After watching such a splendid fireworks display, we headed home. Originally, we had planned to stay out for dinner, but perhaps the unexpected fireworks had surprised us so much that we ended up feeling exhausted early.

“Titi, are you okay? I’ll quickly make dinner for you, so why don’t you wait on the first floor for a bit?”

“No, if I do that, I’ll probably end up sleeping on the first floor. I need to go to my room.”

I wasn’t just saying it; I felt like a piece of seaweed soaked in water. I didn’t care about food or anything else; I just wanted to lie down and sleep.

‘I should at least take off my dress properly before sleeping.’

It was a new dress, and I couldn’t just sleep in it and risk wrinkling it.

As I walked beside me, Yuri asked in a worried tone, “Are you really okay? I can wash your face and feed you, so just leave it to me. You just need to close your eyes and open your mouth.”

“What is that?”

It actually sounded appealing.

Normally, I would have scolded him for talking nonsense, but maybe because I was so tired, it seemed quite plausible. I almost nodded without realizing it.

“Huh? Wait a minute. Over there…”

There was someone crouched in front of a shop. At first, I thought it was a beggar, but then I recognized the familiar face.

“Charlotte?”

“T-Titiana…”

Her eyes were so swollen from crying that it was hard to recognize her. As soon as Charlotte heard my voice, tears began to stream down her face again.

“I-I’m sorry… I…”

I wrapped my arms around her shoulders as she cried.

It seemed my day wasn’t over yet.

***

Since it wasn’t the right time for a leisurely dinner, I simply had a slice of bread with coffee for my evening meal.

I gave Charlotte tea with plenty of honey. Fortunately, it seemed to help, as she gradually calmed down. Her trembling body also became still.

I sent Yuri upstairs and sat alone with Charlotte in my room.

“Have you calmed down now?”

“Yes.”

Charlotte nodded, but despite saying she had calmed down, she buried her head and cried out again.

“I’m really sorry! I’ve only caused trouble for you, Titiana…”

“It’s okay, it’s okay.”

I patted Charlotte’s back.

According to what Charlotte had told me…

‘Someone had tempted her with money to reveal how to make rainbow roses, and her family had turned on her for it.’

Judging by her resistance, Charlotte had bruised lips and marks on her face. If her visible injuries were this severe, who knew what scars lay hidden?

I prepared ointment and bandages for her and asked cautiously, “You got hit because you refused to answer, right?”

“…Yes.”

Even though it was a terrible situation and not her fault, many people tend to hide family matters. I was relieved that Charlotte answered honestly, as I had been worried she might not.

Seeing her honest response reassured me that she might not resist my involvement in her affairs.

“Thank you. It’s good that you told me. It’s better to speak up than to get hurt more.”

“B-But.”

Charlotte flinched. I understood what she wanted to say. Regardless of the situation, revealing the method for making rainbow roses would naturally cause trouble for me, and bearing that guilt would be difficult for her.

‘What a despicable person.’

I felt anger at the absurd situation where the real culprit felt no guilt while the person being used was the one suffering emotionally.

‘I went through similar things.’

People would come to me demanding repayment for the money my father borrowed or to fix things he had broken while drunk. Even though it wasn’t my doing, I felt guilty as if it was.

“Charlotte, I grew up in a similar environment. Even on the day my mother passed away, my father and brother were pressuring me for money.”

So escaping that wretched place was my priority. I met Charlotte’s gaze and asked, “Do you plan to take responsibility for them your entire life?”

“I-I don’t know. But I…”

Charlotte trembled like a leaf. I didn’t expect her to make a firm decision after just a few words.

But I had to keep talking. Only then could she find the courage to break free someday.

“You need to cut ties with them. Even if being alone is lonely and scary, they aren’t the kind of people who will help you. It’s better to be with strangers.”

“I-I know that too… But if I run away, my father and brother will chase me, saying they’ll kill me. They’ve done it before.”

“What?”

