Well, that was true. The real reason he had run away from the Magic Tower was that he was tired of people constantly asking for favors without a second thought.

When Yuri nodded in agreement, Titiana added with a gentle smile, “And isn’t it rewarding to create something yourself?”

“Rewarding?”

“Isn’t that why you make your own coffee?”

“…”

Come to think of it, he did brew his own coffee. It was an unexpected observation that brought him a strange sense of relief.

Anyway, the two of them happily carried the blue dye back to the shop, and that was just the beginning of their work.

To truly create the blue roses, they mixed the dye into the water. However, the blue dye, made from ground minerals, didn’t dissolve as well as they had hoped. Since it was such an expensive material, Titiana moved carefully, ensuring that none was spilled.

Yuri found himself staring at Titiana’s face, fully focused on the dye.

‘Rewarding.’

It was a familiar word, yet it felt oddly foreign.

As Yuri sat there, lost in thought, Titiana tilted her head and looked at him. “What’s up? Need some help?”

“No.”

That was when he noticed a smudge of blue dye on the tip of Titiana’s nose. Reaching out, Yuri said, “You’ve got some paint on you.”

Usually, Titiana would complain if he touched her even slightly, but this time she calmly leaned in. Yuri’s fingertips hesitated for a moment. He bit his lower lip and gently rubbed the tip of her nose.

But there was a problem. Unbeknownst to him, his fingers also had dye on them. Instead of cleaning it off, the paint spread further across her nose.

Unaware of the worsening situation, Titiana cheerfully asked, “Is it gone?”

“No.”

At Yuri’s response, Titiana frowned and rubbed her nose with her sleeve, only spreading the paint more across her face.

“Then what did you do?”

Titiana grumbled softly. Watching her expression, Yuri couldn’t help but burst into giggles.

“You’re cute.”

“What? That’s a weird answer.”

The reward of creating something yourself.

‘If I get to see moments like this, maybe it is rewarding?’

Yuri wanted to keep looking at Titiana’s face a little longer but quickly returned to work, fearing she might get annoyed.

Whether it was because they had made it themselves or simply how it was, the finished blue roses were breathtakingly beautiful.

“…I’ll give you this first bouquet, Yuri.”

Perhaps it was the way Titiana’s face blushed as she shyly offered the bouquet.

***

“Hey, I heard the new flower shop is selling blue roses!”

“I saw them myself; they’re absolutely enchanting.”

“I’m definitely going to buy some to decorate my house.”

Conversations like these could be overheard with just a short walk down the street.

Currently, the Empire’s economy was thriving, and both nobles and commoners frequently hosted parties. This made the capital’s hostesses particularly sensitive to trends.

And blue roses perfectly met their demands.

“Please sell us a thousand roses for our estate.”

“Oh, I was here first!”

“If I don’t bring home blue roses today, my master will be furious!”

Every morning, servants from various noble households lined up to buy blue roses.

No matter how many white roses were prepared and dyed, they sold out instantly, often forcing the shop to close before lunch.

Naturally, I was thrilled. Closing the shop before lunch due to selling out felt like a victory!

‘I’m very satisfied; this is a huge success.’

Working hard only in the mornings and resting in the afternoons, I was still able to gain both wealth and fame.

“This is the best; it’s a huge success!”

I was smiling at our smooth start when Yuri, who had just hung the closed sign on the shop door, asked with a worried tone, “But hey, are you sure this is okay? It seems like other shops might soon figure out how to make blue roses too.”

I widened my eyes at Yuri’s comment. Despite his tendency to doze off to avoid customers, he seemed genuinely concerned about our shop.

“Such a thoughtful guy.”

It couldn’t have been easy for him to suddenly start working after lounging around like a cocoon all the time. Seeing him work so hard was quite endearing.

I nodded. “It doesn’t matter. I figured someone would start selling blue roses within a month anyway. It’s not that hard to make them.”

“But then our earnings will decrease.”

“I have a plan for that too.”

