During the week of the hunting festival, Stella felt like she was on a picnic.

It was regrettable that she couldn’t take care of the crops in the garden, but with Doodle and the earth fairies, there was no need to worry. Daelon and Ryan also said they would go out to check on things occasionally.

The princesses were busy making friends with princesses from other regions during the hunting festival. The most popular princess in the Plant Zone was, of course, Princess Annette.

The mansion where she stayed drew a daily crowd of visitors. In contrast, Stella’s mansion remained quiet without a single visitor.

Mila felt frustrated as she watched Stella, who seemed completely unconcerned. There might not be any ambition to become the empress, but even so, marrying a reputable noble from the empire was necessary to survive here.

Otherwise, she would have to live in the old and remote Verdura Castle without a single visitor until she died.

“Princess, would you like to visit the mansion of another princess?”

“No.”

As expected, Stella’s response was firm. Mila stared at the entrance of the mansion with a frustrated gaze. She stood up and sat down several times, wondering if someone would stop by here whenever someone passed.

However, Stella was engrossed in reading the farming book she had brought over the last time, paying no attention to when Mila had brought it.
“There’s something called thorn sweet potato; have you heard of it, Mila? It’s much sweeter than regular sweet potatoes, and it’s said to be effective against colds. It looks really fascinating. Oh, and there’s also ground corn? The roots look like corn. It seems they eat the roots, and it’s used as a salt substitute after pickling. It’s interesting.”

Watching Stella laugh heartily while reading the farming book, Mila was dumbfounded. It seemed like an ominous premonition that she might live in Verdura Castle until she died.

“Princess, do you find that book interesting?”

“Yeah, it’s even more interesting than I thought. Mila, read it sometime later. You’ll know why I find it fascinating.”

“But, Princess.”

Feeling like she shouldn’t just stay silent, Mila was about to speak, but the entrance of the mansion became noisy. When she turned around to see what was happening, there were visitors standing in front of the mansion.

“Princess, a guest has arrived.”

Mila’s urgent voice, as she spoke, became noticeably brighter.

With a simple snack table between them, the two sitting facing each other couldn’t stop smiling.

She introduced herself as Esmi, who came from Gretan. Although her face looked round, making her seem young, she was the same age as Stella.

Esmi, perhaps due to her innate personality, treated Stella as if they had known each other for a long time from the moment they met, without any awkwardness.

“I knew from the first time I saw Stella that it was our destiny to become friends.”
Casual conversation seemed effortless. Stella wasn’t prepared on how to treat Esmi yet.

While she approached the servants with ease, her heart felt strangely difficult and uncomfortable with Esmi.

Stella knew the reason was that Esmi’s face, which was always bright, somehow overlapped with Beatrice. It was regrettable for Esmi, but it couldn’t be helped.

“It would have been nice if we were in the same zone.”

“Yeah.”

As Stella answered, she wondered if Esmi would have come to visit her if they were indeed in the same zone.

Perhaps Esmi sat in the front row to feel relieved and to try not to express that they were not in the same rank.

However, Stella skillfully hid her complex thoughts beneath her smile.

“What do you usually do, Stella? I’m learning to paint.”

“You’re learning to paint?”

Hearing about learning something new was something Stella hadn’t heard before.

“Yeah. I always liked drawing, and I’m fortunate to be able to do it here too.”

In a brief moment, one could feel a deep yearning and sadness in Esmi’s eyes.

“Why don’t you learn with me? The teacher comes once a week. Since our zone is right next to Plant, there shouldn’t be any problem with coming over.”

“But we can’t leave our zones.”
“There’s a way. You just need to bribe the guards in front of the Minerva Zone. Even when leaving the Plant Zone. All the princesses here visit other zones like that.”

“Is that okay?”

“Probably, even the Emperor must know, right?”

Stella glanced at Mila, wondering if she already knew this information. Seeing Mila unable to hide her displeasure, it was evident that she was already aware.

Considering her personality, she wouldn’t have thought of disclosing illegal methods, so Stella concluded that Mila naturally didn’t mention it.

“I’ll think about it.”

Stella didn’t necessarily want to learn to draw, but seeing Mila’s hesitancy made her feel mischievous.

Playing a prank, too. Stella tried to suppress her laughter, turning away from Mila’s earnest gaze.

Mila was shouting with her whole body, “You shouldn’t do that!”

In the end, Esmi’s visit brought significant changes to Stella’s life.