‘She was always like this. Full of excessive self-love and possessiveness.’

I clenched my fists tightly.

‘Because the blue rose had gained unexpected fame…’

I never imagined she would come looking for me herself. Given her lofty nature, I had assumed she would send someone to express her interest in the blue rose, not show up in person. It was entirely unexpected.

Sabina, who was chatting with her maid, lifted her chin as if she was granting mercy and spoke in an elegant tone.

“If you want forgiveness, you must give me all the blue roses you have for sale tomorrow. I plan to use them for a tea party. It’s not a bad deal for you, is it?”

Excuse me? How was that a fair deal?

She wasn’t even offering to buy them; she was demanding them for free. Her sudden appearance and insistence on rudeness were utterly absurd.

‘I even hung the “Closed” sign, yet she barged in. What a ridiculous woman.’

Suppressing the urge to shout that I had nothing to sell her, I replied firmly.

“That’s not possible.”

“What did you say?”

The maid’s eyebrows shot up instantly, and Sabina’s smile vanished.

I answered in a clear, businesslike tone.

“All the roses for tomorrow are already sold. Even if Her Highness offers to pay, there’s nothing left. So please leave.”

“Ha.”

At my firm words, the maid laughed incredulously and sneered, “Who do you think has any business with a shabby shop like this? If it weren’t for the blue rose, this filthy…”

“Then you can leave. I don’t know why you wasted your time here.”

“The roses! Hand over the roses!”

“I told you, they’re all sold.”

“How long does it take to make one flower anyway? Her Highness needs it, so make one right now!”

“If it’s that easy, why don’t you make it yourself?”

“Huh.”

As I retorted without backing down, the maid’s face turned beet red.

As the standoff continued, Sabina, who had been silent, stepped forward and spoke, “You’re making a mistake right now. Do you know who I am? I’m Princess Sabina. Do you understand what that means?”

Her cold words were accompanied by a chilling gaze. The expression on her face seemed to reveal her true self.

“It means there’s no one in this country who can dare to turn me away.”

Just then, a fresh, lively voice rang out from behind me.

“Do you really think so? It seems there might be someone here who can.”

We all turned our heads at once. Yuri, holding a tray with our lunch, paused on the stairs. When our eyes met, he waved cheerfully and smiled.

“I’m back. Did you wait long?”

I was so shocked that I opened and closed my mouth like a fish.

‘Hey! This is not the time to be smiling so brightly.’

Did he even realize who was here right now?

I resigned myself to facing the consequences of my rude behavior, but I couldn’t let Yuri get caught up in it.

I waved my hand urgently, signaling Yuri to go back upstairs. But he didn’t retreat. Then something unexpected happened.

“…Yuri?”

Sabina’s voice called out to him.

‘Do they know each other?’

I looked back and forth between the two, my eyes wide. Yuri placed the tray down beside me, smiling, completely unfazed by Sabina’s astonished gaze.

Sabina spoke first again.

“Is it really you, Yuri? Why are you here?”

In response to her question, Yuri replied nonchalantly, “Where I am is my own business.”

“I don’t know which family’s son you are, but how dare you speak to Her Highness like that?” the maid scolded, incensed by Yuri’s cheeky reply. Of course, her words had no effect.

Yuri snorted, clearly amused. Surprisingly, Princess Sabina stepped in to stop the maid.

“Be quiet.”

“Your Highness?”

The maid blinked, clearly confused. But instead of explaining, Sabina clasped her hands and looked at Yuri. The cold demeanor from before vanished, replaced by an achingly sad gaze directed at him.

“I couldn’t find you no matter how hard I looked, and now here you are. I’m just surprised. What are you doing here? And who is this woman…”

Her eyes swept over me, turning fierce again, enough to make my shoulders involuntarily flinch.

“…Who is this woman?”

“No reason to answer.”

“Yuri!”

Did he know she was a princess, or did he simply not care? Yuri smiled and dismissed her.

“It’s mealtime now. Can’t you see the closed sign at the front? You should leave.”

