Guidelines for the Perfect Goodbye - Chapter 109
“Is someone in that place?”
Logan asked, as if testing her. Cecilia immediately denied it.
“No. There’s no one inside, but there is a bathroom.”
“A bathroom…?”
Logan looked confused, to which Cecilia smiled wryly.
“Didn’t you hear? Our country house’s annex has a bathroom that’s much cleaner and more sophisticated.”
“That’s news to me.”
“You should try it sometime. It has instant hot water, so itās very convenient.”
“I see. I didn’t know since it’s my first time here.”
Logan shrugged as he continued.
“As you can see, I’ve just arrived here today and even got lost.”
“Ah, did you lose your way? Let’s go back together. Iāll show you to your room.”
Cecilia walked ahead calmly, feeling a prickling sensation on her back.
‘Thereās no way he could have gotten lost.’
Heās a marine. Marines navigate the vast oceans with telescopes and compassesāitās impossible for them to have poor sense of direction.
He must have been suspicious of her and came out here secretly. Yet, he didn’t call the owner directly, which means, unlike her, he must have something to discuss.
‘Not bad.’
Cecilia decided this was the right moment to express her views.
“Um, Lieutenant.”
“Miss Cecilia.”
They called each other’s names simultaneously. Cecilia, maintaining the decorum expected of her family, stepped back.
“Please go first.”
She was smiling. Logan faced her with unhesitating eyes in the yellow light.
“Then, if I may be so bold. Is there anything your family is hiding from me?”
Answering simply ‘yes’ could immediately become a weakness. There were too many risks associated with being labeled a traitor by her family.
Logan might not report her directly to her father, but he was under no obligation to consider her feelings, so she needed to be cautious in her response.
Cecilia pressed her lips together, pretending to ponder.
“Something hidden… That’s a vague question, quite hard to answer.”
“One should ideally have no secrets with someone they’re about to marry.”
“Secrets can range from the trivial to the profound. For instance, the diary I shared with a closet fairy in my childhood… even such minor things can be secrets to the person involved. Could those unintentionally or deemed unnecessary to reveal ever harm the Harper family?”
“Indeed.”
Logan laughed.
“I apologize for the foolish question.”
He nodded understandingly, then changed his approach.
“Does your Father enjoy theater?”
A very sociable question. The Cecilia of the past would not have grasped such a topic, twisted and complicated.
She cautiously placed her answer.
“Not particularly, as far as I know. He has a practical personality, preferring debates or chess over theater.”
“I see, is that so?”
“Yes. …However.”
Cecilia added more to her statement.
“Sometimes when the situation calls for it, he calls in an actor.”
“…”
“He may not enjoy theater, but as part of maintaining our family’s culture, he willingly sets up a stage.”
Logan’s eyes sparkled with a curiosity that was different from anger or betrayal.
“In that case, what about you?”
He inquired.
“I’m curious about the preferences of my betrothed. Do you like theater?”
“As for me, I quite enjoy it.”
Cecilia replied.
“But since it conflicts with my fatherās tastes… I usually watch reluctantly when we’re together.”
“So, Miss Cecilia, you had no intention to participate in your fatherās entertainment this time.”
Cecilia slightly raised her eyebrows while looking downwards, affirming with her gesture.
“I see. If there’s an opportunity, let’s go watch a play together, something that matches your tastes exactly.”
Instead of responding to the suggestion, Cecilia turned the conversation to a typical social question.
“And what about you, Lieutenant? Do you enjoy theater?”
“Embarrassingly, I haven’t had much chance to see it often, but to speak frankly, I don’t particularly enjoy it.”
“That’s a shame. It would have been nice to have something to enjoy together.”
“Yes, but theater seems to me like a gathering of liars… it’s not to my taste.”
“If actors heard that, they might cry over such comments.”
“That wasnāt my intention.”
His unfamiliar chuckling face appeared sly and cunning, unlike anything she had seen before.
Cecilia was taken aback. As she momentarily lost her words, Logan suddenly looked up.
“You mentioned the annex’s bathroom was nice, yet it seems you barely used it.”
“ā¦?”
“Your hair is dry.”
