Delilah witnessed this entire scene from beginning to end.
She looked at Sophia's expression of utter indifference, then at Irene's surprise as if she had found a priceless treasure, and her mind raced frantically.
No, this was absolutely not reckless spending.
Neither Her Majesty nor Irene were the type of characters to casually buy useless things and waste money.
Delilah looked at those two bags of items, her eyes inexplicably filled with awe.
It was absolutely as she thought!
Her Majesty had clearly recognized the true value of these two items at a glance, yet she deliberately feigned disdain, even using it as an excuse to let Miss Irene step forward.
This was to avoid alerting the neighboring country!
If Her Majesty had shown she attached too much importance to them, the Kingdom of Leighton would definitely investigate the source of these two crops.
Now, Her Majesty had bought them for twenty copper coins—a price bordering on an insult—and the Leighton people would only think the Mason people were fools.
In reality, Her Majesty had completed the plunder of the neighboring country's core 'strategic reserves' at the minimal cost.
This kind of calm, cross-generational strategic vision... is she really just a sixteen-year-old girl?
Delilah took a deep breath, her internal worship of Sophia reaching a point where nothing more could be added.
However... what exactly were these two things?
Delilah had never seen them before, nor had she seen such strangely shaped things in her past life in the Kingdom of Olan.
"Let us go. Return."
Sophia watched Irene tightly hugging those two bags of mud-covered seeds, and her thought that these two items were very likely chili peppers and potatoes grew even stronger.
The group passed through the bustling market and, amidst the noisy discussions of the residents, quietly returned to the Palace.
That night, the lights of the West Tower shone until dawn.
Irene locked herself in with those two bags of seeds, beginning a frenzy of classification and germination preparation.
Sophia, on the other hand, served by Willow, contentedly drank a bowl of hot milk and burrowed into her warm bedding.
The lights in the West Tower were still on.
For an engineering student, intuition could only serve as a reference; data was the only truth.
Since there were no precise instruments, Irene could only employ the most primitive yet effective means.
She first took out a brown dirt clod and, using a silver knife ground to be extremely fine, carefully cut off a slice as thin as a cicada's wing.
Irene mashed the slice and placed it into a porcelain bowl filled with purified water.
As she stirred, the water quickly turned cloudy, and a milky white precipitate slowly accumulated at the bottom of the bowl.
She dipped her finger into a bit of the dried powder and rubbed it against her fingertip. That fine yet dry texture made her heart race.
"This starch content... although the color is a bit deeper than the potatoes from my past life and the skin is covered in tiny patterns, it is absolutely the same species! And its activity is even stronger!"
Next, she cut open a red, pointed fruit.
A scent that was extremely pungent, almost instantly stinging the nasal mucosa, rushed toward her face.
Irene held back tears and gently licked the edge of the fruit's flesh with the tip of her tongue.
"Hiss—!"
A long-lost pain, like burning fire, rushed straight from her taste buds to the crown of her head.
Although the shape of this chili was more slender and the skin was uneven like snake scales, that signature intensity and clear sweetness could not be mistaken.
Irene trembled all over with excitement.
This was not just food; this was fuel that could save lives in the cold winter, a bomb that could produce miracles in barren land!
Because the quantity of seeds was extremely scarce—there were only a pitiful twenty-some potatoes, and some might not even be usable—Irene was extremely careful.
The chili seeds were also only enough to fill a small medicine bottle, so her every movement was as gentle as if she were touching a newborn baby.
At three in the morning, just as Sophia was dizzily hugging a leather hot water bottle and gnawing on ribs in her dream, she was directly 'dug' out of her bedding by a fanatical-looking Irene.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty, wake up quickly!
"A great victory! An unprecedented great victory!"
Sophia sat at the head of the bed expressionlessly, her hair somewhat messy, her pale golden pupils filled with the resentment of being forcibly powered on.
"Irene, if the West Tower hasn't exploded, you had better be able to give me a reasonable explanation.
"Otherwise, don't even think about drinking tomorrow morning's fresh milk."
Looking at Sophia's face, which was cold as frost and looked as if she were about to send down Divine Punishment at any moment, Irene let out a 'hehe' laugh.
Then, she picked up the dress Willow had prepared for Sophia in advance, served Sophia as she put it on, grabbed Sophia's hand, and led her to the empty secret chamber of the West Tower.
"Your Majesty, look."
Irene pointed to the carefully classified slices on the table, her voice becoming hoarse due to excessive excitement.
"I have confirmed it.
"Those red fruits can provide heat and appetite, and those dirt clods... Your Majesty, those are Divine Miracles.
"As long as we plant them, a single one can yield a dozen, or even dozens of fruits!
"They are not picky about the land. Even in the gravel land of Kree Village, as long as there is fertilizer, they will grow madly!"
Sophia's sleepiness dissipated completely at this moment.
She stared at the cut-open dirt clod, and her originally calm heart skipped a beat.
Holy shit, it really is potatoes?
That 'Famine Terminator' where one mu of land can feed a whole family?
If this thing is successfully grown, not only will I be able to eat french fries, but from now on, no one in the Kingdom of Mason will ever starve to death!
Sophia took a deep breath, her pale golden eyes staring fixedly at Irene:
"How many of these seeds are left after the experiments?"
"Potatoes... uh, I mean, I named this fruit 'potato'.
"There are only eighteen complete potatoes left. And this vegetable I named 'chili', the chili seeds are enough to plant about twenty stalks."
Irene's expression was solemn.
"Your Majesty, these things are too precious. Once they leak out, neighboring countries will come to snatch them even if they have to fight to the death.
"I request Your Majesty to allow me to secretly set up a top-secret 'Trial Field No. 1' on the top floor of the West Tower."
Sophia nodded slightly, her tone recovering that coolness that placed her above all living beings:
"Granted.
"Regarding this matter, apart from you, me, and Delilah who will be responsible for external security—and Willow who will come to deliver things to you—no fifth person is allowed to approach.
"Including those assistant apprentices.
"I will order Victor to seal off the top floor. The reason will be...
"This Queen is secretly developing an 'Alchemy Poison' sufficient to destroy enemy nations. Anyone who approaches without protective measures will die without a doubt."
In the following three days, the top floor of the West Tower became a forbidden zone within the forbidden zone of the entire Palace.
Irene took a few of the most loyal apprentices—who were also completely illiterate—and used the raw iron exchanged from Leighton to forge huge iron planting troughs.
To ensure the temperature, she even extravagantly used high-quality cured leather to wrap the outside of the troughs.
Irene personally went to Kree Village to transport back the most fertile base fertilizer, mixing it with burnt plant ash.
She cut the potatoes into blocks containing eye buds and smeared them with gray powder to prevent rot.
________________________________________
🌸 Help Love Bloom!
Our girls need a little push... and you can help!
💖 Gift for Everyone: Once we hit 50 Powerstones, I'll release +1 bonus chapter to warm your hearts.
🚀 Community Reward: If we reach 10 supporting members, we'll have a +5 chapter marathon across all stories! The romance won't stop.
👻 Come to our secret corner: Search for GirlsLove on (P). You know that's where the magic happens... 😉