Guidelines for the Perfect Goodbye - Chapter 255

The day the Lasphilla family departed for their return to the Coffret Manor—

Margaret faced a dilemma.

There weren’t one or three carriages available for travel, but precisely two—not including the luggage cart.

Normally, she would have chosen to ride with her full-blooded sister without hesitation, but Caroline wasn’t joining them on this journey home.

Ideally, Margaret would have liked to monopolize a carriage all to herself, but at eleven years old, she was still too young to travel without a guardian.

Her choices boiled down to riding with her stepmother, who had taken her mother’s place, or sharing a carriage with her father’s illegitimate daughter.

After agonizing, she reluctantly chose the carriage Cecilia was in. While Margaret may not have been thrilled about it, for Cecilia, it was pure disaster.

Chatter, chatter, chatter, chatter…

The eleven-year-old girl’s mouth didn’t stop. She wasn’t a bird, but her constant talking was as persistent as a woodpecker’s tapping.

Had Margaret’s talk been lighthearted and age-appropriate, Cecilia might have tolerated it. But Margaret only spoke to criticize or complain.

“Do you know how much humiliation I’ve suffered because of you?”

“Humiliation?”

Cecilia feigned ignorance, though she found Margaret’s scowling face too amusing to ignore.

“Oh, that time? I saw it too. Your outfit was pretty.”

“You call that scaly thing pretty? Are you mocking me?!”

Of course, she was mocking her.

“No, I mean it. It was really pretty. I wanted to wear something like that too…”

“Then you should have worn it yourself! It looked like it reeked of fish—perfect for you!”

So she must have heard that harsh critique somewhere, Cecilia mused. She must have cried about it later. How pitiful.

If Margaret had always been this foul-mouthed, Cecilia might not have exploited her so much in the past.

But she had endured too much from this child in the past to let it go just because Margaret was young.

“Margaret, have you forgotten? You picked that fabric yourself.”

“That’s because you bragged about it…”

“I only said I liked it because I really did.”

“Liar!”

Margaret clenched her fists, seething. In the past, she might have used those fists to pummel Cecilia’s head.

But not anymore.

Her impulsive nature gave way to a gut feeling—Cecilia wouldn’t let herself be hit so easily this time.

So Margaret settled for verbal threats instead.

“Just you wait. I’ll never forget this for the rest of my life.”

Go ahead, Cecilia thought indifferently.

Margaret grumbled to herself, then suddenly smirked mischievously as if an idea had struck her.

“Actually, I won’t even have to do anything. Once we get to the Coffret Manor, Father will beat you until you’re covered in welts. Poor you!”

“True. Father’s cane usually has your name on it, but now it’ll be used on me instead. What a shame.”

“……!”

Margaret threw a tantrum midway through the journey and switched to Bernarda’s carriage instead. Bernarda sighed softly and muttered,

“What a fickle child…”

Finally left alone in the spacious carriage, Cecilia stretched her legs out. The ride home became far more peaceful.

***

Adam didn’t scold Cecilia as severely as Margaret had wished.

Of course, he delivered a long lecture and gave her a few lashes on the calves, but that level of punishment was no different from what Margaret received when she failed her math tests.

He didn’t send Cecilia to the monastery, as Caroline had suggested.

What’s more, Cecilia, who had been confined in Mannheim, regained her freedom in Lasphilla.

“Father, what if she causes more trouble? You should lock her up!”

Margaret protested vehemently, only to be scolded in turn for acting like a wild horse.

“You seem to be enjoying vilifying your older sister. For the record, Cecilia has never caused trouble within the estate.”

In truth, Cecilia’s movements within the Lasphilla estate were still highly restricted. Unlike in the capital, where servants waited at the gate, here, maids would shadow her every step, just as they had before.

“Things are different now! She has a reason to cause trouble!”

“Neither the Rosencrantz estate nor the capital of Mannheim are within walking distance of here. Cecilia, you understand what I mean, don’t you? You won’t be allowed to take a carriage for the time being. Nor will you be given any funds for travel. Consider this a time of reflection and atonement—stay quietly in the Coffret Manor.”

Cecilia answered demurely.

“Yes, Father. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Before you go out, always inform the head maid of your destination and be accompanied by one of the Lasphilla maids. Don’t walk around the estate alone.”

“Yes, Father.”

The maid accompanying her would be Mary. A classic case of the fox guarding the henhouse.

But Cecilia didn’t let her feelings show. She had no intention of stirring trouble in the coming days.

“And… any letters addressed to you will first be inspected by Bernarda. If the envelopes appear opened, just accept it.”

Bernarda, of all people?

Cecilia glanced briefly at Bernarda, standing beside her father, and lowered her gaze.

“Yes, I understand.”

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