Thanks to Diego’s daily care, bringing medicine and snacks, Siara fully recovered after a week.

It was somewhat amusing, but this was Siara’s first time catching a cold. Her original body had always been robust with abundant magical power, so she rarely fell ill. However, Annie’s body seemed different.

‘I really feel like an ordinary human now. I suppose I should be grateful there’s even a little magical power left.’

When Siara extended her hand, two fist-sized ice chunks appeared. But they wouldn’t grow any larger. Braden, the practical skills instructor, looked at Siara and said:

“Wow, Siara! Creating two such large ice chunks! That’s truly impressive!”

“…Whatever.”

Siara responded somewhat coldly.

‘Is he mocking me? What’s so impressive about this?’

Just looking at Diego, the Crown Prince, who could create so much offensive flame, honestly made her feel inadequate. No matter how much she tried not to care, she missed her innate magical power.

‘It should improve when I reach adulthood, right?’

Siara decided to wait until then. When she became an adult, her operational magical power would gradually increase, and by then she should be able to return home.

The entire class was watching Diego’s flames. Diego casually looked at Siara and waved.

Since he had been kind to her, Siara smiled and waved back.

‘…Being friendly with someone who will become Emperor can’t hurt.’

She felt grateful to Diego. But that was all—she would eventually leave, so she couldn’t give him her heart.

She was seriously preparing to build a wall between them when Diego came to sit beside her.

“Want to go out after class? I heard there’s a nice café.”

“…Huh?”

Class hadn’t ended yet. Both Instructor Braden and the other students perked up their ears to listen to their conversation.

Diego gently tucked a strand of Siara’s hair behind her ear.

“To celebrate your recovery. My treat. Sound good?”

‘Free? Free!’

“Oh, sure!”

Diego might be an angel. At least he was more affectionate than Annie’s family.

Siara smiled happily, then scratched her head when she noticed the shocked expressions of the students watching her. Of course, she had noticed from the class atmosphere that the usually cold Diego was only kind to her.

She needed to remember: Diego was being kind because this body was “Annie.”

‘I really…’

There was a possibility that when Siara arrived here, the shock had ejected the fragile soul. After becoming an adult, she would search for the original owner of this body, return it, and go back to the Kingdom of Estain.

After class, they went to a cozy café crowded with couples.

Peter spoke to the owner and secured the best table, where Diego and Siara sat facing each other. Peter stood beside Diego, but when Diego told him to leave, he sat alone nearby.

Siara chuckled seeing Peter, who seemed more comfortable being alone.

‘Being an attendant isn’t an easy job either.’

“…Interested in my attendant?”

At Diego’s sharp words, Siara blinked.

“No?”

“Then don’t look at him.”

“Oh… Okay. Sure.”

Siara withdrew her gaze and looked out the window. People moved about energetically. The sun was hot, making it extremely warm. She thought Peter must have gone to some trouble to reserve this prime spot by the window.

“What would you like to eat?”

When Diego handed her the menu, Siara quietly scanned it. She wanted something cool to drink, but ice was apparently too expensive to be offered. Everything was hot tea.

‘Well, that’s fine.’

“I’ll have this.”

Siara chose the most expensive tea in the establishment.

Diego nodded, called over the waiting server, and ordered two of the most expensive teas and a cheesecake. Siara pointed to Peter sitting at a distance.

“What about him? Aren’t you getting anything for Peter?”

“…Why should I look after my attendant? …Are you interested in Peter?”

“No. It just seems sad if he sits there without eating anything.”

“…You’re looking at him because you feel sorry for him?”

“Yes.”

Diego called the server again and instructed them to bring tea and cake to Peter’s table as well.

Soon the server brought the tea and a three-tiered tea stand filled with various breads and cakes.

When Peter received his portion, he bowed his head gratefully to Diego. Diego ignored Peter and watched Siara eating with enjoyment.

“Hmm, the taste isn’t bad.”

“Does that mean you like it or not?”

“It’s average?”

“…It’s better at the Imperial Palace. Would you come if I invited you?”

“We’ll see.”

Who would refuse an invitation from the Crown Prince? Even a deferral was unusual. Peter would have been shocked had he been present. But Siara was no ordinary person.

Feeling Diego’s gaze, Siara belatedly offered an excuse.

“The sugarcane needs daily watering, bug removal, fertilizing… There’s so much work to do.”

“…You’re declining an Imperial Palace invitation because of crops?”

“Yes. I don’t have money, you know.”

Diego shook his leg, a habit that emerged when he was anxious. Siara slapped his knee with her hand.

“You’ll lose your luck!”

“…What?”

When Diego looked serious, Siara quickly explained.

“Oh, I mean shaking your leg like that. They say it makes your fortune disappear.”

“I’ve never heard that before?”

How would kids these days know? In my time, that was considered the height of rudeness.

“…Old ladies would know.”

“Did your grandmother tell you that?”

“…Yeah.”

Siara silently resumed eating her cake.

Savoring the tea, Siara recalled the taste she used to enjoy at the royal palace. How delicious it had been. She hadn’t known that expensive tea, once reserved for royalty, would be sold in cafés.

‘Where exactly is this place? About 2,000 years after the Kingdom of Estain?’

“Hey, Diego.”

“Yes?”

Diego wasn’t eating his cake, just staring intently at Siara’s face.

‘Ah, I know I’m pretty.’

With such an ardent gaze, he seemed like an easy mark. Or was he already one?

“Does the school have a library?”

“…Yes. But only teachers can use it.”

“…Why?”

That was unexpected. At the very least, a school—especially an expensive one attended by noble children—should have an accessible library.

“…I heard they don’t open the library because some students damage books and there are dangerous texts.”

“Dangerous texts?”

“Yes.”