Had Princess Sabina ever been kicked out like this before? From what I knew of her personality in my past life, she would typically make a huge fuss. Yet instead of getting angry, she pleaded with Yuri again.

“If you’ll just talk to me, I’ll leave.”

“…”

Yuri sighed, brushing his hair back, and spoke to me in a low voice.

“I’ll just have a quick talk.”

“What?”

I watched in a daze as Yuri opened the shop door and stepped outside first.

While I stood there blinking in confusion, Sabina, about to follow him, shot me a hard glare.

That made me swallow hard.

I lost count of how many times I had received that sharp look. If looks could physically harm, I would have been torn to shreds by now.

I didn’t know what it was, but she clearly held a deep grudge against me. Eventually, she stormed out of the shop with her maid.

“Phew.”

Unaware of how tense I had been, my palms were clammy with sweat. I wiped them on my clothes and quickly locked the shop door.

If the emperor’s most beloved princess decided to come in, this lock wouldn’t stand a chance. Still, it brought me some peace of mind.

I crouched down in a spot where she couldn’t see me through the glass door, just in case she returned. After a moment of blankly staring, I clicked my tongue.

‘Ugh, what a mood killer.’

Just encountering Princess Sabina briefly brought back the same feeling of misery I had on the day I filed for divorce.

What? If I wanted forgiveness, I should just hand over all the blue roses?

‘She’s the same as ever. She had that attitude when she took my ex-husband too.’

That arrogant expression, as if she must have everything she desires, the attitude that she could ignore others’ misfortunes for her own happiness.

Because of that, I really didn’t want to meet Princess Sabina again.

‘I thought I’d never have to see her in this life, yet here we are.’

I never imagined she’d show up as soon as the shop gained some fame.

‘What if she keeps coming back?’

I buried my head between my knees, my head throbbing.

Walking out of the shop with Sabina, Yuri’s face was cold as ice.

The blatant rejection made the maid flinch. However, Sabina pressed on, unfazed, “Yuri, why are you here? Who is that woman?”

“Why do you want to know?”

Yuri replied in a cold voice, genuinely unable to comprehend. In response, Sabina adopted a pitiful, sad expression.

“If I upset you, I’m sorry. But I’m asking because I’m worried about you.”

“Ha…”

Yuri brushed his hair back in disbelief. He had followed her out to avoid causing me more trouble, but facing Sabina was still irritating.

‘I didn’t expect her to change, but seeing her exactly the same is infuriating in its own way.’

Yuri generally didn’t care much about others. Since he was born, people had always surrounded him, which ironically led to his lack of interest in them.

Animals weren’t any different. There was a time when Yuri showed interest in animals instead of humans, but the constant attention from people who loved him, pushing animals towards him, quickly made him lose interest.

In short, whether it was people or animals, Yuri didn’t care and rarely harbored emotions.

Yet, Sabina was almost the only person he openly disliked.

From long ago, she treated Yuri as if he belonged to her, manipulating him. Whenever he couldn’t stand it and got serious, she’d play the victim, painting him as the bad guy. After enduring this for over a decade since childhood, he naturally grew to dislike her.

Thinking her act had worked when Yuri fell silent in disbelief, Sabina continued speaking with a tone of regret.

“Are you sticking with that woman because there’s something you want from her? If you tell me what it is, I’ll get it for you instead. So, don’t do anything you don’t want to…”

Yuri coldly cut off Sabina’s words, which subtly belittled his choice to stay by my side.

“Don’t you feel pathetic saying that? Having to make up a forced reason.”

“Forced reason?”

Sabina retorted, her cheeks flushing red.

“Why would a great mage like you defy the emperor’s orders, abandon the tower, and play commoner here? Are you saying there’s no reason for all this?”

“Because I want to be here.”

“Yuri!”

“Stop talking, and don’t stir things up any more. Just disappear quietly. Remember, no one can bind me.”

Yuri added one more sentence clearly.

“Oh, and even if someone could, it wouldn’t be you. So, don’t ever show up in front of me again.”

—

T/N: Love the sass! GO GET HER YURI LMAO