Chapter 9
That woman was always like this—even in the past. Excessive self-love. Obsessive possessiveness.
I clenched my fists tightly.
The blue roses became far more famous than I expected…
I never imagined that she would come looking for me herself.
I had assumed that someone as prideful as her would simply send a servant if she became interested in the blue roses.
But this was completely unexpected.
While chatting casually with her maid, Princess Sabina lifted her chin as though bestowing mercy and spoke elegantly.
“If you wish to be forgiven, hand over all of tomorrow’s blue roses to me. I plan to use them for tomorrow’s tea party. It’s not a bad deal for you, is it?”
Excuse me?
How is that not a bad deal?
She wasn’t even offering to buy them—she was demanding I hand them over for free.
And the fact that she had barged in and immediately started talking about disrespect was absurd.
There’s literally a CLOSED sign on the door. She came in anyway. What an unbelievable woman.
I suppressed the urge to yell that I had nothing to sell her and replied stiffly.
“That would be difficult.”
“What?”
The maid’s eyes immediately narrowed.
The smile vanished from Sabina’s face as well.
In a businesslike tone, I answered clearly.
“All of tomorrow’s roses have already been sold. Even if Your Highness offers to pay, I have nothing left to give you. So please leave.”
“Hah.”
At my firm response, the maid laughed mockingly.
“Do you think anyone would have business with this shabby little shop? If it weren’t for the blue roses, this filthy—”
“Then you’re free to leave. Though I’m not sure why you wasted your own time coming here.”
“The roses! Hand over the roses!”
“I already told you they’re sold out.”
“How long does it take to make flowers? Her Highness needs them, so make more immediately!”
“If it’s that easy, perhaps you should make them yourself.”
“Hah!”
Since I refused to back down even once, the maid’s face turned bright red.
As the confrontation dragged on, Sabina—who had been standing quietly—finally stepped forward.
“You’re making a mistake.”
Her voice turned cold.
“I am Princess Sabina. Do you understand what that means?”
Her gaze became icy.
This expression—
this was her real face.
“It means there is no one in this country who can dare throw me out like this.”
That was when a bright voice rang out from behind me like a burst of sunshine.
“Do you really think that? Because I think there might be exactly one person here who can.”
Everyone turned at once.
Yuri had stopped halfway down the stairs, carrying a tray filled with lunch.
When our eyes met, he waved cheerfully at me.
“I’m here. Did you wait long?”
My jaw dropped.
Hey! This is not the time to be smiling like that!
Did he even know who was standing here right now?
If I got punished for being rude, that was my own fault.
But I couldn’t let Yuri get dragged into this.
I quickly waved at him to go back upstairs.
But Yuri didn’t move.
Then something completely unexpected happened.
“…Yuri?”
Sabina called his name.
They know each other?
My eyes widened as I looked back and forth between them.
Yuri ignored Sabina’s stunned expression, walked over to me with a smile, and set the tray down.
Once again, Sabina spoke first.
“Is that really you, Yuri? Why are you here?”
Yuri answered flatly.
“That’s none of your business.”
The maid immediately snapped.
“I don’t know whose son you are, but how dare you speak to Her Highness like that?”
Of course, her words had no effect.
Yuri simply scoffed.
And surprisingly—
Princess Sabina stopped her maid.
“Be quiet.”
“Your Highness?”
The maid blinked in confusion.
But instead of explaining, Sabina clasped both hands together and looked at Yuri.
The coldness from earlier had completely disappeared.
Now her gaze looked pitiful and sorrowful.
“I’ve been searching everywhere for you, and now I find you here. Of course I’m shocked. What are you doing here?”
Her gaze slid toward me—
and instantly turned sharp again.
It was enough to make me flinch.
“…And who is this woman?”
“No reason to answer.”
“Yuri!”
Did he simply not care that she was a princess?
Or did being a princess mean nothing to him?
Yuri smiled lazily and gestured toward the door.
“It’s lunchtime.”
He pointed at the closed sign.
“Can’t you see the sign? Leave.”
Had Princess Sabina ever been thrown out like this before?
