Siara pulled out a piece of paper at his words. It contained a statement saying that Professor Dennis had given her permission.

“What’s this?”

Professor Dennis blinked in bewilderment.

“It’s better to make things official! This document states that you’ve given me permission to use the vegetable garden.”

The handwriting was scrawled messily, and Siara pointed to one spot.

“Please sign here.”

“Haha. Alright.”

Professor Dennis skimmed the paper and signed it.

Siara carefully folded the paper, tucked it into her pocket, and left his private office. She bounced happily down the hallway until her head bumped into someone’s chest.

“Did it go well?”

It was Diego. Siara smiled brightly at him.

“Yes! I think I need to buy seeds. Will you buy them for me? I’ll definitely pay you back later.”

“…Sure.”

The two headed back to town.

Just like sugarcane, seeds were difficult to find. However, after combing through every shop meticulously, they weren’t impossible to locate. Each seed cost one silver coin, which was very expensive, but they purchased about ten.

Of course, Diego paid for them.

“That’s ten silver coins. I’ll pay you back double later.”

“…What if you can’t?”

“Huh?”

“…Never mind.”

Diego started to say something but closed his mouth. After all, being the Crown Prince, he probably wouldn’t be petty about a mere ten silver coins.

‘But are ten silver coins expensive?’

Siara had never directly purchased anything with money before. The Magic Tower always received expensive ornaments and delicious food, so there was no need to buy anything.

“Once this succeeds, I’ll buy you lots of delicious things too.”

Diego gazed steadily at Siara, who was humming happily.

“You liked chicken stew, right? Are you going to raise chickens too?”

“Chickens?”

“No… Even you would find that difficult.”

He imagined Siara plucking chicken feathers and figured that someone as timid as her wouldn’t be able to slaughter a chicken.

“Chickens… Maybe I should try raising them? They’d be cheaper than sugarcane, right?”

“…Are you asking to borrow more money?”

“Hehe. No. I was just thinking out loud. Even for me, animals would be challenging. I’d need to build fences, worry about predators, and pay attention to many other things.”

Diego definitely sensed that Annie had changed. She was full of life and energetic. Though her challenge might be reckless, she radiated a sparkling light in her determination to accomplish something. Diego felt himself increasingly drawn to her.

The next day, Siara frantically pulled weeds from the mountainside surrounding the school. After leveling the soil, she planted the ten seeds. She smiled joyfully while dusting the dirt from her hands.

“All done!”

Diego tilted his head.

“…That’s it? What about water?”

“It’s going to rain.”

Siara pointed to the sky, and Diego looked up too. The previously clear sky was beginning to be covered with gloomy rain clouds. Remarkably, the rain fell only on the ground where Siara and Diego stood.

Siara smiled brightly in the rain.

“What do you think? Doesn’t it look like they’ll grow quickly?”

Siara seemed to be enjoying herself, and Diego didn’t mind watching her.

Peter held an umbrella over Diego and whispered:

“Did Miss Annie make it rain? If that’s true, this is…”

“…It must have rained by coincidence.”

“Your Highness. You need to think rationally. No mage has ever been able to make it rain!”

“I’m a once-in-a-century genius.”

“Yes, yes.”

“But Annie is nothing special. Right?”

Realizing it was a command to be quiet, Peter closed his mouth.

Siara laughed wildly in the rain, and Diego slightly raised the corner of his mouth watching her. Peter couldn’t understand the current situation.

“Achoo!”

Having caught a cold, Siara changed her clothes and wrapped herself tightly in a blanket.

There was a knock on the door. At the sound, Siara spoke:

“Come… in! Cough, cough!”

Earlier that day, Diego had carried the rain-soaked Siara in his arms and quickly brought her to the dormitory. While she changed clothes, Diego and Peter went to buy medicine.

Peter looked around the old room that could have been used as a storage closet. He was surprised that it was too dilapidated for someone from a ducal family, but now he understood why Siara kept mooching off Diego or borrowing from him.

How could anyone live in such a place? It seemed too harsh, even for an illegitimate child.

Diego silently held out the medicine. Siara exhaled with difficulty, her body seemingly burning hot.

“What’s this…?”

“Medicine.”

“Oh… thank you.”

Siara downed the bitter medicine in one go. Then she lay back on the bed and stared at Diego.

“…What?”

“Since you’re here… I want something to eat. Can you buy it for me?”

“Anything.”

Peter was surprised by Siara’s shamelessness, but Diego seemed pleased that she was asking him for favors.

“I want pudding… something like soft jelly. Do they have that here?”

“Anything else?”

“Cool juice and soft fruit?”

“Sure.”

Diego beckoned to Peter with his finger.

“Peter, go buy them.”

“Yes, understood!”

After Peter bowed his head and left, Siara thought:

‘I should have asked for more while I’m sick.’

He seemed ready to buy her worn-out school uniforms, bags, and shoes if she mentioned them. Unlike before when she was just borrowing, he would probably just give them to her outright. Siara glanced at Diego, but he had apparently been watching her the whole time, and their eyes met.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

Diego probably treated her well because he liked Annie, but Siara kept having strange thoughts.

‘This must be because I’ve never relied on others like this before.’

It became increasingly natural to depend on Diego.

Diego placed his hand on Siara’s forehead.

“You’re burning up.”

“…Yeah. Your hand feels nice and cool.”

Siara rubbed her cheek against Diego’s hand. She felt him flinch, but he didn’t pull his hand away.

When Siara fell asleep, Diego touched her face. Her tanned cheeks, eyes, nose, and lips.

When he first saw Annie Light, she was like a typical illegitimate child—friendless, very quiet, and gloomy. He had wanted to tease her to see her reactions, but the current Annie Light was different.

‘Why do I keep wanting to help her…?’

It was a strange feeling. Unlike before, Annie Light was now extremely honest, bright, and excessively cheerful. Frankly, he didn’t understand her method of planting sugarcane to obtain sugar. Such labor was typically done by commoners.

And she was very straightforward. When helped, she leaned on him and continued to do so.

Diego firmly held Siara’s hand. Her hot hand lay limp without strength.

Just then, the door opened quietly, and Peter entered. He placed the purchased pudding, juice, and fruit on the table and spoke to Diego.

“Are you very worried about her?”

“A little.”

Peter thought it wasn’t bad for the Crown Prince to show interest in a woman. But contrary to his thoughts, his words slipped out:

“She might just see Your Highness as a money bag.”

“That’s fine.”

Peter tilted his head and looked at Diego. Diego was fiddling with Siara’s hand as she slept soundly after taking the medicine.

“If I’m kind to her, she’ll come to me when she needs help in the future.”

“…In the future?”

“Yes. In the future.”

Annie Light’s future wasn’t bright. But if she had been her former self, she would have walked the path set by the Duke without complaint. Whether that meant marriage or something else.

[…Professor Dennis said he’s going to give me an F from now on. Then I’ll be expelled and return to my hometown to marry an older man.]

But the current Annie Light wasn’t like that. Should he call her smart? She didn’t quietly accept expulsion and instead used his power as Crown Prince to resolve the situation.

The corner of Diego’s mouth turned up.

Even if she treated him like a money bag, Diego preferred her current self. He hoped she would think of him as someone essential to her life, even if she used him.