The entrance to the Plant region was marked by the small and plainly designed Oer Castle, which stood in contrast to the other larger and more elaborate buildings. The maids serving the princesses here were all affiliated with the Credion Empire.

They gathered once a week at this place to report on the princesses’ activities, receive instructions on educational content, and discuss special care requirements.

Mila stepped into Oer Castle for the first time in three months. Previously, the princess she served had succumbed to illness due to a perfume allergy, leading to her demise.

Having failed to protect her mistress, Mila was confined to the dungeons for two months, erasing all the reputation she had built. She had to start from scratch again.

“Isn’t that Mila?”

“I never thought I’d see her again.”

Some maids who spotted Mila whispered and glanced at her. Their looks were a mix of caution, contempt, pity, and disregard.

But Mila sat down in an empty chair with her head held high, ignoring their whispers. They kept their distance, merely murmuring from afar.

Mila was relieved to be left alone until she heard a familiar voice.

“It’s been a while, Mila. How have you been?”

It was Beth, who served the youngest princess, Margaret, from Maple Castle. Beth and Mila had known each other for five years since their maid exam days.

“How about you?”

“I’m good. Princess Margaret takes good care of me.”

Beth’s genuinely happy expression was evident. When Mila smiled in relief, Beth suddenly looked around and whispered, “How is Princess Stella? Is she really as strange as the rumors say?”

It seemed Beth had come to gather information about Princess Stella on behalf of the other maids.

“What rumors?”

Mila asked, frowning. Beth leaned in closer and whispered, “They say she’s mentally disturbed.”

“Why?”

“Don’t you know?”

Mila never thought Stella to be insane, only unique. Beth looked at Mila with pity and whispered again, “Hannah saw her talking as if someone was there. She was laughing and getting angry at nothing, digging the ground like crazy.”

Mila sighed. Hannah was known for exaggerating stories. It seemed she had seen Stella near the rock pile.

“That’s not true. I was there.”

Beth insisted no one else was present. Mila responded, “Beth, I know Princess Stella best. I spend the most time with her.”

“Right?”

“Yes, but you know how Hannah is…”

Mila spoke loudly enough for Hannah to hear, “Don’t spread unverified rumors. Have you forgotten what happened to Nansher?”

Mentioning Nansher quieted everyone. Nansher’s name was taboo among the maids. The room fell silent.

Mila thought to herself that she should have mentioned Nansher sooner.

“I’m just worried about you,” Beth said in a small voice.

Mila sighed and called her name, “Beth.”

“I’ll be more careful.”
As always, Beth quickly admitted her mistake and sought forgiveness. This was why Mila never pushed her away. Beth was genuine and straightforward, lacking any talent for deceit or manipulation. By keeping Beth close, Mila could access rumors and information more accurately, although filtering the exaggerated ones was her responsibility.

Soon, a maid in her early thirties entered with a posture as straight as bamboo. Her hair was tightly pulled up without any common ornaments, similar to Mila’s style. Most maids adorned themselves with accessories given by the princesses they served, and Beth was no exception. Apparently, Princess Margaret preferred butterfly motifs, as evidenced by the butterfly decoration twinkling on Beth’s necklace.

“We’ll start the meeting now. Glory to the Credion Empire,” announced the maid standing in front. As she led, the seated maids repeated the phrase in a chorus, including Beth and Mila.

“Glory to the Credion Empire.”

“Glory to the Credion Empire.”

“We’ll start with the report from Chambre Castle.”

Anne spoke solemnly and entered a small room on one side. A maid seated opposite Mila followed her. The maid, belonging to Chambre Castle, held a notebook similar to Mila’s. The duration of her stay in the room determined her weekly pay. The longer she stayed, the more she earned, depending on the value of the information provided.

Mila took a deep breath as she gazed at her notebook. Soon, Anne and the maid came out, the latter looking downcast, likely indicating an unsuccessful report. An older maid waiting outside dropped a silver coin into the young maid’s palm. It was a considerable sum compared to commoners’ earnings, but the young maid’s face showed clear disappointment.

“Now for the report from Camillia Castle.”

Beth, nervous about her turn coming sooner than expected, quickly stood up, clutching her crumpled notebook. Despite her nerves, she always earned a high wage. Beth’s curious and meddlesome nature meant she missed little, a reason she wasn’t disregarded by other maids despite her apparent clumsiness.

“I’ll be right back.”

Beth returned with a flushed face and received a small pouch from a waiting maid. She smiled, gratefully took the money, and left. Once their reporting was done, maids had to leave Oer Castle.

After several more reports, it was Mila’s turn.

“Now for the report from Berdura Castle.”

Mila stood up, holding her notebook. It was time to convert her daily records into money.

As Ark had promised, the carrots sprouted pretty little shoots the next day. Stella spent a long time marveling at the unbelievable sight of the freshly sprouted shoots.

“What do I do now?”

The sprouts, peeking through the moist soil, looked incredibly cute and lovely. Stella, overwhelmed with a new, fascinating emotion, paced around the shoots like a puppy on snow.

“By tomorrow, the sprouts should grow about this big.”

Ark stretched his arms shoulder-width apart to illustrate. The idea of the sprouts growing so much overnight was hard to believe, but since the seeds had already sprouted, nothing seemed impossible.

Stella listened attentively to her mentor, Ark, who, pleased with her focus, lowered his voice and continued the explanation.
As Estar shook her head as if she had seen something embarrassing, Ark paid no mind.

“You need to carefully thin out and keep only the healthy ones, making sure they’re not too close together. Remember to maintain the spacing. Although we did plant them by dropping them separately, it’s still unpredictable.”

“What about the ones we thin out? Do we plant them somewhere else?”

“You can either throw them away or plant them.”

“Then we should plant them.”

Stella didn’t want to waste even a single small sprout. Each one, sprouted from seeds she had planted with her own effort, felt incredibly precious to her.

“Princess, where are you?”

As Stella was intently observing the sprouts, Mila’s voice called out. Startled, Stella quickly stood up, realizing she had forgotten about an upcoming schedule.

She was supposed to receive new instructions at that time. As much as she wanted to stay with the carrot sprouts all day, she couldn’t.

With a look of regret, Stella turned to the earth fairies.

“I’ll be back.”

“Okay! We’ll take care of them.”

As Estar waved goodbye, Ark, just like the day they planted the seeds, spread his legs wide beside the carrot sprouts and lifted his arms high, then lowered them, as if hypnotizing the sprouts to grow quickly. Stella noticed the faint light emanating from the ground again before she turned to leave.