Things you didn’t need to see.

Kai first thought about the owners of the scattered voices he had heard. These voices were different from those he had encountered at Verdura Castle—gloomy and chilling to the core.

“Do you see those things, Master?” Kai asked with a worried expression. Will chuckled lightly, refilled his glass, and drank it in one go.

“When you get old, you start seeing things you couldn’t before. Sometimes, that’s a good thing.”

“If it’s so good, why won’t you let me see them?”

“Just because something is good for me doesn’t mean it’ll be good for Your Majesty. I’ll keep observing, and if it’s still okay, I’ll show you.”

Will said this and then stared out the now-darkened window for a long time.

Watching Will, Kai felt a sudden, unfounded fear that his master might disappear into that darkness one day.

“Do you see them now?”

“That’s the strange thing.”

Will tilted his head in puzzlement. Kai watched him intently, trying not to miss even the slightest change in his expression.

“In the past, I used to see a lot when I came here, but now I don’t see anything at all.”

“Is that a good thing?”

Kai wondered if the reason they weren’t visible was due to the small creatures that had recently appeared.

If asked why he thought so, he wouldn’t have had an answer. It just felt that way.

Will nodded slowly.

Kai wanted to ask if he saw anything else, but he held back. If he did, Will would have mentioned it first.

He had no desire to add to the worries of a master who already seemed burdened.

“I visited Verdura Castle.”

Will’s sudden statement snapped Kai out of his thoughts.

“Why did you go there?”

“I found this metal piece there. I’ve traveled across the continent trying to find out what it’s made of, but I still haven’t figured it out. I went there hoping to find a clue, but it’s changed a lot since before.”

When Will left, Verdura had been practically a ruin with no inhabitants.

But now, it had an owner, mysterious beings lived there, and they even grew delicious carrots. It had become a completely different place.

“Princess Stella from Amalrune resides there.”

“Do you know anything about the princess?”

“Not really.”

Kai gave an evasive answer, finding it hard to justify withholding information from his master.

“Did you find anything else at Verdura Castle?”

Will shook his head again. He refilled his empty glass, downed it, and stood up without hesitation.

“One thing’s for sure, it’s completely different from before. I can’t say exactly what it is, but until I figure it out, it’s best if you don’t go there.”

Although he had already been there several times, Kai agreed.

Will was already quite drunk, and Kai disliked how things got complicated whenever he got involved with Princess Stella.

* * *

Melissa’s expression was unusually dark as she received Sen’s report.

It hadn’t been long since she instructed Sen to look into Princess Stella, yet Sen had brought back an astonishing amount of information.

As she read through the densely written scroll, Melissa’s delicate eyes twisted with irritation.

“Kai has visited the castle where that woman lives several times.”

“Yes. However, it seems Princess Stella is unaware of His Majesty’s true identity.”

“What do you mean? Explain so I can understand.”

Startled by Melissa’s sharp gaze, Sen quickly continued.

“Princess Stella refers to His Majesty as ‘Royce.'”

“Royce?”

Melissa seemed to ponder something, then irritably gestured for Sen to leave.

“Go.”

She needed to think things through.

Why had Kai visited that unremarkable woman so many times? Why hadn’t he revealed his true identity and instead used a false name? What exactly had transpired between the two of them?

The thought of not knowing parts of Kai’s life was driving her mad.

She felt an urge to rush to Verdura immediately and remove Princess Stella from the royal city. However, she wasn’t sure how Kai would react if she acted impulsively.

Tap, tap, tap.

The rhythmic sound of fingers tapping on the desk echoed. It was something Melissa did whenever she started pondering something deeply. Suddenly, the steady noise came to an abrupt stop.

Having found an answer, it was time to take action.

* * *

As usual, Stella went out to the balcony to inspect the garden when she noticed something sparkling gold. She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand.

“What is that?”

At first, she thought the earth fairies had unearthed more gold coins. But upon closer inspection, she realized it was the spot where she had planted the Golden Bloom she brought from Müiget Castle not long ago.

“No way!”

