I Didn't Really Want to Do Farming! (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 9
Harmann sighed in admiration once again as he gazed upon the Emperor’s face—one he could look at hundreds of times without ever tiring.
Tall and stately, with hair as lustrous as black velvet and brown eyes as sweet as chocolate.
The face of Kai Edelgard, Emperor of the Credion Empire, resembled a masterpiece painted by an artist who had poured his soul into every brushstroke.
Moreover, his body, honed by countless battlefields, and his sharp eyes that could make one’s knees tremble with just a glare, made the Emperor appear not like a delicate noble raised in a hothouse, but rather like a fierce beast.
Even another man might fall for him—so striking was the Emperor—and Harmann smiled contentedly at the sight.
“You always bring trouble whenever you smile like that.”
At Kai’s words, spoken with a sour expression, Harmann eagerly stepped forward as if he’d been waiting for this moment and dramatically opened his notebook.
“It’s not trouble—it’s what must be done. And we’re already late.”
Kai was already weary of the inevitable parade of names about to begin.
“So, how many?”
Kai, who had been silently listening to the endless procession of names, abruptly cut Harmann off mid-sentence.
“There are fourteen in total. At last, Verdura Castle has its master.”
Verdura was the final piece of Kai’s grand design. With that castle now filled, it also meant that exactly one hundred hostages had been sent to the Credion Empire.
“That’s good.”
His compulsive need to see every plan through to completion applied even to this obsessive fixation on reaching precisely one hundred hostages.
There was no real significance to the number one hundred—it was simply more than ninety, and ninety-nine felt incomplete. It was a trivial reason, but Kai finally felt relieved, as though he’d finished everything he needed to do.
“Let’s go.”
Kai strode out of his office with an unusually light expression, and Harmann followed behind him, practically floating on tiptoe.
[This is the timeline separator]They said it would take over an hour by carriage from Verdura Castle to reach the main palace where the Emperor resided.
Fortunately, she’d received a dress as a gift before arriving here—something akin to travel money—so she had enough to wear.
She probably wouldn’t be outshone by any of the other princesses in appearance. Stella’s mood sank uneasily as her fingertips brushed against the soft fabric of her dress.
She’d signed the bloodline contract without even realizing it was a shackle, moved by what she’d mistaken for genuine kindness.
Stella let out a deep sigh as she stared at the box beside her—it contained the bloodline contract. She quickly shook off the gloom that was creeping up on her again.
Her eyes were blurry and dry from exhaustion, yet strangely, her mind remained wide awake. She wished she could at least doze off, but all the way to the main palace, Stella had to fiercely battle her anxiety.
Lost in worry over how she should behave, she was startled when Mila, seated across from her, spoke with a stern expression.
“You must stay completely alert from now on. Absolutely no mistakes. You did read the notebook I gave you, right?”
Anxious that she hadn’t had time to explain everything in detail due to the late hour, Mila asked again.
“You already asked me that when we left. I read it all. Don’t worry.”
“Once we go in, I won’t be able to help you from your side anymore. You’ll have to manage on your own.”
“Okay. I’ll do my best.”
Stella tried to gauge just how vast the imperial palace was. If it took this long by carriage just to reach the main palace, walking the entire grounds in a single day seemed impossible.
After a long while, she felt the carriage gradually slowing down. Without realizing it, Stella straightened her posture and took a deep breath.
“From here, you must walk.”
Just as Stella was about to rise from her seat at the voice from outside the carriage—
“Your Highness, wait a moment.”
Mila gently guided Stella back into her seat and carefully adjusted her disheveled hair ornament. After meticulously checking Stella’s appearance one last time, Mila gave a firm nod.
“You’re ready now.”
Stella offered Mila a small, reassuring smile—Mila looked even more nervous than she did.
The carriage halted before the main palace entrance, right at the edge of an endlessly sprawling garden.
Slightly flustered but seeing that all the other carriages had also stopped, Stella had no choice but to step outside.
She wasn’t the only one taken aback—grumbles erupted from all around.
“You expect us to walk all that way?”
“That’s ridiculous! How are we supposed to get there!”
The princesses, who seemed to have never walked a day in their lives, competed to be the most difficult, each raising her voice louder than the last as if trying to prove she was more precious than the woman beside her.
