With the news that the Golden Bloom had fully bloomed, even Uhu made an appearance. Stella was delighted to see Uhu after such a long absence, as he had been too busy to show up lately.

“Stella, the Golden Bloom is a very special flower. If you pluck a petal and eat it, it relieves the fatigue built up in your body. Drinking water infused with the petals can keep you going for three days without sleep. Even just one sip will make you feel as refreshed as if you’d slept for three or four hours. But be careful. If you drink too much, you won’t be able to sleep even if you want to, and you’ll lose your appetite. Above all, isn’t it truly beautiful? It’s like someone cut out a piece of sunlight and made it into petals.”

Uhu was so enchanted by the beauty of the Golden Bloom that he narrowed his eyes and let out a contented sigh.

“Oh, right! If you look closely around the ground where the Golden Bloom is planted, you’ll see small sprouts sticking out, won’t you?”

“Yes, I see them.”

“If you separate those and soak them in water for a day, they’ll grow white roots. Then, plant them again. You’ll have even more beautiful Golden Bloom flowers blooming.”

“Wow! They can multiply quickly!”

“Of course. You’re a noble farmer, and this land is blessed abundantly by the goddess Terra. This flower will bring you great fortune.”

Uhu smiled warmly at Stella, much like a grandfather would smile tenderly at his granddaughter. Looking at Uhu, who was much smaller than herself, Stella felt a surge of emotion.

She thought about how wonderful it would be to have a grandfather like Uhu, someone to share her heart with on lonely and sad days, providing immense comfort.

“Thank you. I feel like I’m gaining so much because of you.”

“We’re the ones who are grateful. Thanks to you, we’re slowly regaining our strength and driving out those wicked things from this land. You have no idea how thankful we are.”

The two sat side by side on the chairs Darren had placed for Stella, gazing at the peonies and chatting for a long time.

Even without doing anything, just sitting there and looking, it felt as if all their worries disappeared.

* * *

Caitlin woke up in the morning and went for a walk around the castle, narrowing her eyes when she spotted something sparkling in the Verdura garden.

“What is that?”

It looked as if piles of gold coins were stacked in the middle of the Verdura garden. Magnolia Castle, where Caitlin lived, was situated across from Verdura with a wide road in between.

So, if you looked with interest from the balcony, you could see half of the Verdura garden.

There was no way King Amalrune, who sent only a set of golden teacups as a gift when sending his daughter to the Credion Empire, would send enough gold coins to pile up in the garden.

Even if he had that much money, he wouldn’t stack it conspicuously in the middle of the garden.

Unable to contain her curiosity, Caitlin went to Verdura and was left speechless at the sight that was hard to believe even with her own eyes.

What she thought might be gold coins turned out to be peonies shimmering in a golden hue.

“The peonies Princess Annette gave weren’t that color.”

Caitlin clearly remembered how lackluster the peonies Stella received from Annette at the tea party in Müiget Castle were.

Of course, some decent peonies were given, but the ones Stella took were sickly, wilting, and the petals were an unimpressive brown, like magnolia leaves fallen to the ground.

Seeing Stella happily take those peonies, Caitlin felt both pity and amusement, and the princesses at the tea party talked about it for quite some time after Stella left.

As Caitlin approached the front of Verdura Castle, the guards, noticing her presence, naturally opened the castle gates.

It was only natural for the princesses within the Plant District to interact with each other.

Caitlin, as if entranced, approached the place where the golden peonies bloomed.

“Princess Caitlin?”

Lost in thought while staring at the flowers, Caitlin was startled by Stella’s sudden voice and realized she was standing in the middle of Verdura Castle’s garden.

“Oh…”

It was awkward and unexpected, but she couldn’t just turn around and leave. Caitlin, having no choice, greeted Stella with a polite and friendly manner.

“Good morning, Princess Stella.”

Stella gazed at Caitlin, who had appeared unannounced, and asked curiously, “What brings you here?”

Caitlin quickly searched for an excuse but couldn’t find anything suitable. Her eyes, however, kept drifting back to the peonies, which sparkled as if they were sprinkled with gold dust.

“The flowers are just so beautiful. I wandered in without realizing it. I’m sorry.”

Even as she apologized, Caitlin didn’t appear the least bit remorseful.

