“Ah, it’s been a while, Great Mage.”

“Where is the master?”

“He’s here.”

“Bring him.”

“What?”

“I said bring him.”

Who did this young upstart think he was, giving orders? Autumn stiffened his expression and retorted.

“I’ve been staying at the Magic Tower for 15 years now…”

“So?”

“…I’ll go get him.”

Even that simple question made him back down. The Magic Tower was a society strictly based on ability, and Yuri was undeniably the best mage.

‘That arrogant…’

Unable to criticize his skills, Autumn bit his lip and criticized Yuri’s character instead.

What was even more infuriating was that instead of getting angry for Autumn, everyone focused solely on Yuri.

“Gasp, the runaway Great Mage is back!”

“Where? Where? Let me see too.”

“They say just holding onto his hem improves your magic skills. Is it true?”

“Hey, is he some kind of magic god? Come to think of it… he might be.”

God, my foot.

Autumn countered inwardly, but he had no solid evidence. It was just annoying.

‘Still, this time, the Tower Master won’t stay silent.’

Running off from the Magic Tower at will?

‘I hope he’s so furious that he tells him to get out of the tower immediately, let alone become the next Tower Master.’

With that thought, Autumn knocked on the Tower Master’s door.

“Master, the Great Mage is back and is asking for you…”

“Yuri!”

Contrary to his expectations, the Tower Master abandoned his research and ran out barefoot at the mention of Yuri’s return. He hugged Yuri tightly like a cherished stuffed toy.

“Oh my, Yuri! Because of you, this master has lost ten years of his life. Why are you only showing up now?”

“You seem to have gotten younger?”

“That’s because of the wrinkle-reducing artifact I developed recently… No, that’s not it!”

Watching their harmonious mentor-student relationship, Autumn frowned.

‘I can’t stand it.’

Why did he even come back? Just go back already.

While Autumn was inwardly wishing for that, Yuri, looking disgusted, pushed his master away and answered.

“I came today because I was curious about something. I’ll leave after I ask.”

“Leave? Where to? Your home is this Magic Tower, isn’t it?”

“I have a home now. There’s a woman I want to marry.”

“What?”

Everyone, including Autumn, turned to Yuri with shocked expressions. The Tower Master was also deeply confused.

“A woman you want to marry? What kind of species… No, since you call her a woman, she must be human…”

“But she said she doesn’t want to get married, so we decided to just date for now.”

“What?”

The conversation took an even more unexpected turn. Hearing that she didn’t want to marry, the Tower Master was furious.

“Who dares to reject you? Can’t she see? Even after seeing your handsome face, she says that?”

Then, the mage who had been muttering about the hem earlier whispered in a tiny voice.

“Maybe she realized the Great Mage’s terrible personality?”

Amidst this, Yuri, whose ears were open, smiled and said.

“You, I’ll remember you.”

“Gasp.”

At that, those who were about to attack Yuri’s character all shut their mouths. The Tower Master shouted while squeezing his disciple’s face with both hands.

“So what if his personality is a bit terrible! He’s so good at magic! With this talent, even a worse personality can be forgiven!”

“That’s almost like saying a troublesome puppy is cute, so everything’s okay.”

Seeing that, Autumn turned away abruptly. Watching any longer would just raise his blood pressure.

‘What’s so great about him that everyone defends him like that?’

Grumbling as he descended, he bumped into the receptionist, who was coming up to ensure the smooth operation of the tower.

“A request for a mage dispatch came from the Imperial Palace…?”

He tilted his head, seeing the usually enthusiastic mages looking unusually excited. Not wanting to stay at the tower anyway, Autumn raised his hand.

“I’ll go.”

Since mages were reluctant to be dispatched to the Imperial Palace, recruitment was difficult. The receptionist nodded immediately.

“Thank you. Just head to Princess Sabina’s palace.”

Not knowing what Sabina might request, Autumn headed to the Imperial Palace, driven by the sole thought of leaving the tower.

In some sense, he was the perfect candidate.

***

When I woke up in the morning, contrary to my expectations, Yuri wasn’t around. It seemed he hadn’t returned last night.

The thought of having to eat alone caused me to lose my appetite, almost as if it were a lie. I ended up having breakfast with the leftover cookie crumbs in my coffee, and naturally, yesterday’s events came to mind.

