I’ve officially gone through all the previous chapters and reedited them. Nothing major changed, only some of the terms and if there were any discrepancies. I wouldn’t say its necessary to go reread them if you didn’t want to, unless you were looking for a refresher. I’ve also gotten the chance to finish a couple extra chapters and I’m going to schedule them in advance to release weekly so hopefully by the time they’re all released I won’t be so busy and can spend more time working on this novel.
Thanks for sticking with me everyone!
‘It’s not like he doesn’t know that I’m a noble.’
There wasn’t a soul in the Dilucia territory who didn’t know that the daughter of the lord had opened a flower shop. It was because of that damn newspaper article!
The fact that he knew this and still acted this way meant he had some powerful backing.
It was definitely someone of higher nobility, at least a count or above. Or perhaps a person of immense wealth.
‘Ah, maybe…’
I had a feeling I knew who it was. A person who would be more concerned about my new business than anyone else.
‘I wondered why it had been quiet recently.’
There was a lady who had been trying to sabotage my work or embarrass me at social gatherings for a long time.
I’ve barely seen her face in the past year, so I had almost forgotten about her, but now she made herself memorable again.
Come to think of it, the social season is about to start, right?
I began to look forward to meeting the woman who poked the sleeping lion.
Having collected my thoughts, I smiled brightly at the henchman before me.
“Since other customers are waiting, I’ll go ahead and refund you for the pot.”
I handed him the money for the pot.
“Hmph! You should have done that from the start!”
The man snatched the money from me.
I could hear Nina grinding her teeth in frustration.
‘Calm down. I’ll make sure that woman pays twice over later.’
Of course, I had no intention of letting this man go easily either.
Given that he had held onto the pot for several days after purchasing it, he was likely a local.
As he turned to leave in high spirits, I addressed him loudly enough for everyone in the shop to hear.
“I’ll make sure to inform the other flower shops about what happened today, so you can rest assured.”
The man paused and turned back with an angry face.
“What did you say?”
“I’m just worried that you might encounter the same issue at other flower shops.”
I smiled sweetly at him.
If he had nothing to hide, my words would seem like a kind gesture. But his face turned pale.
This story would spread quickly, and no flower shop would sell him flowers after hearing it.
They wouldn’t want to risk angering the daughter of the lord.
It wasn’t just the flower shops. Other stores might react the same way too.
As the man, who had not yet grasped the situation, closed his mouth, a loud murmur was heard around him.
“What’s going on?”
“They say he caused a fuss because the flowers wilted in a pot that produced berries.”
“My goodness, who would make such a ridiculous demand?”
“He should know that the owner is Lady Tyria of the Dilucia family. How senseless.”
“Even if he didn’t know, behaving that way is unacceptable.”
“Right, best to avoid people like that. You never know what trouble they might cause.”
Hearing the whispers, the man finally realized his situation and his face turned bright red.
Still, he was lucky not to have any broken bones; it was a lenient response considering he was being rude to a noble.
Of course, I had no real intention of informing the other flower shops.
I had learned from the original Tyria’s mistakes that abusing power leads to ruin.
This man was just a pawn, and the fear he felt from this incident would be enough for now.
“Boss, that was impressive.”
I heard Nina whisper quietly from behind me.
The man, perhaps hearing this, trembled with rage.
“How dare you embarrass me like this?”
Having lost his temper, he grabbed a fist-sized bonsai stone from a shelf and hurled it at me.
“Boss!”
“Look out!”
The shop erupted into chaos.
I was so taken aback by his sudden action that I froze in place.
‘That’s going to hurt if it hits.’
As that thought crossed my mind, something dark suddenly loomed before me.
Growl!
Ludwin, who had been quietly lying down, leapt forward without a sound.
He shielded me with his body.
Smack!
The sound of the impact was chilling.
“Lu!”
I called out in alarm, but Ludwin glanced at me to check if I was okay and then charged forward.
He jumped over the counter in one go and rushed at the man.
Growl!
Ludwin, larger than a human, pounced on the man, who fell to the floor in terror.
“Ahhh!”
“Eek!”
The sound of crashing and screams filled the flower shop as people backed away. The atmosphere instantly turned tense.
Growl.
“Ahhh!”
Ludwin, clearly furious, growled menacingly at the man.
He pressed his clawed paw firmly into the man’s shoulder, as if to say he wouldn’t let him escape, and bared his fangs right in front of the man’s face, growling nonstop.
It looked like he might tear into the man’s throat at any moment.
“S-save me! Please, save me!”
