Tap, tap-.

How long had I been walking like this?

After leaving the rest area, another scene unfolded.

Under the vast domed ceiling, arched structures with elaborate patterns glittered in a more brilliant gold as they caught the sunlight, and nearby were large, thick-trunked trees and plants that were hard to see outdoors, making it feel like I had come to a different world.

Peeking my head out to see what was in the distance, I saw red chairs surrounded by giant butterfly-shaped art sculptures. It was another rest area.

Seeing how they had placed rest areas here and there without a sense of incongruity, Jeff and Hecate were indeed extreme doting fathers. I still think it’s excessive, but since my body isn’t completely healthy yet, I considered their judgment to be correct.

And having many places to rest your legs like that is good. It means you can avoid showing an unsightly appearance of suddenly collapsing, saying you can’t bear it anymore. How nice is it to be able to naturally lead the situation to my advantage by saying, “Let’s catch our breath for a moment since there’s a place to sit over there” when I feel a bit tired while walking?

“Wow, there are avocados hanging in bunches!”

While I was inwardly relieved and moving my steps indifferently, Berith, who had suggested looking closer at the unfamiliar tree, shouted loudly with a bright face.

“Those aren’t avocados, they’re bananas.”

The term banana is unfamiliar, but I feel like I’ve heard it somewhere before. I perked up my ears at Ronowe’s words correcting Berith’s mistaken knowledge, placing both hands on my sides and lifting my head to look at the tree.

‘Oh my, my neck’s going to break.’

Puppy stared blankly at the banana tree next to me with his mouth wide open as if his jaw had dropped.

‘I hope he’s not drooling.’

I grumbled inwardly that Puppy looked foolish and looked back at the banana tree.

Since I had been walking in the front for a while, I could examine its appearance in detail. The large, long leaves with splits here and there, the peculiar appearance of the trunk, and several fruits that seemed to be a mix of yellow and green, tied together in bunches and hanging down, gave an overall feeling of being in a foreign country.

‘I should stop looking.’

Fearing that my shoulders would stiffen or pain would attack my nape if I kept staring, I stepped back, leaving the oddballs to chatter among themselves. Next, as I was massaging here and there with my left hand and just blinking my eyes, someone approached.

It was Carlyle.

“It’s so amazing that there are bananas in the imperial palace.”

With a faint smile, Carlyle stopped about two spans away and looked down at me, chattering.

“I’ve always only seen them in books, this is the first time I’ve seen them in person.”

Hmm, I see. I nodded and listened to his story.

For some reason, Carlyle was very pleased with my attitude and didn’t hide his joyful expression as he asked, looking like a dog wagging its invisible tail left and right.

“Have you ever eaten a banana, Your Highness?”

“No? That’s edible?”

Although I’ve lived for hundreds of years, unfortunately, I haven’t encountered bananas. In my previous life, I saw similar trees while conquering various countries and received them as gifts, but I immediately left the management to my subjects and didn’t pay attention.

That’s why I didn’t know if the fruit that grew on banana trees or whatever trees was edible, and I only realized it now when Carlyle chattered and told me the fact.

“Yes, Your Highness. In the Nesia region, they eat them raw after ripening and also use them in various dishes.”

Ah, Nesia. I felt one of the fragments of memory that had sunk below the surface suddenly jump up like a salmon trying to swim upstream from the lower to the upper reaches at the familiar place name.

Nesia was a country that surrendered immediately after a small-scale battle when I was busy waging wars after becoming king following Ulrika in my previous life.

“Moreover, they say that ripe yellow bananas are sweeter than honey and as smooth as cream.”

“I see these are green, so they must not be ripe yet.”

By the way, Carlyle, you said you read plant-related books to learn flower language before, but now you’re spouting information like a living encyclopedia as if you’ve memorized the entire plant guide.

“If we harvest these bananas now and leave them for a few days, they’ll turn yellow. But if they ripen too much, black spots will appear on the peel.”

Honestly, I don’t want to know about bananas in such expert detail. But Carlyle’s passionate effort to sincerely explain for my sake was touching, so I listened to his chatter to the end with the broad-mindedness of a ruler.

In fact, I maintained this attitude partly because I was tired of him misunderstanding and misinterpreting things on his own, fluctuating with every expression and word of mine. So I also intended to prevent seeing his gloomy face.

“So in Nesia, when they have too many harvested bananas, they preserve some in honey to drink as tea. They discard the pulp and only drink the fermented liquid mixed with hot water.”

Maybe because I’ve never eaten it, I can’t imagine preserving the pulp of that long fruit in something and brewing it as tea.

“You know all sorts of things, don’t you? Thanks to you, I learned that this tree’s fruit is delicious.”

