong.

Ezra smiled as he watched the pair of beautiful girls approaching together.

He was already very satisfied with his daughter's performance.

Losing is nothing.

Selestia must be strong enough to still be compared to him after Lorry brought a white dragon home to raise.

But Pearl not only managed to control her expression under the pressure of Selestia's aura but was even able to counterattack sharply.

Selestia mentioning the colorful light curtain outside the castle was essentially reminding Pearl that their family had not yet been formally accepted by the people of the Northern Border, and most people were just watching the show.

Pearl's response, however, was very neat... their family had already begun to integrate into the Northern Border's way of life, and their integration with the people of the Northern Border was going smoothly.

Selestia didn't come seeking revenge either; she just wanted to gain the upper hand in future cooperation, so she quickly turned the topic back to the Montes family.

Regardless of what their two families' relationship will be like in the future, Hamilton and Macmillan now have a common target to suppress: Schroeder.

Ezra gently patted the slender and strong little hand in his arm, and together they smiled at Selestia, who was following half a step behind Pearl.

"Welcome to Hamilton Castle, Miss Macmillan. I hope you enjoy your stay," Count Ezra nodded.

Countess Hamilton, with a gentle smile on her face, said softly, "Almuss told me about your kindness in helping. Thank you for your hard work.

Now that you've met, how about Pearl accompany you?

She's already very familiar with the castle."

Selestia bowed slightly, her hand on her chest. "It is my honor to become friends with Archmage Almuss.

I am very willing to spend time with Miss Pearl."

Although the Earl and Countess were indeed standing in the center of the hall to welcome her, they couldn't possibly accompany her all the time... Selestia was only the Earl's heir.

Just as she said, only Almuss could be her friend.

As for Pearl, whether or not they could have any friendship would depend on whether they had any common language in the future.

Earl Ezra nodded. "Pearl, please entertain Miss Macmillan well."

"Yes! Father," Pearl replied crisply, leading Selestia towards the crowd.

Now, in this hall, besides Baron Watson, the highest-ranking people were the two of them.

Although the status of an earl's heir is generally regarded as equivalent to a baron, both Selestia and Pearl were Great Knights.

Only Baron Watson, whose knight rank was higher than theirs, had the status that required them to take the initiative to greet him.

However, according to some implicit rules, young unmarried girls can have a little bit of reserve... Moreover, most of the older barons are not interested in dealing with these thorny little girls; they prefer male juniors whom they can guide.

If there are women of equal status, then the girls must follow the rules.

So, Pearl hesitated slightly.

According to the usual behavior of noble ladies, she shouldn't ask Selestia if she wanted to see Baron Watson... Once those words are spoken, they must go to see him.

But, Baron Watson was clearly colluding with High Priest Schroeder, and Selestia might want to get to know him.

She thought for a moment, tilted her head to look at her mother, and then immediately remembered what Countess Hamilton had said before... to invite Baron Watson to bring his lovely daughter along.

"Miss Macmillan, please come this way," she turned and led Selestia towards the long dining table.

Although many people don't eat at banquets, the first thing to do when leading a guest is always to the dining table.

The host cannot let the guests go hungry, and whether they themselves are willing to eat is not the host's concern.

Then Pearl saw a scene that surprised her.

Selestia Macmillan gracefully picked up a silver plate and unhesitatingly poured the holy water from the side, along with the silver tongs, silver fork, and silver spoon on the plate... This was a precaution that only great nobles could take. The healing ability of Storm Holy Water wasn't that great, but its ability to exorcise evil and dispel poison was quite good. Then, with a slight turn of her fingers, a gust of wind quickly dried the silver plate.

After that, Selestia began to quickly lift the crystal covers and use the silver tongs to pick food onto her plate.

Finally, she picked up a bottle of sealed fruit wine, gracefully used one finger to remove the wax-sealed cork, and quickly started eating.

Pearl blinked her eyes.

Although many people here would eat the food, very few outsiders would dare to put it in their mouths like that on their first try.

Well, for a Storm Knight, the proof of the holy water is enough.

She was eating small cakes, fruits, and things like that. The holy water on the silver plate had only dried, not dissipated. If there was a problem, it would react if placed on it.

Besides, for great nobles like Ezra, the only food they couldn't guarantee was the food that had left his controlled area.

If there were still problems with the food on the table, their family wouldn't need to consider how to control the Northern Border in the future.

Pearl smiled, picked up a silver plate, and followed suit, performing a test before taking a small cake for herself to eat slowly.

Whatever this Miss Selestia wanted to do, she just had to do what was appropriate for her status.

— —

"Baron Watson is watching them," Countess Hamilton said softly, standing behind the dark wall in the blind spot on the second floor.

Hamilton Castle has the most standard castle construction, with the first-floor hall, which occupies two-thirds of the castle's main building, being a full three stories high.

The remaining one-third of the first floor is naturally the kitchen.

The second floor is the master's study.

The third floor is where the young masters and mistresses live, study, and entertain themselves.

The fourth and fifth floors are the bedrooms.

Generally speaking, the male heir would live in the left wing, while the other children would live together in the right wing.

Next to the study on the second floor, there would definitely be several reception rooms, either visible or hidden.

Ezra and his wife were currently in a secret room connected to the study.

"Pearl didn't take Selestia to see Watson, and Selestia didn't object," Ezra shook his head. "She truly is a girl who can thrive in the capital despite being a Storm Noble.

She will definitely come to us in half an hour.

Watson can't possibly not understand this."

"What exactly is Baron Watson doing?" Countess Hamilton was extremely puzzled. "Although no one likes his behavior, no one would meddle in his affairs!"

Although there are always problems, the family model has long been the underlying rule for nobles in this world.

Even the king cannot easily interfere in these families' internal affairs.

Even a jerk like Earl Gezarr had to extend his hand into other earl's families before he could be sentenced!

Don't look at how smooth everything is on the surface, but to get to this point, Gezarr's girls had to sell their souls!

Watson family's approach of treating their children as tools but not over-exploiting them is not unique to him in this world.

No matter how much you dislike it, no one will really interfere.

"I checked a lot of information."

Bowen's sudden words startled Countess Hamilton. "Bowen~ When did you get here?"