“Ah, yes. This is it.”

Darren carefully set the sack he was holding on the floor.

Despite its considerable weight, Darren placed it down effortlessly, catching Kukus’s curious gaze. Kukus, who was unfamiliar with the area, noted that Darren was quite tall and strong, yet he wondered why he hadn’t seen him before.

“I’m here to sell carrots I’ve grown myself. How much is the street vendor permit?”

“Twenty pennies a day.”

Kukus’s curt response startled Darren.

“What? Is it really that expensive?”

It seemed excessive for merely laying out goods on the ground to sell. The guild provided only a small wooden plaque inscribed with “Moonlight Guild.” No matter how he considered it, Darren felt the price was unjustified.

“If it’s too expensive, go somewhere else.”

Kukus grumbled as he walked past Darren. For a moment, Darren hesitated, but realizing he had no choice, he quickly grabbed Kukus’s arm. The skin he touched felt as solid as metal.

Moreover, the man’s arm was thicker than Darren’s thigh. Sheepishly, Darren rolled down his sleeve, feeling his own arm looked as thin as a finger in comparison.

Glancing sideways, he saw Brynn also staring at the owner’s muscles.

“No, I’ll take it.”

There must have been a reason why Lady Milla specifically mentioned the Moonlight Guild.

The closer one got to the square, the higher the social status of the customers frequenting the shops. Conversely, the farther away, the more commoners’ shops were located.

Some noble shops even disliked commoners passing by their storefronts, prompting commoners to deliberately circle the outskirts of the square to reach their desired shops.

The roads extending in four directions from Conpagno Square each featured different types of shops.

The northern road had stores selling farm tools and weapons, along with blacksmiths, while the western road was lined with various clothing stores.

The closer to the square, the more upscale the clothing stores were; the farther away, the more likely they were to deal in second-hand clothes or cheap fabrics.

The location where Darren and Brynn were to set up shop today was on the southern road.

Known as the southern road or fruit street, it traded not only various fruits but also a variety of vegetables from different regions, living up to its name.

Jack, the little boy who had warmly greeted them upon entering the guild, was in charge of showing them their spot.

“Just a little further in this direction.”

Jack frequently looked back to ensure the two were following him. Darren held the permit he had received from the head of the Moonlight Guild.

***

“Chamberlain, what should we do with this cold pie here?”

A maid who had come to clean the emperor’s room asked as she looked at the pie sitting alone on the table.

“Pie?”

The chamberlain was surprised; he had never received a report that someone had brought a pie into the emperor’s room. Even the head chef, whom he had met a little while ago, had only inquired about the emperor’s morning condition without mentioning a pie.

Just as the maid was about to pick up the pie, the chamberlain urgently shouted.

“Wait!”

At his urgent command, the maid turned her head in a half-bent posture.

“Why… is something wrong?”

The maid felt tense, worried she had made a mistake. Fortunately, the chamberlain’s gaze was fixed not on her but on the pie. She breathed a sigh of relief and stepped back.

“Don’t touch it. It might be poisoned.”

“What?”

Harman’s serious gaze was anxiously fixed on the cold pie. The chamberlain carefully took out a silver needle, which he always carried for such situations.

The maids in the room watched him, holding their breath as Harman moved slowly and silently.

With trembling hands, Harman inserted the silver needle into the pie. The thought that if the needle came out blackened, a storm of bloodshed would sweep through the imperial palace twisted his insides.

Harman withdrew the needle as cautiously as he had inserted it. It gleamed silver, unchanged.

“Sigh.”

Sighs of relief erupted from all around.

“What are you doing there?”

Kai, having just finished his morning bath, asked as he saw Harman and the maids gathered around the table. Harman, visibly relieved, handed the pie to a maid and explained.

“There was food on the table that wasn’t prepared by the chef. Fortunately, it’s not poisoned.”

The maid’s eyes sparkled momentarily as she received the pie from the chamberlain. There was no harm in eating what the emperor discarded.

Moreover, the pie looked quite delicious, and despite being cold, it smelled so good that it made her mouth water.

Just as the maid was about to leave with the cold pie and the items to be discarded, Kai spoke.

“Put that down and go.”

“Pardon?”

The maid widened her eyes in surprise, thinking she had misheard.

