Guidelines for the Perfect Goodbye - Chapter 198

‘Ulysses, finally?’

She regretted burning that reply. If only she had waited a little longer.

“Hand it over.”

With a pounding heart, Caroline accepted the letter on the silver tray. Margaret stood on her tiptoes, peeking over her shoulder.

“What is it? What is it? Did you get a proposal?”

“Be quiet. I’m checking now.”

Though it was a scolding remark, her voice had noticeably softened. With a generous heart, she examined the seal on the letter.

“…”

It wasn’t the Rosencrantz seal.

It wasn’t from Ulysses.

Her initial disappointment faded as she recognized the elegant handwriting of the sender.

It was from Christian Pierce of the Pierce Duchy.

Margaret, craning her neck like a giraffe to sneak a peek, asked,

“Who is it?”

“Why are you so interested in my personal affairs?”

Ignoring Margaret’s pouty expression, Caroline quickly retreated to her room.

She couldn’t tear open Christian’s letter with her hands. Instead, she carefully took out a letter opener from her drawer and sliced the envelope open.

With a strong scent of roses, red rose petals fell to the floor, filling the room with a pleasant fragrance.

“Oh my…”

Including rose petals drenched in perfume—it was a touch of sophistication Ulysses, that blunt man, could never match.

Caroline eagerly read through the letter from Christian, the man who would restore her wounded pride from her previous engagement.

In the opening, Christian went on at length about how beautiful she had looked at the party the previous night, and how thrilled and excited he had been to see her. Caroline reread the introduction several times, savoring the words.

The main point was relatively simple.

[There’s going to be a dinner at my maternal family’s residence soon. I’d love for you to sit across from me. Just seeing your face throughout the meal would fill me up without having to eat.]

Caroline liked everything about the letter, but there was one part that gave her pause.

‘His maternal family…’

The Lope Viscounty had a poor reputation due to the matriarch’s habitual gambling and messy debts.

Back when Madam Guinevere of Rosencrantz was on friendly terms with Adam, their family had maintained some connection to the viscounty, but now they rarely crossed paths.

If it were Cecilia, an illegitimate child, it wouldn’t matter, but as the eldest daughter of the Lasphilla family, Caroline had to be mindful of her social connections. She couldn’t afford for people to think she frequented Viscountess Lope’s salon.

Her father would surely prefer Caroline to belong to a more respectable circle of noblewomen.

‘What if he doesn’t approve?’

Unconsciously, she started to worry about her father’s reaction. But she couldn’t let something as insignificant as Viscountess Lope stand in the way of Christian.

‘If I mention it in advance, it should be fine.’

That was why Caroline decided to bring up the dinner at the viscounty to Bernarda. After all, the current master of the townhouse was Bernarda.

“A dinner?”

Bernarda unexpectedly brightened at the mention.

“Of course, you should go. It’s a great opportunity for you.”

It was the first time Bernarda, who usually maintained a subtle power struggle with her, had been this helpful.

“Thank you, Mother!”

As Caroline beamed, Bernarda even offered some words of encouragement.

“It seems the Young Duke has truly fallen for you. You’re a beautiful and wise child, so I’m sure he’ll love you more and more as you get to know each other. I hope it becomes a wonderful relationship.”

Caroline nodded.

As Bernarda said, Christian was clearly interested in her. Even if he wasn’t completely infatuated yet, the fact that he invited her to a family dinner meant he was seriously considering her as a potential marriage partner.

“I’ll do my best.”

Caroline was confident. She was sure she could win his heart at the upcoming dinner.

***

In the drawing room of the Lope residence.

Viscountess Lope, holding a deck of cards, asked her grandson sitting across from her.

“You’re bringing another woman into our house?”

Christian placed a card down and replied.

“You’re well-informed.”

“Of course. It’s our family’s business.”

Christian often visited his maternal family to enjoy secret trysts, as his grandmother was quite lenient in such matters.

“This time it’s a noblewoman?”

“I chose well, didn’t I?”

“…Are you going to marry her?”

Christian let out a sigh.

“Of course not. It’s just a fleeting diversion.”

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