Siara felt deflated. This meant she couldn’t learn about the Stana Empire. She was also curious about how far it was from the Kingdom of Estain.

“Oh, what about the Imperial Palace library?”

“…Imperial Palace library?”

“Yes!”

The Imperial Palace housed countless books. Diego wiped the cream from the corner of Siara’s lips with his finger, then put it in his mouth and sucked it.

“…Only royalty can use it.”

“What?”

“I don’t know what you’re looking for, but I’ll help you. You can’t take books out, but you can enter if you come with me.”

“Oh, really? That would be great.”

Diego wasn’t pleased to see Siara, who had declined his invitation to the palace, now eager to visit the library.

One week after planting the sugarcane.

Diego, who followed Siara to harvest the sugarcane, was amazed. The sugarcane had grown to about 6 meters tall.

Siara cut them into pieces with a knife and began placing them in a large bag.

“That’s enough. I’ll harvest the rest when they grow again.”

“Isn’t it growing too quickly?”

“…Well, it might grow a bit faster. Um, the weather’s been good?”

Siara pointed to the bright, sunny sky. But the abnormally grown sugarcane was simply bizarre.

Siara lifted the bag lightly, showing no signs of strain.

“Isn’t it heavy?”

“Huh? Oh… Now that I think about it, it is a bit heavy?”

It wasn’t heavy at all for her, but for a small 15-year-old like Annie, it should normally be heavy.

Siara spoke awkwardly, and Diego took the load from her. Peter said he would carry it, but Diego ignored him.

“Wow, you’re so dependable, Diego!”

Diego’s face turned red.

Looking at the still innocent Crown Prince, Siara laughed inwardly. She had placed a magic formula in the field to make the crops grow faster, and fortunately, Diego believed her awkward excuse without much thought.

As they were about to leave the school, a security guard stopped them.

“Wait a minute! Did you bring that from the mountain?”

“Ah, well.”

“The mountain has an owner, so you can’t take anything out.”

“What?”

“Put it back.”

Siara showed the guard the paper with Professor Dennis’s seal, which she had prepared for just such an occasion.

“…But I got permission from the teacher?”

The guard scanned the paper and shook his head.

“Still not allowed. You can use the garden, but removing anything is prohibited.”

In the end, Diego and Siara had no choice but to return to the dormitory.

Siara glared at the problematic sugarcane.

“If we can’t sell it outside, we can sell it inside.”

“…The kids who eat in the cafeteria won’t have money. Would this even sell?”

“Hmm, then I’ll just eat it myself.”

Since her plans to quickly repay the debt and make a fortune had fallen through, it seemed she would have to delay repaying the ten silver coins.

‘Well, of course mountains and land all have owners.’

Disappointed, Siara decided to cut off the outer layer of the sugarcane and chew on the inside.

“Huh? It’s sweet! Diego, want to try some?”

She handed Diego the sugarcane she had already bitten into. Diego opened his mouth and began chewing the sugarcane.

“How is it? Delicious, right?”

“…Yeah.”

An indirect kiss? Diego’s face turned slightly red. The sugarcane that Siara had eaten seemed sweeter than anything else.

When Diego returned to his dormitory later, Peter said:

“Why didn’t you tell her that Your Highness is the owner of the mountain? This mountain and all the land belong to you.”

“Well…”

Diego glanced at the dormitory where Siara was staying.

“If she had money, she wouldn’t need me anymore.”

“What? Your Highness, that means…”

“From now on, Annie Light won’t earn a single coin.”

Peter looked at Diego with disgust but quickly averted his eyes when their gazes met.

Processing the sugarcane was difficult, but they enjoyed the sweetness to their heart’s content. They made it into juice and dipped boiled potatoes in it. Later, others who ate in the cafeteria came asking for sugarcane, so she shared it.

Afterward, she planted corn and sweet potatoes, harvested them, roasted them, and shared them. Naturally, Siara’s popularity rose among the dormitory students.

Diego approached Siara as she was busily making a crude fishing rod from tree branches.

“Want to go to the café?”

“Huh? Café? But I promised the dormitory kids we’d catch fish at the river.”

“…You’re busy these days.”

When she rejected Diego’s date invitation, other girls whispered:

“What’s with her? What fishing is she talking about? She’s been hanging around Diego and now she’s trying to seduce all the boys in the dormitory!”

“Ugh. They say the quiet cat climbs onto the stove first! She was completely putting on an act!”

In reality, there were girls among those going fishing. But those jealous of Siara deliberately spoke maliciously.

“Well, she’s an illegitimate child, so she won’t receive any territory or title. She must be trying to catch a noble man with even a small piece of land.”

They spoke loudly enough for her to hear, but Siara didn’t particularly care. She proudly showed her crude fishing rod to Diego.

“What do you think? This is my first time fishing! I should be able to catch a lot with this, right?”

“…Where are you fishing?”

“At the river. The dormitory kids fish there often. I think they’ll taste delicious roasted.”

“…Can I come too?”

“Huh? Of course! It’ll be more fun if you come.”

Diego’s face reddened again. Siara laughed inwardly seeing his face.

‘He’s so innocent. And cute…’

Siara touched Diego’s cheek. She had originally intended to pat his head, but he was too tall, so her hand reached his cheek instead. She felt his flawless skin and soft red hair before pulling away. Above all, when she saw his dark eyes looking at her, her heart beat wildly.

“Annie…?”

“…Your skin is so good!”

Siara hurriedly hid her hand. Diego smiled slightly and took her hidden hand, pressing it against his cheek.

“Do you still like it?”

“Oh, y-yes…!”

When Diego lowered his head, Siara touched his fine red hair.

The feeling in her chest was fluttery and ticklish. It felt very strange because she had never experienced such emotions while touching another person.