Guidelines for the Perfect Goodbye - Chapter 136
Since he had planned to stay only for a week, packing was quick.
“Did you enjoy your stay? I didn’t expect it to rain, such a waste of precious time.”
“No, I had a restful time, thanks to you.”
“That’s good to hear. Come back anytime the weather is nice.”
Despite having staged an outrageous scam, Count Lasphilla shamelessly invited him to return.
Logan quietly smiled. He couldn’t agree nor disagree.
His mind was in turmoil, and he felt like a ship drifting without a helmsman through a storm.
Just like a woman who was reluctantly pushed towards him, she approached slowly.
Logan discarded his cigarette.
“Goodbye.”
“See you again.”
Cecilia’s faint smile teetered between a sneer and self-mockery as she bid Logan farewell.
The way back was now quite familiar. The scent of grass after the rain tickled his nostrils as the carriage ran over the wet ground.
Suddenly, he felt uneasy. As if he would be tossed aside after being manipulated.
Why was that? He had the choice to break off the engagement.
If he wanted, he could avoid seeing her forever, or if he wanted, he could marry her.
That was the reality. She had nothing. He held all the cards.
So why did he feel so impatient?
He opened the carriage window. For a moment, he almost turned the carriage around. But with his inherent rationality, he forced himself to sit back.
The journey back wasn’t as refreshing as he had anticipated. It made him increasingly anxious, as if he had left something behind.
‘Maybe I should have just had tea with her.’
It was a trivial regret. But he didn’t dwell on it. A soldier’s virtue is not to entertain distractions and regrets.
He was a swiftly sailing ship that didn’t know how to anchor.
Therefore, it was too early to have ‘love’ or ‘marriage’ etched into his blueprints. He had to be cautious.
If his decision could change her life.
* * *
Time passed quickly. Cecilia accepted most of Guinevere’s conditions and made progress.
Some parts required little effort.
Her conversational skills were already quite good, she was skilled in etiquette, and she rarely skipped meals, so she gained some healthy weight.
She focused on learning the piano and could play a few pieces without sheet music.
She also worked tirelessly on her dancing to a level where she wouldn’t be laughed at.
Guinevere was surprised by her achievements. Even a few sentences in her letter revealed that emotion.
‘Did you really do all that?’
To condense the content of the elegant and arrogant letter, it basically said this:
Not long after, Guinevere sent a dress to Cecilia. Cleverly, she sent it through Adam rather than directly to Cecilia.
Adam mocked her. Exactly six months had passed. It was clear why she sent the dress just as the time for her second daughter’s debut in high society arrived.
“It’s about time she bent the knee.”
Adam no longer trusted Guinevere as he used to. The distrust remained, but the connection to the Marquisate of Rosencrantz was too valuable to give up.
“Reconciliation, my foot.”
He burned the heartfelt apology letter sent with the dress and only accepted her proposal. His intention was to maintain only an outward social connection.
Thus, Guinevere became Cecilia’s chaperone, and Cecilia made her debut in central high society at the townhouse of Pierce Duchy, thanks to Guinevere’s connections.
“A duke’s house? Oh, goodness. You won’t be seeing Her Majesty the Queen.”
Caroline said, pretending to be disappointed.
“What a shame. I hoped you would hear her kind and warm words.”
Caroline had made her debut at the royal court. However, Cecilia, with her questionable background, couldn’t do that.
“For me, a duke’s house is more than enough,” Cecilia replied.
In reality, she had never properly debuted in high society in her past life. She had no well-connected chaperone, and Adam wasn’t keen on presenting Cecilia on the central stage.
But after showing weakness to the Harper family, Adam had to publicly affirm Cecilia’s noble status.
A debut at a duke’s house would be impressive enough for their eyes. Judging this to be sufficient, Adam fully supported Cecilia’s grand debut.
* * *
“I’m visiting the capital for the first time!”
Mary exclaimed excitedly. She kept peering out of the carriage, expressing amazement at the new scenery.
“It’s my first time too,” Cecilia replied.
In this life, it was indeed the first time. It was the first time leaving the Lasphilla manor, the first time going out this far.
Though it wasn’t complete, she felt a sense of liberation. Like Mary, Cecilia smiled as she watched the scenery outside the carriage.
Now, the real beginning was here.