“But Princess Stella, are those golden peonies different from the ones sent from Müiget Castle not long ago?”

“No, they are indeed the flowers that Princess Annette sent.”

Stella’s tone wasn’t particularly gentle. Caitlin was someone who tried hard to remain in Princess Annette’s good graces.

“But they weren’t that color back then.”

Pointing at the Golden Bloom, Caitlin spoke in a challenging tone, her expression suggesting she was accusing Stella of theft.

“Plants can thrive differently depending on who tends to them.”

“So, are you saying Princess Annette isn’t good at gardening?”

Among all the princesses, Caitlin was especially fond of Annette, often acting as her closest ally and dismissing Stella to please Annette.

Stella looked at Caitlin, who had intruded into someone else’s garden early in the morning and was now nitpicking, with disbelief and replied, “I don’t understand why I have to be interrogated by Princess Caitlin first thing in the morning, especially in my own garden.”

Realizing she had let her emotions get the better of her, Caitlin fell silent. She glanced at the Golden Bloom with annoyance, then quickly turned and walked out of Verdura Castle.

Watching Caitlin’s perfectly groomed figure as she left, Stella had a nagging feeling that something troublesome was about to happen, and she frowned in irritation.

But that thought was fleeting. There were still many plants in the garden waiting for Stella’s attention.

Forgetting even to have breakfast, Stella inspected the new sprouts until Milla came to fetch her, and she reluctantly stood up.

* * *

As soon as Caitlin left Verdura Castle, she headed straight to Müiget Castle, feeling the need to inform Princess Annette about what she had seen.

Princess Annette was genuinely passionate about gardening. The first place she focused on upon arriving at Müiget Castle was the garden.

Thanks to her pride and hobby of gardening, the garden at Müiget Castle was considered one of the most beautiful not just in the Plant District but among all the castles where the princesses resided.

If rumors about the golden peonies Stella was tending to spread, Annette’s reputation could quickly shift to Stella.

That wouldn’t be good for Princess Annette or for her, who is trying to win her favor.

“What’s going on so early in the morning, Caitlin?”

It was just after breakfast. Visiting someone else’s home at such an early hour was something neither nobles nor commoners typically did.

Annette frowned openly at Caitlin’s lack of manners.

However, Caitlin didn’t react to Annette’s serious expression. In fact, she seemed to give a look that reproached Annette for her leisurely demeanor.

“Princess Annette, this isn’t the time to be so relaxed.”

Annette was taken aback but maintained a graceful demeanor, as her maid, Sarah, was watching.

Annette knew that Sarah regularly reported on her to Lady Anne, the head maid at Ore Castle. These reports applied not only to her but to all the princesses.

Annette was one to use this knowledge to her advantage. She believed that the more positively Sarah reported, the more it would be evident how well-suited she was for the role of empress.

Since Sarah was both a maid and a watcher, Annette showed her only the sides she wanted her to see, unlike how she interacted with her maids from her homeland.

“I don’t understand what you’re talking about. It’s early, but since you’re here, why not have a cup of tea?”

Annette exercised maximum patience as she dealt with Caitlin. But Caitlin, rather than sitting down in the spot Annette had prepared, thumped her chest as if she was suffocating.

“You need to go to Verdura Castle right now.”

The mention of Verdura Castle caught Annette off guard, and for the first time, her expression faltered. Annette didn’t like Princess Stella for no apparent reason.

She disliked how Stella could smile brightly despite not receiving much love or recognition from her homeland. Annette believed everyone should act according to their situation and status, and in her view, Stella wasn’t adhering to that line at all.

Stella was supposed to be living in gloom.

“Why should I go there?”

“The peonies you gave to Princess Stella.”

As soon as the peonies were mentioned, Annette asked with a startled expression,

“Don’t tell me Princess Stella killed the flowers I gave her? I knew she would be too greedy to care for them properly.”

Annette sighed as if she felt sorry.

“That’s not it. You remember those dying peonies you gave her, don’t you?”

“They weren’t dying; I heard that’s their natural color.”

After giving the brown peonies to Stella, Annette, who had learned about them from a maid, pretended to be knowledgeable and said, “They weren’t originally that color. Do you know what color Princess Stella has turned those peonies into?”