I had another type of rose ready to unveil after the blue roses.

“A special rose made with a unique processing method that won’t be known for quite some time.”

I planned to introduce it once blue roses became somewhat mainstream, creating another sensation.

“Success is practically guaranteed.”

As I envisioned a golden future and smiled contentedly, Yuri tilted his head.

“What is it? You’re not telling me?”

“I’ll let you know when the time comes.”

“Fine.”

Yuri pouted and whispered to me, “I overheard the servants talking earlier, and they said even the Empress herself mentioned the blue roses.”

“The Empress?”

I was surprised, my eyes widening at Yuri’s words.

“Yes, it seems like we’ll be getting a call from the palace soon.”

“I didn’t expect it to be this successful…”

My blue roses reaching the palace? Business success was certainly a good thing, but only to a certain extent. The unexpected level of success made me anxious.

I rested my chin on my hand, wearing a serious expression. “What if thieves or robbers come? A shop run by a young woman becoming too famous could be dangerous.”

If supplying to the palace was confirmed, how would we manage the distribution?

As I pondered deeply, Yuri suddenly let out a heavy sigh and said, “Oh, it’s great that business is going well, but selling so much can be tough. Even after a short while, my shoulders are sore, and my back hurts.”

“That’s what you call a happy problem.”

It was far too easy for a business to fail, so it was better to sigh from success than from failure.

At my response, Yuri chuckled and brushed his bangs aside. “It’s a bit of a shame, too. We could sell even more, but there’s only so much blue roses the two of us can produce.”

“There’s nothing we can do about that.”

I would be lying if I said it wasn’t somewhat disappointing, but I let go of any regrets. No matter how hard one worked, everyone had their limits.

While fiddling with his fingers, Yuri tilted his head and asked, “So what are you planning to do with the money we made this time?”

“I haven’t really thought about it.”

I had been so absorbed in the thrill of making money that I hadn’t considered what to spend it on.

“Maybe I’ll buy some clean aprons?”

Ordering two aprons embroidered with our flower shop’s name might give them the appearance of uniforms, which would be nice.

As I contemplated this, Yuri asked something unexpected. “Aren’t you going to expand the shop?”

Shop expansion…

I shook my head firmly. “No, I like it here.”

“You’re such a strange boss.”

Yuri chuckled at my answer. Facing him, I rose from my seat.

Even though my shoulders ached from selling thousands of blue roses that morning, I couldn’t just sit around. I was in charge of lunch today.

“How about some cool pasta? It’s hot today.”

The capital was already entering the early days of summer. I retied my hair into a high ponytail.

“Ugh, it’s really hot with my neck covered.”

As I fanned my exposed neck with my hand, Yuri suddenly reached out, his large hand brushing lightly against the back of my neck.

“Ah.”

I widened my eyes at the unexpected touch. For a brief moment, I met Yuri’s blue gaze…

“Stars?”

Something like stardust swirled in his eyes before vanishing.

It felt almost magical.

“What was that?”

I blinked, but before I could take a closer look at those stars, the light faded from his eyes.

His clear blue eyes, reminiscent of a shallow sea, narrowed slightly as they focused directly on me.

“…Sorry about that. I thought I saw a bug.”

As his hand moved away, a shiver ran down my spine. Reflexively, I covered my neck with my palm and replied, “Really? But I don’t mind bugs, so you don’t have to worry about it next time.”

This sudden contact was far more unsettling than any bug.

At my response, Yuri’s eyes, like round glass marbles, sparkled as he asked again, “You’re not afraid of bugs?”

“If I were, how could I run a flower shop? Insects love flowers.”

Most people think of bees and butterflies when it comes to pollinating insects, but surprisingly, mosquitoes also play a significant role in flower pollination. Even those pesky and annoying mosquitoes are a big help in growing flowers.

“So being scared of any kind of insect doesn’t make sense.”

Seeing me answer so confidently, Yuri widened his eyes. Then he tilted his head and murmured, “Titi, you’re quite an unusual person.”