“Let them in.”

Stella was eager to find out if they had sold all the carrots she had sent, and if so, at what price. If Darren and Brynn intended to deceive her, she would have no choice but to trust them for now.

“Yes, Princess.”

Milla left the room and soon returned with the two. She seemed just as curious about the outcome, her eyes filled with more anticipation than usual.

“Did you sell all the carrots?”

Darren and Brynn exchanged a knowing glance and then nodded at Stella with broad smiles.

“Yes, Princess! We sold every single one!”

“Really?”

Seeing Stella’s delight, Brynn, who was equally excited, recounted the day’s events with enthusiasm.

“We bought a vendor’s permit, but they gave us such a terrible spot. I wanted to complain, but the owner of the Moonlight Guild was so intimidating that I couldn’t say a word. His arms were as thick as my waist! I’ve never seen anyone with so much muscle in my life.”

Having once been too shy to speak, Brynn now chatted non-stop, feeling more at ease. While her detailed account was enjoyable, she still hadn’t shared the most important news.

Unable to wait any longer, Milla interrupted him.

“Brynn, tell us about selling the carrots.”

Finally coming to his senses, Brynn resumed her story with a look of realization, her voice calmer than before.

Even though Darren still appeared anxious, Brynn continued undeterred.

“At first, no one was buying. But then a lady tried one and exclaimed how delicious it was. After that, people almost fought over them! It was amazing!”

Brynn shivered with excitement as she spoke.

“Can you believe we sold all the carrots in less than an hour?”

“That’s incredible! You did really well!”

Stella was just as thrilled as Brynn. The fact that her produce was appreciated and sold so well filled her with joy and satisfaction. This must be why people farmed, she thought.

“Oh, right, here’s the money from selling the carrots.”

They had taken two sacks of carrots, and the pouch Brynn handed over felt quite heavy.

“How much is this?”

Stella asked, but Brynn looked at Darren instead of answering, as if she was prompting him to speak. However, Darren was equally at a loss for words.

“Well… We were so focused on selling that we didn’t count how much we made. I’m sorry. Plus, there were so many pickpockets around that we were afraid to count the money there.”

Darren’s candid admission made Stella chuckle in disbelief.

“Shall we all count it together then?”

Stella suggested excitedly.

Darren and Brynn nodded eagerly, their eyes shining, and Milla, who was equally curious, remained close. Even though it was only two sacks of carrots, everyone was eager to see the results of their first sale.

“Perhaps Milla, being the calmest among us, should do the counting?”

Stella handed the pouch to Milla, who accepted it almost reflexively.

“Pour it out on the table and count.”

Stella pointed to the table in the center of the room.

A moment later.

“Wow! We sold much more than I expected!”

The total amount from the pouch was 97 pennies. Since 120 pennies could be exchanged for a gold coin, it was quite a sum. Additionally, there were still plenty of sacks filled with carrots in storage.

As Stella gazed at the stacks of coins piled on the table in groups of ten, she handed 10 pennies each to Brynn, Darren, and Milla.

“And this is for Lianne. Thanks for your hard work today.”

Stella said, giving Milla Lianne’s share as well.

“Princess, you don’t have to give us so much.”

Darren replied, looking a bit bewildered.

“No, you crossed the mountain and sold them, so I’ll give you both an extra 5 pennies.”

After saying this, Stella added 5 more pennies to Brynn and Darren’s hands. She wished she could give more, but she also needed to save money for herself.

Selling a dress or jewelry brought from Amalrune would have made this small amount of money seem insignificant, but it was still too early for that.

The two of them looked genuinely grateful, even for just 5 pennies.

“Please take care of it again tomorrow.”

“Yes, Princess. We will do our best!”

When Darren bowed deeply, Brynn, who had been standing there with a dazed expression, quickly followed suit.

“Now that we’ve harvested the carrots, I think we should plant something else.”

“You’re going to farm again?”

Milla asked, looking incredulous. It was hard to believe that a princess of a country would be so excited about farming, as if she were a young lady invited to a royal party.

Milla had never encountered a noble like this before and had no idea how to interact with her.

She had been confident that she could easily educate and win over a powerless princess taken as a hostage from another country.

However, the princess, who hadn’t even been properly treated in her own land, was not timid or depressed; she was brighter than anyone else.

“Yes. I found it fun. There’s nothing else to do here, and it’s not like other princesses will invite me to their tea parties. So, I thought I’d try farming to earn some money. Would you like to join me?”

“Yes! I’m all for it! Absolutely!”

The enthusiastic responses came not from Milla but from Darren and Brynn. The colleagues who had recently pitied them for having to work at Verdura Castle were now the ones to be pitied.

They had heard that those colleagues lived in constant fear of falling out of favor with the princess.

Occasionally, someone would boast about getting a shilling for running an errand or receiving praise.

Milla, startled by the sudden responses, thought carefully and nodded. Sneaking out of the castle felt a bit uneasy, but there was no law against farming.

Above all, she believed it was a good opportunity to find out what kind of person Princess Stella really was.

***

After everyone had left, Stella focused on preparing a sleeping area for the fairies in her room. She emptied four jewelry boxes to create beds for them.

She gathered necklaces, bracelets, and rings into a slightly larger box. Milla would have been shocked to see this, but Stella felt she had no choice.

“Stella, we can sleep anywhere!”

“Yeah, don’t worry about us.”

Ark and Esta tried to dissuade her, jumping up and down, but Stella ignored them. She carefully filled the jewelry boxes with feathers from a pillow and covered them with handkerchiefs.

Wondering what she could use as blankets, she recalled some fabric samples she had set aside for purchasing winter materials.

Fortunately, she hadn’t thrown them away, so Stella neatly layered the square-cut fabric pieces over the beds she had made for the fairies.

Though a bit flimsy, the beds seemed decent enough.

Once she finished, she felt as if she were playing with dolls, which was somewhat amusing.

Stella was about to place the jewelry boxes on the table but quickly changed her mind, fearing that Milla or Brynn might see them early in the morning and misunderstand.

“Is it okay if I put your beds under my bed?”

“Yes, that’s fine. It’s great next to the pickaxe!”

In response to Stella’s apologetic question, Ark expressed his delight. He even made an unfounded claim that sleeping next to the noble pickaxe would grant them a mysterious aura.

The fairies looked so cute as they settled into the jewelry boxes one by one.

“Aren’t you cold?”

When Stella asked, Oton, who had pulled the thick fabric up to her neck, replied.

“It’s warm enough.”

“Warm enough? It’s perfect! We usually sleep underground. We have beds made of grass, but this is the first time we’ve used a bed filled with feathers. It’s so soft!”

“It feels nice.”

Hearing the fairies express their delight made Stella feel happy too. She thought she should practice sewing diligently to make even fluffier blankets for them.

Her once lonely bedroom now had more occupants.

She could hear the gentle snoring of the four fairies under the bed. They took turns snoring, but it wasn’t noisy at all. Instead, it felt like she had gained reliable companions, and she was very happy.

In the fullness and happiness she had never experienced in her homeland, Stella was able to fall into a deep sleep that night.

Early in the morning.

The fairies, who didn’t usually sleep much at night, woke up before the sun rose.

“We received a precious gift from Stella, so shouldn’t we do something in return?”

At Ark’s suggestion, Iver quietly nodded. When Iver agreed, it was as if everyone agreed, so Ark immediately began to think seriously about what gift would be best.

After a while, Esta, who had come up with an idea, clapped his hands with wide eyes.

“Let’s give her what we love most.”

“Yes! That sounds great!”

The four of them, in rare agreement, looked at each other and smiled brightly.