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Chapter 7
“Well, that’s true.”
In reality, Yuri had run away from the Mage Tower because he was sick and tired of people constantly asking favors of him as if it were nothing.
When Yuri nodded, Titianna added with a gentle smile,
“And it’s more rewarding when you make it yourself.”
“Rewarding?”
“Isn’t that why you brew your own coffee?”
“…”
Come to think of it, he did always make his own coffee.
It was a point he hadn’t considered.
For some reason, Yuri felt as though a knot in his chest had loosened.
In any case, the two of them brought the blue dye back to the flower shop together.
And that was only the beginning.
To create blue roses in earnest, they spent hours mixing the dye into water. The blue pigment, made by grinding minerals, didn’t dissolve as easily as they had expected. Since the ingredients were incredibly expensive, Titianna moved carefully, paying close attention not to spill even a drop.
Yuri quietly watched her face as she focused entirely on the dye.
Rewarding…
It was a word he knew, yet it sounded strangely unfamiliar.
As Yuri sat there absentmindedly, Titianna tilted her head.
“What’s wrong? Do you need help?”
“No.”
At that moment, he noticed a speck of blue dye powder on the tip of her nose.
Reaching out his hand, he said,
“You got paint on you.”
Normally, Titianna would have complained even if he barely touched her.
But this time she obediently leaned closer.
Yuri’s fingertips trembled for a moment.
Biting his lower lip, he gently rubbed the tip of her nose.
The problem was that he hadn’t realized there was dye powder on his own fingers.
Instead of wiping it away, he only smeared it further.
Completely unaware that the situation had gotten worse, Titianna cheerfully asked,
“Did it come off?”
“No.”
At Yuri’s answer, she frowned and rubbed her nose with her sleeve.
The stain promptly spread all over her face.
“Then what exactly did you do?”
Titianna grumbled.
Staring at her face, Yuri suddenly burst into laughter.
“You look cute.”
“What? That’s a strange answer.”
The reward of making things yourself…
If I get to see something like this, maybe it really is rewarding.
Yuri wanted to keep looking at her a little longer, but he figured she’d get angry, so he hurriedly returned to work.
Whether it was because they had made it themselves or because it was naturally beautiful, the finished blue roses were breathtaking.
“…I’ll give this first bouquet to you, Yuri.”
Perhaps it was because Titianna held out the bouquet with a face so red it looked like it might catch fire.
✦ ✦ ✦
“I heard the new flower shop is selling blue roses?”
“I saw them myself. They’re absolutely mystical.”
“I’m going to buy some soon and decorate my house with them.”
Conversations like these could be heard everywhere if you walked through the streets.
The Empire was prosperous. Not only nobles but even commoners had healthy wallets these days, and parties were held frequently.
As a result, the ladies of the capital were highly sensitive to trends.
And blue roses perfectly satisfied that demand.
“Please sell a thousand stems to our estate.”
“Hey, I got here first!”
“If I go back without blue roses again today, my master will scold me!”
Every morning, servants from noble households lined up outside the shop to buy blue roses.
No matter how many white roses they dyed, they sold out in an instant.
More and more often, the shop had to close before lunchtime.
Naturally, I was thrilled.
Closing because we sold out before lunch!
I’m completely satisfied. It’s a huge success.
Work hard in the morning.
Rest in the afternoon.
And still gain both wealth and fame.
This is perfect. Absolutely perfect. A complete success!
I was smiling happily at our smooth start when Yuri, after hanging the Closed sign on the door, spoke in a worried tone.
“But… is this really okay? I think other flower shops will figure out how to make blue roses soon.”
I blinked in surprise.
He’d been complaining every morning about having to wake up early and constantly sneaking off to nap whenever customers weren’t looking.
Yet apparently he’d been seriously worrying about our business.
What a good kid.
Going from lounging around like a cocoon all day to suddenly working this hard couldn’t have been easy.
I found it oddly admirable.
I nodded.
