I Didn't Really Want to Do Farming! (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 28
The entrance of Muge Castle was bustling with maids who had accompanied the princesses coming for their lessons. Once the princesses entered one by one, the maids who came with them would, as per custom, gather separately to enjoy their own time.
Inside the dining room located in the western hall of Muge Castle, a separate tea table had been prepared especially for the maids.
Though it wasn’t as regular or grand as the princesses’ tea parties held after lessons, the maids of Muge Castle did their best to create a proper tea table for their own gatherings.
Just as subtle displays of status existed among the maids, a hierarchy also existed among the servants within the Flant district.
Every event occurring within Muge Castle would eventually reach the servants through the maids’ words.
Fourteen maids sat down, completely filling the long rectangular table. It felt slightly cramped, yet not a single maid complained about her seat.
The solemn and serious expressions they wore upon entering the castle with their princesses relaxed somewhat within this enclosed space. The cheerful, delicately embroidered floral tablecloth softened the atmosphere even further.
At the head of the table sat Sara, the maid serving Princess Anet, sitting with an air of exaggerated pride. It was only natural—her princess’s status directly reflected her own.
“Her Highness Princess Anet prepared this especially for us, so please help yourselves comfortably.”
On the finger she used to gesture toward the table sparkled a golden ring Princess Anet had recently gifted her.
“Princess Anet must truly care for you, Sara.”
Envy dripped plainly from the eyes of the maids as they gazed at the beautifully arranged refreshments and Sara’s ring.
Though some cast resentful glances, no one dared voice open complaints, given Princess Anet’s firmly established position within the Flant district.
Many even believed that if an empress were to emerge from this district, it would undoubtedly be Princess Anet.
“When Princess Anet first arrived, I helped her quite a bit. There were other maids who came with her, but no one knew this place as well as I did.”
Sara giggled shyly, covering her mouth with her hand. A small diamond on her ring finger glimmered.
“That ring was also a gift from her, right? It’s truly lovely.”
“Yes. I told her it wasn’t necessary, but she kept insisting. It fits my finger perfectly.”
Sara stretched out her fingers with a happy smile, deliberately turning her hand this way and that so her companions could clearly admire the diamond set in the ring.
Each shift in the angle of her hand drew simultaneous gasps of admiration, large and small.
Sara was certain she would be the first among the maids seated here to earn a promotion.
She consistently delivered outstanding results at weekly reports, earning high ratings and generous wages, and by good fortune, Princess Anet held the greatest influence in this district. It was only natural that the other maids looked at Sara with envy.
Sara, who quietly relished the envious and jealous stares directed her way, suddenly fixed her gaze on Mila seated at the far end of the table.
Once again today, Mila sat like a brick wall, clad in her dull brown dress. That indifferent expression—neither envious nor jealous like the others—irritated Sara every time she saw it.
Just who did she think she was?
When Mila’s princess had fallen ill and died, sending Mila to the dungeon, Sara had believed no one would ever surpass her again.
She had hoped Mila would remain buried in that underground prison forever, but with the arrival of the princess from Amalune, Mila had crawled back into the imperial palace like a bug.
And when Sara learned that Princess Stella’s so-called treasure was merely a set of golden teacups, she had felt intoxicated with superiority, as if she herself had won.
Sara wished Mila would stay tucked away in that corner, unnoticed and insignificant, just as she was now.
“Milla, what’s that brooch? It’s absolutely gorgeous!”
At that exclamation of admiration from someone, Sara’s face instantly crumpled. All the maids seated around the table turned their eyes toward Mila at once.
Even Sara widened her eyes, glaring sharply to see what kind of brooch Mila had worn to cause such a commotion.
“Goodness! It’s a pearl brooch!”
“Look at the size of the pearl in the center—it’s enormous!”
“Could all those stones surrounding the pearl really be diamonds?”
Sara clenched the hand wearing her ring tightly with her other hand. Dozens of diamonds, each significantly larger than the one on her own ring, densely adorned Mila’s brooch.
“Did Princess Stella give that to you?”
“Yes.”
“Really? She gave you something so expensive? Princess Stella must truly care for you, Mila.”
Instead of answering, Mila offered a faint smile and took a quiet sip of her well-steeped tea. She could feel Sara’s murderous glare from the head of the table. Mila had never once cared how Sara treated her.
Sara simply wasn’t important enough to Mila, and Mila’s life wasn’t soft enough to waste concern over her. Yet for some reason today, it felt satisfying to know Sara was fuming because of her.
Mila set down her teacup, turned her body, and looked directly at Sara—after all, the brooch would be seen best from the front.
[This is the timeline separator]After finishing a lesson filled entirely with praise for the Emperor, Stella couldn’t shake the feeling during the subsequent tea party that, unlike last time, the princesses were subtly keeping their distance from her.
Until Princess Anet spoke to her, they acted as if Stella simply didn’t exist.
