After the Ending, I Received the Second Male Lead as a Gift

I’m so sorry for the lack of updates. I’ve been ridiculously busy for the past month and a half or so and will continue to be for probably the next month as well, or until December at the latest hopefully. I’m so exhausted… I’ll try my best to maybe get some chapters scheduled in advance, but no promises. I also plan to go through and edit all the previous chapters once I get time to make them more consistent. I’ve been debating whether to call the shapeshifters beastmen or beastkin or something else, etc. Plus when I take a long break, I forget some things leading to more inconsistency. I’d appreciate any input! Anyways, sorry for the long rant, enjoy!

 

And a few days later.

Ding-a-ling!

“Hello, boss!”

A tall female employee, at least a head taller than me, greeted me energetically as she entered the store.

With a face full of freckles and her red hair tied back, the shop instantly brightened up when she walked in.

She discovered the flowers delivered early in the morning and beamed.

“They’ve already arrived! I’ll trim them and place them where we usually do!”

“Yes, please, Nina.”

Nina lifted three bundles of flowers at once, which I would never have been able to do.

I was a little jealous.

After a while, Leria Mawson, who had experience running a flower shop, arrived at work. The young woman with a gentle demeanor, neatly dressed, smiled and greeted me.

“Hello, boss.”

“Good morning, Leria.”

“We’re running low on wrapping paper, so I’ll place an order today.”

“Thank you.”

She moved gracefully, checking inventory and writing up the order.

She said that before marriage, she helped run the family flower shop in another estate, and it showed in her skillful work.

I had much to learn from her regarding the shop’s operations.

As cheerful music played from the latest music box, the two women’s skirts swayed to the rhythm.

‘Peaceful.’

I couldn’t help but smile. Compared to the hectic mornings of opening the store alone, this felt like heaven.

‘Hiring people was the right choice.’

Grumble.

Looking down at the odd noise I saw Ludwin settled down in a corner and dozing off.

‘How cute.’

Ludwin, who has been very active since the day the shop opened, quickly became a specialty of Tyria’s Flower Shop. There were even customers who came to our flower shop specifically to see him.

I looked at Ludwin fondly.

‘A flower shop needs a cute dog, after all.’

For now, I’ll ignore that he’s a bit large, black, and not really a dog.

Ding-a-ling!

The bell on the door rang brightly.

‘Ah, here he comes.’

It signaled the arrival of our last employee.

He was a slender young man named Loren, who had recently settled in Dilucia from the countryside. With pink hair and a black beret, he was so pretty that he could be mistaken for a woman at first glance.

He was a bit of a problem.

“Hello! Boss…. Eek!”

Bang!

He energetically opened the door only to quickly close it again.

“Loren…”

Rising from my seat where I was checking the order form, I opened the door to find Loren in a pose ready to run away. I grabbed him by the collar as he tried to escape.

“Hello, Loren?”

“Oh, hello, boss! Eek!”

He stammered as he glanced at Ludwin, who was yawning with his mouth wide open behind me.

Seeing Ludwin’s sharp fangs made Loren’s face go pale.

“He, he, he’s here again today, sir dog.”

Is that odd title a trend? Jeffrey calls him that too.

Loren turned even whiter, trembling.

Ludwin must have woken up from the commotion, and when he saw Loren caught by me outside the door, he bared his teeth and growled.

‘He still dislikes him.’

For some reason, Ludwin didn’t like Loren. During his interview, Ludwin had even tried to bite him, causing quite a scare.

“Loren, didn’t you see the job requirement about not being afraid of big dogs?”

I thought he seemed fine during the interview, but he’d actually fainted from fear temporarily.

Since then, he’s stubbornly claimed he’s not afraid of dogs.

“I’m not afraid of dogs!”

Even now.

“You look like you’re about to faint seeing Lu.”

“That’s because he’s not a dog!”

I flinched at Loren’s words.

‘Could he know Ludwin’s true identity?’

But that was just my imagination. Loren squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his fists, pointing at Ludwin.

“He’s definitely a wolf! He’s too big to be an ordinary dog!”

Ludwin snorted at that.

“…Loren, you’re just scared of Lu, right?”

“Ugh!”

Startled by the direct hit, his red eyes welled up with tears.

He looked like a rabbit facing a predator.

‘He might hate being called that.’

I chuckled quietly to myself. It seemed like he might have been teased about it when he was younger.

I could have kicked him out because he didn’t meet the job requirements, but honestly, I couldn’t afford to do that.

He was good with customers, skilled at making bouquets, and, above all, very knowledgeable about plants. He knew more about them than most herbalists.

