Yuri gave me a wry smile in response.

“You prefer clear weather, right? But it doesn’t look like it’ll clear up anytime soon.”

“Can you tell just by looking at the weather?”

“Well…”

Uncharacteristically, Yuri let his sentence trail off. Then he placed his hands on my shoulders and gently guided me toward the opposite side of the window, where the fireplace was.

“Sit here. It’s definitely getting chilly with the rain.”

“Indeed.”

I obediently sat in front of the fireplace. The crackling sound of burning logs filled the room. As I extended my palms toward the warm glow, Yuri asked from behind me.

“How about some hot chocolate? Or would you prefer coffee?”

“Anything is fine.”

“Then let’s go with hot chocolate today. They say sugar can lift your spirits.”

I tilted my head at Yuri’s reply.

‘Does that mean Yuri’s in a bad mood right now?’

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t think of a reason for Yuri to be upset.

‘Maybe the gloomy weather is just bringing him down.’

Rainy days often have that effect, don’t they?

Just as I was feeling drowsy from the warmth of the fireplace and curling up, Yuri returned with a steaming mug.

“Here you go.”

It was topped with marshmallows. As I blew on it, Yuri sat down beside me.

“…”

Without much conversation, we simply watched the crackling fireplace.

Wrapped in a blanket and sipping hot chocolate, it felt like we were camping.

Yuri, who had finished his hot chocolate before me, placed his cup on the floor and leaned back on his arms. The firelight cast an orange glow on the side of his face.

‘I wonder what he’s thinking right now. Does he like zoning out while watching the fire?’

I realized I knew less about Yuri than I thought. Yuri knew so much about me, after all.

‘Since I’m in Yuri’s personal space for once, I should ask him a few things.’

Leaning forward, I asked Yuri in a slightly higher pitch.

“Do you have any memories associated with this villa? I’d love to hear your stories.”

“Well, I haven’t been here often myself. And whenever I did come, it was always alone…”

“You’ve never been here with Yujin? Or your parents?”

“Whenever we came here, Sabina always tagged along. I didn’t like that, so I’d make an excuse about having work at the Magic Tower and skip the trip.”

“I see.”

Whenever I asked about Yuri’s past, Princess Sabina always seemed to come up. My voice took on a hint of displeasure at the mention of someone I wasn’t fond of.

“…You seem to know a lot about Princess Sabina, even the trivial things.”

At my mumbling, Yuri scrunched up his face in disgust.

“Don’t say such horrible things. If I could, I’d cut those memories out.”

Yuri shuddered, then suddenly turned to me and asked quickly.

“But why bring up Sabina all of a sudden? Have you decided how to bring her down?”

“Wouldn’t it be difficult for me to bring down a princess no matter what I do?”

Caught off guard by the sudden question, I replied with a wry smile. But just because it was difficult didn’t mean I was going to give up. I answered seriously.

“Still, I can’t just sit back and take it. For now, I’m thinking of suing her based on the evidence Yujin gave me, showing she sent people to dig up information on me.”

“That’s too weak.”

I nodded in agreement with Yuri’s objective assessment.

“Honestly, it would be more impactful to expose her schemes to seize Asel’s mine… But I can’t just let Asel be scammed, can I?”

Moreover, Yujin’s involvement made it tricky to bring that issue to light.

‘The person who interfered with Asel’s mine auction on Princess Sabina’s orders was none other than Yujin.

Yujin had already decided to invest in the development of Asel’s mine through Esrenche to take responsibility for his actions. I couldn’t drag someone who was reflecting and trying to atone for their mistakes into this just to catch Sabina.

‘Besides, I have another card to play.’

In the past life, she had married once, then divorced and returned to the royal family.

While others might not know, I was aware of the reason behind her divorce because she had taken my husband from me.

It was because she was infertile.

“My mother-in-law liked her without even knowing she was infertile.”

Roco, blinded by the affair, claimed he didn’t mind her infertility and would keep it a secret, but would others feel the same way?

