Obsessed with Regressors

The heat had subsided a bit. It was muggy from morning, but that was for a while. The heat had subsided slightly before she knew it. Even so, it was still summer.

She looked at Lauren sitting across from her as she sipped the cold tea Anne had brought. After putting the tea leaves in unboiled water and putting them in a cool place for a day, this chilled tea was gaining popularity recently because it was good to drink in the summer. In her house, her mother insisted that tea must be hot, so they boiled it and drank it, but the servants seemed to drink chilled tea. Sometimes, when young guests like this came, they went out.

“So I think it would be better to quit the academy.”

Lauren was trying to convince her why she should quit the academy. Because she got a letter from her teacher saying she wanted her to quit the academy and she wanted to hear what she thought about it.

“So, you mean you want to quit because of the academy fee?”

That’s the point. The academy fees were covered. Lauren rolled her eyes at her confirmation, she said.

“It’s not necessarily like that, I think I learned everything I could learn at the academy. In a dream…”

“You’ve already been there in your dream.”

So she was saying she couldn’t learn more? At her question, Lauren slowly nodded her head. Was it really so? She raised her teacup to think. It’s not just because of the cost of the academy, it’s because there’s nothing to learn. But she had a feeling that the reason Lauren wanted to drop out of the academy was because of the cost. 

Her recruits were guided by her. Her official guardian became she, Eugenie Biscon. That’s why she sent her letters from the academy as well. She was told that Lord Masterson obediently signed Lauren’s papers changing her guardianship to her. After that, she was paying for Lauren’s needs. Her cost itself was not that great. Because she was in her last semester and she had already paid for her tuition and boarding fees. All she paid was for Lauren’s pocket money or food. Tuition and boarding fees, as well as the money Lauren spent growing up, were waiting for Lord Masterson to claim them.

“How about the clothes shop?”

When her thoughts were organized, she put down the teacup and asked. It’s not hot tea, so the texture feels a little different. If only water had a taste.

“A clothes shop?”

“You said you wanted to run a dressing room. You told me you would make something you designed some time ago.”

It’s been a few days. Out of respect for Lauren’s willingness to quit the academy and start her own clothing store, she assisted her in making her own clothes. It was not Lauren who made it, but the owner of a small dressing room that Lauren found. She agreed to make a dress out of the design and fabric Lauren had brought. She supported the cost of the cloth and labor used there.

Lauren did say she could see the fashion to come. She said plaid would be in vogue this fall. Also her shoulders were very swollen. However, there was no sign that plaid would be popular yet. It wasn’t even autumn yet, the dresser who had come to put on her mother’s dress went not too long ago. It seemed that small floral patterns would be popular this fall as well as summer.

“How is it? How is it going?”

She didn’t think it’s going to work. As she thought, Lauren looked at her speechless. Maybe, as Lauren said, plaids and puffy shoulders would be in vogue. But she didn’t know when that would be, neither did Lauren. She lifted the teacup and put it down again. Was it because she didn’t boil the water? She didn’t want to drink more because it didn’t feel like it touched the tip of her tongue.

“Keep going to the academy some more time. At least until your clothes sell well.”

“Can I quit after the clothes sell?”

“No.”

Just selling it once didn’t mean she could run a clothing store. She said while fiddling with the cool teacup that she felt at her fingertips.

“Just because you quit the academy doesn’t mean you will have the money or skills to open a dressing room. Besides, you only have the last semester left anyway.”

No matter how much she dreamed, it’s just a dream. She respected Lauren’s will not to live as she saw in her dreams, not that she was a prophet.

“It’s a shame. How about graduating?”

“But…”

At her persuasion, Lauren hesitantly looked down at the teacup. Unlike her, she drank most of the tea. Was she being a bit sensitive? As she looked down at her teacup, Lauren continued.

“It costs money again after you graduate.”

“Miss Liz, I have no intention of taking money from you.”

She understood that she thought she had to pay the money back because of Lord Masterson. However, she believed that sponsorship should always be sponsored. Asking for something in return from a sponsored child was not sponsorship. And it was not trade either. 

No, business knew what the other party was dealing with. What Lord Masterson did was not a trade, but a fraud.

“I will pay it back, even if it takes my whole life.”

“I don’t intend to take it. Because I decided to support you.”

“No.”

Only then did Lauren’s expression harden. She looked straight at her and continued her words.

“Because I live, that is, because I live in a dream, I understand. If the price is money, it is rather cheap.”

