Stella had covered fewer than ten carrots with soil. The quick-handed earth fairies had begun to gather and help, and before she realized it, they had swarmed around and finished the task in no time.

By the time Milla approached, Stella had already washed her hands clean with the water that Esta had collected for her.

“Princess, what are you doing there?”

Milla felt as though she had asked Princess Stella the same question several times.

“I was looking at the carrots.”

Stella gave a vague answer, knowing that Milla would disapprove if she found out that Stella had touched the soil herself. There would come a time to tell Milla the truth, but that time was not now.

“They’ve grown a lot already, haven’t they?”

What Milla had seen not long ago had been just sprouts poking out of the ground. In just a few days, the carrots had grown surprisingly large.

Even though she had no interest in or knowledge of growing plants, she could tell this was not a normal situation.

“Yeah. Carrots grow quickly, they say.”

Milla nodded at Stella’s words and even let out a small “hmm” of appreciation, as if she had just learned something new.

Stella felt incredibly relieved that there were things Milla did not know.

She had told Milla that these were seeds she had brought from her homeland. Fortunately, Milla had not pried any further.

“Soon we’ll be able to eat them. Let’s ask Liannene to make a carrot pie.”

Lianne was a cook at Verdura Castle. She also worked as a maid, and her diligence made it seem as if she were everywhere at once. From cleaning to sewing to cooking, there was nothing Lianne couldn’t do.

“Yes, I’ll tell her that.”

Milla replied in a calm voice.

***

“Did something good happen?”

The Emperor’s lips curved into a smile. Usually, his mouth was either set in a straight line, as if someone were pulling at it, or he was frowning most of the time, but today was different.

Seeing the Emperor in a good mood, Harman felt as if he were walking on clouds, his steps light.

“I had a good, long sleep for the first time in a while.”

Kai’s skin also had a healthy glow as he responded.

“Your complexion has improved greatly. Indeed, it seems that proper rest is the best medicine.”

Harman said with a beaming smile.

As his physical condition improved, so did his work efficiency. Kai finished his tasks faster than usual and stood up.

“Shall I have lunch prepared?”

Harman asked in an expectant voice. The Emperor, who typically skipped lunch or made do with a piece of bread due to work, had left his desk right on time for lunch today. It was a perfect opportunity to serve him a proper meal.

“Yes.”

“Understood. Is there anything in particular you’d like to…”

Harman twitched, looking ready to dash out immediately.

The guards standing nearby exchanged glances of puzzlement and relief at Kai’s unusual response.

While they knew the Emperor had an iron constitution, they had been quietly worried seeing him skip meals so often.

“Carrots.”

“Pardon?”

Harman thought he had misheard. Carrots, all of a sudden?

“Tell them to make anything with carrots in it.”

“C-carrots, you say?”

He hadn’t misheard. Harman found it odd that the Emperor was suddenly asking for carrots when he wasn’t a rabbit, but he didn’t dare to inquire further. If he did, the Emperor might change his mind and refuse to eat again.

“Yes, I’ll relay that to the head chef.”

Harman replied calmly and signaled to the attendant standing nearby. The attendant quickly bowed and backed out of the office. As soon as the door closed, the sound of running footsteps quickly faded away.

A moment later, all sorts of carrot dishes appeared on the Emperor’s table.

Carrot soup, carrot rapé, beef roast garnished with carrots, carrot juice, carrot salad. The table was filled with vibrant orange hues.

The palace chef had been beside himself from the moment the attendant relayed the lunch order.

He selected the best carrots from the food storage, prepared them, cooked them, and roasted his subordinates like carrots.

He had a duty to do his best to ensure the Emperor finished his meal with satisfaction. Although there were dishes already prepared, he discarded them all.

Neither the woefully insufficient time nor the sudden menu change could serve as excuses for inadequate preparation. Until dozens of carrot dishes were completed, the kitchen was truly a hellish scene.

After the whirlwind had passed, scattered cooking utensils, dazed cooks, and pieces of carrots were left behind in the kitchen like the remnants of a war.

“Your Majesty, these are the carrot dishes you requested. The royal chef has prepared them to the best of his ability for you.”

As Chamberlain Harman explained, Kai briefly scanned the dishes set on the table.

As he had said, there were many dishes made with carrots. Kai recalled the sweet and fresh taste of the carrots he had eaten the previous day and first tasted a spoonful of soup.

