Stella returned to Verdura Castle, and shortly after, Milla learned about what had happened at Müiget Castle.

Beth, unable to contain her excitement, came running and chattered in detail about everything that had occurred at the tea party.

“They say Princess Stella was treated so coldly in her home country. How could that be when she’s the eldest daughter? The reason it took her a month to arrive in the Credion Empire was that the king didn’t provide a ship and instead sent the princess on a merchant vessel. Apparently, the merchants on that ship were even former pirates. What if something terrible had happened to the princess on that ship? Gasp! Could it be that already…”

Milla’s patience finally ran out at this rude speculation.

“Beth. That’s enough.”

At Milla’s words, spoken through gritted teeth, Beth was startled and quickly fell silent. Having known Milla for a long time, Beth recognized that this tone meant Milla was genuinely angry.

Milla rarely lost her temper, but when she did, she was strangely intimidating. There was something about her that made people tense.

“She’s the person I serve. You haven’t forgotten that, have you?”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

Beth apologized, squeezing her eyes shut and bowing her head deeply. Given Beth’s simple nature, Milla knew it wasn’t just a verbal apology, yet somehow, she couldn’t shake off her anger.

It wasn’t her place to know how a foreign princess was treated in her home country. Even if Stella had been treated coldly, it must have been better than her own situation.

How difficult the journey to Verdura had been, or whether she had been sent here as if she were abandoned—these were matters that didn’t concern her.

But strangely, Milla felt both uncomfortable and angry. If she had known it would be like this, she wouldn’t have accepted the pearl brooch.

“Don’t say such things elsewhere. You could get into big trouble too.”

She genuinely worried about Beth. Sometimes, there were cunning maids who took advantage of Beth’s carefree nature. They skillfully used her as a means to spread and exaggerate malicious rumors.

If things escalated and they began searching for the source of the rumors, those maids would slip away. The responsibility would fall solely on Beth.

Milla hoped Beth wouldn’t become a victim of such schemes. At least Beth had no malicious intent.

She simply enjoyed talking and felt more pleasure than others when people listened to her stories and reacted.

Beth had chosen the wrong profession. She should have become a teacher who could talk all day without issue or a minstrel who received enthusiastic responses for every word.

“I’m really sorry. I’ll be more careful from now on.”

Beth said in a dejected voice.

“But who told you that? Did someone come to you specifically to tell you?”

Beth nodded vigorously, her expression asking, ‘How did you know?’ She was even grateful to her colleagues who would come to her and kindly explain things whenever something happened.

“Bonnie and Karin told me.”

As expected, it was just as Milla had thought.

“I see. Next time, even if you hear something, never pass it on to others. You might end up taking all the blame later.”

At Milla’s calm explanation, Beth looked surprised, covering her mouth with her palm, her eyes wide open. She nodded with a terrified expression.

Bonnie and Karin were the maids closest to Sarah. The probability was high that the idea to deliberately come and relay the story to Beth had originated from Sarah’s mind.

Milla closed her eyes, suddenly overwhelmed by fatigue. A warm sensation rose to her eyelids.

Milla knew well what it meant to be isolated in a foreign country without a single close friend. She didn’t want to experience that again, but she also didn’t want to just stand by and watch someone else go through it.

“Well then, I’ll be going. See you next time.”

Beth, having calmed down, waved her hand with a bright smile. Thinking lightly and forgetting easily were both Beth’s biggest flaws and strengths. Sometimes, Milla achingly envied Beth’s simplicity.

There were so many things Milla wanted to forget, but her memory was too good to easily let go, and the memories etched into her very bones would resurface at random times, wringing out whatever emotions remained.

It should have been time to become numb to it by now, but as the memories surfaced, her chest tightened again. Perhaps she was projecting her own experiences onto Stella as she watched from the sidelines.

Milla resolved to avoid getting emotionally attached to Stella as much as possible.

After Beth left, Milla sat alone in her room, staring blankly at the mirror, and tightly grasped the brooch attached to her clothes. She could feel the smooth yet rough texture of the jewel in her palm.

Milla, who had been about to roughly tear off the brooch, changed her mind and carefully removed it so as not to damage the fabric.

The brooch returned to its original box, which was once again hidden deep in a drawer. Everything had reverted to how it was before.

“I just need to do my job.”

Milla’s voice was as dark and heavy as the deep sea.

***

Kai, who had stopped in front of Verdura Castle, couldn’t hide his bewilderment. He had never intended to come here.

He hadn’t deliberately steered Ben in this direction either. He had simply moved where his feet took him, and this was where he ended up.

“Ben, it seems everyone’s asleep.”

There were no lights left in the windows of Verdura Castle. It was indeed too late for anyone to be awake now.

“Neigh-hee-hee-hee.”

Ben whinnied impatiently, clearly wanting to go inside.

