Unlike most men, Wolf found he enjoyed dancing quite a bit. While he had very limited experience, the feeling of tightly holding and moving together with Anna was really good.

Wolf saw the jealous looks the youths his age gave him and Anna. Women were more jealous than men because, unlike most youths of his generation, Wolf was a really good and very precise dancer. An ideal partner for young ladies lacking experience.

Men of the Empire of Human looked down on the art of dancing. It was bland and monotonous when compared with more noble arts, such as skillfully murdering sentient beings with blade or magic. Then there were tactics, in which you outwitted your opponents by sacrificing the lives of others, and finally, for some odd reason, people respected fine writing.

It was a funny thing. Everyone envied masterful and graceful dancers, such as Wolf. Yet they ridiculed people who wasted their time and energy on taking dance lessons. It was as if everyone expected people to just pick it up along the way.

As Wolf and Anna danced Wolf picked up some new steps from those dancing around them. The tune ended, and people changed partners. The two lovebirds, however, stuck together; enjoying the sensation they both hoped would last forever.

They were so absorbed into one another that they lost track of time and were caught unawares when the music failed to resume.

“The Young Miss Charter will be arriving shortly,” a Walter proclaimed and people trickled out towards the main ballroom.

It was then that Anna realized she was sweaty and tired. Her feet were sore from the new shoes, but she still grinned wonderfully.

Why is she so happy now, when she was so grumpy in the wagon? Wolf wondered, trying to figure out what was going on. Anna behaved much more conservatively than last time they danced, but she hadn’t complained about some of Wolf’s moves, which were even more forward than the tiny peck he tried giving her on the way over.

“You danced wonderfully,” Matilda chirped quietly as she appeared from the crowd. “You’re as good as the teachers Daddy hired to tutor me back when I was a girl.”

Matilda seemed so excited she’d barely held back from clapping her hands. Wayde stood next to her, his face considerably more neutral. He shot Wolf a look which seemed to say Do you have any idea how long you guys have been at it?

And Wolf really had no idea. He could only tell that the ballroom had filled up quite a bit since they’d arrived.

Anna and Matilda whispered, gossiping about Wolf literally behind his back, while he and Wayde waited for Barbara to make her appearance.

The birthday girl didn’t have them waiting too long. Less than a minute after everyone gathered, the lights went out and a spotlight shone on the ballroom’s balcony. The door opened revealing Barbara who wore a silver dress almost identical to the one Anna wore for her birthday.

Her wild fiery hair was forcefully restrained into a conservative bun and the young woman smiled, then waved like a queen greeting her loving subjects. The only thing out of place was the ruby necklace which didn’t really go well with the dress. However it matched the birthday girl’s hair and temper perfectly.

A moment later a thundering applause filled the room. Wolf was certain Anna’s birthday party was very similar, however he was too nervous to remember such minor details as a sonic boom induced by hundreds of clapping hands.

Barbara gracefully walked down the stairs, occasionally waving to people, and more than once waving to Wolf and his group.

It was at this point that Wolf realized he hadn’t bought a present for the birthday girl. The youth panicked for a moment, since the next item on the agenda was the gift-giving.

“Wayde, what did you buy for Barbara?” Wolf hissed, already going through the assorted junk he had in his Ring of Holding.

Cheap dresses, money, Wolf listed items as he considered each of them. Ring of Holding is too expensive and it’s a ring, so no. Monster Cores, but that shouldn’t interest her. South’s toilet paper… Books! They are books damn it!

“A bracelet,” Wayde replied immediately, however by the time he’d finished his sentence Wolf had already checked and rejected ninety percent of the things he had in his Ring of Holding.

Oooh! This camouflage cloak isn’t too expensive and it’s kind of neutral, Wolf thought as he’d found something that could do the trick. It’s more expensive than the ring I bought Anna, but it’s clearly not a show of affection, so she can’t get jealous.