“It doesn’t matter. I always expected someone else to start selling blue roses within a month. The process isn’t exactly difficult.”
“But our profits will drop.”
“I’ve already thought about that.”
I already had another rose planned after the blue one.
A very special rose made using a very special processing method that won’t become widely known for a very, very long time.
My plan was to release it once blue roses had become popular enough to create another sensation.
Success is practically guaranteed.
As I smiled contentedly at the thought of my golden future, Yuri tilted his head.
“What is it? You’re not going to tell me?”
“I’ll tell you when the time comes.”
“Tch.”
Pouting slightly, Yuri lowered his voice.
“I overheard some servants talking earlier. Apparently even Her Majesty the Empress mentioned the blue roses herself.”
“The Empress?”
I widened my eyes in surprise.
“Yeah. I think the Imperial Palace will be contacting us soon.”
“I definitely didn’t expect things to go that well…”
The blue roses I made were going all the way to the Imperial Palace?
Business success was certainly a good thing.
But only to a point.
Results exceeding my expectations made me nervous.
Resting my chin on my hand, I fell into thought.
What if thieves or robbers start targeting us? A shop run by a young woman becoming too famous is dangerous too.
And if we secured a palace contract, how would we even divide the inventory?
As I sat there pondering, Yuri suddenly let out a long sigh.
“Business doing well is nice, but selling too well is exhausting. My shoulders are stiff and my back hurts, even though we only worked for a short time.”
“This is what people call a happy problem.”
Do you know how easy it is for a small business to fail?
It’s much better to groan because things are going too well than because nobody is buying anything.
At my answer, Yuri chuckled and brushed back his bangs.
“It’s a little disappointing, though. We could definitely sell more. The problem is that there’s a limit to how many blue roses the two of us can produce.”
“That can’t be helped.”
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed.
But I let it go.
No matter how hard someone works, there’s always a limit to what a person can do.
Fidgeting with his fingers, Yuri asked,
“By the way, what are you going to do with all the money we’ve earned?”
“I haven’t really thought about it.”
To be honest, making money itself was so fun that I’d become completely absorbed in it.
I hadn’t even considered spending it.
Maybe I’ll buy some clean aprons.
It might be nice to order matching aprons embroidered with the flower shop’s name.
While I was thinking about that, Yuri asked something unexpected.
“Are you going to expand the shop?”
Expand the shop…
I immediately shook my head.
“No. I like it here.”
“You’re a really strange boss.”
Yuri laughed.
I stood up.
Even though my shoulders ached after selling thousands of blue roses that morning, there was no time to rest.
It was my turn to make lunch.
“How about some cold pasta? It’s hot today.”
The capital was already entering early summer.
I retied my hair into a high ponytail.
Ugh, having my neck covered really is hot.
Just as I was fanning the back of my neck—
Yuri suddenly reached out a large hand toward me.
His long fingers lightly brushed the nape of my neck.
“Ah!”
My eyes widened in surprise.
For an instant, as our eyes met—
Stars?
Something like stardust swirled inside Yuri’s blue eyes before disappearing.
As though it were magic.
What was that?
I blinked.
But before I could examine it more closely, the strange light vanished.
His clear blue eyes, like a shallow sea, narrowed slightly as he looked at me.
“…My apologies. I thought I saw a bug.”
As his hand withdrew, goosebumps rose along the back of my neck.
Instinctively covering it with my hand, I replied,
“Really? Well, I don’t dislike bugs that much, so you don’t need to worry about it next time.”
Honestly, the sudden touch bothered me more than any insect would have.
At my answer, Yuri’s eyes sparkled like glass marbles.
“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 they hear about pollination.
But surprisingly, mosquitoes contribute more to flower pollination than most realize.
Even annoying pests can be helpful when growing flowers.
So being afraid of insects of any kind would make no sense.
Yuri stared at me as I answered confidently.
Then he tilted his head and murmured,
“Titi, I think you’re a rather unusual person.”