I turned pale at Charlotte’s hesitant response.

They chased her, threatening to kill her?

“Have you tried to escape before?”

“Uh, after my mother passed away, I tried to run away once. But that day, they dragged me back by my hair…”

“Oh my.”

I had thought that Charlotte had been exploited by her family without any resistance.

But that wasn’t the case. Charlotte had already shown bravery by resisting once.

“Was there no one you could ask for help?”

“If I spoke up, they’d retaliate. They might even try to kill that person…”

“Charlotte.”

Thinking about how much this child had suffered made my heart ache. Even in this situation, Charlotte was worried about my well-being.

“They’ll come here too. I’ll leave tomorrow. I’m sorry. I’m really grateful and sorry.”

Where would she go if she left here? She had nowhere to turn, which was why she had been caught and brought back the first time she tried to escape.

I gently patted Charlotte’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry and try to get some rest. I’ll sleep right outside the door, so call me if anything happens.”

“…Okay.”

After giving Charlotte the bed, I stepped outside. My eyes felt dry and heavy.

‘It really was a long day.’

I had just witnessed a breathtaking fireworks display that seemed like all the stars in the sky were falling, and now I was feeling this low.

I let out a deep sigh. I told Charlotte it was okay, but honestly, I felt lost. Unlike other flower shops, we focused on just one product.

‘Sooner or later, other flower shops would figure it out too. I need to think of another product. Or maybe I should really start selling flowers…’

These were all thoughts I had entertained, but the sense of crisis felt different when it shifted from an abstract idea to an imminent reality.

‘I really need to think seriously about this tomorrow.’

Today, my head was too heavy to contemplate anything else. I crawled into the blanket laid out in front of the door. Through a small window above the stairs, I could see the dark night sky.

The events of the day replayed in my mind.

The wish lanterns adorning the wide river and the gentle wishes.

[May Titi be happy.]

I twisted my lips. It was hard not to scoff at how quickly things went wrong right after making a wish.

“See? You can’t trust it.”

But I was happy.

***

Even if someone knew how to make rainbow roses, the first few attempts would involve trial and error. They couldn’t start producing them and putting them on the market the very next day.

‘I should seriously discuss this with Yuri.’

With that in mind, I began working. There was a constant stream of reserved customers, and we sold roses without a break.

Charlotte, afraid her stepfather would come after her, couldn’t come downstairs, but fortunately, they didn’t show up for three days.

However, on the fourth day, an unexpected visitor arrived. It was the supplier who sold us the dye for coloring flowers.

I couldn’t believe what he said.

“What? You’re not going to sell dye to our flower shop anymore?”

“That’s how it is. So, we have no more business.”

“Wait a minute, you need to give me a proper reason! You can’t just…”

The supplier simply stated his position and left. I was so dumbfounded that I clicked my tongue.

“Seriously.”

If I’d known this would happen, I should have delayed some payments. I had paid promptly to build trust, and now he left without a word since there was no money owed.

I scratched my head and returned to the shop. Yuri, who was sweeping the floor, asked, “What happened, Titi?”

“They’re not going to sell us dye anymore.”

“What? All of a sudden? Did they give a reason?”

“They didn’t say anything. Maybe someone pressured them?”

Coincidentally, wasn’t the method for making rainbow roses stolen just yesterday? It didn’t seem unrelated to me.

I shrugged my shoulders and gave a bitter smile.

“Whoever learned how to make rainbow roses seems to have more connections than I thought.”

They were making rainbow roses themselves while preventing me from doing the same. That would create a new kind of monopoly.

‘Blocking the supply of dye would have been easier than stopping the supply of white roses.’

There are far more horticultural farms than places that produce dye for plant coloring. So they would have chosen to block the supply of dye rather than the supply of white roses.

But it wasn’t like we were out of dye right now; we still had a few weeks’ worth left. I put on a determined expression and said, “Since it’s not certain yet, should we try looking for another supplier?”