While I desperately tried to figure out what to say, Yuri flashed me a big smile and lightly patted my back.

“Haha! Just kidding!”

What?

“You, you…! I was really worried!”

“Ah, no violence! Violence is for barbarians.”

“You’re the one making me act barbaric!”

Flustered, anger surged within me. I lightly punched Yuri with my fists. He laughed heartily and started to back away.

“Whoa!”

“Eek!”

His long legs got tangled in a broom left lying around, and he fell backward. I ended up landing right on top of him.

“Ouch…”

Yuri hit his head hard against the floor with a loud thud, and I landed on him.

Thump, thump.

Yuri’s strong arms wrapped tightly around my waist. I had always thought he was weaker than me, but now, being held like this, the difference in our sizes was striking.

From Yuri’s chest came a refreshing scent of bergamot, just like his puppy-like demeanor. Snapping out of my daze, I quickly gathered my wits.

“Gasp!”

This was no time to be sitting around. I reached out and cupped Yuri’s face.

“Yuri, are you okay? You’re not unconscious, right? That was a huge sound!”

I worried he might have passed out, but thankfully, Yuri seemed fine. Smiling as usual, he patted my back with his large hand, reassuring me.

“I’m okay, Titiana.”

“No! If you’re calling me Titiana, something’s definitely wrong!”

There was no way our Yuri could be this composed.

As I checked Yuri’s face from different angles, he burst into laughter.

“Can I call you Titi now?”

“Well…”

I shrugged. I had been overly sensitive all along, but now I felt indifferent.

“You’re the only one in this world who calls me that. Let’s call it a business partner’s privilege.”

“Haha, business partners, huh.”

A nickname only a business partner used felt overly familiar. I carefully examined Yuri’s face again to ensure he was really okay.

“Are you really alright? You’re not feeling nauseous or anything?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. But I’d appreciate it if you’d get off me. I’m feeling a bit flustered.”

“More nonsense.”

At my retort, Yuri pouted.

As I stood up and moved aside, Yuri sat up from the floor. I went behind him and ruffled his soft hair as I spoke.

“Let me see if there’s a bump. I’m pretty good at checking these things. That’s how I met…”

The Master.

Even with a hideous scar on his face, the Master had left it untreated. Growing up in a rural area without access to a doctor, I knew which herbs were good for scars, so I spoke up with my usual nosiness.

“Excuse me. Can I help you with that?”

That was our first meeting.

“Titi?”

As I stood there silently, just staring, Yuri called my name in a puzzled tone.

His skin was pale and flawless, and his eyes were as clear as the autumn sky. There wasn’t a single scar on his smooth face.

‘…In this life, I want to help before any scars appear.’

How had he ended up with such a large scar? The Master never spoke much about himself, so I knew nothing about how he got it.

‘If I had known I would return after such a long time, I should have asked him what happened, at least once.’

As I bit my lip, a finger touched my forehead.

“Titi? Are you crying?”

Snapping back to reality, I shook my head.

“No. Hold on. Let me take a look.”

Maybe it was because I was touching his pink hair, but my heart fluttered for no reason.

‘I’m being silly. It’s not even certain that Yuri is the Master…’

I shook my head again, trying to dispel the thoughts of the Master that kept resurfacing.

As I expected, there was a large bump on the back of Yuri’s round head. Feeling downcast, I lowered my gaze.

“Sorry. It’s my fault for bringing it up.”

“No, it’s my fault for making you angry.”

“Hold on, I’ll get something cold for you.”

I remembered hearing that rolling a raw egg over a swollen area could help, so I went to the kitchen and brought back an uncooked egg. As I gently rolled it over the bump on Yuri’s head, he chuckled.

“Why an egg? Is my head a chicken coop now?”

“When you get a bruise, you’re supposed to apply an egg. Didn’t your mother teach you that?”

“If it’s my mother you’re talking about…”

Yuri tilted his head slightly and continued in a light tone, “Well, I don’t really remember. Now that I think about it, it’s been quite a while since my mother passed away.”

