Guidelines for the Perfect Goodbye - Chapter 242

“Does he even have any affection for me…?”

There was no one to answer her. Even if he were standing right in front of her, she wouldn’t have dared to ask, so in the end, she would never hear the answer.

But Caroline already knew the answer.

Deep within her heart, there was a Pandora’s box that even she dared not open. Inside, a tightly hidden lump of truth resided.

There wasn’t just one or two truths. Every time Caroline faced a situation she found too difficult to accept, she sought that box. She buried her memories there, stuffing it with the rational conclusions she had reached and the wounds those realizations inflicted on her.

The box was already full. So full that it seemed ready to burst open at any moment and vomit all its truths onto her.

It wobbled left, wobbled right. Bloated and misshapen, the box had lost its original form and now rolled around like a ball.

And just when it seemed ready to spill its contents through a small gap—

“Young Miss?”

Louise always appeared.

“Has something troubling happened?”

“……Ah.”

Louise was really standing there at the door.

“M-Madame……”

Caroline buried her face in Louise’s bosom and poured out all her sadness and pain.

“Today was a terrible day. Chris said he knew a good restaurant, so we went there. But the place was too secluded. Completely enclosed, so no one could see us……”

“Did he… act improperly toward you, Milady?”

“No! Of course not. I’m not like Cecilia, throwing my body around carelessly. I refused him firmly, telling him I could never do such things with anyone but my husband.”

“You handled it wisely, Milady.”

“But was it really wise…? I’m not sure anymore.”

Caroline’s voice trembled as tears welled up.

“O-On the way back, Chris was so cold to me… It was raining, and he didn’t even hold the umbrella properly over me.”

Caroline hadn’t brought her parasol because of the overcast weather. Naturally, she hadn’t brought an umbrella either—only her shawl.

Chris, accustomed to the spring rains in the capital, had come prepared with a large black umbrella, big enough to cover both of them.

But he didn’t tilt the umbrella toward Caroline. He didn’t outright push her away, but that was the extent of his effort.

Caroline had clung to his arm as they returned home, soaking wet. The feeling was devastating.

“Do you think I was foolish?”

Louise paused to think, her lips twitching as if recalling a manual for maids. Then, with a sorrowful expression, she gently patted Caroline’s back.

“No, Milady. You did well. If you had given everything today, he might never have come back to you.”

“You never know… I’m leaving the capital soon. It feels like he’s going to forget me entirely.”

“No, that won’t happen. He’ll surely contact you again. If he sees you as more than a passing romance—if he sees you as someone to marry—he’ll reflect deeply on his actions, and he’ll come back to apologize.”

“Do you really think so?”

“Yes, of course.”

Louise whispered softly.

“He’s fond of you, Milady. Turning fondness into love often requires conflict and misunderstanding. That’s just how it works.”

Louise’s words felt like magic. They always seemed to deliver the answers Caroline wanted to hear. She didn’t have to find the answers herself, nor did she have to seek them from others.

Because Louise knew all the answers Caroline longed for.

The box rattled inside her mind, as if to remind her of its presence. But right now, Caroline wasn’t afraid of it. Louise was here.

She crammed today’s frustration and doubts into the box. Pressed it down with her palm. The already bulging box absorbed her new memories.

She sealed it shut to keep it from opening. Added a sugar-made lock, as delicate as spun candy, and wrapped it tightly with yarn straightened by steam from a kettle.

“You’re a kind and lovely person, Milady. Who could possibly dislike you? Don’t worry. He’ll soon come back to you.”

Louise’s words felt as comforting as a fluffy blanket. Caroline leaned into them and closed her eyes, thinking.

‘How does Louise always seem to know exactly what I’m feeling? Like a ghost reading my thoughts.’

Suddenly, the box let out a loud rumble. A fleeting sense of dread brushed over her, sending chills down her spine for no reason.

But.

“Look at Miss Cecilia. Even Sir Nigel, who once treated her so coldly, ended up becoming her lover. Love grows through storms of emotions that no one else can truly understand.”

“……”

Cecilia. Recently, Louise had been mentioning her often. And every time, the dark memories buried in Caroline’s box would resurface, dragging old emotions with them.

The box was now full. If she wanted to put anything more inside, she’d have to empty it out soon.

And Louise, as always, provided the perfect target for Caroline’s hatred.

Cecilia.

“……You’re right. That’s how it happened.”

Caroline furrowed her brow but smiled.

“My dear younger sister… How cunning she is.”