Rewinding time a little.

If one had to name a beauty representing the capital, anyone would have chosen this woman.

With her fluffy, golden hair and clear green eyes that sparkled like glass beads, she was the fifth daughter of the Emperor.

She was Princess Sabina.

“You look truly beautiful today, Princess.”

“How is your hair so vividly golden, as if it were melted gold? Do you use a special oil?”

Wherever she went, regardless of who hosted the event, she always garnered the most attention.

However, recently, that position had begun to waver. A rival to Princess Sabina had emerged.

“Hello, Princess.”

“…Lady Morphe.”

Lady Rosemary Morphe, the daughter of the Duke of Morphe, had just returned from abroad.

Princess Sabina’s gaze fell on the bouquet she was holding—blue roses that were said to be nearly impossible to find in the capital.

“As expected of you, my lady. I hear these are quite rare these days.”

“They suit your elegance perfectly, my lady.”

Compliments poured in from all around.

Sabina forced herself to keep her forehead from wrinkling.

‘I won’t let her win.’

Today should have been her moment to shine with the blue roses, not Rosemary’s. Sabina’s anger shifted toward the innocent Titiana.

It was then that words unpleasant to her ears reached her.

“But is the Grand Mage’s whereabouts still unknown?”

‘The flower shop is annoying enough, and now they’re bringing up Yuri again?’

It was undoubtedly a topic aimed at targeting her. Yuri, praised as a genius who appeared once in a millennium, had fled the Magic Tower right after Sabina had asked him to perform magic at a royal banquet.

‘I almost became a laughingstock because of that.’

Thinking about the humiliation she had endured made her grit her teeth.

Sabina turned away, her face devoid of a smile.

“I’m suddenly not feeling well… I’ll have to excuse myself today.”

“Oh, Princess, if you’re unwell, there’s no helping it. Let me give you this instead of a get-well gift.”

With a bright smile, Rosemary rubbed salt in Sabina’s wounds one last time, offering the bouquet of blue roses.

“Take care on your way back.”

***

“Ahhhhh!”

As soon as she returned to the palace, Sabina couldn’t contain her rage and screamed.

“Rosemary, that wretched girl! Where did she come from with those flowers? A bouquet! What’s so special about a bouquet?”

Blue petals scattered wildly. After making a mess of the room, the head maid ordered the palace staff to clean it up. Still fuming, Sabina yelled at the head maid.

“Why on earth is Yuri at such a lousy flower shop? What’s Count Esrenche doing without bringing him back?!”

“I’m sorry.”

The head maid, who was already accustomed to Sabina’s tantrums, responded in a calm tone. Sabina, ruffled her hair and shouted again, “What about the flower shop owner? What were the results of the tax investigation? Bring them to me immediately!”

The head maid gathered the few documents from the tray and replied, “Well, Princess, I was going to mention that we found something unusual during the investigation.”

“What is it?”

“We confirmed that the owner of the building where the flower shop operates is Yuri Esrenche.”

“…What?”

Sabina’s face twisted as she took the documents. The tax investigation had been conducted to imprison her, but the flower shop’s tax history was clean.

It made sense; the shop hadn’t been open long enough to have paid taxes yet.

The only potential issue lay with the ownership of the building.

‘So it’s Yuri’s building? Does that mean Yuri gave the shop to that woman?’

Sabina recalled the annoying woman from her vague memories. She was a young, bold woman, around Yuri’s age.

‘They can’t possibly be lovers, right?’

The unsettling thought made her grit her teeth. As Sabina flipped through the papers, she shook her head.

‘No way. Yuri, who views people and animals as equals, wouldn’t have a lover.’

He was a man who wasn’t swayed by anyone’s charms—not even by Sabina, who was considered the most beautiful in the empire.

‘There’s no way Yuri would let someone get close to him.’

Yet, like ink spreading on white paper, a dark feeling crept into her heart once more.

Trying to remain calm, Sabina asked the head maid in a cold voice, “Who is that woman?”

“Her details are right here.”

The investigation had already revealed her identity.

Titiana Este. A lady from a fallen baron family, almost like a commoner, hailing from an unheard-of territory.