People formed a line and Wolf settled with the cloak. He didn’t have anything to wrap it with, but a simple illusion would do the trick. The fact that it would be dispelled as soon as Barbara damaged it made the idea seem like a fancy gimmick and Wolf liked it, even though it leaned towards hubris a bit. Unlike his height and uniform.

The act of everyone gifting the birthday girl, which seemed to last a couple of seconds two months ago, dragged out for almost half an hour before Wolf and his group were up.

“Happy birthday Barbara!” they congratulated, presenting their presents which disappeared into Barbara’s Ring of Holding a couple of seconds later.

“Thank you, I hope you enjoy the party,” Barbara thanked them sincerely before hurriedly adding. “By the way, Wolf I wouldn’t mind if you asked me to dance once father lets go of me.”

Those words shook a number of people in the room. Wolf felt a dozen menacing gazes from various scions of Baron and Viscount households who sought to woo Barbara and maybe improve their futures a bit.

However, he wasn’t the focus of the most hateful stare at the moment. After glaring at Barbara for a moment Anna dragged Wolf away. Matilda had an awkward smile, while Wayde was greatly amused, and not in the least surprised by Barbara’s bold invitation.

“Um, what do I do now?” Wolf wanted to ask, but couldn’t. He had a feeling Anna would kill him if he said anything. However, he was in a pickle. It was Barbara’s birthday and this was a public request she’d made. He couldn’t just turn her down, right?

“What kind of a backstabbing friend is that bitch?” Anna growled, and luckily Matilda was there to defuse the situation.

“Maybe she’s just impressed with how skillfully your boyfriend dances?” she offered, forsaking propriety for a moment by choosing a word which cemented Wolf’s status to reassure Anna. “If it was my party, I might be tempted to make such an invitation as well.”

Anna was still frowning, but at least she stopped growling. “One dance, Wolf. And don’t you pull anything funny. Do you understand?”

Wolf wanted to ask if he was allowed to squeeze instead of pulling, but the shadow of murderous intent he sensed from Anna made the joke die before it reached his lips.

“One dance and I won’t pull anything funny,” Wolf sheepishly repeated, but Anna’s frown deepened.

What did I do wrong now? he cried inwardly. I just repeated the words you told me! Was I supposed to pretend I didn’t hear what you said?

Wolf glanced towards Wayde, hoping for some guidance, however all he got was a snicker.

He’s doing it on purpose, I know he can hide his emotions so that even I can’t read him. Wolf grumbled inwardly at his friend pulling his leg like that.

The party remained awkwardly silent all the while until Barbara’s dance started.

Lord Charter was not a good dancer. Compared with Edwin Didot he was a horrible one. At least he didn’t step on Barbara’s foot and the dance ended without casualties. Which was still up in the air for the second dance of the evening as Barbara intently stared at Wolf.

Swallowing, the young man headed towards the birthday girl. He felt Anna viciously pinch his back, but it didn’t hurt one bit, just kind of annoyed him.

It’s not like we’re going to rip our clothes and have sex right on center stage, he grumbled while politely bowing to Barbara in a customary greeting of a man asking for a dance.

This is stupid too, he thought as Barbara curtsied. If she was the one asking for a dance, shouldn’t she have approached me and bowed?

As the dance started Wolf saw a dozen or so youths staring daggers at him.

“Don’t mind them,” Barbara whispered.

“They are just some third or fourth sons of various nobles. You know, born losers looking for a woman’s skirt to hide under,” Barbara chirped happily and not too quietly as she tightly hugged Wolf, pressing her rather impressive chest against him.

The young man didn’t say anything, but even with his senses mostly dormant he could tell that those breasts were definitely real and definitely not padded like Anna’s.

“You really are good at dancing,” Barbara continued making smalltalk. “My servants told me you danced with Anna for almost two hours. Is your stamina as good in bed?”

