Obsessed with Regressors

After spitting it out, she thought it might be.
Just because he wasn’t a noble didn’t mean that his friends weren’t noble either.
Especially if he had attended the academy, he would have hung out with nobles, so he might have noble friends.
But even so, if they were old friends, they would call each other by first names, so at best he would be mistaking the names to use during official occasions or on envelopes.
She had to double-check her letter envelope every time her friend Angela wrote her a letter after her marriage.

‘Every time I write Miss Albany, not Baroness Crum.’

“Not friends.”

Arriving in the middle of the hall, Count Burns stood side by side with her and quietly opened his mouth.
So, was there any confusion? She quickly bowed her head towards him and thought before the music started.

When she looked up, Count Burns was bowing down to her.
Ike, she guessed he didn’t know.

She remembered that he was looking for someone to teach him noble manners, and that he had asked for her help.
Maybe he’s confused now.
Because he entered a world he knew nothing about.

“Did you learn ballroom dance at the academy?”

As the music started, she asked while holding Count Burns’ hand.
His large hands gently touched her waist.
Judging by his attitude, he didn’t seem to have danced much before.
His hand hesitated, as if he didn’t know if it was right to touch her waist.
A stranger would think that Count Burns was too nervous about dancing with her.
But his dancing was good.
Count Burns said, taking the next step without difficulty.

“Yes, but what I learned at the academy wasn’t very helpful.”

“But do you dance well?”

Dancing better than Awning sometimes bumps into her as if the steps were confusing.
But Count Burns was not like that.
Count Burns didn’t budge even when the man who adjusted the distance bumped into him from behind.

“It’s okay?”

The man he bumped into was about to bounce off, but Count Burns didn’t even look at him.
In response to her question, he had a look on his face asking what she was talking about.

He was obviously bumped into.
Because when the man bumped into her, Count Burns’ hand on my waist was strong.
When she narrowed her eyes, Count Burns smiled helplessly and said,

“It’s fine.
It’s just a light brush.”

It wouldn’t have been lightly brushed.
But his bravado was cute, so she laughed and moved on.
She also had a shave like that.

Count Burns smiled after her and said,

“Would you believe me if I said I practiced to dance with Lady Biscon?”

That’s a really funny joke so she laughed out loud without knowing it, but she was startled and covered my mouth.

“You say nice things.”

It sounded ridiculous, but it’s nice to hear.
It’s more because he’s a person who didn’t normally say white things like that.
Count Burns was also smiling at her.
He had a pretty scary face when he had no expression, but when he smiled, he became like a boy.

Wait, that was not the time.

In a daze, she missed a beat by staring at his face.
She hurried back to catch up with the others.
But there was one thing she forgot.
That Count Burns’ hand was still on her waist.

“Ugh.”

Things happened in an instant.
Unlike her, who tried to pull back, Count Burns didn’t know she was going to pull back, so he thought she was falling and he pulled her.
In the blink of an eye, she was hugged with her cheek against his chest.

“Are you okay?”

Assessing the situation was very slow.
And as soon as she figured it out, her reaction was very quick.
She separated from Count Burns at the speed of light.
And she said hurriedly.

“Okay, it’s okay.
Very strong no, strong, no, not this… ”

She didn’t know what she was trying to say.
Meanwhile, her face was getting hotter. 

‘Oh My God.’

She’d rather be sick somewhere.
It wasn’t that her face was red.

“I’m glad you’ve been well.”

Ironically, Count Burns smiled and said that, then extended his hand to her again.
In that situation, it was better to just dance.
If she ran away because she was embarrassed, people would talk about it for a long time.
And maybe two days later, it will be published in a small volume in Current’s Whispers.

The thought of her story being published in the newspaper made her feel so terrified that she never wanted to leave the house again if it happened.
She took Count Burns by the hand and started dancing slowly with the others.

“Can I tell you a secret?”

After dancing awkwardly for a while, Count Burns said.
Any story was good to avoid that awkwardness so she nodded so as not to look too desperate.
Then Count Burns bowed his head to her and whispered in her ear, as if he were telling a really secret story.

“Actually, I hate proms like this.”

“Why?”

Because he didn’t like dancing? Oliver didn’t like proms very much.
They seem to think that dancing in front of people was too strange.
However, dancing was the best way to become intimate with the opposite sex in a public place.

“There are too many people.
I would like it to be a little bit less occupied.”

“Me too.”

In the joy of having a common ground, she spoke quickly.
She also didn’t like that messy scale.
She especially hated proms.

In social circles, unmarried women were not allowed to dance.
One could only accept or reject requests from men.
So the number of times they were invited to dance at a ball became a visible measure of their popularity.

Of course she was lucky.
She had a brother named Oliver Biscon.
Her brother’s friends used to politely ask her to dance because she was his friend’s sister.
Huh, thinking about it like that, useless Oliver did help.

“I came here because Viscount Eston and his father have a business relationship.
I like gatherings of at most ten people.”

The reason she went to Viscount Aston’s ball even though she didn’t like it was because it was a social life and a duty at the same time.
As a person belonging to an aristocratic society.
The life she enjoyed was something she could enjoy because she was an aristocrat.
All of the expenses come from taxes from the father’s estate and from the business run by the family.
That business was also intertwined with that of Viscount Eston.
As the daughter of the Earl of Biscon, she had a duty to smooth out her relationship with the Viscountess of Aston.
The same goes for other aristocrats.

