Why did he say this? She looked at Oliver with a frown. Then she approached him and asked in a low voice.

“Awning doesn’t want to marry me?”

“Not that…”

Oliver stopped talking and wiped his face with one hand as if he were increasingly anxious. Was it really like that? Awning didn’t want to marry her?

She was startled by a sudden thought and asked.

“Did I look like I would rather marry Count Burns than Awning?”

“No, no. Eugenie, it’s not like that.”

Fortunately, that didn’t seem to be the case. Oliver quickly raised his hands and shook them.

“Mother is also a bit sad. Your family is kind of like that, but you’re not the type to care about that.”

“The family?”

“Count Burns. There are some people who criticize him just because he is an emerging noble.”

Not too many people, but quite a few. Having a family with a long history was something to be proud of in aristocratic society. It’s even more surprising that her mother was a bit sad for that. She asked, surprised by her mother’s unexpected story.

“Does our mother want me to marry Count Burns? Why?”

When she decided to get engaged to Awning, the one who was most happy about it was her mother. She also wanted her to choose Awning from among the men who were courting her. Count Burns was rich and handsome, but by his mother’s standards he was more of a savage. But now she wanted her to drop Awning and marry Elliot? At her question, Oliver looked around and took her into the study on the first floor. And he said with a look of regret.

“It’s not what she wants. I said something stupid.”

Saying something nonsensical meant that he was thinking that way. She looked straight at Oliver and waited for him to continue talking.

“It’s not for Awning. Earl Burns saved you when you were kidnapped before.”

“Um, yes.”

“And he sided with you at Duke Germarot’s banquet.”

“Yes.”

“Last time at the Rencid family ball.”

Uh, that’s right. Come to think of it, Elliot was always there. When she was against someone, he would stand behind her and take her side.

“By the way, you know? A letter from the viscountess to mother some time ago.”

Viscountess Renshid wrote to her mother after the ball. Her mother’s expression hardened a little when she saw that, though she thought it might not be a very good story. She said, of course, that it was nothing to her.

She waited with bated breath for Oliver’s story. She wrung her lips and said.

“What did she say to mother? She…”

“What? Because of what happened at the prom?”

She hoped it wasn’t right. The Viscountess was displeased with her quarrel with Lord Masterson at her own ball. Oliver licked his lips again and said.

“I heard that you were being too aggressive. She said you interfered in the business of someone you had nothing to do with and made herself in trouble.”

Her heart ached at the specific accusation. Come to think of it, Awning said the same thing. Didn’t meddle in a girl’s business that has nothing to do with her.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Yes.”

Oliver put his hand on her shoulder as if to soothe her. Then he said, stroking her shoulder and arm.

“Neither mother nor I think you did anything wrong. That’s why mother was a bit sad.”

It was said that Viscountess Sonia Rencyd sent such a letter and she felt sorry for her. If this was the case, she wondered if Count Burns would be better as her mate. She was a little sad. And also thankful. That her mother and older brother were on her side.

“Uh, Eugenie.”

When she lowered her head, Oliver began to freak out. He didn’t know what to do, and then he went over to the desk. What was he doing? She looked at her brother in bewilderment. Oliver opened a desk drawer and pulled out a small pocket, then returned to her and put it in her hand.

“Go and do some shopping.”

Sddenly? She looked at Oliver dumbfounded at the sudden action. But the absurd thing seemed to have been the same for Oliver. He looked closely at her face and he asked.

“What, weren’t you crying?”

“Did you give me this knowing I was crying?”

It was a small pocket, but quite heavy. What’s inside was money, for sure. Wasn’t he stupid? She laughed because it was absurd. When she was younger, something similar happened to her a few times. When Oliver broke her doll or knocked her over. When she cried, he wouldn’t know what to do, then he would take out something like candy from his pocket and give it to her.

She opened the wallet and checked inside.

“Are you giving this to not reach mother, or are you giving it not to cry?”

“I thought it was the latter.”

Oliver said in a frustrated tone, but he didn’t ask her for the money back. If he already gave it to her, it’s hers. She said putting it in he pocket.

“It reminds me of when I was little.”

Oliver seemed to have remembered what it was like when she was a child. He said with a grin.

