Yujin slipped his arms back into the coat he had removed earlier. The butler held out the well-packaged coffee beans. Yujin reached for them but hesitated, staring at the ribbon. Something felt off.

“What pairs well with coffee?”

“Usually, black sugar cookies are served alongside it.”

“Not something sweet.”

She had mentioned that she didn’t like sweets.

Even Sabina, who could become irritable like a malfunctioning alarm clock at any moment, would calm down with an éclair from the Simer confectionery. Yujin had bought them out of habit, but he hadn’t expected her to ignore them completely.

After a moment’s thought, the butler offered a thoughtful suggestion in response to Yujin’s remark.

“How about a bagel with cream cheese? It’s lunchtime, so it could also serve as a meal.”

“Not a bad idea.”

The butler, having bowed his head, was about to open the side window to call the coachman when Yujin stopped him.

“Is the bakery far?”

“It’s nearby.”

“Then let’s leave the carriage and walk together.”

“Pardon, sir? Yes, certainly.”

The butler appeared a bit surprised but obediently opened the door first. Now that he thought about it, this outing felt special from the start.

Yujin had been very busy. So much so that sitting in his office handling paperwork consumed his entire day.

However, for the sake of his health, he needed to move his body, even just a little, so he had incorporated exercise into his ‘schedule.’ He exercised and rested at set times, as if it were part of his work.

Because of this, he rarely took spontaneous walks like this.

‘I used to think walking was a waste of time.’

As he made his way to the bakery, located a short distance from the flower shop, his steps felt lighter than usual for some reason.

Unlike his usual self, who would walk straight ahead, Yujin glanced at the bustling street. The butler looked at him with a pleased smile.

“Why are you smiling?”

“I thought you seemed a bit happy, sir.”

“Happy? There wasn’t anything to be happy about…”

Mumbling, he touched his lips and unexpectedly realized they were curved into a smile.

‘Is this what they call happiness?’

As he pondered his feelings on the way back with the bagel and coffee beans, he noticed an unfamiliar carriage parked in front of the flower shop.

“Isn’t that the Morphe Duke’s carriage?”

“It is.”

He was curious about who from the Morphe family had arrived, but before he could think further, people emerged from the flower shop. It was Titiana and Lady Morphe.

Rosemary linked arms with Titiana and urged her into the carriage.

“Come on, get in quickly.”

Titiana looked a bit flustered, but she didn’t seem displeased.

“It seems the lady had a prior engagement with Lady Morphe.”

“…I see.”

Yujin’s expression darkened.

‘What should I do now?’

The gift he had carefully chosen vanished right before his eyes.

As Yujin looked down at the suddenly heavy package, a young man with tousled hair, as if he had just woken up, rushed out of the shop.

“Titi? Titi!”

The young man desperately calling for Titiana was none other than Yuri.

Recognizing his face, the butler’s eyes widened.

“Oh? Isn’t that…”

“Let’s go.”

Not wanting to explain about Yuri, Yujin turned abruptly and walked briskly toward the carriage.

It seemed Yuri intended to search the entire neighborhood for Titiana, as his voice calling her grew fainter.

‘Titi.’

Her nickname—a cute and lovely name that suited Titiana perfectly.

Murmuring her nickname to himself, Yujin unknowingly stopped in his tracks.

“Sir?”

The butler, standing behind him, called out as Yujin remained lost in thought. He finally lifted his head, as if he was waking from a dream.

“Are you just going to leave?”

“That’s…”

His gaze returned to the package he was holding. Staring at the red ribbon, Yujin asked the butler, “What should I do when I’m unsure whether to act or not?”

“There’s an old saying: when in doubt about speaking, don’t speak; when in doubt about buying, don’t buy…”

The quick-witted butler, realizing Yujin’s dilemma, gave him a firm push.

“But when in doubt about doing something, you should definitely go for it.”

“…I’ll take a look around the area, so wait here for a moment.”

Yujin walked toward the flower shop, telling a small lie. The butler smiled contentedly.

