“Renting the hall of the imperial palace? I’m not even royalty!”

Moments like these made me realize just how significant a Grand Mage truly was.

Seeing me frozen, unsure of how to respond, Rosemary seemed thoroughly amused.

“Titi, you’re so funny. You’re sharp and capable when it comes to business, but when it comes to your own matters, you’re at a loss. It’s adorable.”

“I hadn’t even considered the imperial palace. I was planning on a simple wedding at the cathedral.”

“The cathedral probably doesn’t have any open slots right now. Since I was the one who suddenly set the deadline for a month, it’s only natural that I should handle the venue.”

At Rosemary’s gesture, a maid handed over a neatly organized sheet of paper.

“I had them prepare the ballroom schedule in advance. Take a look and let me know if there’s a date that works for you.”

Offering me the imperial palace ballroom was an incredibly gracious gesture, especially on such short notice of just a month.

‘I need to allocate dates for arranging flowers and decorations to choose the right date…’

I could figure out all the other schedules, but there was one thing I couldn’t understand. An entire week was marked in red, but there was no event name listed.

‘Was there anything special happening at this time?’

Apart from the national wedding, I couldn’t recall any event that would occupy the ballroom for an entire week.

Pointing to that section with my index finger, I asked Rosemary, “What event is happening this week?”

“Oh, it’s still a secret, but they said there will be some good news around that time.”

“Good news?”

A secret, yet good news.

In my previous life, the only good news around this time was the national wedding of the Crown Prince and his wife.

‘In this life, the Crown Prince fell for Rosemary faster than in my past life, so the wedding date was moved up significantly. Originally, it would have been around the return of the Invincible Fleet…’

Realizing this, I suddenly stood up from my seat.

“Ah!”

Rosemary’s eyes widened in surprise at my sudden movement.

“What’s wrong?”

I needed to assure her that everything was fine, that it was nothing, but I was so shocked that I couldn’t speak.

How could I have forgotten?

‘Tulip bubble!’

The time had finally come to sell them!

I had completely forgotten amid all the events that had happened in such a short time.

After my brief meeting with Rosemary, I hurried back home.

“Yuri!”

Coincidentally, Yuri was watering the tulips with a watering can. In his white shirt and dark green apron, he looked every bit the handsome florist.

He greeted me with a gentle smile.

“You’re back?”

Overwhelmed with excitement, I barely acknowledged his greeting and grabbed his arm.

“The time has finally come!”

“The time? What time?”

“The time to sell the tulips!”

Yuri flinched slightly. In a slightly shaky voice, he asked again, looking a bit flustered.

“Sell? These tulips?”

“Of course! I chose this flower shop with the intention of selling tulips from the start.”

The blue roses and rainbow roses were just side projects. My original goal was to ride the tulip bubble that would skyrocket with the return of the Invincible Fleet.

‘The timing is perfect. Just right.’

The tulips I had diligently collected, planted, and nurtured from the beginning were just starting to bud.

‘I can make even more money!’

As I beamed at the vividly colored tulips, Yuri unexpectedly lowered his head, looking dejected.

“I’ve grown so attached to the tulips…”

“What?”

“This is the first time I’ve grown something with my own hands instead of using magic for everything.”

My gaze naturally shifted to the watering can Yuri was holding.

‘Yuri really has poured a lot of love into these.’

But each of those flowers was worth so much.

During the bubble, they would be priced ridiculously high.

‘What should I do?’

I completely understood Yuri’s feelings, but at the same time, it seemed like such a waste.

As I sighed deeply, Yuri gave a wistful smile and said, “It’s a shame if I’m the only one who gets to see something so beautiful. I’ll think of it as finding them a good home.”

Saying things like that only made my heart ache more!

I was torn between money and Yuri, so I ended up dividing the tulips exactly in half.

“From here to here is yours, Yuri, so do whatever you want. We’re partners, so it’s exactly half.”

“Aren’t married couples supposed to share everything?”

“But this is something we started before we became a couple.”

Honestly, it felt like a waste to split them in half. If I sold all of them and then repurchased when the tulip prices dropped, I could buy ten times more.

