The party didn’t conclude until well past midnight.

When Milla saw Stella again after entering the party hall, she was stunned. Stella, in her silver dress, resembled a goddess of the moon. The heads adorned with colorful decorations turned in unison to follow Stella’s path.

Milla had many questions but kept them to herself.

Princess Stella appeared utterly exhausted, and Milla wasn’t in a position to pry out of curiosity. Beth might have asked all the questions she wanted, but Milla was not Beth. At times like this, she envied Beth’s bold personality a little.

In the carriage back to Verdura, Stella fell into a deep sleep. Her body felt heavier than on days when she spent all day farming and running around the hunting grounds.

Each time Stella’s head nodded off involuntarily, Milla, startled, would quietly sigh and sit beside her.

After a while, Stella’s head gently rested on Milla’s shoulder, and she supported it with one hand. Listening to Stella’s steady breathing, Milla’s eyelids soon began to droop as well.

As soon as they returned to Verdura Castle, Stella barely managed to wash up before falling asleep, and only got out of bed when the room was brightly lit. It had been a long time since she had slept in.

Her feet were swollen from wearing high heels all day, and her back ached. She thought it would have been less tiring to spend the day digging the earth with a pickaxe.

“Are you feeling better?”

Stella, with her puffy eyes, nodded at Milla.

“I didn’t know a tea party could be so exhausting.”

She had expected to just drink tea and come back, but the so-called tea party was more lavish and crowded than most banquets.

Thanks to Melissa looking after her, a few noble ladies approached Stella with interest.

Though she exchanged greetings and names with them, a day later, she could hardly remember any names. All she could think about during the party was how much she wanted to return home.

Remembering yesterday’s events made Stella feel tired again. She shook her head and noticed the dress hanging on one side. It was truly a beautiful dress. She thought she might not be able to buy it even if she sold all ten of her dresses.

She briefly considered how much money she could get if she sold the dress, but quickly dismissed the thought. She couldn’t commit the shameless act of selling a dress that Marchioness Melissa had kindly lent her.

“Marchioness Melissa said she’d have my dress cleaned and returned. I hope the wine stains come out.”

She didn’t want to discard the dress just because of spilled wine. If the stains didn’t come out completely, she could always cover them with decorations.

Stella worried that if the cleaning failed, Marchioness Melissa might throw the dress away.

“I should have asked them to send it back even if they couldn’t clean it.”

“The staff at the Marchioness’s house are very skilled, so they’ll bring the dress back spotless.”

Understanding Stella’s concern, Milla quickly reassured her.

“Really? That’s a relief.”

Hearing Milla’s words, Stella felt much more at ease.

Stella blew on the warm milk Milla had brought her and took a sip. She had gotten used to having warm milk every morning, so Milla prepared it without needing to be asked.

Whenever Milla handed her the warm milk in the morning, Stella naturally thought of Rudina.

‘I need to save money quickly. Tomorrow, I’ll go out with a silver coin and see if I can exchange it for money.’

She planned to go to the market with Darren at dawn. For that, she’d need to harvest more spinach in the afternoon.

“Milla, could you tell Doodle to harvest the remaining spinach this afternoon?”

“Yes, of course. Please, Princess, stay indoors today and rest. You’ll get sick if you let the fatigue build up.”

“Okay. I plan to read some books for a change.”

“Shall I bring you some different books?”

Stella was in the habit of reading the same book repeatedly. She didn’t seem to tire of it, nodding and taking notes as if seeing it for the first time each time she read.

“Sure. Do you think there might be any books about breaking magic spells in the royal library?”

“Books on magic are restricted, so I can’t borrow them.”

“Really? That’s a shame.”

She needed to break the curse tied to her bloodline. Only then could she be free to soar when the time came. Thinking about her real situation, wrapped in comfort, made her feel stifled.

But compared to when she was in Amalrune, life was much richer and each day more enjoyable and fulfilling. Especially meeting the earth fairies, getting a pickaxe, and starting to farm.

“Can you borrow books on swordsmanship?”

“Yes, that should be possible.”

“Then please do.”

