Yujin was practically pushed out of the shop, holding a small pot that Titiana had skillfully wrapped in his large hands.

Yujin Esrenche operated on two basic principles: profit and money.

But Titiana Este didn’t fit into either category.

“……”

Yujin looked down at the pot in his hand, a slightly confused expression crossing his face.

At that moment, a cheerful voice rang out from behind him.

“Titi told you not to come back, so why don’t you listen this time, okay?”

Turning around, he saw a young man in a loose white shirt holding a shopping bag. His boyish face oddly matched the bag he carried.

Despite having the same face, why did his twin brother look so cheerful? Yujin stared at him for a moment before greeting him in a stiff voice.

“It’s been a while.”

“Could you really say that? You knew exactly where I was but didn’t bother to visit.”

Since it wasn’t a lie, Yujin remained silent. Yuri, who had approached him, smiled and asked, “You left me alone because Sabina was too busy chasing after me to bother you, right?”

The beautiful Princess Sabina.

Yujin humored Sabina at his late father’s request. In return, Sabina adorned herself with jewels and dresses from the Esrenche family, mingling in high society.

It was a public relationship between the two.

Though Sabina seemed unaware that Yujin only viewed her as a business associate.

In contrast, Yuri’s relationship with Sabina was a bit more complicated. Or rather, it was complicated for Sabina alone. Yuri Esrenche was the one thing Sabina couldn’t obtain.

‘It was so tiresome dealing with a woman who thought it strange for someone not to love her.’

Until last year, he had played along for the sake of the family. But everything changed when he realized Sabina was casting spells at her parties and introducing him as her lover.

Yuri no longer wanted to be manipulated by her. So he chose to escape, fully aware that it would provoke Sabina even more.

‘And Yujin just let it escalate to that point.’

The more Yuri irritated Sabina, the more comfortable Yujin became.

What he had told Titiana wasn’t a lie. They weren’t on good terms, but they didn’t fight either. They were simply indifferent to each other, which meant there was no conflict.

That remained true now. If anything, it had worsened. Yuri no longer harbored any feelings toward Yujin.

Although Yuri was smiling, his gaze remained cold. Yujin, facing him, spoke in a calm tone, “…If you know that, then you also understand that you’re putting her in danger, right?”

Yuri’s eyebrows rose at Yujin’s words. Yujin continued, his voice tinged with a sigh.

“I’ve managed it for now, but if Sabina finds out she’s still here, she won’t sit idly by.”

“And if she doesn’t?”

“Who do you think spread the method for making blue roses in the capital?”

“Yujin.”

He had suspected as much. Even though the method to create blue roses was simple, it seemed unlikely that so many people would figure it out so quickly.

‘So Sabina was the one behind it.’

And she had instructed Yujin to kick him out of this building. She was a woman who was repulsive in many ways.

Fury flickered across Yuri’s face, hardening his features.

Despite being only a few minutes older, Yujin always lectured him like an elder, just as he was doing now.

“Stop playing house. Don’t cause trouble for others.”

Who was he to say that? Yuri twisted his lips in disdain.

“It seems like you’re the one causing trouble. The day you arrived, Titi cried.”

Yujin flinched slightly at that remark. Yuri keenly noticed his unusual reaction.

‘Even that is annoying.’

Yuri spoke to Yujin, irritation lacing his voice.

“Do you still see me as a child who can’t handle Sabina? She’s the one who needs to get a grip.”

Would Yuri, who had even cooled his heart toward his brother Yujin, show any mercy to Sabina, who was practically a stranger?

Sabina didn’t understand the significance of his fleeing without considering the family’s position. Yuri warned in a cold voice, “Make it clear to Sabina. If she wants to know what the extraterritoriality of a grand mage means, she should keep pushing.”

Mages were inherently beings beyond common sense—eccentrics that ordinary people could not comprehend.

If they appeared normal to the average person, it was merely an act.

‘If she can’t understand with words, then I’ll have to show her with actions next time.’