But since these flowers were precious to Yuri, I had to consider his feelings too.

I decided to let go of half of them, despite my reluctance.

Yuri’s cheeks flushed at my response.

“So, Titi, what are you going to do? Have you decided where to sell them?”

“I’m going to participate in the flower auction market this week and sell them there.”

Bubbles are usually driven by people’s desires, so prices are set much higher than their rational value.

For peace of mind and convenience in delivery, it would have been easier to sell all the tulips to a single buyer, but to get a high price, an auction was the way to go.

“Once the buying frenzy subsides and the market is flooded, the bubble will burst quickly. It’s a bet to sell everything at once.”

At my plan to handle such a large quantity at once, Yuri’s eyes widened in surprise.

And a little while later…

“Extra! Extra!”

“The Invincible Fleet returned at dawn today!”

Early in the morning, the streets were filled with cheers. The Invincible Fleet, which had been maintaining the front lines for a long time, finally returned.

“The Invincible Fleet has won!”

“Glory to the Empire!”

Families of soldiers who had been apart for so long embraced each other and wiped away tears, and the streets were bustling in preparation to welcome the heroes.

Naturally, the symbol of the Invincible Fleet quickly gained popularity.

Tulips.

“To honor the victory of the Invincible Fleet, fill the main streets with tulips!”

The imperial family was the first to issue the order. All the tulips available in the market were used to decorate the path for the Invincible Fleet’s entry into the capital and their procession to the imperial palace.

As the imperial family began purchasing tulips, ordinary people also wanted to have them.

“Tulips! We need tulips.”

“The master asked me to buy tulips…”

“But where on earth can you find tulips now?”

A few days before the Invincible Fleet’s entry into the capital, the price of tulips began to skyrocket insanely.

***

Early in the morning, I got up to go to the auction house and dressed warmly.

Wrapping a scarf snugly around my neck, I stepped outside to find Yuri waiting with his hat pulled down low.

I clenched my fists with determination.

“Yuri, today is the day. It’s going to be hectic, so brace yourself.”

“Yes, today is finally the day.”

Since I had grown the tulips in pots with the intention of selling them from the start, the process of moving them wasn’t too difficult.

Most importantly, I had the strongest mage in the world by my side now.

“Shall we go, then?”

To avoid causing a scene with a Grand Mage appearing at the auction, we decided to load the pots onto a large carriage.

With just a snap of Yuri’s fingers, the tulips that filled the space disappeared, pots and all.

As we stepped outside, the vanished pots were neatly lined up in the large wagon waiting in front of the shop.

I looked at the person holding the reins of the wagon and widened my eyes.

“Mr. Bradley?”

“Good morning, Master.”

“Please call me Titiana, not Master. But…”

Bradley’s face looked utterly exhausted. His panda-like complexion from before seemed trivial now, as he appeared almost ghostly, yet his eyes sparkled like stars.

As soon as he saw me, he started speaking passionately, his whole body animated.

“I did it! I succeeded again this time.”

“What?”

Not understanding, I frowned and asked again. Instead of a clear explanation, Bradley launched into a monologue about his research.

“It was much harder than changing the color. As one of the few mages at the Magic Tower capable of creating love potions, I thought it might be difficult to enchant flowers with charm magic, but it might be possible to infuse them with a love potion through the stem…”

“Um, hold on a second.”

Sensing that he might never stop if left alone, I interrupted Bradley’s story and summarized it concisely.

“So, just like with the color-changing magic, you’ve succeeded in enchanting the flowers with charm magic?”

Bradley frowned, looking quite displeased, and corrected me.

“To be precise, the magic itself failed, but I succeeded by infusing them with a magical potion instead.”

So, in the end, he succeeded.

Mages really are sensitive about the details of their research.

Anyway, I had learned how to handle Bradley from the previous magic incident. I clapped my hands and praised him.

“Wow, that’s amazing.”

“Ahem, as with last time, the effect lasts for about three days, but that’s more than enough. I can confidently say it was a success because it was me.”