Then she suddenly realized she was daring to look directly at the emperor’s face and quickly bowed her head. In her haste, the carrot pie she had placed on the tray fell to the floor with a thud!

“What are you doing? Clean it up immediately.”

Harman scolded the maid for her clumsy mistake in front of the emperor. The maid hurriedly gathered the pie that had fallen and been squashed on the floor, while another maid quickly cleaned the soiled carpet.

“I’ll have the carpet replaced with a new one.”

Despite the minor commotion, it was a smooth morning. Harman smiled as he looked at the emperor, hoping that today would be as peaceful and serene as any other day.

However, the moment he saw the emperor’s stiff expression, he realized something was wrong.

“Your Majesty, is something troubling you?”

Harman felt his heart sink, fearing there might be a concern he was unaware of.

But the emperor, looking dazed, slowly shook his head without saying a word.

“No, it’s nothing. You may leave.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The Chamberlain left the emperor’s bedroom, grateful to the gods for another peaceful morning.

***

Stella was so engrossed in the book she had opened without much expectation that she hadn’t moved for hours.

There were many plants she had never seen before, as well as some familiar ones. It fascinated her how differently each plant grew.

“Wow, so this is how you grow tomatoes?”

From commonly eaten tomatoes and corn to plants like fairy carrots that seemed ordinary yet unique, the more Stella read, the more she wanted to try growing them all.

While she was deeply immersed in her reading, four earth fairies had been hovering around her for some time.

On any other day, they would have already gone underground or to the garden, but today, for some reason, they refused to leave Stella’s side.

“Why aren’t you going today?”

“Well, Uhu gave us a special mission.”

Esta replied with a smug look. Ark was nibbling on a piece of carrot pie Stella had left in the room.

Oton, who tended to grumble more than the other fairies, cleaned up every time Ark dropped crumbs, while Iver, said to be a winter fairy, sat quietly in Stella’s room without uttering a word.

It seemed Iver was shy. Despite the gentle droop of his eyes suggesting a mild nature, Stella hadn’t talked to him enough to be sure.

“What kind of mission?”

Stella asked, observing the four different fairies. The idea of these tiny creatures, small enough to fit in her palm, discussing a mission was both amusing and adorable.

“To protect the Noble Pickaxe and its guardian, Stella.”

Ark, with carrot pie crumbs around his mouth, placed his hands on his hips and puffed out his round belly.

How could something so boastful be so cute? Stella resisted the urge to poke Ark’s belly with her finger and asked:

“Me? You guys?”

While she understood the need to protect the pickaxe, she found it hard to believe they needed to protect her.

If anyone should be playing the role of protector, it ought to be her, not the earth fairies, considering her size and strength.

“Yes!”

The four fairies nodded confidently, clenching their fists with determination, vowing not to leave Stella’s side.

“Are you going to sleep here from now on?”

“Of course!”

“It’s only natural for a guardian knight to stay beside the one they protect.”

Their brave response made them seem quite like guardian knights. Stella felt an urge to tease them.

“What if a scary person suddenly barges in to kill me?”

“What? Who’s trying to kill you?”

“That can’t happen. We’ll protect you no matter what it takes.”

“Don’t worry. We won’t go back on our word.”

While Ark and Esta responded with alarm, Oton’s calm, measured reply gave her an air of dignity. Come to think of it, Oton was the only one among the four with long hair.

“Oton, are you the only girl here?”

“Can’t you tell? A beauty like mine stands out anywhere. It’s exhausting.”

Oton sighed deeply, running her fingers through her silky hair. The other three grimaced at Oton, but she seemed unfazed.

She merely shook her head, looking at them as if they were pitiful.

“Is Iver usually this quiet?”

Iver nodded slowly in response, his gentle eyes rounding even more. Dressed in white, Iver looked every bit like a snow fairy, adorably cute.

“Iver doesn’t speak unless it’s necessary.”

“Really? You’re a very quiet friend.”

Stella gently stroked Iver’s head with her fingertips.

Iver flinched, seemingly surprised, but soon smiled bashfully, patting the spot Stella had touched with his own hand. He seemed to have enjoyed Stella’s touch.

Truly adorable.

As Stella watched the smiling Iver with satisfaction, someone softly knocked on the door from outside.

“Come in.”

“Princess, Darren and Brynn have returned from Conpagno.”

At the awaited news, Stella jumped up from her seat.