Mila had expected Stella to say the same thing.
“Then shall we go?”
“No matter how you say it… Huh?”
Mila, who’d assumed Stella would refuse to walk, was caught completely off guard and stared wide-eyed at her unexpected reply.
“What are you waiting for? We have to walk, right? You said we can’t be late. Let’s hurry.”
They’d already been placed at the very back, subtly ostracized even among the princesses—it was crucial not to arrive late.
As Stella briskly began walking, the other princesses—who had stood rooted like posts—slowly started moving as well. Now that someone else had taken the shameful lead, it seemed acceptable to follow.
Though unintentional, Stella found herself at the front of the procession, with thirteen princesses trailing behind her at a quick pace.
The main palace they reached after thirty minutes of walking was extraordinary in scale. Even from afar, its enormity had been apparent, but up close, the building was utterly overwhelming.
“Wow…”
Stella, who had arrived first, stood before a gate that radiated both splendor and grandeur. A massive dragon was carved in relief on the doors, each scale made entirely of gold.
That wasn’t all—the dragon’s eyes, each as large as a fist and seemingly ready to glare right at her, were crafted from red rubies, while its razor-sharp claws, which looked capable of piercing straight through her, were enormous diamonds.
Though adorned with such extravagant jewels that it felt like the pinnacle of luxury, the dragon appeared so vivid it seemed ready to spring to life.
Just as she was thinking she could sell even a single door panel and live comfortably for the rest of her life, the closed doors swung open, splitting the dragon cleanly in two.
The carving had been so lifelike that, for a fleeting moment, she felt oddly sorry for the dragon being torn apart.
Thinking how it must suffer this splitting every time the doors opened, Stella was about to step through—
When the group of princesses standing right behind her shoved past her shoulder and surged inside in a noisy rush. Their earlier reluctance to lead the walk had vanished without a trace.
Their desperate scramble to enter first, all while maintaining an air of refined dignity, felt as artificial as swans floating gracefully on water.
Caught off guard, she nearly lost her balance and stumbled—but thankfully, Mila quickly caught her, sparing her the humiliation of falling.
“Thank you.”
Mila let out a quiet sigh as she watched Stella, who’d been jostled by the princesses until she ended up entering last.
A foreboding sense crept over her—the feeling that much hard work lay ahead. And that feeling proved accurate, though not in the way Mila had anticipated.
Though she acted as if she weren’t nervous at all, Stella had actually been so tense since morning that she hadn’t been able to eat a thing—afraid she’d vomit immediately if she did.
Pull yourself together, Stella. Just stay quiet and get through this. No one will pay attention to me anyway.
She was more confident than anyone that she could avoid drawing attention. By acting invisible and staying silent like a ghost, people always ignored her. Repeating “I can do this” over and over in her mind, Stella took a step forward.
She couldn’t clearly recall how she’d even made it into the preparation hall afterward.
“Her Highness Princess Stella Lune Obelit, you may now enter.”
Snapped back to reality by the sudden announcement, Stella realized she was the only one left in the preparation hall. Composing herself, she gracefully smiled and stepped calmly through the open doors.
Stay calm. No one here knows you’re the daughter of a concubine.
Stella silently chanted this like a mantra, steadying her trembling heart.
With every step forward, the music grew louder and the lights brighter.
Despite being indoors, it felt even brighter than outside—likely due to the dozens of enormous chandeliers hanging from the high ceiling, shimmering like the aurora.
Golden pillars lined both sides of the vast central hall, each functioning as a massive candelabra. Dozens of candles blazing simultaneously atop each pillar created a scene of breathtaking beauty, as if from a dream.
The sweet strains of music, the dazzling lights, the tables arranged like grand works of art, and the princesses seated along them, blooming like flowers with their smiles.
Stella’s eyes stung from the dazzling spectacle of color spread before her—everything in her sight sparkled and gleamed with opulence.
Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me
One-line summary: He acts like he doesn’t like her but is actually playing hard to get.
Synopsis:
Xu Muzhou like her. He has liked her for a very long time, and through repeated schemes, he finally closed the distance with her.
But this is still far from enough.
He wants to be the one who stands out among her many suitors, to fight for her attention, and to make her take the initiative to pursue him.
_____
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