From what I knew of her personality in my previous life, she should’ve exploded in rage.
Instead—
she clung to Yuri again.
“If you talk to me, I’ll leave.”
“……”
Yuri let out a deep sigh and ran a hand through his hair.
Then he spoke quietly to me.
“I’ll go talk to her for a moment.”
“Huh?”
I stood there blankly as Yuri opened the door and walked outside first.
I remained frozen in confusion.
Then, as Sabina followed after him—
she suddenly glared at me fiercely.
Gasp.
I’d already received that hostile look from her several times today.
If looks could kill, I would’ve been shredded to pieces by now.
I had no idea what was going on—
but it was obvious she deeply hated me.
Soon, she stormed out with her maid.
“Whew…”
Only then did I realize my palms were drenched in cold sweat.
I wiped them on my clothes and hurriedly locked the shop door.
Of course, a lock meant nothing if the emperor’s favorite princess truly wanted to enter.
Still, it brought me a little peace of mind.
Afraid she might return, I crouched somewhere out of sight from the glass windows.
Then I clicked my tongue.
Ugh. My whole mood is ruined.
I had only met Princess Sabina briefly—
yet I felt just as miserable as I had on the day I went to file for divorce.
What?
If I wanted forgiveness, I should hand over all my blue roses?
She really hasn’t changed.
She had worn that same arrogant expression when she stole my husband too.
That look that said she deserved anything she wanted.
That attitude that implied someone else’s suffering meant nothing as long as she got her happiness.
That was exactly why I never wanted to see Princess Sabina again.
I thought I’d never have to cross paths with her in this life.
Yet the moment my shop became famous—
she appeared.
What if she keeps coming back?
I buried my face between my knees.
My head throbbed.
✦ ✦ ✦
As Yuri walked outside with Sabina, his face was colder than ice.
Even the maid flinched at his obvious hostility.
But Sabina paid no attention.
“Yuri, why are you here? Who is that woman?”
“Why do you care?”
Yuri’s voice was ice-cold.
He genuinely sounded confused.
Instead, Sabina put on a sorrowful expression.
“If I upset you, I’m sorry. But I’m only asking because I’m worried about you.”
“Hah…”
Yuri brushed his hair back in disbelief.
He had only followed her outside because he didn’t want Tittiana dragged into this any further.
But seeing Sabina again only irritated him.
I never expected her to change—but seeing she’s exactly the same still makes my blood boil.
Yuri had never cared much about people.
Ever since birth, people had constantly surrounded him.
Ironically, that made him lose interest in humanity altogether.
Animals were no different.
At one point, he had become interested in animals instead of humans—
but the people obsessed with him kept shoving animals at him to gain his affection.
He quickly lost interest in that too.
In short—
Yuri rarely cared about people or animals.
And he almost never developed strong feelings toward anyone.
Yet there was one rare exception.
One person he openly disliked.
Princess Sabina.
For years, she had treated Yuri like he belonged to her.
She constantly tried to control him.
And whenever he finally snapped—
she would act pitiful and paint him as the villain.
After enduring that for over a decade, he naturally came to despise her.
When Yuri fell silent in disbelief, Sabina mistook it as a sign that her manipulation was working.
She continued softly,
“Are you staying with that woman because there’s something you want from her? Tell me what it is, and I’ll get it for you instead. So you don’t have to force yourself to stay by someone you don’t even want to be around—”
Yuri coldly cut her off.
“Don’t you feel pathetic saying things like that?”
“What do you mean?”
Sabina’s cheeks flushed red.
“What other reason could there be? You’re the Great Mage. You abandoned the Magic Tower, ignored His Majesty’s orders, and now you’re playing commoner here. Are you saying you’re doing this for no reason?”
“Because I want to be here.”
“Yuri!”
“Stop talking.”
His voice was sharp.
“And stop digging into my life. Just disappear quietly.”
He looked directly at her and added one final sentence.
“No one can control me.”
Then he smiled coldly.
“And even if someone could…”
His eyes hardened.
“It would never be you. So don’t ever appear before me again.”