“No, you can’t eat that. It’s not yours.”

But Kai’s gaze, like Ben’s, was fixed on the carrot patch swaying green in the darkness. The carrots had grown significantly over the past few days, their color deepening and their leaves becoming larger.

The patch was so lush that it seemed no one would notice if a few were pulled out.

“Ben, I’ll give you just one. No more than that. Understand?”

Kai admonished as he tied Ben’s reins to a nearby post. Going inside and rummaging through the carrot patch like last time would only increase the chances of getting caught.

But with so many carrots, who would notice if he snuck in and took just a few?

Kai momentarily forgot that the shadows were watching him curiously as he leapt over the wall and entered the carrot patch.

He repeated in his mind the excuse that no one had asked for: he had come secretly at night to avoid creating strange rumors by being associated with Stella.

“They’ve really grown a lot.”

Kai marveled at the carrots that had flourished considerably in just a few days. Perhaps because they had grown larger, it seemed there were many more carrots planted than when he last saw them.

After glancing around, Kai grasped a carrot leaf. As he clutched the soft, moist leaf, his heart raced. It felt just like stealing.

Was it really stealing?

Kai pondered for a moment, but not for long. Right before his eyes, the carrots emitted a mesmerizing orange glow, fatally tempting him.

Pluck. Pluck.

One, two—soon the number of carrots he pulled out exceeded ten. Kai, who had greedily thought ‘just one more, just one more,’ suddenly came to his senses and shook his head.

“Let’s get up now. This is disgraceful.”

He decided he should formally request an imperial decree to buy this carrot patch. That’s when it happened.

“Thief!”

“The carrot thief is back again!”

Tiny creatures, no bigger than a mouse, popped out of the ground like moles and shouted at the top of their lungs.

Although Kai knew that only he and Stella in the imperial palace could hear those voices, he nervously checked outside the wall, worried that someone might overhear.

“Hey, that’s not it. I’m not that kind of person.”

Kai frantically waved his hands in surprise, but the problem was that he was holding carrots. The carrots, covered in dirt, were clearly just pulled from the ground.

“Let’s protect Stella’s carrots!”

“Attack the thief!”

“Waaah! Defend the noble farmer!”

What started as one or two earth spirits quickly grew to dozens in an instant. Now they were clearly visible, and if he wanted to, Kai could have easily struck them down with his sword, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

The earth spirits, charging at him with tiny clubs and fighting for their lives, were too small, too insignificant, and too cute.

Under the fierce onslaught of the earth spirits’ attacks, Kai could only flail his arms without counterattacking. Even as he swung his arms, he feared that his thick arms might accidentally hit the earth spirits.

“The junior knight?”

Kai, who had been wildly swinging his arms, suddenly looked up at the voice.

The very thing he hoped would never happen had occurred. Princess Stella, the one in question, had appeared like a triumphant general with an earth spirit perched on her shoulder.

Kai glared disapprovingly at the earth spirit on Stella’s shoulder, which had clearly tattled on him.

He felt pathetic and disgusting as he pondered how to explain himself.

But it didn’t make sense to simply pretend not to know and leave either. Just as he was thinking he should reveal his presence and offer to buy the carrot patch at a high price, Stella spoke to him kindly first.

“Were you hungry?”

“Huh?”

Stella looked at him sympathetically, her eyebrows drooping. No, it’s not like that. I’m not a pitiful person.

Kai shook his head, but Stella, who had already approached him, patted his shoulder as if she understood everything. Then she pulled out a few more carrots and placed them in Kai’s arms.

“You shouldn’t go hungry. From now on, come find me whenever you’re hungry. I’ll share food with you. But don’t bring anyone else. As you can see, I’m still not very good at farming, so the harvest isn’t much.”

“It’s a lot, though.”

At the same time, Stella narrowed her eyes and looked at him disapprovingly. Embarrassed by her sharp gaze, Kai cleared his throat and turned his head away.

To him, it seemed like quite a lot of carrots. How could one person eat all those?

Stella continued speaking.

“Tomorrow, I’m going to harvest those carrots and make a pie. Lianne is an excellent cook. Will you come to eat tomorrow?”

Kai found himself nodding without realizing it. He almost hugged Stella tightly in gratitude. But he suppressed his surging emotions with cold reason and meticulous logic.

“Then I’ll put the pie in a basket around this time tomorrow. Come and eat it. But please, don’t touch the crops without my permission anymore. They’re very meaningful to me, and I’d prefer if others didn’t handle them carelessly. Can you do that for me?”

“Yes.”

“Good, that’s a good boy. Now, take those and go back. I’ll prepare your pie for tomorrow.”

“Yes.”

Kai felt ridiculous answering like he was in a trance while holding the carrots, but he couldn’t help it. Did she say carrot pie?

For now, it was right to eat the carrot pie.