Yujin left the room, seeing Sabina off. As he exited the palace, his expression remained emotionless.

[I’m worried she might have a bad influence on Yuri.]

Replaying Sabina’s words in his mind, Yujin twisted his thin lips.

‘It looks more like jealousy than concern.’

Sabina had a tendency to feel satisfied only when she possessed everything she desired. Fortunately, she had the status and power to fulfill that greed. There was nothing she had been unable to claim so far—except for one thing: Yuri.

‘Not very clever, is she?’

Could such traits be hereditary? Sabina bore a striking resemblance to her mother.

Sabina’s mother had been a beautiful yet spiteful woman. In her youth, she had aspired to the emperor’s side, longing for the lofty position of empress. Even before she officially became a concubine, she plotted to oust the reigning empress. Her scheme was discovered, and she was exiled by the emperor.

Under imperial law, anyone who attempted to harm a member of the royal family faced execution. However, at that time, she was pregnant with Sabina. This circumstance spared her life, and instead of execution, she was exiled after giving birth.

The Esrenche Count’s family volunteered to take in and raise the orphaned Sabina.

[The emperor will surely remember his lover one day and seek out Sabina.]

Back then, the Esrenche Count believed that Sabina would become the emperor’s cherished daughter. He advised his twin sons,

[Yujin, Yuri, be good to Sabina. She will undoubtedly be a valuable ally in the future.]

The former Esrenche Count’s prediction proved to be accurate. Sabina indeed became the emperor’s most beloved daughter. Naturally, the standing of the Esrenche Count’s family rose alongside her. That was why Yujin allowed Sabina to act as she pleased, even pretending to believe her transparent lies.

Yujin recalled the spiteful request she had made while feigning innocence.

[Make sure she’s far enough away that she can’t hang around Yuri.]

“…She could make that kind of request to a servant.”

Yujin’s lips twisted. His irritation was so intense that it made his head throb.

‘How long do I have to keep playing along with this?’

However, thanks to Sabina, who was favored by the emperor, the Esrenche Trading Company supplied most of the goods to the royal palace. It was undeniably a significant prize to relinquish.

‘Hopefully, giving her a little scare will make her back off on her own.’

With that thought, Yujin headed to the flower shop “The Little Prince,” located on Unditch 87th Street. The shop appeared to be closed for the day, but he didn’t mind and opened the door to enter. His mind was filled with the desire to finish this quickly and return home to rest.

Clunk.

At the sound of the door, a small-framed woman who was tidying up turned around. Her silver hair shimmered as she moved, and her lively, refreshing voice rang in his ears.

“The shop’s closed, you know?”

In the shabby, cramped shop, the woman with soil on her face was the only thing that sparkled.

She’s decent enough, Yujin thought.

***

For some reason, today felt like a lucky day—a day off in the week.

‘Did Yuri go out early this morning?’

There had been no sign of life from the third floor since morning. Initially, she thought Yuri was sleeping and quietly began working in the shop alone.

But as time passed, a thought belatedly occurred to her.

‘Maybe he hasn’t overslept; perhaps he went out early.’

Just as I debated whether to check my theory, the door suddenly clattered open.

I instinctively turned around to see a tall man with a solid build standing there.

“The shop’s closed, you know?” I said reflexively, my eyes widening. Upon closer inspection, his pink hair and features reminded me of someone.

‘This guy… he looks like Yuri.’

However, the vibe was completely different. While Yuri felt rough and easygoing, this man seemed rigid and arrogant. Despite the warmer weather, his scarf, vest, and jacket ensemble made him appear even more imposing.

“Is your name Titiana Este?” he asked, his voice a deep baritone that was quite pleasant to hear.

The quality of his voice was entirely different from Yuri’s, yet their faces were similar, creating a sense of dissonance.

‘Plus, his voice sounds oddly familiar, like I’ve heard it somewhere before.’

It was an unwelcome déjà vu. I frowned and responded, “That’s what I’d like to ask you. Who are you, and why are you looking for me?”

Instead of answering, he merely frowned. I tilted my head in confusion.

‘Could this be the Yujin Yuri mentioned? Is he here because he disapproves of Yuri running a flower shop with me? Is he here to tell us to quit?’

That was the only reason I could think of for a family member to visit.

‘No, maybe I’m overthinking it. Perhaps he’s just here to see Yuri?’

Regardless, I needed Yuri to get any answers. But at that moment, I was the only one in the shop.

I calmly explained the situation to the man, who looked down at me with disapproval.

“Are you here to see Yuri? If so, please come back another time. Yuri’s not here today. Besides, the shop isn’t open.”

Then I tugged the sack further inside with a grunt.

At that moment, the man spoke again, “I’m here to see you, not Yuri.”

“Excuse me?”

I looked up, freezing at the sight of his unwelcoming expression. As our eyes met, my heart sank.

In his sky-colored eyes was the emotion I despised most in the world.

Contempt. He was looking down on me.

The man stepped into the shop, casting a shadow due to his towering height. He casually glanced around the store.

“I heard this was a flower shop.”

“Yes, it is a flower shop.”

“Hmm.”

I frowned at his scoff.

“What’s bothering you?”

If he was going to be this openly displeased, he shouldn’t have come in at all. Why enter a shop visible through the glass just to irritate the owner?

As I clasped my hands tightly in frustration, he shot me another cold look and muttered, “In this kind of environment, I doubt you can make the bouquet I want. How do you run a business without any flowers?”

As he pointed out, there were no fresh flowers on the first floor to make bouquets. They were all upstairs, soaking in water tinted with blue dye.

‘Bouquets aren’t even our main focus!’

Our flower shop was thriving in the capital right now!

However, I had no desire to explain every detail about the shop to this man who openly disrespected me and my business. I clenched my fists and lifted my chin defiantly.

“I told you, we’re closed today.”

When I spoke confidently, the man’s eyebrows arched. He dismissed my words as if they weren’t even worth a response.

“Then you should have closed the door properly to avoid confusion.”

“Why is that my fault? Perhaps you should blame yourself for not paying attention and missing the sign by the door.”

“So you’re going to kick out a customer who walked in?”

Judging by his tone, he clearly knew we were closed but chose to enter anyway. I crossed my arms and glared at him.

“Just get to the point already.”

The annoyingly rigid man spoke in an elegant tone, “Well, you really are as arrogant as they say.”

His overbearing attitude was truly irritating. Already feeling offended, I replied indifferently, “Being an arrogant woman means I have little patience. I would appreciate it if you left quickly.”

“Who did you sign the lease with?”

He continued to ignore my words, focusing solely on his own questions.

‘Come to think of it, Yuri did mention when we first met that he was fed up with people tracking him down here…’

Judging by his tone now and Yuri’s reaction back then, it seemed he and Yuri were not on good terms.

‘He’s not even looking for Yuri now.’

So I didn’t need to be polite to him either. I stood with a slight slant and replied,

“I don’t think I have any obligation to tell you who I signed with. Regardless of who the owner is, I’ve handled it well, so why don’t you mind your own business? It’s none of your concern.”

I lifted my chin, daring him to respond.

The man scoffed, but his cold gaze revealed no hint of amusement.

“Ridiculous.”

“Believe it or not, that’s the truth. If you only want to hear what you like, maybe you should talk to yourself in a mirror?”

“You…”

I cut him off with a cold voice.

“And you don’t seem like a customer. So there’s no reason for me to entertain you any longer. Would you kindly leave my shop?”

At my icy remark, he suddenly squinted his eyes—not in displeasure, but as if he found it amusing, which only soured my mood further.