He crossed his arms and spoke with interest, “Did you have the same attitude with Princess Sabina?”

“That…”

The sudden mention of Sabina’s name made my shoulders tense. No matter how hard I tried to brace myself, I couldn’t escape the memories of my past.

When I fell silent after snapping back at him, the man tilted his head in puzzlement. Then he asked again, “Princess Sabina must have come here. Do you remember?”

“…I remember.”

At my response, the man offered a faint smile and slowly approached me.

“Good to know. I don’t have a habit of explaining things to clueless people.”

He casually placed a wad of cash on the counter where I stood.

“The princess was very upset about what happened last time. It would be best if you could relocate the shop.”

“…Move the shop?”

I asked, and he nodded.

“Yes. This should be enough money to find a better location. Relocate soon.”

His tone was so naturally commanding that I felt more astonished than angry. I clenched my fists and shot back.

“What right do you have to tell me to move? I’m not planning on relocating.”

He tilted his head, meeting my gaze with a mocking expression.

“Then you shouldn’t have gotten on her bad side. I heard you were quite rude and uncultured.”

“You were the one who was rude first!”

“But she’s a princess, and you’re nothing.”

Does this man have to belittle others with every word he speaks?

In that brief moment, I couldn’t even list all his spiteful remarks. Though I was momentarily taken aback, I firmly stated my position.

“I’ll say it again: no amount of money will make me leave.”

At my response, he fiddled with his ear and frowned.

“That lie is getting old.”

“Why do you think it’s a lie?”

“Because Yuri wouldn’t make deals with others.”

“You seem to know Yuri well, but it doesn’t sound like you’re on good terms.”

“That’s none of your concern. What matters is that you’re not just digging your own grave but also bothering Yuri.”

‘Bothering Yuri? Isn’t he the one being bothersome?’

I frowned at his unwavering tone. Then, stepping closer, he twisted his lips and whispered.

“You’d better agree while I’m being nice. I have a bad temper and want to eliminate anything that doesn’t go my way. Of course, I won’t be this gentlemanly then.”

‘When were you ever gentlemanly? And now you’re threatening to get rid of me?’

I couldn’t let this slide, even out of sheer disbelief.

“Hey.”

“Hey?”

He hadn’t even told me his name, so what was I supposed to call him?

Not that I was curious about his name anyway. I tilted my head and asked casually.

“What if I say no?”

“Not interested?”

He chuckled and placed another wad of cash on the counter.

“Feeling tempted now?”

Oh, he must be accustomed to throwing money around to get his way with people who don’t have much. Did he really think I would just bow down to him for that?

I chuckled back and replied, “I’m curious to see how high you’ll stack it on my counter. Let’s see how generous you really are.”

“…”

Without a word, he added another stack of cash to the pile. I gestured for him to continue.

“You can do better than that, right?”

He glared at me with cold eyes and said, “Greed will choke you eventually.”

“That’s an old saying.”

“Hmm.”

When I didn’t flinch and shot back, he sighed through his nose and pulled out a fourth stack.

‘Wow, he’s really going for it.’

I wondered just how much money that was.

As I casually eyed the quickly growing tower of cash, he cleared his throat and asked, “So, you’ll disappear now, right?”

I smiled silently. Then I swung my arm and knocked the stacks of cash onto the floor.

The money scattered with a loud noise. He looked at me with an expression that asked what I was doing. I crossed my arms again and smirked.

“Pick up the money you dropped on the floor yourself. You can swallow that much pride, can’t you?”

“What the…”

I didn’t want to hear any more of his nonsense, so I cut him off with a shout, “Would you do it if I told you to? You jerk!”

“…?!”

Calling him a jerk was probably the first real insult he had ever heard. The shocked look on his face was priceless.

“Get lost. I have nothing more to say to you.”

I told him firmly and then turned away.

Damn, I should have just said that and kicked him out from the start instead of wasting my time.

***

As expected, the man left without picking up the money.