***

Shopping for clothes with Rosemary was over in a flash. However, just because it was brief didn’t mean it lacked intensity.

‘Wow, I’m exhausted.’

Feeling like a soggy piece of seaweed, I trudged back to the shop and collapsed weakly at the counter.

‘She was a scary lady.’

The place Rosemary took me to was a dress shop she frequented. With the tea party scheduled for next week, there wasn’t time to have a new outfit tailored, so we had to choose from ready-made options, which was no easy task.

When I suggested picking something simple and safe, Rosemary confidently replied, “Isn’t it obvious that to show we’re best friends, we should wear matching outfits?”

“Where would you find a ready-made dress that feels like a princess’s gown?”

“You don’t know much, Titiana. Most problems in this world can be solved with money. If they can’t, consider whether you had enough money to begin with.”

Honestly, she sounded so cool when she said that. I thought I’d like to express something like that someday too.

But thinking about the chaos that followed…

“I’ll pay whatever it takes, so fix it quickly! Add more lace here and change the buttons!”

It turned out my waist was slimmer than the dress, so they had to take it apart and sew it back together.

As a result, I could only get the finished outfit three days later.

Given Rosemary’s keen eye and her direct guidance on the alterations, it seemed like it would turn out incredibly pretty.

‘Ah, whatever, I’m hungry.’

Skipping lunch to choose clothes left me too hungry to think clearly.

‘I need to eat something. I wonder if Yuri had a good lunch?’

Just as I sluggishly stood up from the counter like a caterpillar, I noticed something.

“Oh, what’s this?”

There was a package at the end of the counter that I hadn’t seen before. Judging by its placement, it seemed to be a gift for me. Out of curiosity, I picked it up and inspected it. There was no note.

Carefully untying the large ribbon and peeking inside, I found it filled with round beans.

‘Coffee beans?’

The rich aroma suggested they were of high quality.

‘Did Yuri leave this here? What’s this next to it?’

As I fiddled with the paper bag placed beside it, I discovered something very welcome: a bagel generously spread with cream cheese.

“Bagel!”

I was starving, so seeing food was a delightful surprise.

“Looks delicious!”

Drip coffee and a bagel—what a perfect combination.

‘Yuri must have left this in place of lunch since I wasn’t around. I feel bad for him.’

It was incredibly thoughtful and kind of him to take care of lunch like this.

On the verge of collapsing from hunger, I wanted to fill my stomach with warm coffee quickly.

“But the coffee grinder is with Yuri.”

There was no sign of anyone upstairs. Should I go up and borrow the grinder even though Yuri wasn’t there?

After a brief hesitation, I bit my lip and decided to go upstairs. How many people could resist such a perfect combination right in front of them?

In the end, I couldn’t wait for Yuri to come back, so I entered his room to grind the beans. I quickly came back downstairs and poured hot water, filling the shop with a savory aroma.

‘Ah, I really can’t wait any longer.’

I took a big bite of the bagel. The savory, salty, and slightly rich flavors blended harmoniously. Then, sipping the hot coffee while gently blowing on it refreshed my palate.

‘Ah, this is the taste.’

Cold beer after sweating was nice, but bread with coffee when you were hungry was truly satisfying.

I was halfway through the bagel when the door swung open, and Yuri entered, sweating profusely.

“Titi!”

“Yuri.”

Seeing me casually waving, Yuri’s face twisted in frustration, and he let out a big sigh.

“Do you know how long I’ve been looking for you?”

Ah, so Yuri was sweating because of me.

Leaving without properly explaining must have startled him while he was preparing lunch. I realized it wasn’t the time to leisurely brew coffee. I bowed my head.

“Sorry. I wanted to explain, but I got dragged away so quickly…”

At my apology, Yuri mumbled and then pretended to cry when he saw the half-eaten bagel in my hand.

“Really, I’m upset. I made such delicious tomato pasta today, and you’re just eating a piece of bread!”

There was no point in trying to hide the bagel now, was there?