“I like the smaller size.”

After taking another three steps, Count Burns whispered as he came back.
Didn’t she tell him that she liked the small size too? But what Burns was talking about on a small scale was a different story.
He put his palm on her palm and continued his words.

“You only need one important person.”

She felt strange.
But it went by so fast that she didn’t have time to realize what it felt like.
She asked him, taking two steps to the right with her palms in his hands.

“It is a female?”

When she turned her head, Count Burns was already looking at her.
He looked at her and said quietly.

“Yeah.”

She felt like she knew a little bit about the emotions that quickly passed by a moment ago.
A little jealous, and envy.
But she didn’t know who she was envious of.
Was it because Count Burns had found someone so important that he didn’t need anyone more, or was she jealous of the woman who had become that kind of person to him?

Was he going to marry? But Count Burns said he was not even engaged.
She shut her mouth for a moment, torn between curiosity and rudeness.

Then Earl Burns asked.

“When did you get engaged?”

He knew she was engaged.
Realizing that fact made her feel weird again.
In fact, she thought he was flirting with her.
That was, until he said he had an important woman.
And that, to be precise, was Count Burns’ fault.
That his actions were misleading.

When Earl Burns put his hand on her waist or her palm to palm, she seemed nervous.
And he just acted like he was trying to protect her.
Usually that made her think he had pretty strong feelings for her.
No one would ask for a first song to a hated one.

She said, frowning as she tried to interpret Count Burns’ actions.

“Half a year ago.”

“Is it rude to ask about your engagement?”

Count Burns asked, probably because she answered with a frown.
Could it be? She was dumbfounded by his ridiculous question, but immediately remembered that he had just entered aristocratic society.

He said he didn’t know much about aristocratic etiquette.
So she wrote down a list of teachers who would help him.

If that’s the case, it seems that he really didn’t know what he’s doing right now.
She sighed and grabbed the arm of Count Burns, who was putting his hand on her back.
Then, with a light push, she said.

“There should be gaps between us when we dance.”

As expected, Count Burns had an expression that he did not know.
Right.

Thinking like that put her mind at ease.
And she got a little embarrassed.
He just did it because he didn’t know.
Not because he was tempting her.

“And it’s not at all rude to ask about engagements.
It won’t cause a break up.”

“Okay.”

Count Burns nodded his head humbly.
She would tell him soon.
She took her hand off his arm and quickly took a step back.

“How about you?”

Count Burns, who had been silent for a moment, suddenly asked.
How are you, what? She raised her head and immediately met eyes with Count Burns, who was looking down at her.
That guy, his eye color was really pretty.

“Your fiancé.
Is he important for you?”

Was he important? She involuntarily furrowed her nose at the strange question.
Then, conscious of Count Burns’ gaze, she quickly changed her expression and said.

“Absolutely.
Because he is my fiancé.”

“But you didn’t come here with him.”

The sharp question left her speechless for a moment.
That’s it.
Like most aristocrats, Awning and she met through family introductions, not dating.
And even taking that into account, the number of encounters was rather small.

“That goes for you too.”

Because she was stabbed in the middle of the day, she spoke sharply without knowing it.
He said he had an important person, but he came alone, right? Elliot didn’t say anything to her point.

‘Damn it.’

She sighed.
To be honest, sometimes it’s a bit questionable.
Whether Awning really wanted to marry her.
But it was a feeling she also had.
Was that marriage right? Her mother said many aristocrats met and married their spouses through family introductions.
She said she would be anxious at first, but get used to it as she lived, and they would become colleagues.
So to Awning would be the same.
She calmed down and opened her mouth again.

“Sorry.
Awning, my fiancé said he wanted to hang out with friends as much as possible before marriage.”

He did.
After all, it wouldn’t be easy to sleep out if they got married anyway.
So, before getting married, he said he wanted to hang out with friends as much as possible.
That’s understandable.
Oliver still goes on trips for a month or two with his friends.
Every time that happened, her mother hoped that her brother would quickly meet his mate and settle down.

“Okay.”

Count Burns nodded as if he understood her explanation.
Then he added, moving slowly to the music.

“I would use it as an opportunity to get to know my fiancé better.”

It’s not an attitude of wanting to know at all.
She was about to say something, but she sighed and said, not to use up today’s rudeness.

“Because you are not my fiancé.”

The music was over.

They bowed to each other, facing each other from a little distance apart, as they had done in their first dance.
Soon there was the sound of people clapping their hands.

“Can I ask you to dance again?”

After bowing, Count Burns asked.
After all, it seems like he wasn’t joking when he said earlier that if it’s okay, it’s okay twice.

I said with a smile so as not to embarrass him.

“If the Count is my fiancé, that’s okay.”

“Can I give you the ring tomorrow?”

‘What?’

She looked up at what that meant, and Count Burns said casually.

“If you are engaged, you should give your partner an engagement ring.
I will prepare it by tomorrow.”

He’s more fun than she thought.
She laughed at Count Burns.
But he didn’t laugh.
Wasn’t he kidding? She said carefully.

“I remember when I told you earlier that I had been engaged for about half a year.”

“Yeah.
I know.”