As their eyes met, Stella felt as if she had been submerged in a cold, sticky liquid. He studied her for about ten seconds before speaking with an expression reminiscent of someone who had bitten into an unripe fruit.

“I am Crot Viantus. I will be in charge of the princesses’ history lessons for the next year. That’s all the introduction you’ll get, so if you have any questions, please ask the others.”

Crot quickly delivered his introduction and immediately launched into the lesson.

Despite his seemingly strict demeanor, his class turned out to be quite engaging. The main focus of the lesson was the achievements of the Emperor of Credion.

He praised the Emperor to such an extent that it bordered on idolization.

He spoke of the Emperor’s remarkable accomplishments in war, his commendable policies for the citizens of defeated nations, and what he was sacrificing even now for the peace of the continent.

After two hours of listening to the emperor’s accolades, Stella thought that if she continued attending these classes for a year, she might unknowingly come to love the emperor.

As if to confirm Stella’s prediction, exclamations of admiration frequently escaped the lips of the princesses during the lesson.

“Oh my, how can the Emperor be so caring?”

“He really seems like an excellent person.”

“Not just anyone could implement such policies, especially for the citizens of defeated countries.”

The situation was more serious than she had initially thought.

It seemed they had no memory of the woman who had been ruthlessly dragged away in the hall the previous day.

Having the princesses attend such lessons, the emperor was undoubtedly more cruel and eccentric than she had imagined.

After the lesson, a small tea party was held at Müiget Castle.

The tea party, held twice a week after each lesson, was said to be organized by Princess Annette’s side. The refreshment area was filled with sweet scents and was as colorful as the princesses’ dresses.

The princesses did not resemble hostages from defeated countries at all. They were stunning, elegant, and their faces radiated innocent smiles.

Stella observed them for a while as a bystander, noticing their excitement as if they were on a picnic.

Stella understood better than anyone that beneath the bright smiles of these princesses, who had grown up seeing only good and beautiful things, lay an unintended cruelty.

“Princess Annette, you said you’ve met the Emperor three times, right?”

The youngest-looking princess among those seated asked, her hands clasped together and her expression dreamy. A blue silk ribbon fluttered like butterfly wings above the head of the young princess with striking red hair.

Stella recalled that the princess had maintained that expression throughout the banquet. However, since the other princesses were not much different, no one found her peculiar.

Stella gazed at Princess Annette with an appropriately interested expression. Forcing a smile was as exhausting as a long carriage ride, but it was something she had to do, so Stella did her best to stretch her lips.

At that moment, she suddenly thought of a pickaxe. The particularly shiny blade and worn handle, the comforting sensation of digging into the earth, and the indescribable peace were vivid in her mind.

The princesses laughed loudly.

Stella, distracted by the sudden thought of the pickaxe, laughed along without understanding why. She had never felt as foolish as she did today, but there was nothing else she could do.

Without being prompted, the earth fairies had promised to take turns guarding the pickaxe. It seemed unlikely that anyone would take it even if it wasn’t watched, but the earth fairies were resolute.

What exactly was that pickaxe? Something imbued with the blessing of the goddess Terra?

While Stella was lost in thought, the conversation among the princesses continued uninterrupted.

“Yes, I happened to see him a few times.”

Annette said, holding her teacup and lowering her eyes like it was no big deal. Simultaneously, sighs of envy mixed with admiration arose from various parts of the table.

“What kind of person is the Emperor?”

“Is he really that cold?”

“What are you saying? The Emperor is such a caring person. Just look at how he regularly holds banquets for us.”

“But he doesn’t even speak to us once during the banquets.”

Even though Annette hadn’t responded, an argument erupted between the person who asked the question and the one sitting next to her.

Stella wondered why they were debating so passionately about whether the emperor was cold or not. Did they truly believe they could become the empress?

In Stella’s view, the real future empress was someone else—the woman who had appeared last at yesterday’s banquet.

What was her name again? Melissa Frentium?

Even a woman would find her breathtakingly beautiful, and her confident demeanor and elegant speech made her appear nobler than any of the other princesses present.

Her arms were strikingly different from those of the other princesses, which were soft and delicate. The arms revealed beneath her purple dress were firm and strong.

It was chilling to imagine how those arms would look wielding a sword instead of a crystal glass. Throughout the encounter, Stella thought about how wonderful it would be to become as strong as she was.