Sabina frowned at the absurd details. Then, a comment she couldn’t ignore echoed in her ears.

“They say Yuri wasn’t just there when you visited the flower shop, Princess. Apparently, they live together.”

“What?”

Sabina read through Titiana’s details again. There was nothing remarkable about her; in fact, she seemed strikingly ordinary.

‘Is he really living with such a trivial woman?’

Even as she thought it was impossible, anxiety crept in.

While Sabina was restless, a welcome guest arrived to see her.

“Princess, Count Esrenche is here.”

Sabina’s eyes welled up with tears even before she opened the door. She flung it open and called out in a sorrowful voice, “Yujin!”

“…Princess?”

The man standing at the door was surprised at her dramatic entrance.

With pink hair and blue eyes just like Yuri’s, he was an elite official of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the young head of the nation’s wealthiest family—Yuri’s twin brother, Count Yujin Esrenche.

He furrowed his straight eyebrows and asked, “Why are you crying, Princess?”

“Oh, I just had a rough day.”

Yujin, looking at Sabina with concern, offered her the bouquet he was holding. “Here, it’s a gift. I hope these flowers lift your spirits, Princess.”

“Wow, what kind of flowers are these? The blooms are enormous.”

The bouquet consisted of expensive flowers, each bloom likely worth a fortune. As Sabina inhaled the sweet fragrance, her face momentarily softened, only to crumple again.

“But now’s not the time to be happy about a bouquet. Seeing these flowers just brings back bad memories.”

“Bad memories?”

Yujin looked puzzled. Sabina handed the bouquet to a nearby maid and plopped down on the sofa. With a gloomy expression, she began to speak.

“You know, Yujin, I’ve been desperately searching for Yuri, right?”

Sitting across from Princess Sabina, Yujin replied in a calm tone, “Of course, I’m aware.”

‘What do you mean, aware? Then you should have helped me find him properly.’

Sabina shot Yujin a glance before continuing with a sullen look. “Recently, I went out into the capital for a change of scenery and ran into Yuri. Do you know how shocked I was? Guess what happened? Yuri opened a flower shop with some young woman.”

“…Yuri opened a flower shop? With a young woman?”

Yujin’s face twisted in disbelief. It seemed he genuinely didn’t know about this. Even though she had learned the news before Yujin, Sabina felt no satisfaction.

Pretending to be worried, she sniffled and continued, “The owner of that flower shop is a very spiteful woman. I don’t know how they got involved, but I’m worried she might have a bad influence on Yuri.”

Perhaps it was just the unexpected news that surprised him. Initially looking flustered, Yujin soon returned to his indifferent expression. This wasn’t the reaction Sabina had hoped for.

“Yuri is an adult; he can take care of himself, can’t he?”

“But she’s really something else! I went to buy flowers yesterday, and she turned me away at the door.”

“Turned you away?”

Yujin’s eyebrows shot up. Sabina added, trying to sound even more pitiful, “Yeah. She didn’t even acknowledge my greeting. It was so embarrassing, and on top of that, Yuri took her side.”

Her words were distorted to serve her narrative, but to an outsider, they came across as shockingly rude. Yujin replied in a cold voice, “Did she really dare to disrespect a princess? Clearly lacking basic manners, she needs to be taught a lesson.”

Sabina smiled inwardly with satisfaction. ‘I knew Yujin’s noble pride would get him riled up.’

Yujin immediately stood up. “I’ll go see for myself. I’ll find out what her relationship with Yuri is.”

“That’s not enough.”

Still feigning innocence, Sabina’s eyes sparkled as she casually uttered something cruel. “Make sure that shop closes for good. That woman is truly nasty. I want her far away from Yuri so she can’t hang around him.”

Deep blue eyes stared at Sabina. After a moment of silence, Yujin nodded. “…Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.”

Finally feeling pleased, Sabina smiled brightly and replied, “Great! Thanks, Yujin!”

—

T/N: I opted to translate “Yujin” instead of “Eugene” since they are twins. It would be awkward to name the other one “Yuri” while the other twin is “Eugene”, right? 🙈