“…Are both of them gone?”

“Yes. I have many relatives, but only one family member. That’s Yujin.”

I recalled Yujin Esrenche, who had visited last time. No matter how you looked at it, they didn’t seem like the close-knit brothers they were supposed to be.

Yuri shrugged and agreed.

“So, saying that it’s not a warm family isn’t entirely a lie. You’ve seen Yujin, right? Doesn’t he seem like the kind of person who wouldn’t bleed even if you pricked him with a needle? Now I’m curious. Should we try poking him sometime?”

“You might end up dead if you do. He seemed really strong.”

“Haha.”

It wasn’t a joke; if Yujin and Yuri were to fight, Yujin seemed like the type who wouldn’t hold back.

Even though I saw him as fragile, Yuri responded with a cheerful smile, showing no sign of discomfort.

“Then I’ll just hide behind you, Titi.”

“Oh dear.”

That made me chuckle too.

‘It would be a lie to say that man isn’t scary.’

With the power Count Esrenche held, burying a woman like me, who was living alone in the capital, would be no problem for him. He could even open flower shops all around mine with his wealth.

I nodded.

“Yeah, I’ll be by your side, Yuri.”

At my response, Yuri widened his eyes and looked back at me. Then, tilting his head, he asked, “But aren’t you really scared of Yujin, Titi? You stood up to him so fiercely last time; I was surprised.”

“I’ve been through situations like that plenty of times.”

“What? Don’t tell me the reason you came to the capital with just a bag is…”

He might think I was a poor woman who had been beaten up by debt collectors.

I turned Yuri’s head back to face forward. As I gently rubbed the bump on his head, I replied, “My brother and father are good-for-nothings who only know how to spend money. If I had stayed at home, they would have drained me dry, so I came to the capital alone. I won’t go back.”

“Why do you talk about it so calmly?”

“Because it doesn’t bother me. It’s something that’s over and done with for me.”

Twice was enough to clean up after them. In this life, my father and brother didn’t exist for me.

Yuri remained silent for a moment after my response. Just when I thought it was time to get up, he spoke again.

“Titi, you’re the type to cut off relationships cleanly once your affection runs out. I should be careful not to get cut off too.”

“What kind of bad things are you planning to do?”

“Nothing bad. I don’t want you to hate me.”

Yuri’s words made my heart race for no reason. Flustered, I pressed my hand against my chest reflexively, and Yuri took the raw egg from my hand with a smile.

“First, how about we make a delicious lunch?”

“…I’ll be looking forward to it.”

Yuri walked away, looking as normal as ever. But perhaps because of what he had just said, I felt awkward facing him, so I went downstairs and leaned over the counter.

My heart was still pounding, as if I had just run at full speed.

‘He seems to be getting more charming.’

The mix of formal and informal speech, the way he called me Titi with that voice—it sometimes felt like he was a different person from the Yuri I knew.

I rested my chin on my hand and sighed.

‘Is this a sign that we’re getting closer?’

Maybe Yuri’s speech was changing because he felt comfortable around me?

As I pondered this, trying to calm myself, there was a knock at the shop door, and a lady with her hair neatly tied up peeked in.

“Excuse me?”

I stood up and greeted her with a pleasant smile.

“Oh, we’re out of flowers, but I can take reservations.”

With the release of rainbow roses following the blue ones, our shop had gained a reputation as a place where customers had to line up early in the morning. So, at this hour, the only visitors were usually those inquiring about reservations.

But today’s visitor seemed to have a different purpose. The lady spoke somewhat stiffly, without a smile.

“It’s not that. My lady wishes to meet the person who created the rainbow roses. Can you tell me which artisan made them?”

“What? A lady?”

Following Princess Sabina, now another noblewoman had come all the way to the flower shop.

‘This is troublesome. Should I just say the artisan isn’t here?’

It seemed she didn’t know I was the shop owner and the one who made the rainbow roses.