Guidelines for the Perfect Goodbye - Chapter 250

“Why are you doing this?”

“The Madam ordered that no one be allowed into the Lady’s room.”

“I’m her personal maid. If I don’t dry her hair, she might catch a cold.”

“That’s none of my concern. I’m just following orders as the official maid of this townhouse.”

“How dare you, a mere lower-ranked maid who isn’t even allowed into the main house…!”

“Stop it, Mary. I can dry my own hair.”

Cecilia calmed Mary.

“Milady…”

“It’s fine. You there, you can’t let people in, but surely you can spare one more towel?”

The maid blocking Mary handed over a rough, coarse linen towel with a haughty look. When Mary looked ready to erupt again, Cecilia quickly stepped back into the room.

The moment she entered, the sound of the door locking echoed behind her.

“Haha…”

Cecilia let out a hollow laugh and perched on the edge of the bed. The cheap iron frame creaked unpleasantly.

She rubbed her wet hair with the rough towel, her expression flat.

She felt no disappointment or hurt from her sisters’ words—she had long since stopped expecting anything from them.

Caroline’s harsh tone, while uncharacteristic of her, wasn’t entirely wrong. Cecilia’s actions had brought shame to her sisters as well. Expecting Caroline to take her side would have been far too presumptuous.

‘…It shouldn’t have come to this.’

“How could she do such a thing so soon after losing her husband? And with his half-brother, no less!”

“Send her to the monastery!”

“Let her live there for the rest of her life, locked away forever!”

Cecilia was silent.

Caroline, you never change.

But how could she?

The only one who had come back was Cecilia. Everyone else’s lives remained largely unchanged.

Caroline, once again entangled in Louise’s schemes, hated her, and Margaret joined in, insulting her alongside Caroline.

It’s no big deal, Cecilia told herself. I’m being criticized because I did something worth criticizing. Did I really expect to avoid this kind of backlash? Of course not.

“Right. I expected this all along.”

Reality didn’t trouble her much. It was her memories that tormented her.

It infuriated her that such trivial memories could still haunt her.

Caroline wouldn’t succeed in sending her to the monastery. Their father would still see her as a valuable asset to be sold.

So why was she trembling? Was she, a grown woman, truly afraid of mere memories?

“Something so trivial…”

Before she knew it, Cecilia had wrapped her arms around herself. Her pale lips quivered into a faint, humorless smile.

‘It would be easier to forget. If I covered it up, I wouldn’t keep trembling like this. If I buried myself under the blankets and fell asleep, it would fade quickly.’

But she didn’t want to forget. No matter how circumstances changed or how her situation improved, she had to etch the memories of her past life into her heart—even if they terrified her.

She would endure, even if it meant clinging to those memories.

The face of Christian, sneering at her just before she was sent to the monastery. It frightened her.

The lonely journey, with no one accompanying her. It was horrifying.

The moment she was handed a plain white linen dress inside a strange monastery, locked behind iron bars. It was despair itself.

But none of it could be forgotten—not even when her memories sometimes seized her by the hair.

“Hah…”

Cecilia let out a quiet sigh and stood up. Tossing her damp hair carelessly over her head, she sat at her desk and tapped the hard wooden surface, replaying Caroline’s words in her mind.

“He didn’t suddenly change because of me alone.”

‘He’ must be Christian Pierce.

Did Christian throw away Caroline?

‘Considering that man’s capriciousness, it wouldn’t be surprising.’

The important thing was that Caroline still harbored feelings for him.

If she had the means to hold onto Christian, Caroline would use them without hesitation—even if those means ultimately dragged Christian into a deeper pit.

At this point, Caroline likely had no idea of the potential consequences.

Cecilia pulled out a fresh sheet of paper. Familiar words flowed from her pen as she wrote the opening.

[ Dear D, ]

She continued, drafting her message.

[ Send my sister a letter. If she knows anyone who has invested in that rising tea company, tell her they should withdraw immediately. ]

Christian was interested in investments. It was almost certain he had invested in this one, even if belatedly.

He loved boasting about his ventures, so he had likely mentioned this to Caroline as well.

Previously, Cecilia had scoured noble families connected to the House of Pierce, but the most suitable connection was right in front of her.

‘Someone close to Christian Pierce but also tied to Lasphilla—a convenient connection to exploit.’

That person was Caroline Lasphilla.