Guidelines for the Perfect Goodbye - Chapter 179
The unfamiliar coachman drove roughly. Even on the well-paved road, the carriage swayed from side to side, making it feel like they might be thrown forward if they didn’t lean against the window and brace themselves.
Mary, who had been trying to look after her lady, was also jostled around and ended up pressing herself into the corner of the carriage.
By the time they reached their destination, both were in a sorry state. Mary rubbed her sore backside as she stepped out of the carriage.
When Cecilia took Mary’s hand and followed her out, the coachman nodded and sped off.
“I told him to wait…”
“He’ll be back on time.”
“We even paid for the return trip! Why is he so rude when he drives so recklessly?”
“That’s because he’s not a servant affiliated with a noble household. Since his income isn’t stable, he probably needs to get his passengers to their destinations as quickly as possible and make as much money as he can in the meantime.”
Even though they had paid for a round trip, they hadn’t given him a tip, so Cecilia didn’t have much to complain about the coachman’s attitude.
Ignoring Mary’s grumbling, Cecilia straightened her clothes. Mary sighed as she fixed Cecilia’s disheveled hair.
“Miss, your complexion doesn’t look good at all.”
“It’s just motion sickness. I’ll be fine in a little while.”
Cecilia took a deep breath and glanced inside the hall of the Odridge Viscount’s townhouse. She could faintly hear the sound of a piano, but there were hardly any voices.
“Miss, there are no carriages here…”
Of course there weren’t. There were no guests.
At popular parties, carriages often had to circle around and wait far away because there was no place to park.
This was clearly a failed party. Mary looked at Cecilia with confusion.
“Are you really going in here…?”
“Yes. It’s the social season. I want to experience as many different types of parties as possible.”
“Different types… Well, it certainly is different from the duchy’s party.”
“Isn’t it? The capital’s parties are really diverse.”
She vaguely remembered how, in her past life, Viscountess Odridge was ridiculed for throwing a party with ghosts.
Even the doorman was dozing off on a backless wooden stool. Cecilia felt like she could understand how the viscountess must be feeling without even seeing her.
“Hey! Wake up!”
Mary clapped her hands loudly in front of the doorman.
“Uh, huh? A guest?”
“Yes.”
Mary replied irritably.
“Oh, are you here for the party?”
The fact that he asked the same question twice indicated he was still half-asleep.
“How many times are you going to ask?”
Mary snapped at him, her usual sternness towards servants on full display.
“If you’re being paid to work, you should do your job properly!”
Cecilia glanced at her.
‘Does she even have the right to say that…?’
Mary, as if she had forgotten all her past mistakes, stood confidently by Cecilia’s side, a stark contrast to how she had hesitated in front of the Duke’s mansion.
“A proper servant should always…”
“Here’s the invitation.”
Cecilia interrupted Mary and handed the invitation to the doorman.
He took it with little expectation and asked,
“Where are you from?”
Mary naturally answered,
“This is from Las…”
“Rosencrantz.”
Cecilia quickly answered, and Mary looked at her with surprise. Is that okay? she asked with her eyes, and Cecilia reassured her with a smile.
“Where did you say you were from? Rosencrantz?”
The doorman was also visibly surprised. No one in the social circles was unaware that the Rosencrantz Marquisate was aligned with both the Lope Viscountcy and the Pierce Duchy.
Anyone from the marquisate was expected to spend the entire night at the duchy’s party on a day like today.
The doorman picked up the lantern he had set down and examined the invitation more closely. It was indeed the invitation that the viscountess had personally written and sent to the marchioness of Rosencrantz.
“I-I should announce you…”
The doorman stammered awkwardly.
“It’s fine. It doesn’t seem like it’s a loud gathering.”
In the end, the doorman simply announced that a guest had arrived.
As soon as Cecilia stepped into the hall, she was met by the sight of Viscountess Odridge, who had already half-risen from her seat. It seemed she had heard the commotion outside.
‘She must have thought Marchioness Rosencrantz had arrived.’
But if she had mentioned the name Lasphilla, someone with no connection here, she might have been refused entry, with the party declared over.
“…May I ask your name?”
Viscountess Odridge asked, unable to fully conceal her disappointment.
“I am Cecilia Lasphilla, the second daughter of Count Lasphilla and the niece of Marchioness Rosencrantz.”
“Cecilia?”
The viscountess tilted her head to the side.
She certainly knew of the Lasphilla family. They were a well-known family in the central region. In fact, Count Lasphilla was also the family of Guinevere Rosencrantz.
So it wasn’t an entirely unbelievable claim…
‘Did Count Lasphilla have another grown daughter besides Caroline Lasphilla?’