Since the Emperor had never been so enthusiastic about a meal before, Harman watched Kai eat with a fond gaze, as if he were looking at his own grandson.

However, the Emperor’s thick eyebrows, which had been smiling just moments ago, wrinkled as soon as he put a spoonful of soup in his mouth.

The chef who had brought out the food flinched and held his breath. He felt dizzy. Was it too hot? Did the soup taste strange? Had he accidentally used sugar instead of salt? Or had someone poisoned it?

It was just a brief moment when a spoonful of soup entered his mouth, but all sorts of negative possibilities flooded the chef’s mind.

While the chef stood there with a face as pale as a carrot, the Emperor tasted each dish one by one. There were many dishes, but the Emperor didn’t taste any of them twice. The chef squeezed his eyes shut.

This is the end.

Standing on legs that trembled like wet seaweed, the chef prayed that he could at least leave the palace in one piece. Only then could he feed his family, even if he had to leave.

As the Emperor fussily sampled small portions of the food, the chef’s face began to grow paler by the second. Harman, who understood the chef’s hard work and effort better than anyone, couldn’t hide his sympathetic feelings.

“Why doesn’t it have that taste?”

This was what the Emperor asked with a stiff expression after tasting a bit of every dish.

Hiccup.

The chef started hiccupping. Harman slowly moved to block the chef.

“Is there a particular carrot dish you’re looking for, Your Majesty?”

Harman carefully inquired while hiding the chef, who was only letting out frivolous hiccups, behind him. Instead of answering, Kai tilted his head and turned toward where the chef was standing.

Although Harman was blocking him, it was practically impossible to hide the portly chef. The moment the chef met the Emperor’s cold gaze beyond Harman’s graying head, his breath caught in his throat.

“Brynng me a raw carrot.”

“…Pardon?”

“The carrot used to make this, bring it here.”

The chef stammered, unable to grasp the intent behind the Emperor’s words. It was something he had never heard in his over twenty years of experience as a chef.

It was a great relief that he wasn’t immediately ordered to be expelled or have his incompetent wrists cut off, but to bring a raw carrot?

As the chef acted like a broken doll, an impatient Harman sent a servant to the kitchen.

The servant rushed to the kitchen and soon returned with the carrots used in the cooking, placed on a silver platter with a lid.

Kai’s eyes sparkled with anticipation. But when the lid of the silver platter was opened a moment later, the faint smile that had remained on his face vanished like a blown-out candle.

The chef’s legs gave out, and he almost collapsed, but he managed to stand up with Harman’s support. His cheeks were already wet with tears. His thick lips, full of sorrow, quivered, creating walnut-like wrinkles on his chin.

Kai realized the moment the round silver lid was lifted that this wasn’t the carrot he had been waiting for.

The brilliantly shining orange body, the freshness that spread throughout his mouth when he took a bite, the sweetness and rich carrot aroma that permeated between his teeth as he crunched—just imagining it made his mouth water.

But what awaited him was just a carrot.

Just an ordinary carrot.

“Haa……”

The Emperor stood up with a deep sigh. Then he walked out of the dining room without a word. What stopped Kai’s deeply disappointed footsteps was Harman’s sorrowful voice.

“Your Majesty!”

Kai halted and turned to look at Harman with hollow eyes. Harman was startled by the Emperor’s expression, as if he had lost everything, but he couldn’t let the chef go like this.

He was the royal chef who had been in charge of the imperial kitchen since the time of the previous emperor.

“Please, I beg you not to punish Chef Leo!”

Harman pleaded, falling to his knees with a thud.

“Leo?”

Kai’s gaze shifted to the sobbing chef. Kai frowned, crumpling his face when he saw the chef standing there with his eyes tightly shut, tears streaming down.

“The chef has dedicated his entire life to serving Your Majesty. Couldn’t you give him one more chance?”

“What are you talking about? Who said anything about punishing Leo?”

Leo was special to Kai as well. He was the one who had made the dishes Kai had enjoyed since he was young.

At the Emperor’s words, Harman and Leo stopped sobbing and stared at the Emperor with blank expressions.

After looking at the two with an expression of incomprehension for a while, Kai tilted his head again and left the dining room.

“What was that carrot?”

It was enough to drive one mad.