The humiliation had doubled. Kai sat in his office, eyes tightly shut, replaying what had just happened. On his desk lay carrots, still covered in dirt, scattered carelessly.

The dirt from the carrots had soiled the documents, but he lacked the motivation to brush it off. Kai looked at the carrots that made him feel foolish with disdain.

He suddenly remembered the woman who had pitifully gazed at him in her pajamas. She looked as shabby as the carrots pulled from the ground.

“Alright. You’re good. Then take that with you today. I’ll have your pie ready by tomorrow.”

“Who on earth is calling whom pitiful?”

It was absurd. Just until tomorrow. He didn’t care if the carrots were pulled out or burned, but he was curious about the taste of the carrot pie.

He decided to endure until tomorrow. After that, he wouldn’t even sneeze in the direction of Verdura Castle.

Stella was audacious, and he felt pathetic. Who would have thought that the rationality that never wavered even when women threw themselves at him would crumble so easily over a few carrots?

“Why aren’t you eating?”

Startled by the sudden voice, Kai looked up. An earth fairy he had seen earlier was sitting on a carrot, its eyes sparkling.

For the first time, Kai could closely observe the earth fairy in a well-lit place.

Not even a foot tall, it had a round face and belly. Its hands and feet were smaller than a segment of his finger. This tiny, insignificant creature, which seemed like a living miracle, was staring intently at him.

“So it was you. You’ve been talking to me all this time.”

The earth fairy shrugged its shoulders and replied with a cheerful smile. Its unusually round cheeks were adorable.

“I was there, but there was also an earth spirit.”

“An earth spirit? Is that different from you?”

“Different.”

“How is it different?”

“Too lazy to explain. Go ask Stella.”

The earth fairy stood up with an annoyed expression and waved its hand. It was the first time someone had found him bothersome.

Earlier, the woman had pitied him, and now this tiny earth fairy was finding the emperor of the Credion Empire annoying.

“I am the emperor of the Credion Empire.”

“I am Ark, an earth fairy blessed by the goddess Terra.”

In response to Kai’s authoritative statement, Ark confidently patted its round belly with its palm.

“Hah!”

He was at a loss for words. To these creatures, the title of emperor seemed to hold as much value as the name of the old horse Ben.

It was so absurd that it made him laugh. Ark watched Kai laugh and clicked its tongue.

“Make sure to wash the carrots before eating. Eating them with dirt will upset your stomach. Got it?”

Kai’s laughter grew louder.

“Haha! Haha!”

Ark looked at Kai, who was suddenly laughing loudly, with pity and shook its head.

“He looks like he’s just going to eat it.”

Ark looked worriedly at the dirt-covered carrot and slowly approached the one closest to Kai.

As it stepped on the dirt spilled on the desk, small footprints were left on the documents. Watching Ark waddle away, one corner of Kai’s lips curled up.

With a sigh, Ark pulled out a handkerchief from its pocket and started wiping the carrot.

“Stella told me to follow you because she pitied you. What would have happened if I hadn’t come? No bed in your room—now that’s truly pitiful.”

Ark looked around the office while scrubbing the carrot.

Kai’s laughter grew louder at Ark’s sympathy, and the guards outside widened their eyes, wondering what was happening, though they dared not open the door.

During the late hour when Chamberlain Harman was asleep, the guards had to speculate all night about why the emperor laughed.

Ark’s report after following Kai was as follows:

“His room was spacious, but there wasn’t even a bed or a bowl to hold the carrots he brought. He couldn’t wash the carrots and just stared at them, so I wiped them off a bit. I told him to make sure to wash them before eating, but I wasn’t sure if he would listen. I worried that he might not understand.

The papers there got dirty because of the carrots, but he just kept laughing strangely. He seemed pitiful, yet also a bit lacking.

That was probably why he had no friends. They were all outside and didn’t come into the room. He was a loner.”

“That is quite sad.”

Stella nodded with a bittersweet expression as she listened to Ark’s story. It seemed there were people like that everywhere. She thought she should make plenty of carrot pie to give him tomorrow.

***

The entire community of Verdura Castle was mobilized for the carrot harvest.

Although it was just the maid Lianne, Brynn, the castle’s only male servant Darren, along with Milla and Stella, the five adults rolled up their sleeves, and the carrots were harvested quickly.