The floral tea he suggested quickly become a popular product in our shop.

As I silently watched him, he nervously fidgeted with his fingers, looking at me with tear-filled eyes.

“I’ll work hard, so please don’t fire me. I want to work under you, boss.”

Him crying like that made it seem like I was an evil boss. I didn’t want to be the villain after the ending had passed.

“I have no intention of firing you. I’d be in trouble if you left.”

Loren’s face lit up.

Ah, his pale cheeks turned a rosy pink, looking just like a rabbit.

“Thank you!”

He took off his hat and bowed repeatedly.

I guess I probably won’t be able to eat the roasted rabbit that was on the menu for tonight.

I looked at the clock and it was already opening time.

Loren, who was a little behind in getting ready due to the morning commotion, hurriedly put on his apron, and Nina and Leria also adjusted their clothes and prepared to greet the guests.

I put my hands on my hips.

“Alright! Let’s give it our all today!”

“Yes!”

With everyone’s response, the flower shop doors opened wide.

“Welcome to Tyria’s Flower Shop!”

As the doors opened, customers who had been waiting outside began to enter one by one.

It looked like the shop would be busy today as well.

I checked the delivery orders and counted on my fingers.

‘Thirteen bouquets to deliver today, and flowers for the Luson trading company’s former chief’s birthday party…’

Alone, it would have been impossible to handle all these orders.

But now, with three employees and Ludwin helping, the scene I envisioned was slowly taking shape.

Taking turns greeting customers, skillfully creating ordered bouquets, and managing the flowers.

I occasionally took care of important customers or made floral decorations for them, enjoying the relaxed atmosphere.

‘Yes, this is it!’

After distributing the tasks for the day to the staff, I savored the floral tea Loren made, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere of the shop with the music box playing in the background.

Ding-a-ling.

The bell announced the arrival of another customer, and a man with a flushed face entered the store, breathing heavily.

“Tell the boss to come out immediately!”

His voice was so loud that everyone in the shop turned to look at him.

I stopped drinking my tea.

‘What’s this? I have a bad feeling.’

Usually, people came to the flower shop for pleasant reasons, such as celebrating good news or decorating something beautifully.

Moreover, I didn’t hide the fact that I was a noble running the shop.

At first, customers were hesitant, but after seeing that I treated everyone politely without discrimination, they showed the same respect, and there hadn’t been any issues until today.

So, it was the first time I had such a customer since the business opened.

I was surprised, but stopped Leria from responding, and stepped forward myself.

“Hello, I am the owner of Tyria’s Flower Shop. How can I help you?”

The man, still breathing heavily, glared at me.

“You’re the owner?”

“Yes, I am.”

Despite my polite reply, the man immediately pointed his finger at me.

“Ha! Figures that a woman is the owner here!”

With a sneer, he slammed a pot with withered flowers onto the counter, causing soil to scatter everywhere.

He pointed at the pot and yelled.

“Look at this! The flowers have withered! I can’t believe you’re selling defective goods like this!”

I examined the pot.

‘These are Lysis flowers.’

Seeing the plant, I was taken aback.

“Sir, these flowers naturally bloom for about three days. After the flowers fade, they produce beautiful berries in their place. I’m sure our staff explained this when you purchased them.”

“I don’t care about the berries! I bought it for the flowers, and they’ve withered, so it’s defective!”

His absurd logic left me momentarily speechless.

Even an argument needs to be reasonable.

Suppressing my rising frustration, I forced a business smile.

“If you want flowers that don’t wither, we have products treated with magical preservatives. Would you like me to show you those?”

The man must have thought that his ridiculous argument was working and began smirking.

“What? I came to complain about defective flowers, and you’re trying to sell me new ones? You’re a total scammer!”

Still, the conversation wasn’t going anywhere. It was clear the man had no intention of having a reasonable discussion.

He crossed his arms and snorted.

“Hmph! A flower shop run by a noble, no wonder! You must think you can just give us commoners any old thing!”

I kept smiling but flinched inwardly.

‘…What did he just say?’

Running a business, you meet all kinds of people.

I’d nearly had my nose cut off a few times.

Still, I usually handled things diplomatically, but this guy was insulting the dream I’d achieved after ten long years.

Grrrr.

Ludwin, who had been sitting still, let out a threatening growl. It was distinctly different from the playful sounds he had made toward Loren or others and carried a clear sense of displeasure.

His exposed fangs, thicker than a finger, were also so fierce that the man flinched in surprise and took a step back.

The staff, too, looked furious and were about to step forward, but I raised my hand to stop them.

Something seemed a bit off.