Guidelines for the Perfect Goodbye - Chapter 143
In her previous life, when Cecilia was invited to the Lope household, Casey made every excuse to leave and once she disappeared, she would be gone for a long time.
Cecilia had encountered Casey Heens in the hallway as she was returning to the table. At that time, Casey had clearly come out from the direction of the servants’ hall.
‘Involved with a servant from another family… She’s having a tough romance.’
Given the difficulty of the relationship, Casey would be easily swayed if caught and pressured into cooperating.
Especially if the person catching her seemed like a naive girl from the countryside, she would let her guard down even more easily.
‘She should be coming out around now.’
Just as Cecilia was getting bored of waiting, Casey Heens appeared.
“Miguel, have you been waiting long?”
At Casey’s whisper, a man in a footman’s uniform slid out from the entrance of the servants’ hall, which had seemed empty.
“No. The time I spend waiting for you is always pleasant.”
“Miguel…”
Despite Mary’s concerns, this tryst had nothing to do with Cecilia herself.
Cecilia quietly watched the two. Luckily, after a brief affectionate embrace, Casey noticed the intruder.
“M-Miss Cecilia…!”
Cecilia shook her head with a startled expression.
“I-I didn’t see anything!”
It was an outright lie.
***
Cecilia was then dragged by Casey into the lounge, her original destination. Casey explained the situation with a troubled face.
“…So we’ve had to meet in secret like this.”
After hearing everything, Cecilia summarized the situation in her own words.
“So, you two have been dating for a year, and when Count Heens discovered it, he fired your lover, forcing you to break up?”
“Yes, that’s right. Miguel was… my language tutor. But because of me, he was dishonorably dismissed without even a reference letter. He shouldn’t be doing such menial work…”
Whether he was a language tutor or a footman, both were unsuitable matches for the daughter of a count. Their love was impossible through conventional means.
“Then what about Sir Nigel…?” Cecilia asked.
“The Young Marquis already knows. I secretly told him before, feeling it wasn’t right to proceed with the engagement while harboring feelings for another man.”
“He knows…?”
This was news to Cecilia.
Nigel Rosencrantz, aware of his fiancée’s affair and yet turning a blind eye?
‘Is the Nigel I know the same person she knows?’
The Nigel that Cecilia knew was not a man of such mercy. The man who used his tongue like a knife on her was acting like this outside, leaving her utterly speechless.
“He said he couldn’t break off the engagement between the families just by his own power, so we should proceed with it for now and do as we please afterward. I don’t know if he meant it sincerely, though…”
“I see. I had no idea you had such a difficult situation, Lady Casey…”
Cecilia quickly adjusted her expression and looked at Casey with pity.
“Thinking about how you’ve lost sleep over such long worries… My heart aches as if it’s being cut.”
Cecilia dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief, prompting Casey to give a sad smile.
“Miss Cecilia, you are truly considerate. To think I left you so troubled without realizing it.”
Cecilia remembered how Casey Heens had looked at her uncomfortably throughout their conversation. Casey, who considered herself righteous, felt regretful that her words had tormented an innocent young lady.
Casey Heens valued justice highly. Knowing this, Cecilia had acted as an innocent, clueless girl to provoke Casey’s guilt.
“I’m fine. It’s not as if what you said was wrong.”
“…To be honest, I didn’t like you at first. I found the act of having an affair while having a legitimate wife to be unjust. Perhaps… it was self-loathing.”
“Miss Casey…”
Cecilia put on a grateful expression while thinking to herself.
‘It’s a bit different from what I expected, but there’s no need to change my plan.’
Casey Heens didn’t want to continue her engagement with Nigel. And Nigel was aware of it…
This relieved even the smallest pangs of her conscience.
“Miss Casey, I have something to tell you.”
Cecilia spoke with determined eyes.
“The reason Sir Nigel was so lenient about your romance… is because he’s also in a relationship.”
“What?”
“As you know, the Rosencrantz and Lasphilla families are very close. While I might not know much about your situation, I know quite a lot about Sir Nigel’s.”
Casey’s eyes widened in pure astonishment.
“Indeed… That would explain his leniency. Who is his lover? It would be nice to talk openly and find a way to solve this together, since we are in similar situations.”
“Actually…”
Cecilia twisted her body shyly and said,
“It’s me… I’m his lover.”
When it came to damaging Nigel’s reputation, she felt no pangs of conscience.
