Guidelines for the Perfect Goodbye - Chapter 150

Ulysses, uncomfortable with rejecting her, left the room, and Caroline wandered around the townhouse, eventually claiming she found her lost item and leaving.

On her way out, she said,

“Ceci, you’re going to a boutique tomorrow, right? I’ll be going too, so let’s go together.”

Cecilia was a bit surprised. How did Caroline know about her schedule? It wasn’t like Caroline was that interested in her.

“…It might be frustrating for you if you go with me. I’m not good at picking clothes.”

“It’s fine. I’ll help you.”

It was an already scheduled appointment that couldn’t be canceled. The boutiques in the capital were swamped during the social season. Missing this appointment would make it hard to get her dress in time.

The social season was too long to endure with just the clothes she had brought and the dress Guinevere had given her.

“…Alright, that sounds good to me.”

Cecilia reluctantly pretended to be pleased and accepted the suggestion.

But shortly after Caroline left,

“…As expected.”

Cecilia discovered that the hem of the dress Guinevere had prepared for her debutante was torn.

Did she bring scissors with her?

“Miss, who could dare do such a thing…!”

Mary exclaimed excitedly.

“Caroline came by.”

“…Oh, I see.”

As soon as the culprit was identified, Mary fell silent.

‘Her skills have improved. It looks like it was just poorly stored and got torn.’

It seemed somewhat ridiculous that a noble lady’s trickery would be like this.

Anyway, she would get a new dress fitted tomorrow. Guinevere would be furious, but it wouldn’t significantly disrupt her debutante schedule.

As long as she could get to the boutique on time and choose and fit the dress.

And that afternoon, the dessert was served. As usual, Cecilia shared the dessert with Mary.

“Ugh…!”

Excitedly eating the dessert, Mary suddenly clutched her stomach and collapsed.

Desserts were usually cold dishes prepared in advance. It would have been on display in the kitchen when Caroline came to find her item.

However, Caroline didn’t use the servants’ entrance. That much was certain. If any servant had seen her, they would have noticed she was a noble just by her attire.

‘Why wasn’t Louise with her for once?’

This was a collaboration between the two.

Cecilia closely examined the dessert Mary had eaten.

Was it simply to prevent her from going to the boutique?

But the quantity was so small that it wasn’t life-threatening, yet it was clearly poison.

Cecilia decided not to reveal this fact outside. Speaking out would only disadvantage her. If Guinevere knew Caroline was hostile toward her because of Ulysses, she wouldn’t bother to take Cecilia’s side.

She just kept it in mind.

Caroline’s malice was growing worse.

Cecilia had tried to overlook it as much as possible, but the water was already spilled. Caroline hated her as much as, if not more than, in their previous lives.

* * *

The next day, Cecilia left Mary behind and went to Mannheim’s boutique with another maid.

When Caroline saw her, she initially had a stiff expression but quickly took her arm with a friendly face.

“You made it on time! Let’s go, I’ll help you. The trends in the capital change more frequently than in the central region, so it’s hard to choose alone.”

* * *

As soon as they entered the boutique, Cecilia sensed Caroline’s shallow intentions.

“Cecilia, how about this fabric?”

“Hmm, I’m not sure.”

“Then how about this one? The floral pattern is so pretty, isn’t it?”

“…”

It’s tacky…

The fabrics Caroline recommended were all outdated or wouldn’t be in style even after a hundred years.

But the maid beside her also exclaimed in admiration at the fabric.

“You’re right! I think it would look great on Miss Cecilia!”

“…”

If she had any taste, she couldn’t have genuinely said that.

‘There’s no way a maid would act on her own—Caroline must have instructed her.’

It was anticipated from the moment Caroline suggested they go to the boutique together.

‘She can’t stand the thought of me attending the same party and being treated the same way. She wanted to prevent me from attending if possible, but if not, she wanted to sabotage me in some other way.’

In the previous life, Caroline had paid off Cecilia’s maid to ruin her attire, causing her first social debut to fail spectacularly.

At that time, there wasn’t even any malice. Cecilia was just a mere plaything for Caroline.