Guidelines for the Perfect Goodbye - Chapter 139
Christian’s frown wouldn’t ease, so Helena, noticing this, tried to appease him.
“Right. Sir Nigel and Miss Casey are both as rigid as can be. And Miss Casey isn’t exactly a dazzling beauty by your standards.”
She pondered for a moment if there were any other suitable women.
“…”
There weren’t any.
With the situation as it was, she decided to mention a name that might catch his interest. With this thought, Helena spoke up.
“Come to think of it, the young lady of the Lasphilla family will be attending this time. I invited her to at least be dignified since the Marchioness of Rosencrantz will be her chaperone.”
“Lasphilla? Are you referring to Caroline Lasphilla, the fiancée of Ulysses Rosencrantz?”
“You didn’t hear? They broke off their engagement.”
“They broke it off?”
Christian’s eyes sparkled.
“Yes. But anyway, not her.”
“Then surely not Margaret Lasphilla… Grandmother, I do have some standards.”
“Neither! It’s Cecilia Lasphilla, the Count’s daughter with his hidden mistress.”
“The mistress’s… daughter?”
Christian blinked in surprise before bursting into laughter, clutching his stomach.
“Haha! The mistress’s daughter, you say?”
“Why, what’s so funny?”
He couldn’t stop laughing, shaking his head. Tears even formed in his pretty eyes.
“That’s just too much. Even though I’m not picky about status, I don’t involve myself in such ambiguous matters. Why would I risk getting caught up with someone like that?”
Helena, shocked, covered her mouth with her hand.
“You… You do have standards…”
Alexandra, who had been silently listening, also looked surprised and grabbed Christian’s hands.
“This guy… won’t completely ruin the family…”
“The ones ruining the family are obviously you and Grandmother.”
Christian smiled brightly and snatched Alexandra’s heart card.
“I’m just here to enjoy myself. Like gambling, I avoid ventures where losses are inevitable.”
Rumor had it that the Count’s mistress was quite beautiful. Christian thought he might want to see her face at least once for amusement.
But the thought of seeing a face that had only half of Lasphilla’s blood… Hmm, not particularly interested.
Christian muttered in a tone heavy with lingering regret after finishing the conversation.
“So the only noteworthy attendees at this party are Miss Casey and Lasphilla’s… pfft… Oh, excuse me. Lasphilla’s illegitimate child, right?”
“Well…”
“Isn’t that a bit too modest? With so few people, this party will hardly be lively.”
Christian shook his head and stood up. A servant approached, ready to drape his coat over his shoulders.
“Are you going out again?”
At Helena’s shrill question, he shrugged.
“Since I know there won’t be any flowers blooming in the Viscountcy’s garden, it’s only right to move to where spring flowers are in bloom.”
Hearing that quip from him, Alexandra’s face twisted in annoyance.
“Do you want to be hit with flowers?”
“Do you even have money left for flowers?”
“I just won some money.”
“I’ll be sure to inform Grandfather— that you and Grandmother used the family funds for gambling.”
“Are you crazy?”
Christian mischievously wrinkled his nose and then straightened it. It was a teasing gesture.
“Since the place you’re staying at will all be mine someday, I have to protect it before it gets eaten up. As someone said, you can’t go around flirting properly without securing your base first.”
Leaving his huffing sister behind, Christian coldly exited the mansion.
“That damn brat!”
“Calling your nephew a brat, really. Speak nicely and maybe you’ll find poker chips even while you sleep.”
Unlike the visibly furious Alexandra, Helena remained calm. She must be thinking that it was better to lose the money if it stayed within the family. Alexandra ground her teeth in frustration.
“Mother, if you were going to host a party, you should have embellished your story a bit. You just ended up irritating him for no reason.”
“Did I know he would react that way? I always thought he’d marry a maid someday. The fact that he’s selective, well… Hoho, it’s quite something.”
“…You seem strangely proud?”
“I do worry about our bloodline, you know.”
Helena said snidely,
“The longer he lives, the more secure my retirement fund will be.”
And further, Helena added,
“And I did lie. It just didn’t work.”
“What exactly did you lie about? It was so insignificant that I couldn’t even tell.”
“I said that Lasphilla’s illegitimate child would be coming.”
Helena curved her red lips into a somewhat sinister smile.
“That girl won’t come. Or rather, she wouldn’t be able to.”
“Did you bribe someone?”
“Oh, dear.”
As if such a thing were worth the trouble. Just an illegitimate child of a mere count.
Helena had simply set conditions that were impossible for the girl to meet.
