Kai had received many trivial things from Stella. They were nothing more than insignificant items like dirt-covered carrots and pies, and a handkerchief embroidered in a mess. But above all, he needed to find out where Stella got the silver coin.

Throughout the morning, even as Kai handled various tasks, he couldn’t shake off the concern about how to naturally repay Stella. It lingered in his mind like the items inside the closed drawer bothering him all day long. It felt uneasy, like an unfinished assignment. She was indeed a troublesome woman in many ways.

“Your Highness, do you have any worries?”

Harang, who had been observing Kai all morning, asked with a voice full of concern. Only then did Kai realize that he had been staring at the same document for minutes, and it even felt unfamiliar, like seeing it for the first time.

“Sigh!”

A sigh escaped involuntarily due to a sense of defeat.

“Your Highness, what’s on your mind?”
Harang blinked his eyes and approached, asking. Usually, he would pour out a storm of nagging, but when it seemed like Kai had any trouble, he would rush in without hesitation.

Despite not being very helpful and rarely solving anything, strangely, just Harang stepping up and offering something comforted Kai.

“Are you trying to solve it?”

“Of course! If there’s anything I can do, I’ll do it, even if I have to pull out my hair.”

Harang straightened his crooked body, confidently shouting.

“I’m not sure if your hair is that valuable.”

Harang seemed shocked for a moment, his mouth slightly agape. However, after a brief moment, in response to Kai’s unusual expression, Harang lit up his eyes and asked.

“What can I do for you? Did you bring up the subject because you have something for me to do?”

He seemed to have an uncanny sense. It might be because he often missed the point.

Kai, with an out-of-character sparkling gaze, stared at Harang, who was asking expectantly, and then put down the documents he was holding with a loud thud, asking.

“What kind of item would be good for a suitable level of repayment?”

“Uh? Repayment?”

Harang frowned at the word that absolutely didn’t suit an emperor.

For an emperor who had only received from others all his life, it was a word that could never come out. Repayment. Harang looked at Kai with a face as if he had seen a ghost.

“What’s with that look? What do you mean?”
“Ah, no. But what do you mean by repaying someone?”

Harang recently recalled what Kai had received.

From treasures received from neighboring countries to gifts nobles dedicated, there were so many presents pouring in for Kai that it was hard to decide where to start mentioning them.

Probably, there were things the emperor didn’t know about. Even at this moment, they were likely steadily arriving.

“It’s nothing, just…”

Kai blurted out words but closed his mouth, unsure of how to explain.

Harang, being impulsive, was on the verge of passing out in front of him, but once Kai closed his mouth, there was no sign of it opening again.

“Your Majesty? What do you mean by repaying?”

Harang asked Kai with an earnest gaze. However,

“No, it’s okay. Don’t worry about it.”

“Your Majesty?”

Ending the conversation like this. Harang was on the verge of going crazy with curiosity, but Kai, as if nothing had happened, turned his attention back to the documents.

For Harang, it was the moment when a too harsh day was beginning.

After finishing breakfast and coming to the garden, Stella stood in front of the spinach field with a proud expression. Around Stella, like guardian angels, the diligent gardeners and servants of Verudra were surrounding her early in the morning.

“Can we really harvest this spinach?”

Although Darun asked repeatedly, Stella’s answer remained unchanged.
As far as Darun could recall, it hadn’t been long since they planted the spinach seeds, and it didn’t seem like they had fully grown yet. Others were also puzzled by this.

“Yeah. This variety naturally grows to about this size. Despite being small, the taste is excellent. Mila approved.”

Even though Stella learned this information from the earth fairies, she felt like an experienced farmer as she explained it to people.

Dudul rolled their eyes while listening to Stella and Darun’s conversation.

It was confusing whether this conversation could be shared between the two, and whether it was something a princess could say.

“We’ll harvest from that side. Do you know how to harvest spinach?”

Caught off guard by Stella’s question, Dudul belatedly nodded in response.

“Yes, Princess. We know very well.”

Even while answering, they were once again confused about whether this was an appropriate question for a princess to hear.

“Then let Brin and Ryan know. We’ll take care of this side with me, Darun, and Mila.”

“Yes!”

The six people divided into two sides of the spinach field and diligently started harvesting, agreeing to only harvest what they could sell and gradually collect the rest each time they went to sell.
“You just need to grab the spinach stem close to the roots and gently pull it.”

Stella demonstrated first. Of course, it was what Esta and Ark had taught her. Although it was Stella’s first time pulling spinach, Mila and Darun thought she was quite skillful.

With the explanation, the spinach was pulled out with its roots. Darun expressed pure admiration and even applauded, but Mila couldn’t help but have a complex gaze when looking at Stella.

‘She must be Princess Amalun, right?’

Since the truth of her lineage was concealed during the feast, Stella’s status couldn’t be fake. However, no matter how you looked at it, Stella’s behavior didn’t quite match that of a princess of a nation. It was the same now.

Where could you find a princess happily harvesting in a spinach field? Even a modest noble young lady wouldn’t engage in farming with dirt on her hands.

Lost in thought, Mila suddenly came to her senses and realized that she, too, had started pulling spinach.