Even when Stella greeted them first, they’d look elsewhere, feigning indifference, and laugh and chat merrily with someone standing farther away than Stella herself.
This atmosphere was all too familiar to Stella. Compared to the humiliations she’d endured in Amalune, this was so trivial and insignificant she could dismiss it with a mere snort.
Yet that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt.
Just as she decided she ought to leave first and turned to exit the hall, Anet called out to stop her.
“Princess Stella, are you leaving already?”
All the murmurs and chatter in the hall instantly ceased. Thirteen pairs of eyes simultaneously fixed on Stella, their gazes tangled with a mix of pity and mockery.
“Yes, I’m not feeling well.”
Stella replied with a weak smile, carefully trying not to appear flustered or embarrassed.
“Oh dear, I suppose your fatigue hasn’t fully lifted yet. By the way, I heard you traveled here to the Credion Empire aboard a merchant ship, right? How uncomfortable it must have been, sharing the voyage with those vulgar merchants! I heard they were all former pirates. Weren’t you frightened?”
Anet’s words, spoken with feigned concern, struck Stella like a heavy blow to the head.
It was true she’d been loaded onto that merchant ship like cargo, so she couldn’t deny it or get angry. But she’d never told anyone she’d arrived on a ship crewed by former pirates.
The princesses, biting their lips to suppress laughter, turned their heads and shook with silent giggles.
“Frightened? It was actually quite fun.”
Contrary to their expectations that Stella would flee the room in panic, she calmly replied as if nothing mattered. Keeping her gaze steady on Anet, she continued,
“After all, it’s just as strange for a hostage to arrive on a luxurious sailing vessel as if on a leisurely journey.”
The humiliating word that slipped from Stella’s lips flushed the faces of the princesses present with anger. It was a truth everyone knew but no one ever dared utter.
To those who comforted themselves by believing they’d come here worthy of becoming empress, Stella’s blunt remark felt barbarically rude.
“Stella!”
Anet snapped sharply, her eyes narrowing as she called Stella’s name.
“Then, I hope you all have a pleasant time.”
Stella bowed politely to them and strode out of the hall with perfect posture.
Though she walked out boldly, her legs trembled beneath her. She fought hard to suppress the tears welling up—she refused to waste even a single drop of her tears on them.
“Your Highness!”
Milla, having received an urgent message from a servant, quickly approached Stella as she exited the hall. Seeing Mila made her vision blur again, but Stella instead smiled brightly.
“Let’s go back to our castle, Mila.”
Milla flinched slightly at the unusually bright sparkle in Stella’s eyes but, mirroring Stella’s expression, smiled and replied,
“Yes, Your Highness.”
[This is the timeline separator]Harmann was deeply troubled by the Emperor’s lack of appetite despite the lavish banquet laid before him.
It was fortunate that Head Chef Leo hadn’t been dismissed, but if the Emperor continued refusing food like this, Harmann would need to find a solution.
Each time the Emperor left his meal untouched, Leo’s insides burned with anxiety. Though the Emperor never openly criticized him, it was clear he was growing tired of Leo’s cooking.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t keep leaving his food like this. The Emperor Leo knew wasn’t a picky eater.
When hungry, he’d eat coarse bread without hesitation and down cheap commoners’ liquor in one gulp—a man of hearty, unpretentious tastes.
Yet recently, no matter how exquisite the ingredients or how delicious the dishes Leo prepared, the Emperor’s response remained indifferent.
“Master Steward, is it truly the case that His Majesty refuses to eat anything else?”
Leo, unable to believe it, grabbed Harmann’s sleeve as they met in the corridor.
“Sigh… I’m worried too. At this rate, his health might suffer.”
Even the healthiest emperor would surely be affected if his meals continued to be so meager.
Meanwhile, Kai was just as bewildered by his own behavior.
Thankfully, after a few days, that overwhelming, irrational craving for carrots had vanished. Still, the occasional sudden thought of it was unavoidable.
Using the excuse of needing fresh air, Kai took Ben for a walk. He absolutely hadn’t intended to head toward Verdura Castle—it just so happened that his aimless stroll led him right in front of it.
It was enough to drive him utterly mad.
Male lead says he’s pregnant — and it’s female lead’s child
Something seems a bit off about this world.
Wang Zhao thought as she watched a pregnant man walking towards her…
Intro
Female lead finds herself in a world where the men who possess the ability to bear children.
As she navigates this unfamiliar reality, she is caught off guard by the sudden appearance of her boyfriend, who reveals that he is pregnant.
Is this truly her boyfriend?
Why can’t she recall any details about their time together?
She begins to doubt whether the child her boyfriend is carrying is even hers.
Is there a hidden reason behind her amnesia, or could it be a side effect of her sudden arrival in this strange new world?
Just when it seems the protagonist’s life couldn’t become any more entangled, her ex-boyfriend makes an unexpected appearance, raising questions about the protagonist’s past.
__________
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