Guidelines for the Perfect Goodbye - Chapter 252

The first person to discover the stack of invitations on the drawer was Margaret. Excited about her first trip to the capital, she was practically confined to the narrow townhouse, deemed too young to freely roam about.

Though the townhouse had separate reception rooms, halls, and even a garden, to Margaret—who was used to running around the expansive the Coffret Manor—it felt no different from a prison.

“Ugh, I shouldn’t have come. If I’d known it would be like this, I’d rather be back at the estate catching beetles.”

Margaret loved collecting insects. Adam disapproved of her unladylike hobby, but she continued going outside to catch cicadas and dragonflies.

“And Sister doesn’t even pay attention to me…”

Caroline, who had always found Margaret a nuisance due to their significant age gap, now avoided her even more.

‘Since that wretched girl is holed up at home, maybe I’ll kill time by teasing her.’

Margaret quickly gave up on her idea after seeing the locked door. Cecilia wasn’t in any state to entertain her either.

“I’m sooo booooored…”

Margaret was so overcome with boredom that she started singing about it.

Wandering aimlessly through the hallway, she spotted Mary.

Mary Swinn. A traitor who abandoned her to go serve Cecilia, but once, she had been Margaret’s nanny. Perhaps Mary would still play with her.

Margaret snuck up behind Mary. Standing near the wall that connected the hallway to the main entrance hall, she suddenly shouted,

“Boo!”

“Eek!”

Margaret was satisfied with the reaction she got.

“Oh, Young Miss… You nearly gave me a heart attack!”

Mary clutched her chest, clearly startled. Margaret giggled, covering her mouth.

Still retaining her old nanny instincts, Mary quickly scolded her.

“That’s such an unladylike thing to do!”

And just as Margaret still treated Mary as she had in her nanny days, she immediately pinched Mary’s arm.

“Ow!”

“How dare you lecture me, you know your place!”

Mary surrendered quickly.

“Yes, yes, I was wrong. I committed a grave offense.”

Her tone had become cheekier compared to before. Had Cecilia’s influence already raised her confidence?

“You’re so friendly with that lowly girl… Hmph.”

Margaret’s tone sounded more like a child upset about losing a toy than someone genuinely angry, but Mary wasn’t sharp enough to notice the difference.

“Miss Cecilia is a good person.”

“How dare you defend that wretch in front of me?”

“…Not as much as you, Young Miss.”

“Well, of course. That goes without saying.”

Margaret crossed her chubby arms and snorted. Finally, her curious gaze shifted to something behind Mary.

On the silver tray atop the drawer sat a pile of letters. Margaret stood on her tiptoes, craning her neck to get a better look.

“What’s that?”

“Oh, just some letters,” Mary replied.

“Are these letters for Cecilia?”

“They are, in essence,” Mary replied, her voice carrying a subtle tone of pride.

Margaret found Mary’s slightly upturned lips irritating.

“Give them to me.”

That annoyance was the reason Margaret reached for the letters on the drawer.

“Oh no, you can’t,” Mary said, moving to stop her. “These are letters you have no reason to open, Miss Margaret.”

“What do you mean I have no reason to open them?”

“They’re invitations addressed to the Lasphilla family.”

“……”

Indeed, there was no reason for her to open them. But precisely because of that, Margaret wanted to see them even more.

‘All those invitations are for Cecilia, huh?’

After sending Mary away, Margaret rushed to her room, grabbed a chair, and carried it back to the drawer. She placed it in front of the drawer, climbed up, and snatched the invitation sitting on top.

“What’s with all this scribbled writing?”

Margaret wasn’t yet familiar with thick cursive lettering.

“Lo… pe… No, pa…?”

She tilted her head, puzzled, when someone called her sharply.

“Hey, Maggie!”

Yikes—it was Caroline. Lately, Caroline only used her nickname when scolding her.

“I didn’t go into your room!” Margaret blurted defensively.

“When did I ever ask about that? I know you didn’t go into my room. The maid’s cleaning it right now.”

Caroline looked noticeably gaunt after the past few days. It was the aftermath of heartbreak.

She had trusted Louise’s words and waited, but Christian still hadn’t contacted her. How much longer would she have to wait?

Would he even contact her after they returned to the Lasphilla estate? Would she have to endure this agonizing uncertainty until then?

‘I’m sick of this.’

She wanted to go to him and beg for a chance, even though she had been taught that doing so was utterly disgraceful for a woman.

Just as she had once done with Ulysses.

“Margaret, don’t mess with other people’s letters.”

“They’re not other people’s—they’re mine!”

“There’s no way any of those letters are for you!”

“I-I do have friends who send me letters!”

“Who? The kids from the central region stopped talking to you after that party. Or did you make new friends in the capital? Did any of the city kids even acknowledge you?”

“……”

After her embarrassing behavior at the Pierce Duchy’s party, no one wanted to play with Margaret anymore. The girls from the capital were aloof and didn’t even bother greeting her, dismissing her as a bumpkin from the countryside.

Margaret’s face crumpled, and she climbed down from the chair with a pout. Caroline had no energy left to comfort her dejected younger sister.

Instead, she said curtly, “Put the chair back where you got it. Clean up after yourself.”

“Fine…”

Dragging the chair along the floor, Margaret retreated to her room. Caroline watched her sister’s departing figure with a tired expression before turning her attention to the silver tray.

Picking up the letter Margaret had carelessly set down, she inspected it. At a glance, it was clearly not an ordinary letter of greeting.

‘I knew it. Who would even send her an invitation…’

As her eyes scanned the engraved seal and the sender’s name on the envelope, they suddenly sparkled.

“Lope…? The Lope Viscounty invited Lasphilla?”