Guidelines for the Perfect Goodbye - Chapter 142
Mary, with a stern expression, followed Cecilia out.
“Miss, what on earth are you doing?”
“Hm? What do you mean?”
“You’ve been acting clumsy on purpose since earlier. The noblewomen of Mannheim will all think you’re an easy target.”
“An easy target? More than that, they’re probably having a great laugh at my expense right now. Imagine the rumors if word gets out that Lasphilla’s child is a fool. Father’s reaction would be quite a sight, don’t you think? He might even bite his tongue out of shame.”
Cecilia looked a bit pleased.
“Sometimes, Miss, I just can’t understand you.”
“You don’t need to understand. That’s not your role.”
Cecilia, who had entered the mansion, commanded from behind a pillar in a deserted hallway.
“Stay here for a while.”
“What? Why? Aren’t you going to fix your dress? I can help.”
“No. There’s something more important I’ve got to do.”
“More important? What is it?”
“A tryst.”
Gasp…!
Mary gasped.
“Miss, surely not…”
A tryst meant a secret rendezvous between a man and a woman! How long had it been since they arrived in the capital?
Who could it be? A footman? Or the gardener?
No, this young lady wouldn’t consort with a servant…
‘Could it be?’
The name of the duke’s heir, who was said to frequent the Lope Viscount’s mansion, suddenly crossed her mind.
“Lord Chris—!”
Cecilia quickly covered Mary’s mouth with her hand.
“I know what you’re thinking, but please be quiet. Just hearing that name makes my head ache.”
“Could it be that you really… mph!”
Cecilia finally let go of Mary and reminded her again.
“Stay here.”
“But as someone belonging to Lasphilla, how can I ignore my lady’s… affair…”
“Will 10 Lis be enough?”
“Following my master’s choices and wishing them good fortune is the true duty of a loyal servant, don’t you think?”
Mary quickly pocketed the coins and said,
“Go ahead, miss.”
***
Cecilia walked confidently through the corridors of the Viscount’s mansion. In her past life, she had been invited here as Logan Harper’s wife and had wandered around lost and alone.
Thanks to that, the internal structure was vividly etched in her memory.
Cecilia waited for Casey behind the entrance to the servants’ hall.
As she recalled, Casey Heens had a lover. Engagements were often agreements between families, so nobles frequently had lovers before marriage.
But in her previous life, Casey hadn’t been satisfied with just a brief fling.
‘In the end, she eloped with that lover.’
Casey Heens never had any intention of marrying Nigel.
This aligned perfectly with her own intentions of breaking off her engagement with Logan and involving Nigel.
‘I wonder if Casey Heens is still dreaming of eloping.’
If her love for her lover hadn’t matured enough yet, she planned to leave Nigel behind and find another way.
‘It’s better than making an enemy of Casey by messing with her fiancé and being treated like my mother.’
She planned to either involve Casey in her scheme to break off her engagement or find another method to end it herself.
‘But if I bring it up first, Casey Heens will just be offended.’
She was a woman with clear boundaries. If Cecilia, who wasn’t close to her, were to mention her lover, it wouldn’t be received well.
So instead of talking about it, it was better to catch her red-handed and give herself some leverage.
Besides, Cecilia didn’t know who exactly was Casey’s lover. However, she had a hunch that he was working at the Lope residence.
Just seeing how she clung to Viscountess Lope’s salon hinted at it.
Casey Heens was someone indifferent to others’ opinions, to the extent that she would abandon a marchioness’ position and elope. She wasn’t the type to desperately seek ties with a duke’s family out of ambition.
Such a person wouldn’t likely be mingling with the people in Viscountess Lope’s circle for pleasure.
‘Unless she needed an excuse to visit the Viscount’s mansion.’