Books on farming and swordsmanship weren’t typical reading for a princess. Milla agreed while wondering what kind of book Stella would request next.

She felt confident she wouldn’t be surprised by any book request now. But that was a big misconception on Milla’s part.

* * *

“Oh my, the pretty lady is back again!”

Even though Stella was dressed in Darren’s clothes, people recognized her right away, leaving her wide-eyed and unable to respond.

“How did they know?”

“Isn’t it stranger not to know?”

Darren looked at Stella, who couldn’t conceal her identity even in her worn-out clothes, and smiled weakly. Initially, he thought she was a truly peculiar princess.

On the surface, she seemed like the perfect princess, but her way of interacting with subordinates and her thought process were completely different from the nobles he knew.

There were moments when her actions revealed her noble upbringing, but she was certainly not ordinary. The crops she cultivated were also exceptional.

At first, Darren thought it was due to the good soil. However, after seeing how every plant Stella touched grew robustly at an extraordinary rate, he realized it wasn’t just the soil.

“Really? By the way, these pants are so comfortable!”

Stella nodded and held the loose pant legs, waving them like flags.

Her frame was small, and she was much shorter than him, so she had to fold the pant legs almost in half and tie the waist several times with a string. Yet, Stella beamed brightly as if she were wearing a splendid dress, even in her old clothes.

“Since you’re here at the market, would you like to buy some clothes that fit you well? There are many shops selling clothes on the west street.”

“Shall we?”

The thought of buying fitting pants lifted Stella’s spirits.

As they chatted, the two of them arrived in front of the Moonlight Guild.

“I’ll go in and buy the street vendor permit.”

“Let’s go in together.”

“There?”

Darren thought the inside of the Moonlight Guild wasn’t a suitable place for Princess Stella.

There were many rough people inside the guild, and someone might pick a fight like last time.

“But it’s—”

“It’s fine. Let’s go in.”

Before Darren could actively dissuade her, Stella opened the door to the Moonlight Guild wide and entered.

Ding-a-ling—

The bell on the door jingled, and Jack, who had been dozing off, opened his eyes lazily and greeted them as if talking in his sleep.

“Welcome.”

Jack, barely keeping his eyes open from sleepiness, saw Stella entering the guild and jumped off his chair, eyes wide open.

“Rudina!”

Even Jack recognized her immediately.

Seeing the disappointment on Stella’s face, Darren shrugged as if to say, “See?”

“Jack, hello. Have you been well?”

“Why haven’t you visited for so long, sister? You must have been really busy!”

It seemed Darren had made some excuse for her absence. Stella nodded in understanding, playing along.

“Yes. I had some important matters.”

“So, are you done with your work now?”

“Probably?”

She wasn’t sure, but she thought she wouldn’t be invited to any more grand parties like the last one.

“Will you come to the market often now?”

“I will.”

Jack was overjoyed at Stella’s response, but Darren looked uneasy. Business thrived when the princess was around, but it also made him anxious.

Honestly, there was no guarantee that an incident like the last one wouldn’t happen again. It wasn’t the princess’s fault that she was beautiful, but it did cause troublesome situations.

Ding-a-ling—

While Jack and Stella were catching up, the door opened, and a large man entered the guild.

“Jack! Are you slacking off with a customer again?”

As soon as the gruff voice was heard, Jack pouted and moved away from Stella.

“I’m not slacking off. I’m going to sell a street vendor permit to Rudina. Right, sister?”

Jack looked up at Stella with pleading eyes, asking her to back him up.

“That’s right. We were in the middle of buying a street vendor permit.”

Worried that Jack might get scolded by the guild master, Stella quickly sided with him. However, no response came from the guild master.

Meanwhile, Darren tensed up, seeing the guild master scrutinizing Princess Stella closely as soon as he entered the guild.

No matter how strong Darren was, he doubted he could take on the guild master, whose arm was as thick as his waist. But he couldn’t just stand by and do nothing, so Darren quickly looked around the guild for anything that could be used as a weapon.

At that moment,

“Kukus?”

Princess Stella called out the name of the Moonlight Guild master in a friendly manner.