The humiliation was twofold. Kai sat in his office, eyes tightly shut, replaying the recent events in his mind. On his desk lay the carrots, still not dusted off, randomly placed.

He didn’t bother to shake off the dirt from the carrots, which had soiled his documents. Kai stared at the carrots that reduced him to a fool with contempt.

He remembered the woman who had come out in her nightgown, looking at him with pity. Her appearance was as shabby as the carrots plucked from the soil.

“Alright, good. Now take these with you and go back. I’ll prepare your pie for tomorrow.”

“Who’s pitying whom, exactly?”

He was incredulous. He would endure it only until tomorrow. Those carrots could be plucked or burnt for all he cared, but he was curious about the taste of the carrot pie.

He decided to bear it until tomorrow. After that, he had no intention of even sneezing in the direction of Berdura Castle.

Stella was annoying, and he was pathetic. Who could have known that his restraint, unshaken even by women throwing themselves at him, would crumble so disgracefully over a few carrots?

“Why aren’t you eating?”

Startled by the sudden voice, Kai jerked his head up. One of the land fairies he had seen earlier was perched on the carrot, twinkling its eyes.

For the first time, Kai could closely observe a land fairy in the light.

No taller than the length of his palm, with a round face and belly. Hands and feet smaller than a segment of his finger. The mere fact that such a tiny, insignificant creature was alive and moving seemed miraculous.

“So it was you. You’ve been talking to me all this time.”

The land fairy nonchalantly shrugged its shoulders and grinned broadly. Its round cheeks were endearing.

“I was there, but there were also land spirits.”

“Land spirits? Are they different from you?”

“Yes, different.”

“How so?”

“Too lazy to explain again. Go ask Stella.”

The land fairy, looking annoyed, got up and waved its hands dismissively. It was the first time someone found Kai, the Emperor of the Creedion Empire, a nuisance.

“I am the Emperor of the Creedion Empire.”

“I am Ark, a land fairy blessed by Goddess Terra.”

Kai’s authoritative statement was met with Ark’s confident response, patting its round belly with the palm.

“Huh!”

Kai was speechless. It seemed to him that his title of emperor was no more valuable to these creatures than the name of his old horse, Ben.

He laughed involuntarily at the absurdity. Ark watched him laugh, then clicked its tongue and said,

“Make sure to wash the carrot before eating. Eating it with dirt can cause stomach upset, you know?”

Kai’s laughter grew louder.

“Haha! Ha!”

Ark looked at him with disdain, shaking its head.

“You’ll probably just eat it anyway.”

Ark approached the carrot closest to Kai, stepping on the spilled dirt on the desk and leaving tiny footprints on the documents. As Kai watched Ark’s waddling back, one corner of his mouth lifted in a smirk.

Ark sighed and pulled out a handkerchief from its pocket, starting to clean the carrot.

“I came here because Stella said you were pitiable, but I wouldn’t have known what to do if I hadn’t come. There’s not even a bed in this room; you really are pitiful.”

Ark’s sympathy only made Kai’s laughter grow louder, and the guards outside widened their eyes in wonder, not daring to open the door.

Even Harman, the head steward, and the guards had to speculate all night why the emperor laughed.

Ark’s report on following Kai was as follows.
“The room was spacious, but there was no bed or bowl to put the carrots I brought in. He just looked at them, unable to wash them, so I roughly wiped them for him. I told him to make sure to wash them before eating, but I’m not sure if he’ll listen. He seems to have trouble understanding, which worries me.

The papers in the room got dirty because of the carrots, but he just laughed strangely. He’s pitiful but seems a bit off.

That’s why he probably doesn’t have friends. His friends only hang around outside, never coming into his room. He’s a loner.”

“Poor thing.”

Stella nodded sadly, listening to Ark’s story. It seemed there were people like her everywhere. It looked like she needed to make plenty of carrot pie for tomorrow.

The entire staff of Berdura Castle was mobilized for the carrot harvest.

Though it was only the maid Lian and Brin, the only male servant Darren, and Mila along with Stella, the speed of harvesting was quite fast with five adults rolling up their sleeves.

In fact, the land fairies also helped earnestly, but they were invisible to others. People just thought someone incredibly fast was picking the carrots.

“Wow! How many are there now?”

After shaking the dirt off her hands, Brin admired the large pile of carrots.

“It must be at least twenty bags, right? Princess Stella, when did you plant these? I’ve only seen them grow, never saw you planting.”

Darren tilted his head, puzzled by the mysterious occurrence.

“Exactly. You haven’t been here long, but you’re really diligent.”

Brin admired her sincerely.