Chapter 7: That Thing

“Your Highness, I swear by the Great Sun and God of Justice that this fruit is one of the finest red fruits I’ve harvested in twenty years!”

Simp’s sun-darkened, reddened face was solemn as he spoke.

This also taught Xia Mingyu the fruit’s name: Red Fruit. It was apt—it resembled a red apple from Blue Star, only smaller and rounder.

“Thank you for the hospitality.”

Xia Mingyu took the Red Fruit from the man’s palm and bit into it.

Instantly, sweet juice burst in his mouth, cool and perfectly sweet—neither cloying nor lacking its natural freshness.

The flesh was crisp and tender, neither mushy nor hard, its ideal firmness making him want to keep chewing.

“This is the best fruit I’ve ever eaten!” Xia Mingyu exclaimed sincerely.

At this, Simp’s face flushed crimson, as if painted with red dye, his veins threatening to burst.

“For a noble prince to praise my fruit like this—this is the happiest day of my life, even happier than the day Boi married me!”

The middle-aged villager danced with childlike excitement.

“By the gods, Your Highness, I will bring you another basket of the finest Red Fruit!”

After bidding Simp farewell, Xia Mingyu and Anliya continued walking side by side through the dense orchard.

The afternoon sun filtered gently through the thick branches, dappling their bodies with light.

One, a handsome, refined black-haired youth; the other, a beautiful maiden of youth, golden-haired and blue-eyed—under the sunlight, they looked truly like a pair of celestial lovers.

“Little Anliya and this prince look so well matched—if only she could marry this noble prince!”

On a nearby tree, a middle-aged couple picking fruit watched from afar, and the wife sighed.

The scene reminded her of the fairy tales her mother told her as a child: a fallen prince meets a kind village girl, and they marry under the gods’ blessing to live happily ever after.

“By the gods, you’re an old woman—stop daydreaming!” the husband rolled his eyes.

“That prince’s status is so high even Lord Hughes must kiss his shoe tips. Little Anliya is a serf, just like us—she can’t even dream of being his wife, let alone a concubine.”

“I say, it’s already divine favor if Little Anliya becomes that prince’s maid!” the husband declared firmly.

Old woman.

The wife fell silent, her gaze turning fierce, as if hiding a lion.

Moments later.

“No, no, stop pinching—I’ll fall!” The husband’s cries echoed far through the orchard, startling countless birds.

Dusk.

The setting sun poured like molten gold, staining the horizon orange-red, blending with the distant pale-green orchard into a dreamlike scene.

“What a beautiful village! I hope this beauty lasts forever,” Xia Mingyu marveled.

After touring the surrounding orchards, he and Anliya returned to the wooden cottage.

At this, the girl who had smiled all day suddenly froze, her blue eyes flickering with clear worry.

Perhaps it was time to speak of “that thing.”

The girl made her decision silently.

“Your Highness, this beauty won’t last much longer.”

Anliya spoke softly, her heart tense, yet striving to keep her voice clear and sweet.

“Is it because autumn has come? It doesn’t matter—yellowing leaves are beautiful too,” Xia Mingyu smiled faintly.

“No, it’s not because of that.”

Anliya shook her head, a trace of bitterness appearing on her pale face.

“In a few days, Lord Hughes will send men to collect the agricultural tax, but the village still lacks enough coins to pay.”

At this, Xia Mingyu’s smile faded.

“Is the tax too heavy?” he asked gravely.

“No, Lord Hughes’s agricultural tax for Fruit Basket Village is already quite generous within the Kingdom of Sosia—we’ve always paid it before. He is a kind lord,” Anliya said gently.

“But this year, an accident occurred.”

“A while ago, a Klayi merchant came to our village, praising the Red Fruit as unparalleled in flavor, claiming he could sell them for great profit to free citizens in the capital.”

“He promised to buy the harvest at a high price, on the condition that the village refuse all other merchants until he arrived.”

“His eloquence was convincing—many villagers were swayed. Though my foster father had doubts, he later paid a generous deposit, and with most villagers agreeing, my foster father had no choice but to consent.”

“As he promised, we refused all other buyers. But when he finally arrived—two days before harvest—he didn’t honor his price. Instead, he offered a rate far below market value, nearly a loss.”

As she spoke, the girl’s lips tightened, her brows knotted, her blue eyes glowing faintly with fire, like a small deer enraged.

Xia Mingyu had never seen Anliya this angry. He’d thought such a beautiful girl would never lose her temper.

“The villagers drove the Klayi merchant away in fury—but it was too late to find another buyer. The Red Fruit had fully ripened; each day, overripe fruits fell to the ground and rotted into worthless trash.”

“In a few days, Lord Hughes’s tax collectors will arrive. If we can’t pay enough, some villagers will be taken as slaves to the Slave Capital, doomed to endless humiliation and death from exhaustion.”

The girl’s expression grew sorrowful, her once-bright blue eyes dimming, deep and distant.

“So I thought—if someone of sufficient noble status could persuade the tax collectors to wait a little longer, so we might gather the funds…”

Those pleading eyes slowly turned, fixing on the black-haired youth before her, and the long string of white text above his head.

Feeling the heat of her hopeful gaze, Xia Mingyu fell silent.

He didn’t know what to do.

If he could, he would gladly help this beautiful girl who taught him language, and the kind villagers—it would only take a word of request.

But all of this depended on whether he had the power to help.

(End of Chapter)