Chapter 23

The royal family has two sons and one daughter.

The first prince, Marks Heim Raming, is fourteen years old.

The second prince, Moshe Adi Raming, is twelve years old.

The first princess, Edna Bracha Raming, is ten years old.

The princess, being the youngest daughter, is particularly beloved by both the king and queen. Her light brown hair exudes a gentle aura, and her eyes, like those of her siblings, are a matching teal color. Unlike her brothers, who have elongated eyes, the princess has slightly droopy eyes, which make her look adorable.

The princess was loved by everyone in the palace. Despite this, she did not grow up spoiled, thanks to her own character and the careful attention of those around her.

"You will eventually leave this palace and marry into the nobility of this country or another. Once you do, there will be many things that do not go as you wish. It is important to learn patience."

The queen, her mother, often repeated this lesson. Her brothers also doted on her but never allowed unreasonable whims or excessive pampering. Growing up in such an environment, Princess Edna became modest and wise, but recently she has been making requests to her maids for something specific.

It is a cake decorated with a generous amount of mulberries, which is served as the princess's special treat. The two princes are busy with their studies and sword training, so they eat snacks only when they have free time. Therefore, the princes' snacks are usually fresh pastries if they request them.

The princess became enchanted with the taste of the rare mulberries and, unusually for her, made a request about food.

"I want to eat a lot of fresh mulberries."

"Please wait a moment. I will check if we have any in the kitchen."

The head chef, who was asked by the maid if they had any mulberries, panicked. The mulberries they had received two days ago were used up yesterday, and none were delivered this morning.

"Find out which farm supplies them as quickly as possible! No, wait. I'll go myself. If possible, I'll pick them from the tree and bring them back."

Head Chef Seneschal greatly admires the adorable princess. He wants to be involved in anything related to her food. He told the maid, "I'm going to the farm now," and then rode off on his horse.

Seneschal first went to the fruit shop to find out the location of the farm that supplies the mulberries.

"This is quite far from the capital. Please wait, Your Highness. I'll bring back some delicious mulberries!"

At the 'Serio Farm,' everyone was surprised by the large horse that galloped into the entrance and the loud voice shouting, "Is the person in charge here?"

"Yes, I am the person in charge of this farm, Serio."

"Do you have any mulberries?"

"Um, I'm not sure. My daughter manages the mulberry trees. Alesia! Alesia! Ah, there you are. Do we have any mulberries left?"

Alesia smiled and replied.

"Yes, we have quite a lot. We will harvest more tomorrow morning."

"Thank you! Can I harvest them myself? My employer's daughter loves these mulberries."

Glancing at her father, Alesia saw him nod with a 'there's no other way' expression.

"Sure, that's fine."

Thus, Head Chef Seneschal found himself in a section of Serio Farm that even the neighbors had never seen.

"Wow, this is amazing. The vegetables, nectarines, and ponkas are all top-grade quality. There are even hawthorns. The soil is so good—black, moist, and full of earthworms. How can such soil exist in a place adjacent to such barren land?"

He couldn't help but say this out loud as Alesia guided him. The crops in the field were all of superlative quality, but Alesia just smiled and didn't answer.

"From here to there, it's all mulberry trees. If you want to use our baskets, you can take as many as you like. The price is two small silver coins per basket."

"Two? Ah, never mind."

"I'm sure the palace pays four small silver coins per basket. Well, it's understandable since they go through a fruit shop."

Muttering to himself, Seneschal approached the mulberry trees and was surprised again. He had thought they only selected top-grade mulberries to supply to the fruit shop, but almost all the mulberries on the trees were top-grade.

(Can that girl really be growing these? They are all of such excellent quality.)

Seneschal picked the mulberries and placed them in the basket. Since ripe mulberries are easily crushed, he was careful but also in a hurry. Soon, the basket was full, and he paid Alesia, who was waiting nearby, from his pocket.

"Thank you. Here, these are some nectarines. Please take them if you like."

"Ah, these look delicious. Thank you. I'm in a hurry, so I'll go now!"

The head chef gently placed the nectarines in his backpack and wrapped the basket of mulberries in cloth before holding it in one hand and riding off on his horse.

Princess Edna picked up the fresh mulberries with her delicate fingers and put them in her mouth.

"Ah, they're delicious. Even more delicious than usual. I could eat these for the rest of my life."

"Don't say such silly things, Edna."

"Yeah, if you keep eating them, you might end up hating them."

Princess Edna glanced at her two brothers, who were reading books while drinking tea, and frowned.

"Prince Marks, Prince Moshe. If you say such things, I won't let you have any. I'll eat all of them, including your shares!"

"You must really like them."

The second prince, Moshe, who looks a lot like his brother, tried a mulberry and exclaimed, "Wow," which made the first prince, Marks, say, "Let me try," and also eat a mulberry. He was also surprised and quickly ate the cut nectarines on the nearby plate.

"This..."

It was the taste of the nectarines from that mysterious farm. No matter how many times he had eaten nectarines since then, he had always been disappointed, thinking, "Those were much better."