The man, his face pale, begged for his life as he looked at me. In just a short time, his face had become a mess of tears and snot.
“Haa.”
I let out a sigh, regaining my composure, and walked over to him.
The arrogant man who had been so eager to belittle our shop earlier was now nothing more than a pitiful, scared monkey.
Though I wanted to let Ludwin just bite him, I was worried it might upset his stomach.
I gently calmed Ludwin, who was still growling.
“Lu, it’s okay now.”
The moment he heard my voice, he stopped baring his teeth.
He shook his head a bit as if to show how displeased he was with the prey under his feet. With every shake, the man’s face grew even paler.
Finally, Ludwin stepped away from the man and, as if nothing had happened, rubbed his head affectionately against my shoulder.
Whine.
It was like magic how quickly his attitude changed, leaving the other people in the shop in astonished whispers.
“Oh my, I thought he was scary, but he’s so gentle with his owner.”
“He must have been trying to protect her. He’s really smart.”
“I wish I had a dog like that.”
Hearing that last comment made me feel oddly proud.
To reassure the customers, I grabbed Ludwin by the collar, and he obediently followed me down.
“Will you sit?”
Whine.
He moved to the back and laid down flat on his stomach. It seemed he understood my intentions right away.
“Are you okay?”
I checked the spot where the rock hit him, and he rubbed his head against my hand as if to say he was fine.
He was so cute that the tension in the store began to lift a little.
Thankfully, it didn’t seem like he was seriously injured.
‘…But it must have hurt quite a bit, right?’
I turned my attention to the man, who was still lying on the floor, trembling.
“You can leave now. Just know that I won’t treat you as a customer if we ever meet again, so keep that in mind.”
I spoke in a low voice, still angry that the man attacked Ludwin. The man glared at me, his face flushed with rage.
Growl.
Ludwin let out a low growl as if to ask if he hadn’t had enough yet.
Startled, the man scrambled to his feet and fled from the store.
Behind him, people quietly snickered at the sight.
‘Ugh. What a mess just because of one troublemaker.’
I could already picture Tibon or Jeffrey going wild if they had seen this, demanding that I hand him over to the guards.
That’s how most nobles would have handled the situation but doing that would have ruined the flower shop’s reputation.
Since I opened a store where even commoners could visit, I figured this kind of trouble was just part of the experience.
Who would come to a store that cuts off people’s heads just because they’re upset?
‘I hope this helps spread the word that this is a shop where everyone is welcome, regardless of status.’
I didn’t like being too busy, but I was always happy to meet new people.
I politely apologized to the customers in the shop.
“I’m sorry for the disturbance. You must have come here expecting to have a pleasant experience, but I ended up causing you discomfort. As an apology, I’ll be offering all flowers at half price for the rest of the day.”
The atmosphere in the store, which had still been a bit tense, shifted in an instant.
“Wow!”
“Boss, you’re the best!”
“Let’s get in line!”
The people who had been taken aback by my earlier apology now cheered as if they had forgotten what just happened.
Even people passing by began to flock into the store, deciding to buy flowers while the offer lasted.
Faced with the sudden rush of sales, the three employees looked like they didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
I gave them a bright smile and made a peace sign with my hand.
“Double pay today!”
Their faces lit up instantly.
After leaving the store in their capable hands, I quickly led Ludwin to the back room.
Click.
As soon as I shut the door, I collapsed into a chair.
“Haa, that was nerve-wracking.”
It had been a long time since I’d been threatened like that. Now that the tension was gone, I could feel my heart racing again.
Ludwin seemed surprised when I, who seemed fine, suddenly flopped down like that.
He groaned and pawed the ground in front of me.
I smiled at him.
“Thanks, Lu. You saved me from getting hit.”
I never imagined that a secondary male lead would be the one to rescue me from a dangerous situation.
Whine?
Ludwin tilted his head, his golden eyes gleaming, as if he didn’t understand the strange word I used.
The way he adorably tilted his large head from side to side made my heart skip a beat.
Without even thinking about picking up the heart that was rolling around on the floor, I just gasped.
Before I knew it, my hands were reaching out toward Ludwin.
‘J-just one pat …’
Then, at the last moment, I suddenly came to my senses.
‘No, Tyria!’
Summoning every ounce of willpower, I pulled my hands back down.
Thud!
“Ow, that hurts.”
Naturally, my hand slammed into the floor, and tears pricked my eyes from the pain.
Ludwin was startled by my sudden antics and looked like he was about to back away.
I hurriedly blurted out something normal…
Thanks for the TL! ✨