When Lauren said this, she wondered how vivid her dreams were. How could a child who was still a teenager say that if money was the price, it was cheaper. She sighed at her determined demeanor. She really had no intention of getting it back.

“To be honest, Sir Masterson hasn’t even charged me yet. So, while I’m still sponsoring you, the only money I have to pay is the last tuition at the academy.”

“That person will definitely charge.”

As Lauren said, if money was the price, it would be better if Lord Masterson charged it because it was fair and cheap. Of course, there’s a chance he felt guilty and didn’t charge, but she was a little skeptical of that idea.

“That’s right. He will charge it. But anyway, the money I spent is about the last semester, and even if I pay it back, I have to pay it back very slowly. So think about it a little longer until graduation.”

She knew Lauren was a firm believer in her dream, but she thought it’s a bit risky to leave the academy by relying on it. he didn’t know how her life would go. Her academy graduation wouldn’t have a big impact on her life. She didn’t graduate and she thought her life wouldn’t be ruined or anything. What she was worried about was the graduation itself, which could have been achieved after attending just one semester. She was afraid that someday Lauren would regret it. ‘She’s going to attend the graduation ceremony,’ she thought.

She nodded her head with a somber expression. She said she would go to the dressing room and she left.

“That, Count Burns would have paid for it?”

“Mom!”

As soon as she turned to see Lauren off, she was startled by Oliver’s voice and jumped up. 

‘Oh my god.’

Oliver was standing in front of the stairs before she knew it. Didn’t he hear it coming down? As she thought so, Oliver shrugged his shoulders.

“I was passing through the hallway and I heard it. I didn’t overhear it.”

It seemed he overheard her conversation with Lauren. He even raised his shield to say he hadn’t overheard. She sighed and asked.

“What is that?”

“That’s what she said. What was her name?”

“Liz. Lauren Liz.”

“Yes, this child support. It looks like Count Burns paid for it.”

What? She was impressed at the end by Oliver’s incredible words. Then Oliver shrugged his shoulders again this time.

“Count Burns said it before. He paid for it, so he said to never mind.”

Did he even tell Oliver directly? She was dumbfounded and opened her mouth. And she began to question Oliver.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Oh, I forgot.”

Did he forget it’s a good thing? She didn’t know that, and she was wondering if she should send someone to the Mastersons. As she frowned, Oliver flinched back. He walked up the stairs with his back steps, talking to himself as if to listen.

“Oh no, I have somewhere to go, but I forgot.”

‘Oh wow, really.’

If it were her child or younger brother, she would have scolded them. She asked Oliver after telling him to be happy that he was his mother’s child.

“Where are you going?”

“Count Burns. You moved this time.”

She heard he was looking for a house. On Escon Street, one block from her house. Count Burns was lucky. Seymaria Street and Escon Street were the streets where the aristocrats lived, and they lived there for generations, so houses rarely came up for sale. How, then, did Count Burns buy it, because it was sold by the frightened Baroness Lingard, who had been attacked by robbers. Escon Street, as well as Seymaria Street, was a street inhabited only by aristocrats, so the rumors of robbery in the area shocked the social world. Thanks to that, nobody was willing to buy it in the beginning.

“Aren’t you ready?”

Oliver, who was climbing the stairs, looked at her strangely and asked. Elliot invited all of her family. Her mother visited her friend’s house for a while and she said she was going there right away. She shrugged and said.

“I’m not going.”

“Why?”

Wasn’t he familiar with Count Burns? She sighed at Oliver’s question. That’s because.

“Awning said he cared about it.”

“What? Oh, you and Count Burns?”

“Please don’t be too friendly.”

“Huh.”

Oliver snorted at her in amazement, then nodded at her and said,

“Well, Count Burns is better.”

“Oliver!”

He couldn’t be saying things like that. Oliver said, heedless of her accusations.

“That’s not wrong. As for the character, Count Burns is better.”

“It’s similar.”

“They have the same height.”

Oliver grinned as he said that. She’d say Oliver wasn’t even the same height as Elliot, but that’s like spitting in his face, so she stopped. Elliot and Awning were much larger than average. Oliver was also taller than average.

Oliver said as she sighed.

“Isn’t Count Burns better for you than Awning?”

“Jokes are not funny.”

“I am not joking.”

Oliver said so and leaned against his stair handrail. Then he thought for a moment before he said.

“If you like Count Burns better than Awning, I’ll step in and break it off for you.”