‘Rosemary is getting married.’

I should buy a newspaper. The Crown Prince getting married in such a hurry is bound to cause a stir throughout the capital.

Thinking about Rosemary’s marriage made me reflect on my own situation.

‘I need to give Yuri an answer soon.’

I quickly shook my head.

‘No, I already refused. Yuri said he’d stay by my side until I agreed, didn’t he?’

Clearly, Rosemary and I were in different situations.

Yet, the feeling that I needed to respond again suggested that my refusal was weighing on my mind.

‘Do I secretly want to accept Yuri?’

When I had too many thoughts, it was best to keep busy.

I stood up energetically, put on my work clothes, and slipped on my gloves. Fortunately, thanks to the memories that surfaced yesterday, I had a mountain of tasks to do.

‘First, let’s get the pots for planting tulips.’

I needed to buy pots quickly before tulip prices soared.

Ever since I turned back time and opened a flower shop, I had been growing bulbs in the backyard and on the rooftop, but I needed even more tulips.

I busily moved the empty pots left in the storage. Just as I was almost done, a familiar voice echoed in my ear.

“What are you thinking about, Titi?”

“Y-Yuri!”

Seeing Yuri again after just one day, he looked incredibly tired. Perhaps he had been busy searching for various materials at the Magic Tower, as he was still wearing yesterday’s clothes.

“What are all these pots? Did you take them out of the storage, Titi? You should be resting if you’re not feeling well.”

“Oh, I just suddenly felt restless.”

To be precise, I had been thinking about you too much, so I just kept myself busy.

Taking advantage of the pot topic, I asked about the tulip bubble news.

“Yuri, do you know when the Invincible Fleet is returning?”

Yuri tilted his head.

“They’re probably still in battle on the southern coast. Why? Is the war ending soon?”

“No, I was just wondering if it might end soon. So, there’s no set date?”

It would have been better if I remembered exactly when. Each time I turned back time, I wasn’t given enough preparation time, so I couldn’t help but feel regretful.

I gently pushed Yuri’s back.

“Come on, you didn’t get much sleep last night, did you?”

Yuri chuckled softly and shook his head.

“No, I’m fine. What are you doing today, Titi?”

“I’m going to the flower market.”

“Then I’ll go with you.”

“That…”

I hesitated for a moment at Yuri’s words. Just looking at him, he seemed so exhausted that I worried about pushing him too hard.

Then Yuri rubbed his stomach with his palm and joked.

“While we’re out, let’s grab lunch too. I haven’t had breakfast either.”

“Oh? Really?”

As if it were a lie, when Yuri said that, I suddenly felt hungry. After all, I had only had coffee and cookies for breakfast. I nodded vigorously.

“Then let’s go quickly. I’m hungry too.”

“Didn’t you have breakfast?”

“Uh…”

Should I say I ate or not?

I hesitated and then nodded.

“Yeah. Without you, nothing seems appealing.”

“That’s not good. Titi, you’re already too thin.”

Thin, my foot. Just when I realized he was a mage, the image of the witch from the gingerbread house in the forest naturally came to mind. I chuckled and replied.

“You’re saying that so you can fatten me up and eat me later, right?”

“……”

It was meant as a joke, but unexpectedly, Yuri stiffened. I tilted my head.

“Why aren’t you answering?”

Yuri lowered his head and replied.

“I got dizzy just imagining it.”

‘What’s dizzying about the story of Hansel and Gretel?’

Seeing him embarrassed, I figured he wouldn’t answer even if I asked, so I changed the subject.

“Then, I’ll go change my clothes.”

“Yes, come straight down. I’ll be right down too.”

As we climbed the stairs together, I asked.

“Oh, by the way, did everything go well at the Magic Tower?”

“There wasn’t much progress.”

Yuri shrugged.

“I had a hard time avoiding my mentor’s attempts to kiss me.”

“Your mentor?”

“The Tower Master. He’s my mentor.”

“Wow, Yuri, you’re an even more impressive mage than I thought.”

Having the Tower Master as a mentor. I didn’t know how the Magic Tower operated, but it didn’t seem like the Tower Master personally taught all the mages affiliated with the tower.