As Yuri gave a chilling smile, Yujin, who had been watching him, let out a small sigh.

“She said you’re doing well, working diligently.”

With that single sentence, the tense atmosphere eased. Yuri laughed brightly, like a puppy.

“Really?”

That attitude only heightened Yujin’s wariness. Narrowing his eyes, Yujin asked, “Work, you say? That’s unlike you. What are you up to?”

“Oh, I just have something I’m curious about.”

Yuri had questions he wanted to ask her: the signature that wasn’t in his memory, the lottery that was too perfectly timed, and…

‘The property deed that had become two.’

But he didn’t want to explain any of that to Yujin. So he smiled and retorted, “Does it have anything to do with you?”

Yujin’s face turned pale. With no further interest in Yujin, Yuri turned away without hesitation.

Perhaps because he was a mage who constantly defined and analyzed things, Yuri always summed people up in one sentence.

Even his brother Yujin was summarized like this in Yuri’s mind:

‘A collection of everything I’ve discarded.’

The family Yuri had abandoned, the blood ties that meant nothing to him, the social circles and connections, and the overflowing wealth—all of it was embodied in Yujin.

‘Since I’ve left the family, he’s no longer related to me.’

Leaving Yujin behind, Yuri glanced at Titiana through the window before entering the shop. He chuckled softly.

‘She’s sprinkling salt again.’

She had done the same the last time Yujin came, dumping salt everywhere.

‘Is she surprisingly superstitious?’

Yet she didn’t believe in the mage standing right before her?

Yuri’s blue eyes sank deeply as he found himself thinking yet again.

‘Titiis truly a special person.’

Until now, there had only been one woman Yuri knew in this world: Princess Sabina. He had been forced to be kind to her since childhood, both due to his father’s request and out of concern for Yujin’s discomfort.

‘Sabina is so tiresome.’

“Yuri, can’t you kill this person? They called me ugly last time.”

“They kissed the back of my hand. Disgusting. I want to burn all their hair.”

“Yuri, do this for me. Please? You can do it.”

What irritated him even more was when Sabina tried to use his magical achievements to elevate herself, igniting an intense urge to kill within him. So, he left for a place where Sabina couldn’t follow before he did something rash.

That woman probably didn’t even realize she could have died…

‘Isn’t that already a remarkable feat of patience?’

For Yuri, who had been a mage from a very young age, people in this world fell into two categories: those who knew he was a mage and those who didn’t.

The former tried hard to impress him, while the latter focused on his looks or the aura of the Esrenche family. No one approached him purely for who he was.

But Titiana was different. She was the only person who didn’t fit into either category.

‘Even now, I still feel bewildered when facing Titi. She treats me like an ordinary young man.’

Watching her sprinkle salt with a grumpy expression, Yuri’s laughter faded.

He already knew the face she made when she looked utterly adorable.

“I’ll cast a spell so you won’t have nightmares.”

Her clear face, looking up at him with wide eyes, was etched in his memory.

It was the first time his heart had trembled so gently at the sight of someone. Like a stone thrown into a calm lake, his heart was still in turmoil.

‘…Really a strange woman.’

Just the way she made him feel elevated Titiana to someone of great value in his eyes.

As he approached the flower shop, his mood, which had been dampened by Yujin, brightened once more. Yuri swung open the shop door and greeted loudly, “I’m back, Titi!”

“Whoa!”

Despite being smart and perceptive, Titiana was often oblivious to her surroundings. Watching her hop like a rabbit, Yuri chuckled, shedding his previously cold demeanor.

Titiana glared at him and grumbled, “Make some noise when you come in. Or maybe I should hang a bell on the door.”

“Oh, then I’ll come in singing ‘Titi~ Titi~’ every time.”

“Just try it! I’ll really get mad.”

“Hahaha!”

Seeing Titiana’s serious face made Yuri burst into laughter, surprising himself a bit at his own reaction.