‘This time, I will use her weakness against her. She’s already caused me enough pain.’

As I steeled myself, Yuri whispered softly.

“I know of a trap that’s easy to set.”

His words caught my attention. I blinked and asked.

“A trap? What kind?”

“Me. Myself.”

“You?”

Not grasping his meaning, I blinked again, and Yuri touched his chin with his finger and elaborated.

“Sabina is obsessed with me. If we play on that, she might easily fall for it.”

I was puzzled by his suggestion. I frowned and set my hot chocolate mug on the floor, feeling upset.

“I don’t like that idea.”

Yuri tilted his head at my quick response.

“Why not? It seems much easier than trying to protect a mere mine. Plus, I’m strong, so it’s unlikely to become dangerous.”

“I said I don’t like it. Why should you have to act like bait?”

I replied irritably, brushing my hair back.

“I don’t want her name hanging between us. Absolutely not.”

“What kind of relationship do we have?”

“Well, we are…”

I was about to answer when I noticed Yuri’s eyes sparkling mischievously, and I realized he was teasing me.

“I don’t know.”

“Titi.”

“Go away.”

I pushed Yuri away with both hands. But unlike usual, he didn’t budge. Instead, he leaned toward me as if he had lost his balance, causing me to fall to the floor under his weight.

Now our positions had shifted. I lay on the floor looking up at Yuri, who was gazing down at me, caging me with his arms.

As I frowned at him, Yuri gave me a puppy-like expression, pleading.

“If you leave it like this, I might die of curiosity. Titi, please.”

He already knew the answer and was just pretending to be curious.

I propped myself up again and pushed against Yuri’s chest.

“You’re heavy. And what if Masha sees us?”

Yuri tilted his head and replied in a cheerful tone.

“It’s just the two of us here right now.”

“What?”

What was he talking about?

As I opened and closed my lips in surprise, Yuri added.

“It would be cruel to make Masha come and go in this storm. I told her to stay home today.”

“Then…”

Yuri smiled bashfully, as if confirming my thoughts. It was an innocent smile that didn’t match the situation.

“It’s just you and me here now.”

***

An isolated villa with no neighboring houses, a storm raging outside.

And inside the villa, just Yuri and me.

‘I can’t believe we’re left alone like this right after confessing!’

Was it strange to be conscious of this situation?

Why was he so close to me? Should I draw a line and tell him not to cross it?

What had been a peaceful and drowsy scene, like a camping trip, suddenly turned into a tense situation that made my heart race.

‘I felt safe because I thought Yuri wouldn’t openly show affection for me in front of Masha!’

But now it’s just us! Feeling somewhat indignant, I confronted Yuri.

“But there was breakfast!”

“I made it.”

“You cooked all the way here?”

It was a completely unimportant question. Yuri, quick-witted as ever, wasn’t fooled by my diversion.

“Stop changing the subject and answer me, Titi.”

“W-what were we talking about?”

“You were about to say that you like me so much that you get jealous even when I mention another woman’s name.”

“You’ve already decided the conclusion yourself!”

When did I ever say that?

Yuri’s blue eyes took in my sulky expression completely. His gaze was so piercing that it seemed to see through any lie, prompting me to add in a very small voice.

“…It’s true I’m jealous.”

Even though it was a sound as faint as a mosquito’s wings, Yuri seemed to hear it clearly and smiled brightly. Embarrassed, I turned red and pushed him away.

“Why are you grinning like that?”

This time, Yuri allowed himself to be pushed. He covered his mouth with his hands and replied.

“I’m happy that Titi is jealous.”

“What’s so great about being jealous?”

“Then, wouldn’t it bother you if I talked about someone else?”

I just said it bothered me.

Before I could answer, Yuri lowered his head.

“I’d like it if you cared about me.”

In a low voice, he whispered from a distance so close that our noses might touch if I moved just a little.

“I want your mind to be filled with thoughts of me.”