Guidelines for the Perfect Goodbye - Chapter 144
“Let’s go, Mary.”
Cecilia woke Mary, who was dozing behind the pillar like a chicken. Mary, startled awake, wiped her mouth and asked,
“Did your tryst go well?”
“Yes.”
Cecilia reflected on the recent conversation. Casey had jumped up like someone set on fire as soon as she heard her confession.
‘Is that really true, Miss Cecilia?’
‘Yes. He confessed to me around this time last year. He visited Coffret Manor during every holiday to see me…’
‘My goodness, I had no idea Sir Nigel had such a romantic side…’
‘I knew our social positions made it difficult for us to be together, but feelings are hard to control. I’m really sorry, Miss Casey. I have no excuse for myself.’
‘Please, don’t say such disappointing things. There’s no woman in the world who can understand your feelings better than I can. Sir Nigel also has the right to love someone else, just like me.’
‘Thank you so much for saying that… Hiic, I was so anxious and scared. I was afraid you would hate me…’
‘Oh dear, don’t cry.’
‘Sniff…’
At first, saying all these things honestly made Cecilia feel sick, but as she kept lying, her mouth moved on its own.
‘Actually, during the recent holiday, I tried to break up with Sir Nigel. I was just thinking of his position. But he said it was impossible even if the world were to end.’
…Maybe she got excited because it felt like she was cooking Nigel on a chopping board.
‘He even secretly opened a pendant, saying it was his mother’s keepsake, and showed it to me. The pendant contained pictures of a young Sir Nigel and the late Marchioness of Rosencrantz. He said that since he shared something so precious, we should be together for life…’
‘Oh dear, you’re crying again! With so many tears, how will you navigate this harsh world?’
…Perhaps she had gone a bit overboard.
‘…By the way, I heard that pendant is like a talisman that Sir Nigel never shows to anyone… Miss Cecilia, he must really be sincere with you. You truly are his lover.’
‘I’m really sorry I couldn’t tell you earlier…’
‘There’s no need to apologize. If I hadn’t been caught like this, I would have kept it to myself too.’
Casey then held Cecilia’s hand and whispered earnestly,
‘It’s no coincidence that you discovered my feelings. The God of fate must have pitied our love and guided us to each other. There must be a way for us to achieve our respective loves. Let’s find it together.’
Cecilia responded as if she had been waiting for this.
‘Actually, I have a good idea… Would you help me?’
She added one more pleasing lie to elicit sympathy.
‘For the sake of our love.’
Love.
Oh, love indeed.
Cecilia laughed. She couldn’t stop laughing.
“Miss, what’s so funny?”
“Nothing. Let’s return to the mansion.”
“Aren’t you going back to the table?”
“I’ve said all I needed to say today. My party is over.”
“You didn’t say anything… just a word or two…”
Mary, looking slightly grumpy, went to call the carriage. In the meantime, Cecilia informed Viscountess Lope of her departure.
“You’re leaving? Ohoho, that’s really g… I mean, that’s unfortunate. Take care.”
“Yes, thank you for the invitation.”
“Thank you? Oh, no need for that. This will be the last time.”
Will it really be?
Cecilia had multiple reasons for involving Nigel in her plan to break off the engagement.
The biggest reason was that he was the heir of House Rosencrantz.
‘Being deeply connected with the Rosencrantz family means I can leverage a close relationship with the Lope family, which is the maternal family of the Pierce Duchy. The closer the Lope family is with the Rosencrantz family, the more advantageous it will be.’
