Chapter 86

Yuri was only acknowledging an objective fact but for some reason, Genos seemed bewildered by her response .

“I guess you like roses, Mr . Genos?”

She abruptly recalled what happened last time at the festival and asked but upon hearing that, Genos’ gaze became glued to her face .

He looked into her eyes speculatively, as if he was trying to assess why she asked such a question . Then he soon opened his mouth .

“Ms . Yuri!”

Right then, the sound of someone calling Yuri rang out from the entrance . As she turned her head, she found Anne-Marie standing there holding a paper bag full of groceries .

Genos shut his mouth again and sent a glance in Anne-Marie’s direction .

He didn’t seem to have anything else to say to her so Yuri left Genos alone and headed towards Anne-Marie .

“Ms . Anne-Marie, what are you doing here?”

Anne-Marie quit her job at the clinic just recently . So there was no reason for her to purposefully come to Blue Ferret anymore . Which is why Yuri asked, wondering if something was up then Anne-Marie gave a bright smile and replied .

“I was coming back from grocery shopping, so I just stopped by . ”

“That looks heavy . Do you want to put it down for a second?”

“It’s fine, it’s lighter than it looks . Hestia is eating a lot more lately, I think she’s in her growth period . ”

After saying so, Anne-Marie looked around the coffeehouse .

“I’ve never been here at this time but there’re less people than I expected . ”

“Yes, it’s quite free right now . ”

Then Yuri suddenly grew curious and asked .

“Is today your day off, Ms . Anne-Marie?”

Although Anne-Marie was a caretaker, it seemed she only had to go the old man’s house four times a week, so she definitely had more spare time than when she worked at the clinic .

And when she asked, Anne-Marie shook her head .

“Not really but you know there was a huge incident in the shopping area yesterday, so they told me to just rest up for today . ”

As she spoke, her brows furrowed slightly, and she examined Yuri’s face .

“Are you okay, Ms . Yuri? You must have been really shocked yesterday, you should have just taken a rest today . ”

“I’m fine . I wasn’t hurt at all . ”

Clang!

That very moment, a loud sound suddenly broke out behind them . The source of the noise was Genos .

For some reason, his eyes were wide, and he was looking in Yuri and Anne-Marie’s direction . The noise a second ago seemed to have been caused when he tried to get up from his seat .

But when Yuri and Anne-Marie’s gaze fell on him, he was startled and turned away . In that moment, Anne-Marie tilted her head .

“That person…somehow, I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere before . ”

And when she heard Anne-Marie exclaim in realization a moment later, Yuri felt Anne-Marie’s eyes were very good .

“Ah, isn’t he the guy that gave Ms . Yuri flowers at the festival?”

“Cough, cough . ”

Instantly, Genos began to cough as if something was lodged in his throat .

Maybe it was because he was a male lead candidate, but his hearing was very good . Even earlier when they were talking, he seemed to hear what they were saying and now, despite Anne-Marie talking in a low tone that Yuri alone should hear, he was unable to hide his reaction .

Screech!

Eventually, Genos’ coughing settled down and he stood up from his seat .

“Ring me up please!”

Unlike other nobles, he placed the accurate payment for the lemonade on the table and left the coffeehouse, his steps strangely in a hurry .

“Or maybe not? Did I see wrong?”

Seeing Genos’ departing back, Anne-Marie tilted her head again . And soon enough, she chuckled like she had no idea .

“I’ll head out then, Ms . Yuri . Next time, I’ll come as a customer . ”

“Alright . Be careful . ”

Anne-Marie left the coffeehouse with her smile as bright as when she first came .

* * *

“Ms . Yuri, I’m here . ”

And the very next day, Anne-Marie kept her promise .

“Yuri!”

Of course, she didn’t come alone but with an unexpected companion .

The old man seemed to have grown thinner in the past two days . He hurriedly approached Yuri and his cane clacked on the floor with every step .

“Hello . I see you came with Anne-Marie . ”

The old man’s face looked extremely serious as he examined her then his expression lightened up and his shoulders relaxed .

“Good, you seem well! I did hear from Anne-Marie, but I was worried you might be a little ill after getting caught up in that explosion . ”

He truly seemed very concerned about Yuri .

“I’m alright . I’m glad you’re safe too, Sir . ”

Yuri also realized that and replied to the old man with an odd feeling in her mind .

“What do you mean, ‘Sir’? You can just call me ‘grandpa’ comfortably like Anne-Marie does . ”[1]

Like before, the old man ordered tea today .