Recalling what the earth fairy had mentioned, Stella hurried back inside to check under the bed. The earth fairies, who had come in late from the garden last night, were still fast asleep, oblivious to the world.

“Guys, wake up! The Golden Bloom is glowing gold!”

Stella shouted without realizing it, then quickly covered her mouth and whispered again.

“The Golden Bloom is glowing gold!”

Only then did the handkerchief covering the earth fairies begin to move. The quilt, sewn together with thick fabric because the handkerchief alone was too thin, was something all four fairies loved.

The first to emerge from the handkerchief was Esta, the most impatient of them.

“What did you say? Ark! Iver! Oton! Wake up! The Golden Bloom has returned to its original form!”

“What?”

“Already? That can’t be!”

Even as Oton and Ark woke up in surprise, Iver rubbed his eyes with a sleepy expression and yawned widely. Stella, unable to wait for them, threw on her outerwear and dashed out of the room.

“Princess, where are you going so early?”

Milla, who was coming toward the room, met Stella in the hallway, but Stella was in such a hurry that she couldn’t greet her properly.

“Princess?”

Milla, puzzled by Stella’s urgency, quickly followed her. She was curious about what was happening so early in the morning and worried Stella might do something unexpected.

Brynn, seeing the two running in a line, was startled and followed Milla.

“Milla! What’s going on? Where is the princess going?”

But Milla didn’t know either, so she couldn’t provide an answer.

Where Stella stopped, there was a flower blooming brilliantly in golden light. Milla, who had been following Stella without seeing, finally noticed the sparkling flower and was so astonished she couldn’t close her mouth.

“Princess, what on earth is going on?”

When they had sent them from Müiget Castle, these peonies had been lifeless brown, like autumn leaves.

There were many beautiful deep purple peonies, but she couldn’t understand why Princess Stella was happy to receive something so unsightly.

“This is a flower called Golden Bloom.”

“Not a peony?”

“No. It’s different. This flower originally sparkles in gold. It changed color because it was poorly nurtured.”

“How did you…?”

Milla was about to ask how Stella knew, but she stopped herself. Although the only plant Stella had ever grown and harvested was a carrot, just that one carrot hinted at her exceptional talent for nurturing plants.

“It’s so beautiful.”

Milla couldn’t help but express her admiration. It had been a long time since she felt emotions like finding something beautiful or wanting to possess it.

But seeing the flowers sparkling in gold under the morning sun, her lips moved on their own. She had never seen a plant shine like gold in her life.

Stella was equally amazed. Even when the earth fairies told her that Golden Bloom was a flower that sparkled in gold, she hadn’t expected it to be this extent.

She had thought it would just sparkle in a moderate yellow, so Stella couldn’t take her eyes off the Golden Bloom.

Three of the earth fairies hopped around the Golden Bloom like rabbits.

“Wow! The Golden Bloom bloomed!”

“Blessings to the noble farmer!”

“Thanks!”

While the three earth fairies, except for Oton, were loudly offering blessings and thanks, Oton stood with arms crossed, staring intently at the Golden Bloom.

“You really are a noble farmer.”

At Oton’s grumbling words, Stella nodded as if she had realized something.

After hopping around the Golden Bloom for a while, Ark and Esta scurried over to Stella.

“The petals that fall from the Golden Bloom have excellent medicinal properties.”

“If you dry those petals and make tea, it’s supposed to be very tasty. I’ve never tried it, but I’m excited.”

“They said it’s sweet and sour. Stella, you’ll share the tea with us, right?”

Even while admiring such a beautiful flower, the earth fairies were thinking about eating first. Stella had absolutely no intention of turning the Golden Bloom into tea.

Just watching the Golden Bloom made her happy, and she wanted to keep it for a long time.

“Oh my! Princess, what on earth is happening here?”

Doodle, who had slept in a house outside the castle and arrived at Verdura early in the morning, was wide-eyed at the sight of the golden-glowing Golden Bloom.

He was so surprised that he dropped the bag he had been carrying on his back, not even thinking to pick it up.