I was boiling inside, but since the money wasn’t at fault—just the person—I picked it up. Yet, once I had it, it felt unsettling.

‘I should just donate it all.’

I couldn’t return it since I didn’t know who to give it back to, and using it for a good cause would be better for both him and me.

He was such an unpleasant man. I even sprinkled salt at the entrance to keep him from coming back.

‘I really need to lock up the flower shop tightly now.’

Even though I had given him a good dose of humiliation, my anger has not subsided at all. I let out a deep sigh. My head was pounding.

‘That guy did mention Princess Sabina.’

He said she was upset and that I should leave immediately.

‘He also mentioned it was bothering Yuri.’

His tone was rough and intimidating, but he didn’t seem to be lying.

Thinking it over, he wasn’t entirely wrong. When Sabina visited, even knowing she was a princess, I had been quite harsh with her.

‘But even if I could turn back time, I still wouldn’t be able to speak kindly to her.’

Her expectation that flowers were reserved for her…

If I confronted her with common sense, she would probably retaliate like this again.

“Ah, whatever! Whatever!”

My mind was a mess, and I ended up slumping over the counter in defeat.

‘Ah, I’m tired.’

As I lay there, the face of the man I had just argued with came to mind.

‘He had the same hair and eye color as Yuri. They looked quite similar; could they be twins or something?’

Until now, I hadn’t been sure if Yuri was the master, but seeing his build and presence, he seemed more like one.

‘Could that guy actually be the master…?’

I pondered for a moment but then shook my head vigorously.

‘Oh, who cares? Even if he is, he was the one who picked a fight with me first!’

I never knew soft pink hair and blue eyes could feel so cold.

‘Ugh, what is all this…? Why do I have to feel guilty?’

As I tugged at my hair in frustration, a cheerful, light voice broke through my thoughts.

“Why are you like this?”

I was startled and quickly sat up. As soon as I lifted my head, I met the gaze of someone with eyes as blue as a shallow sea.

‘Oh, geez!’

My mouth felt frozen, and I couldn’t speak; I just blinked as a gentle thumb brushed the corner of my eye.

“Titi, are you crying?”

“No, no, I’m not.”

I quickly tilted my head back to avoid his touch and rubbed my eyes with my sleeve.

“I was just dozing off for a bit.”

I had teared up a little, but it wasn’t because of him—it was because of Yuri!

‘Oh, why do I feel so relieved?’

After receiving such a cold gaze, suddenly being looked at with kindness made my heart flutter strangely.

‘This is so troublesome!’

Yuri always seemed to appear when I was feeling weak. Should I call this Yuri’s Law?

As I rubbed my eyes until they turned red, Yuri narrowed his own eyes.

“Hmm.”

He didn’t seem to believe me, and my heart raced as if he could see right through me.

Standing in front of the counter, he handed me a small bag.

“It looks like you’ve been working hard even on your day off. I picked up some dessert on the way; let’s eat together. I’ll go upstairs and make some coffee.”

“No, it’s fine. I don’t eat sweets.”

“Come on, don’t say that. This is really good.”

“Really, I’m okay… Well then, let’s just eat upstairs.”

I didn’t want to sit alone on the first floor, feeling anxious that someone—whether that guy, Sabina, or someone else—might suddenly walk in.

Sitting in the small living area I had set up in front of my room on the second floor, leading to the third, Yuri quickly brought down some coffee. In one hand, he carried a plate with dessert—a sweet ganache pie.

‘Ugh, I really can’t stomach that right now.’

The thought of eating ganache pie turned my stomach.

I took a sip of the coffee Yuri handed me first. The warm liquid sliding down my throat seemed to calm my mind a bit.

Yuri, who had been watching me drink with his chin resting on his hand, gave me a gentle smile.

“Now, tell me, Titi, what’s got you so down?”

His demeanor reminded me of sharing worries with the master in my past life.

—

T/N: I find it so hilarious that she slapped the cash and picked it up right away after Yujin left. *wipes my proud tears*