As Yuri headed to the kitchen, Anne-Marie followed her .

“Grandpa was so worried that I just had to escort him here . I hope we’re not interfering with your work?”

“You’re not . Actually, thank you for worrying about me . ”

Yuri’s words made Anne-Marie’s face brighten up .

After a while, Yuri went up to Anne-Marie and the old man with tea and scones for them to eat .

“Ehm . Ehem . Yuri . There’s something I want to discuss with you today . ”

The old man place his teacup down and looking at Yuri . The atmosphere around him was somewhat unfocused today . Then he seemed to finally make a decision and opened his mouth .

“If you have some time, can you listen to what I have to say?”

Yuri glanced at Anne-Marie but as expected, Anne-Marie looked like she didn’t know anything . She then looked at Gilbert who had been stealing glanced their way for a while now .

The moment their eyes met, Gilbert nodded right away to signal it was okay . There weren’t a lot of customers in the store, so he seemed to have heard what the old man said .

From the looks of things, the old man didn’t have the soundproofing item that Kalian had last time . Either ways, Yuri didn’t reject the old man’s request and sat down opposite him .

“To be frank, I am cautiously making such a request of you . ”

The old man clasped his hands on the table and carefully began .

“Once a week…no, twice…Mm, okay, once a month is fine . Can you be my conversation partner? Only if you’re for it . ”

Yuri blinked at the unexpected request .

“I think you already know but when I see you, I am reminded of my daughter, Selena . ”

The old man looked at Yuri, his eyes filled with remorse and he continued speaking .

“They say children who pass away are always buried in their parent’s heart . Maybe it’s because it’s getting closer to the anniversary of her death but I’m thinking about her a lot more these days . When I see you, I feel like it soothes the emptiness in my heart . ”

Hearing that, Anne-Marie who was next to him called out ‘Grandpa…’ in a small voice . For someone as compassionate as her, it seemed the old man’s situation was very saddening for her . Of course, anyone with a common sense of sensitivity would feel the same .

“Of course, from your point of view, this might be something you are reluctant about . I understand . ”

The old man deeply gaze at Yuri who was just listening without saying a word .

“I am not shameless so I will not ask you to volunteer for an old man’s sake . Asking you to deal with an old man’s words is definitely an exhausting job . ”

Following that, the old man took out a folded document and placed it on the table . Then he pushed it till it was right in front of Yuri .

“This is an employment contract I prepared just in case . You can take it and read through it . Think about it thoroughly and contact me if you’re okay with it . ”

Yuri looked down and her gaze fell on the old man’s hand which was held out in her direction . His voice was calm and collected but his hand was trembling hard enough that she could easily tell with a glance .

Honestly, it wasn’t like she couldn’t understand the old man’s feelings but Yuri herself had no reason to accept it .

However, she eventually decided to look over the employment contract because of the trembling hand holding onto it .

Rustle .

The old man nervously watched as Yuri opened the folded paper . Next to him, Anne-Marie swallowed drily, seemingly taken in by the atmosphere .

“The conditions are too generous for me . ”

After skimming through the document, Yuri finally opened her mouth . At that, the old man quickly shook his head .

“Not at all . I am the one making a request so I have to do that much . ”

As old man said, Yuri could set the deadline and decide on the number of times, whether it was once a week or once a month . Above all, the payment…

‘…it’s just to my liking?’

Yuri began to make calculations in her head .

Secure retirement funding .

Buy a new house .

Get bigger space .

Live a comfortable unemployed life with her pet .

The advantages of accepting the old man’s offer quickly flashed through her mind .

Yuri carefully read the contents of the employment contract and estimated a few things . Then as she was doing so, her eyes fell on the last part and a certain name there bothered her .

“…Bastian Crawford?”

Yuri spoke up as though to confirm and the old man sitting opposite her replied .

“That’s my name . Now that I think about it, have I never told you my name?”

Indeed .

This was the first time Yuri was learning of the old man’s name .

Yuri swallowed down a forced laugh that was about to escape her

Bastian Crawford, he says .

So did that mean he was the grandfather of the male lead, Kalian Crawford?

Translator’s Corner:

[1] This might be culturally dissonant . In some cultures, it’s not only biological grandparents that are called ‘grandpa’ & ‘grandma’ . It’s an nice way to call elderly people in Korean . Sometimes it’s not even nice but there’s nothing else to call them .