Guidelines for the Perfect Goodbye - Chapter 176
But Ulysses did not meet Nigel’s expectations. He remained calm. Though the veins stood out on his clenched fists, that was all.
‘Disgustingly cold-blooded bastard.’
Nigel felt a bit disheartened. Just as he was about to turn away, losing interest, Ulysses spoke softly.
“That couldn’t have happened, could it?”
“…What?”
“It couldn’t have happened.”
Nigel was puzzled. Was Ulysses trying to convince himself? But his demeanor was too composed compared to earlier.
“Young Marquis, I understand your intention to deceive me. However, you should refrain from dragging others into your personal vendettas.”
“Are you lecturing me?”
“I merely stated a fact.”
“And how do you know if it’s true or not? Were you spying on us?”
Ulysses shook his head and lowered his voice.
“She’s unwell.”
“Unwell? Her?”
Ulysses nodded.
“She was in the study, wasn’t she?”
“You… how do you know that?”
“I met her first.”
A crack appeared in Nigel’s expression. Ulysses continued calmly.
“Were you with her?”
“Yes, she didn’t look well, so I attended to her and left her to rest there.”
Ulysses spoke while watching Nigel’s increasingly twisted expression with indifference.
“You’re not the kind of person who would mistreat a sick woman, are you?”
“…Ulysses!”
Guinevere quickly approached and grabbed Ulysses by the arm.
“Oh dear! I thought you went to fetch a drink, but here you are, chatting away! You should have let me know! I’ve been waiting for quite a while!”
Guinevere’s remaining functioning eye, the one that wasn’t covered, looked up at her son with concern, and her gaze naturally shifted to Nigel.
“Nigel, you should have informed me if you were coming! You acted like you wouldn’t come, so why the sudden change of heart? If I had known, we could have shared a carriage.”
Shared a carriage? We don’t even live together! Nigel scoffed.
He knew that Guinevere had been keeping an eye on him from the start. But now she was pretending to be on good terms? How inconvenient.
Nigel was about to say something—anything that would harden her expression or turn her face red with embarrassment. He didn’t care what it was.
But before he could unleash his sharp words, a woman descended the stairs.
All three pairs of eyes turned upward at once.
“Cecilia, what on earth were you…?”
Guinevere frowned slightly. She had many questions she wanted to ask but didn’t bother. Just by looking at her face, it was clear what she had been doing on the second floor.
Her complexion was pale. The bright lipstick and the blush she had forced onto her cheeks couldn’t hide the sickly pallor that clung to her face.
She spoke with a weary expression.
“May I leave now?”
Guinevere immediately granted permission.
In the meantime, Ulysses noticed Cecilia’s dress. The lower part of the dress was wrinkled, and it caught his eye.
That’s impossible. I know for sure that nothing could have happened between them…
It bothered him so much that one of his cheeks twitched. He wanted to grab her delicate wrist and drag her back to that room to ask her.
What happened between you and the Young Marquis?
But Ulysses held back. It was an impulse he couldn’t justify.
Nigel didn’t take his eyes off Cecilia’s face until she turned away. The pale complexion he hadn’t noticed under the yellow lights. He swore he hadn’t realized.
If he had…
No, what difference would it make even if he had? We’re nothing but a mess.
Nothing would change. It’s just a matter of feelings.
“Damn it.”
He ruffled his hair, stopped a passing servant, and downed several glasses from the tray.
***
During the time she should have been resting, Cecilia had been exchanging sharp words with Nigel, like a game of ping-pong. She still felt queasy inside.
Cecilia stumbled, her head pounding and the nausea refusing to subside.
“Miss!”
Mary, who had been waiting outside the duke’s mansion, grabbed Cecilia’s arm.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
The Rosencrantz coachman helped her into the carriage.
The carriage was naturally headed back to the Rosencrantz estate. Of course, that was to be expected. But that wasn’t her final destination.
Though her condition wasn’t great, she still had things left to do.
It was such a busy day.