Anyway, this is the limit now. I cleverly changed the subject while pretending to praise him, ending the banana conversation.

‘Ah.’

And suddenly, another vague memory about the banana tree revealed its presence. However, it was such an old memory that its form was obscured by the black smoke of ink spreading in water and wasn’t clear.

‘Isn’t this tree what the Nesian king offered me when he declared surrender?’

It’s hazy.

Honestly, since I’ve never seen such a tree in the empire before, if it wasn’t the Nesian king, it must be a precious plant offered by the king of another country requesting peaceful negotiations.

‘Huh? Why is he blushing again?’

It’s fortunate that the troublesome situation didn’t repeat, but I don’t understand why Carlyle is making such an excited face. I turned my head before Carlyle could notice.

Suddenly, it was because Ronowe and Berith had become too quiet.

“Puppy, did you hear? They say it’s super delicious. If we throw you, you just need to bite a banana and bring it back.”

“Let’s share it equally!”

“Grrr!”

When did they take Puppy away to whisper like that?

I laughed hollowly inside, wondering if Puppy had some ability to erase his presence. Those three often huddled together, chattering and playing pranks, so an accident could happen.

Perhaps because of that, an ominous feeling bubbled up like lava, preparing to explode…

“One, two~!”

Eventually, the Fleur siblings threw Puppy with all their might towards the nearby banana tree.

Crash−.

“Oh? This isn’t right?”

Oh my, my head.

I put my right hand on my forehead, looking at the flustered Berith and the restless Ronowe beside him. No wonder they were chattering endlessly like sparrows and then suddenly became quiet, it seems they were planning to throw Puppy to pick bananas. It was really a foolish plan.

Moreover, how dare they think of taking fruit from plants managed by the imperial family in the greenhouse? At best, it could be seen as an innocent mistake by pure-hearted children who had just turned ten, but broadly speaking, it was tantamount to recklessly damaging the royal family’s property.

Of course, I don’t intend to punish them severely. Anyway, this news will somehow reach the ears of Marquis Fleur, and as a parent, he will properly discipline and caution them.

Jeff and Hecate will probably quietly let it pass without scolding them since it’s the first time, but seeing them act so thoughtlessly despite becoming smarter, I felt that children are still children after all.

‘Sigh, are their brains controlled by appetite?’

Furthermore, if those bananas are already being cultivated for food somewhere, as nobles, they could easily use their connections to approach merchants and obtain them, yet they caused such a fuss unable to wait, I wonder if their milk had already been digested and they were hungry?

It was no different from reason losing to momentary appetite.

“Stop doing strange things and follow me quickly.”

Anyway, Puppy, who was clinging to the banana and shaking his limbs, was barely rescued by Carlyle, and in the process of rescue, half of the banana broke off because Puppy was biting it so hard.

I laughed, making a “huh” sound at the sight, and when Puppy struggled with the banana stuck in his mouth, Berith, with an apologetic face, helped peel it and shared a bite each with Ronowe and Puppy.

‘What are they doing?’

It feels like a happy ending in a fairy tale or novel, but it’s so bizarre that I wanted to keep a bit of distance for a moment, so I went ahead with Freyja and Sasha Dave Vladimir.

“Let’s go together~.”

Then the children who were exclaiming in admiration while munching on bananas hurriedly followed, and I scolded them as kindly as possible later, saying that they shouldn’t touch things in the greenhouse carelessly. They weren’t completely stupid, so if I just said something, they would be careful.

Afterwards, Ronowe and Berith, who behaved really well, never threw Puppy at trees again, and instead, after hearing my words, they politely apologized saying they realized they had done wrong earlier, so I quickly forgave them all, fearing a flood of tears might ensue.

“Young lady, young master. It’s time to return. I’ve come to escort you. Let’s quickly return to the Vladimir house.”

Had one or two hours passed since then? As we came out of the exit, taking breaks in between exploring the greenhouse, a different exterior from the entrance caught my eye. A building resembling the temple I saw in paradise in ancient times was strangely harmonizing with the arch-shaped main greenhouse.

“Did all three of you have an enjoyable time? Marquis Fleur is waiting at the main gate.”

Just then, maids from the Fleur and Vladimir families came to pick up the children, and as if announcing that the moment of farewell had come, the sky had already shed its blue leather and was turning orange, with evening approaching.

“Really? Did Mom come to pick us up?”

“Yes, young miss.”

Meanwhile, Ronowe Marsha Fleur, who ran to the maid with a broad smile at the news that Marquis Fleur had come to pick them up, beamed brightly with her red eyes sparkling, showing great delight as if eating ice cream.