William suddenly felt like he couldn’t breathe. After a moment of silence, William denied urgently.

“What? No. Why would you think that?”

“……?”

“Why would I pity you? I don’t, you know?”

William vehemently denied with a strained voice. Larisa casually replied,

“No, you did pity me from the beginning.”

William tried to deny it again but hesitated. At first, he clearly felt sympathy at the moment Larisa remembered from their first meeting. Maybe being honest was better than telling a lie.

“At first, maybe, but not anymore.”

Upon hearing this, Larisa tilted her head and asked,

“But why do you look at me with such sad eyes?”

William gasped for breath.

“I know everything. When people look at me with such eyes, they give me money.”

“I… I…”

William desperately tried to come up with excuses. However, his mind went blank, and he couldn’t think of anything to say.

“It’s okay. You can pity me if you want. I’m actually grateful for it.”

“No, I… I like you.”

William covered his mouth with his hand. After saying it, he felt it was a mistake. However, Larisa responded with an innocent face,

“I like William too.”
Larisa was smiling brightly. In response to her lighthearted remark, William chuckled.

That night, William had another dream. He could tell it was a dream because he found himself in the appearance of an adult once again.

Dressed in formal attire, it felt awkward because it was the first time. William loosened his tight collar and wandered around the unfamiliar ballroom.

Debutantes in white dresses gathered, waiting for gentlemen to request a dance at the New Year’s ball.

William habitually looked for the pink-haired girl. Since it wasn’t a common color, it was easy to spot Larisa.

“Huh?”

And Larisa recognized him immediately. Somehow, laughter bubbled out of her. With a cheerful expression, Larisa asked,

“Right? Lord Rodante?”

Still seeing the lovely and girlish Larisa, William asked,

“Why are you using formal speech?”

Surprised, Larisa looked around, then whispered cautiously,

“Huh? No? But how… How can I speak informally?”

William burst into laughter. It was the first time he had seen Larisa using polite language. Her reddish eyes, like a startled rabbit, and her adorned appearance were all utterly charming.

“Why are you laughing?”

“No, just…”

“It’s impolite to laugh like that in front of someone.”

Larisa frowned. William, quietly observing her, felt a strange desire to tease.

‘It’s a dream, so I can do as I please, right?’
William took a step closer and whispered softly.

“I missed you.”

Larisa, in response, asked blankly,

“…What?”

After all, he was just seeing a lingering trace of the past. This was not the real past but merely a dream based on it. So, wouldn’t it be okay to say everything he wanted?

“You know, I think I really liked you a lot.”

“What?”

Larisa’s face showed shock. Considering they had only met once in childhood, suddenly claiming to have liked her seemed strange. However, William continued without hesitation.

“When I see you looking this beautiful even in a dream, it seems like I was really serious about it.”

Larisa looked at William as if she were seeing a crazy person. After laughing again, William became serious and said,

“Can you stop appearing in my dreams now?”

“Are you crazy?”

“Yeah, it feels like I might actually go crazy.”

Larisa, looking bewildered, quickly greeted him.

“Well then, I’ll be going now.”

William casually turned around, unconsciously grabbing Larisa’s wrist. She looked surprised once again.

“Could you let go of this?”

Seeing her frightened expression, he quickly released her hand and apologized.

“Oh, sorry.”

After letting go, he felt somewhat regretful. It was because it seemed like Larisa was about to leave. As the music was about to start, William pointed to the dance floor and asked,

“Hey, Lala, want to dance with me?”

“What?”

“Well, the dance is about to start now.”
Larisa now openly stared at him as if he were a lunatic. William, who had laughed earlier, now felt embarrassed.

“The card on your wrist. Isn’t it for dancing with someone, even though there’s no name written on it?”

Larisa quickly pointed to her dance card with one hand and replied sharply.

“You’re being quite rude, you know?”

William, driven by an impulse, urged her.

“So, let’s just dance once.”

“You must be crazy, seriously.”

Larisa, disgusted, distanced herself. This time, he couldn’t bring himself to stop her. William woke up from the dream with a deep sense of regret.

William splashed cold water on his face, trying to shake off the drowsiness.

‘Ah, but I don’t know how to dance anyway. I almost made a fool of myself.’

Although he had already been treated like a lunatic, William decided that he needed to learn how to dance.

‘Dancing is a basic skill for the nobility.’

It was definitely not to dance with the girl in his dreams. He realized that he would face embarrassment during the festival if he didn’t learn to dance, as he didn’t know how to dance during the previous event.