In fact, the ground fairies were also helping diligently, but they were invisible to others. People merely thought someone else was pulling carrots at an incredible speed.

“Wow! How many do we have now?”

Brynn exclaimed, brushing the dirt off her hands and looking at the pile of carrots.

“We’ll easily get twenty sacks! When did the princess plant all these carrots? I’ve only ever seen them grow, never being planted.”

Servant Darren tilted his head in confusion. No matter how he thought about it, it was a mystery.

“Right? She hasn’t been here long, but she seems really diligent.”

Brynn genuinely admired her.

“But don’t princesses usually grow flowers or keep birds? I’ve never heard of a princess planting carrots.”

“Have you ever met a princess before?”

Lianne asked, giving Brynn a look that suggested she was being ridiculous.

“No, I haven’t.”

“Everyone’s different. Our Princess Stella seems more interested in growing vegetables than flowers.”

“But are carrots usually this deep orange color?”

“Do you always talk this much? Stop asking questions and start carrying those sacks to the storage.”

“Yes.”

Brynn replied sullenly to Lianne’s scolding and picked up a sack. However, the sack full of carrots was too heavy for her to lift.

As Brynn struggled to lift it, Darren came over and hoisted two sacks onto his shoulders.

“They’re heavy. Carry them one at a time. You’ll hurt yourself.”

“Oh, come on, they’re not that heavy.”

Darren replied and then added another sack to his shoulders. Lianne clapped her hands in genuine admiration as tall Darren easily lifted three sacks filled with carrots.

“Ah, youth is wonderful.”

Stella watched as the servants enthusiastically helped with the carrot harvest, filling sacks and carrying them to the storage, realizing once again how fortunate she was.

After Darren carried off three sacks of carrots, Lianne and Brynn helped each other carry one sack each.

“Aren’t they heavy?”

Stella asked worriedly, but Lianne and Brynn assured her they were fine and moved toward the storage with the sacks. They had started working in the field right after breakfast, and it was almost lunchtime.

Milla, who had been pulling carrots and filling sacks all day, repeatedly questioned why she was doing this work. However, since even Princess Stella was out working, she couldn’t just do nothing as a maid.

Stella secretly observed Milla, who had been working quietly since morning.

She thought Milla might give up soon because of her slender frame, but Milla was handling the work quite sturdily.

In fact, she hardly spoke and focused on her work from the first carrot she pulled until now.

When Stella tried to talk to her, thinking she might be upset about the work, Milla was often too engrossed to hear her.

Milla’s expression was generally calm, and occasionally, a smile appeared on her lips.

It seemed Milla was enjoying the work, just as Stella had hoped. Stella wished that Milla, who had been looking particularly gloomy lately, felt a little happier.

Stella had asked for ten pies to be made.

There were only five people in Verdura Castle, and even if two of them ate their fill, they wouldn’t finish a single carrot pie. Lianne was puzzled but continued to knead the dough without stopping.

Since it was too much for one person, Brynn eagerly helped out.

As time passed, the kitchen of Verdura Castle filled with the sweet aroma of pies.

Finally, it was time to taste the completed pies. Lianne, who sampled them to see if they were made well, wore a satisfied smile.

‘Even though I made it, it’s so delicious!’

She felt like taking the warm pie outside to share with her son.

She knew her cooking skills were above average, but this was exceptionally good. Lianne was convinced it was because the ingredients were excellent.

Lianne ate an entire pie by herself. The same went for Brynn and Darren. Even Milla, who usually ate lightly, had quite a bit, as the carrot pie was incredibly delicious.

“Princess, what kind of carrots are these to make the pies taste so good? I’ve never had carrots like this in my life.”

“It’s because I grew them.”

As promised to the fairies, Stella never mentioned they were fairy carrots. Even if she did, people wouldn’t believe her, and it might lead to misunderstandings.

“Wow, it’s really delicious. You could sell these.”

“That’s why I’m asking, can we sell all the carrots except for the ones we’ll eat?”

“What? Sell the carrots?”

It was even more surprising than the idea of a princess farming.

“Yes. There’s too much for us to eat alone.”

However, Stella was unable to leave the imperial city.

Even though she could move freely within, there were watchful eyes hidden everywhere, and even if she managed to get outside, she couldn’t roam freely without a Credion Empire identification card.