Yuri’s hands were large, and his knuckles were thick. At that moment, as I blinked, I realized that the person who had always seemed like a younger brother was indeed a man.

Yuri’s eyes curved gently. Yet, facing that sweet smile, I somehow felt that he was discontented.

“Is it because I’m saying it too prettily that it doesn’t hit home?”

“What?”

I opened my eyes wide at the suddenly chilly atmosphere. Yuri tilted his chin up and twisted his lips.

“You’re thinking, ‘There’s no room for a man in my life right now,’ aren’t you?”

“How did you know?”

Can mages read minds too?

I had a rather absurd thought; it felt like an escape from reality.

However, Yuri didn’t let me escape so easily. He confessed directly.

“Just let me be the only man in your life and then close the door.”

“Wait a minute, Yuri. What are you suddenly…?”

Unlike me, who was flustered and trembling, Yuri continued smoothly, as if he had planned this.

“You said you don’t want to get married. But Titi, even if you don’t want to marry, there are times when you need a man in your life.”

“A man?”

There are certainly times when you needed a man, like when you had to drive a nail or dig up some dirt…

I desperately tried to think of something else to stop my face from turning red.

“Just use me.”

Yuri’s thin lips curved into a graceful smile.

“I’ll make sure you’re satisfied with just one person for the rest of your life.”

Well, even if that’s not what Titi wanted, he would just make sure he was the only one left.

Like a hallucination I had heard before, a fierce growl flowed beneath his bright smile.

Did I hear that right? He wanted to be the only man in my life forever.

‘Does he mean that literally?’

His bold strides into my personal life left me speechless.

I stared at Yuri as if enchanted by a fox, unable to answer or run away.

It felt as if we were the only two left on the train station platform, facing each other.

Beep!

The train blared its loud horn. Then, an attendant shouted across the platform.

“The train is about to depart!”

Thirty minutes had already passed, and it was time to board the train. I hurriedly stood up.

“Let’s go quickly.”

“Titi.”

Yuri pulled on my hand. His firmly closed lips were determined, as if he wouldn’t move until I responded.

I knew it was a sincere confession. Pretending not to hear it would be far ruder and crueler than rejecting it.

But because of my memories from a past life, I couldn’t easily nod. In the end, the words I struggled to push out were:

“I’ll think about it seriously.”

Afraid he might misunderstand it as a dismissive delay, I quickly added, “As I said before, I don’t have the emotional space right now…”

“I did ask for your opinion, but honestly, I wasn’t really asking.”

Yuri brushed his hair back and stood up as I hesitated. Towering over me, he looked down and tilted his head as he asked, “Do you dislike me?”

For a moment, my mind went blank. I shook my head vigorously.

“No, of course not. It’s just that I’ve never even thought about romance…”

“Then that’s settled.”

His face broke into a mischievous smile, just like his usual self. He took my bag from me and declared,

“I’ll just stick around until you feel that way.”

“What?”

Yuri, looking pleased, walked briskly and boarded the train. As if it were the most natural thing, he extended his hand to me.

After glancing at his hand for a moment, I sighed and took it.

“You’re so confident! You’re basically saying that our relationship is already set; it just takes time.”

“You’re only realizing that now, Titi? From the moment you walked into that building, your seat was already decided next to mine.”

“I own the rights to the building too, you know? I could just kick you out.”

Yuri smiled and replied, “Did you know, Titi? Married couples share ownership.”

“Married…?”

His cheeky response left me speechless, my lips parted in surprise. Yuri just nodded, as if wondering what was strange.

I glared at him, knowing I could never win a verbal argument with him, and turned my head sharply.

“Anyway, where are our seats on the train?”

“I think they’re in that car over there.”

“Is this the place?”

We walked down the narrow aisle, searching for our seats, when we opened the door to the compartment.

“Yujin!”

A familiar figure sat inside, flipping through some documents, just a step ahead of us. In surprise, I asked loudly, “What are you doing here?”

“I’m on a business trip.”

Yujin replied calmly, without any hint of surprise. I buried my face in my hands, feeling the situation grow more complicated. Yuri, perhaps feeling upset again, wore a crooked smile.

Somehow, the journey back home didn’t seem like it would be comfortable.

***

Inside the compartment, I rolled my eyes.

‘Ah, this is uncomfortable.’

If I looked forward, Yujin was flipping through documents, and if I glanced to the side, Yuri rested his chin on his hand, staring out the window. Ultimately, I fixed my gaze on the floor.

‘How did I end up stuck between these two?’

I should have just gone home alone. While I was pondering this, Yuri suddenly began to mock Yujin, ensuring he could hear.

“Uncomfortable, isn’t it? A sudden addition to the trip is naturally unsettling, especially when it’s not a welcome companion.”

Well, I didn’t find Yujin as difficult as before. To be precise, it was Yujin’s presence with Yuri that was challenging.

However, it was true that Yujin’s sudden intrusion made things awkward, so I couldn’t bring myself to speak up. Then Yujin’s eyes moved from the documents to me. His gaze, as deep as the ocean, made me feel strangely uneasy.

As we exchanged glances for a moment, Yuri leaned forward as if to block my view and openly picked a fight with Yujin.

“Did you have someone tail us? The Esrenche family’s intelligence is impressive. Booking the same train compartment.”

“I bought the ticket in a hurry, and it turned out that way.”

“You know that explanation isn’t convincing, right?”

“…….It’s the first time in ten years I’ve heard you talk this much to me.”

“If you hadn’t followed us, there wouldn’t have been anything to discuss.”

We had purchased our tickets at the train station that day and waited 30 minutes for the train to be ready. Even for Yujin, it would have been impossible to match the compartment numbers and buy his ticket in that time.

‘It’s more reasonable to see it as a coincidence.’

Especially since he was already seated before us.

However, as Yuri claimed, the timing was too perfect to dismiss as mere coincidence.

While I grappled with the lingering unease, Yujin put down the documents he was reading and sighed as he spoke.

“It’s really a business trip.”

I nodded. With him insisting so much, I thought I should believe him. But Yuri still didn’t drop his suspicious gaze.

Yujin pressed his fingers against his forehead, looking tired, and asked Yuri, “Why? Does my presence make you uneasy?”

“What?”

Yuri’s voice rose, clearly irritated.

I had always thought the two shared a special relationship. But now I saw that wasn’t the case. Despite their grand titles as a mage and a member of the Esrenche count family, they were just ordinary brothers.

Brothers who bickered whenever they met.

“If you’re both going to be noisy, get out.”

Not wanting to listen to their argument any longer, I warned them in a cold voice.

The compartment finally found peace.

I rested my chin on my hand, listening only to the rumbling of the train. After a while, the cityscape disappeared in an instant, and the countryside filled the view outside the window.

‘These brothers probably don’t even know what the countryside looks like.’

They were people who wouldn’t come to such a remote town if it weren’t for me. I pouted and said,

“I don’t know why you’re following, but you won’t like what you see. I wouldn’t recommend it.”

Yujin, who had returned his gaze to his documents, glanced up at me.

“Why? Aren’t we going to your hometown?”

“My hometown is quite rural. Daughters of poor families in the countryside usually face a lot of hardships.”

“Hmm?”

Both brothers looked completely puzzled. I leaned back in my seat and closed my eyes as I spoke.

“You’ll find out when we get there.”