“No. When I was little, I would have told you not to go to mother.”

“Then can I tell mother?”

Oliver’s expression contorted at her provocation. He held out his hand to her and said.

“Give me that back.”

“If you give it to me, it’s mine!”

She giggled and ran out of the study to avoid Oliver. He tried to grab her, then sighed and said:

“Eugenie, if you don’t like it, I’ll step in and break it off.”

It’s good to have an older brother. Sometimes, no, she wanted to kill him quite often, but sometimes it’s good.

She walked up to Oliver and forced a laugh. Okay. She was marrying Awning, not Viscountess Rencid. Besides, it’s only her mother’s idea that Elliot was good to her. He already had a girl he liked.

“I don’t like it. Awning is a good person, and the Viscountess is a little… .”

What to say! While contemplating the words, Oliver said.

“Are you sensitive?”

“I was going to tell you that she loves her son very much.”

“The Countess of Biscon also loves her child very much, brother.”

It was so. She chuckled at Oliver’s point.

“It’s fine. I like Awning.”

“But he doesn’t love you.”

She was speechless at Oliver’s point. Okay. It’s not that she loved Awning. But weren’t all nobles like that? It was not that people married because they loved each other, but love came after marriage. Although sometimes it became more like camaraderie than love. She chose to attack instead of defend.

“Is that why you are not getting married? Can’t find someone to love?”

“No, well, it’s not like that…”

It’s just because his eyes were high. Oliver looked good. She heard he was kind of popular during his academy days. She thought if he had made up his mind to get married, he would have already done it. The Earl of Biscon was a pretty decent family, and his heir, Oliver, also looked decent on the outside. Besides, she, the only younger sister, had already decided on a marriage partner. Even so, she didn’t know why her brother still hadn’t been engaged.

“You mean you’re not going anyway?”

Oliver turned around as if he was in trouble. She must have received the money, she nodded and said, thinking that nothing would come out if she teased him more.

“Huh. To go shopping.”

Naturally, their gaze turned to the pouch Oliver had given her earlier. It was quite a lot of money. Enough to fit one indoor dress. Oliver sighed in a playful tone, and she giggled again and went upstairs.

“Shall I pick you up when you come?”

Asked Oliver, who dropped her off on a street lined with shops an hour later. On the way out, she asked for a ride. There were so many shops here that there was nowhere to park a wagon.

She pondered Oliver’s question for a moment, then shook her head. It’s convenient to pick it up, but she couldn’t leisurely look around. She planned to stop by the bookstore to check out new books, buy a copy, and drink tea at a nearby teahouse. If she had time, she wanted to walk slowly through the streets of the dressing room. However, she thought it would be too late if she did that, so she only thought of the coffee shop first.

“It’s fine. Why don’t you hire a car?”

Oliver nodded at her answer and closed the carriage door. Everyone did that when they came out here. Send the carriage back and either call it back or take a hire car.

She started walking down the street with light steps.

“Ah, Lady Biscon.”

When she entered her regular bookstore, the owner came out to greet her. He guided her inside and he took out a book he had previously removed.

“When did you come? The new work you were looking for came out last week.”

“Oh, is it?”

What she read before was interesting. It was a series about a man being chased by a monster who reverses it and catches it. She took the book the bookstore owner offered her and examined its contents.

“Please put it on the ledger.”

If she put it on the ledger, the butler would pay the bill once a month. Oliver told her to shop, but she didn’t have to carry money as long as she only went to her regular stores.

“All right. Can I send you the book? Or would you like to take it?”

Usually, she asked for it to be sent to the mansion, but today she decided to take it because she was going to go to the tea house and try it. After asking for the cover to be wrapped, she went outside the checkout counter. This book was well recommended by the owner according to her taste. But sometimes she had to read a book she didn’t like. The old home tutor was like that. Because if you looked at something that suited your taste too much, you would become isolated in your taste.

She wandered through the bookshelves that lined the walls, looking for books that might interest her. Ah, in this way, she would end up buying the book according to her taste. In the end, she started walking through the books she wasn’t interested in one by one. Then she lightly bumped into a person standing close to the bookshelf.

“Ouch!”

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