“His Majesty the Emperor…”

As the two were bickering, Annette finally spoke up. Even after the conversation was interrupted, the two reluctantly kept glaring at each other until the end.

If they fell out of Annette’s favor and were ostracized here as well, they would have nowhere else to turn. For them, Anel was a formidable competitor, yet she also represented their only refuge in the Plant District.

When Annette mentioned the Emperor, the princesses’ eyes sparkled with anticipation. They hoped that one day they too would have the opportunity to meet the Emperor personally, just like Princess Anel.

If that could happen, they were confident they could capture the Emperor’s heart. They planned to gather as much information about him as possible in preparation for that moment.

“He was very kind and caring. And extremely beautiful too.”

Annette’s lovely face blushed slightly as she recalled the moment she met the Emperor.

At the same time, the princesses let out sighs of admiration. Stella was incredibly curious about what it was that made these princesses react this way to the Emperor, so she leaned in even closer to hear Annette’s words.

“Oh my!”

“Does he look even more handsome up close? I was so nervous yesterday that I couldn’t properly see His Majesty’s face.”

“I only remember the wonderful scent that came from him.”

For a moment, Stella almost laughed out loud as she imagined the princesses approaching the Emperor and sniffing around him.

Quickly, Stella raised her teacup to hide her face, which was half-contorted from trying to suppress her laughter. However, she ended up making eye contact with Annette, who had been closely observing her.

“What’s so amusing, Princess Stella?”

Annette’s sharp voice sliced through the cheerful atmosphere and pierced Stella.

All the princesses shifted their gazes to Stella at once. Her mind went blank for a moment, but she quickly composed herself and answered in a calm voice.

“I was worried about being lonely and isolated in a foreign country, but I can’t believe I get to stay with such kind people. To be honest, I thought I might end up locked in an underground dungeon.”

Stella indirectly conveyed to the princesses that she had no intention of competing with them and was very satisfied with her current situation. She exaggerated her shuddering as if the mere thought of a dungeon was horrifying.

“Oh my! An underground dungeon!”

“Hohoho, His Majesty would never do such a thing.”

“Well, I suppose you would have been worried, bringing such a gift.”

As expected, the topic of the gift came up.

“Yes. I was genuinely worried, but I’m so grateful that His Majesty was understanding and generous.”

By appropriately humbling herself and pretending to know little, the princesses quickly let down their guard and brushed it off as if it were nothing, all while subtly looking down on her.

In fact, they were more than happy to treat her kindly as long as she behaved appropriately, since having a princess who brought such a humble gift made them appear even better in comparison.

However, Annette continued to stare at Stella while pretending to sip her tea. The smile that merely lifted the corners of her mouth held no warmth whatsoever.

***

As soon as she returned to Verdura Castle, Stella discarded her cumbersome dress and changed into her usual comfortable clothes.

She also removed the ribbons that had been stuck in her hair and the sparkling accessories attached to her limbs. While she enjoyed dressing up, she was so exhausted that she wanted to lighten her load, even if just a little.

Milla silently watched Stella change clothes with the help of the maids, and when they were finally alone, she asked the question that had been on her mind.

“How was your lesson today?”

Milla hoped that Stella hadn’t embarrassed herself at Müiget Castle.

“I didn’t expect much, but honestly, it was interesting. The book you gave me was fun too. Could you bring me more books if you can find them?”

Milla looked surprised. She hadn’t expected Stella to ask for more books. She thought that, like most princesses, Stella would only be interested in dress catalogs or sparkling jewels.

The purpose of sending her to the lessons was more about socializing with other princesses than studying.

But Milla wasn’t the type to outwardly express her surprise. As if she had anticipated this, she smiled casually and opened her notebook.

-Bring more books.

Milla maintained her proper posture even as she wrote.

“Did you make any friends with the other princesses?”

Since Stella’s personality seemed quite agreeable, Milla expected her to rattle off a list of princesses’ names.

However, this question, which seemed very easy by Milla’s standards, appeared to be quite challenging for Stella. She slightly averted her gaze and responded halfheartedly.

“They all seemed like nice people.”

“No one you got particularly close to?”

“Not yet? Why, should I become close to them?”

Stella asked with pure intentions, but Milla’s mind became complicated. She didn’t know how to interpret Stella’s response.