Wolf jerked his head and looked at Barbara with a shocked expression, but the young woman didn’t even blink.

“What?” she asked as if she had inquired about the weather. “It’s an awkward question, I know. And considering that Annabelle’s guarding her virginity like a madwoman, you probably don’t know from a shared experience with her. But you’re a guy. You probably went to a brothel, so you know something, right?”

One shocking statement after another caused Wolf to falter and make a misstep. Anna’s face twisted in rage as she closely watched the two, making sure Wolf wouldn’t do anything inappropriate with those roving hands of his.

“I see I’m right,” Barbara continued. “I overheard my brothers talk about it. They say they’d go insane if they didn’t get a chance to vent every now and then. Presley’s married, but still goes from time to time. I can’t figure out why, there's nothing wrong with his wife.”

Wolf had no idea how to react to these words, he just danced stiffly. What exactly were Barbara’s brothers discussing and why the hell did she bring this up? Fortunately, or not, Barbara was about to answer the latter question.

“So, how about you be my man instead?” Barbara whispered as she leaned in closer, pressing her impressive chest even more firmly against Wolf’s. “I don’t even mind sharing you with her, since she’s never going to do anything with you anyway.”

Barbara kept whispering into Wolf’s ear, but felt disappointed with the lack of reaction from Wolf. Well, other than him stumbling a step or two from how shocked he was. After a couple of moments of awkward silence Barbara swallowed loudly. Her face was thick, but even for her what came next wasn’t easy.

“All right, I’ll spell it out,” she licked her lips, working up her courage. “I’m asking whether you want to have… sex… with me after the party.”

Saying the difficult part allowed Barbara to speak more relaxedly. “We can get married and make everything official whenever you want, tomorrow, next month, or next year. Think about it. Daddy will even make me the heir of the house and you would get to be a Count one day!”

Barbara blurted out the last bit with none of the seductiveness she was going for. In fact she fired the words in such a barrage that, when coupled with her personality, Wolf had a feeling the young woman was angry at him.

“Daddy already agreed to this,” she continued hurriedly. “In fact, he was the one who encouraged me to have this conversation with you. So, you don’t have to worry. He doesn’t care that you’re a beg— common born.”

Wolf ignored her guff. His social standing had no impact on him as a person. Rather he tried to sort out how he was feeling about what Barbara had just said. The proposal inflated his ego, but he wasn’t interested in Barbara one bit.

Out of the women he was close to, Anna was a dear and pretty girl. Matilda was a beauty he could never dream of defiling, while Barbara was… Well, she was rude. That was the strongest impression Wolf had of the woman.

Completely disinterested, Wolf had another thought. What if this was Matilda’s party and if Matilda was the one making the offer?

Wolf didn’t know what he would do. His answer most definitely wouldn’t be as clear as it was right now.

“Um, Barbara… Thank you for the offer, but…” Wolf didn’t know what to say, however this was definitely not what you should say to a woman who spoke so openly.

Naturally Barbara exploded and stomped Wolf’s foot, almost twisting her ankle. She felt like she’d furiously stomped on a rock, which didn’t budge one bit. Wolf held her in the air and kept moving like nothing had happened.

“You… henpecked… cunt of a man,” she hissed angrily into Wolf’s ear. “She’s never gonna give you any and you know it! Why act like her bitch? What? Do you think you love her and she loves you? If she really loved you, she would’ve spread her legs for you already. I don’t care about the Mage Academy. I’m willing to be your woman and be with you. You can do anything you want to me, so why her and not me?”

Barbara unknowingly raised her voice bit by bit and the couples dancing near them heard her vulgar words. One pair had awkward expressions and moved away, but the rest of them seemed interested in how this was going to play out and refused to change places with the other couples, forcing some people into making awkward maneuvers.

However, Wolf’s calm and sincere response ended the quarrel before it blew into a full fledged scandal.

“Well, because I love her?” he offered with a dumb smile.