Guidelines for the Perfect Goodbye - Chapter 263

The next day, Count Lasphilla spoke during dinner.

“I will be heading west next week.”

“Father, are you going on a vacation?”

Nathan, who had only recently been allowed to join the evening meal, asked brightly. Having just turned four this year, he had a habit of chattering the moment something piqued his curiosity.

“It’s not a vacation, it’s a business trip,” Adam replied.

A gentle smile, a warm voice. He had always been particularly soft when it came to his son.

Margaret, sitting beside Nathan, silently tightened her grip on her fork. Cecilia watched as she tore apart the duck leg in her hands and spoke.

“Should I prepare as well?”

There was only one reason Count Lasphilla himself would personally travel west under these circumstances—to arrange her marriage to Nigel, and at the same time, to offer a peace offering to prevent the Harper Merchant Guild from turning against them.

“No, Cecilia. You will stay here. Mind your conduct at all times and act prudently in everything.”

Cecilia simply nodded and focused on her meal.

‘So he still can’t let go of his last shred of pride.’

Adam did not believe that the Lasphilla family was significantly inferior to the Rosencrantz family. In his view, this was an affair between two families of equal standing.

Since the Rosencrantz side had made the first mistake, it was only natural for them to take proper responsibility…

‘That must be Father’s reasoning.’

He was not going to plead for his daughter’s honor.

He was going to threaten them—demanding they hand over the seat of the next Marchioness.

Though the goal was securing his child’s marriage, his mindset was entirely different.

“Will it take long? Will you come back late?” Nathan asked.

“I will return soon.”

“How many nights will you be gone?”

“Let’s see… about ten nights?”

“Ten nights…”

Nathan spread his hands wide, glancing back and forth between his left and right hands.

Margaret snapped irritably.

“If you fold them all, it makes ten, you fool.”

“Margaret, what kind of language is that to use with your brother?”

Bernarda scolded her. Margaret’s face crumpled, and she looked to her father for support.

But Adam was glaring at her with just as much displeasure.

“Why, why… why is it always Nathan…?”

Watching her tremble on the verge of tears, Cecilia found herself thinking the same thing.

After all, Adam had never chastised Margaret when she called her a wretch as if he hadn’t heard it at all.

The greatest flaw in Lasphilla’s upbringing was its inconsistency. No wonder the children were confused.

“Don’t be too harsh on Margaret.”

So Cecilia decided to take Margaret’s side…

At least, until Margaret screeched.

“Stay out of this!”

Cecilia smiled and added nonchalantly,

“Congratulations. You can finally count to ten now. That means you’ll get a perfect score on your next arithmetic test, right?”

Margaret fumed, then threw her fork at Cecilia before storming out of the dining hall. Bernarda called after her, but Margaret ignored her entirely.

Cecilia sighed inwardly.

‘Father’s cane will have no time to rest.’

Margaret was the kind of child who got angry if coddled, and if not, simply dug her own grave.

“Even a skittish colt would behave better! Ever since she returned from the capital, she’s become even more unruly.”

Adam scowled and emptied his wine glass.

“You’re too lenient with her.”

He reprimanded Bernarda.

“I’m sorry, Your Excellency. But if I discipline her too harshly…”

Bernarda hesitated.

She was not Margaret’s birth mother. When a stepmother was too strict, people were quick to spread rumors.

“I know. I’ll discipline her properly before I leave.”

Cecilia patted her chest and picked up the fork that had fallen to the floor.

A child’s fork—smaller than her own.

She placed it beside hers.

‘I’m often conflicted. Should I hate you, or should I pity you?’

Meanwhile, Nathan, the very child who had just been called a fool, remained cheerful.

He probably hadn’t even understood what the word meant in the first place.

“Oh! If I fold them all, it makes ten!”

Enlightened, Nathan wobbled in his chair and shouted excitedly,

“Father! If I fold them all, you have to bring me a present!”

The stiff expressions of the Lasphilla couple melted away like cotton candy in the summer heat.

* * *

With Adam’s trip to the west, Cecilia now had an excuse to go out.

“You want to buy Father a handkerchief?”

“Yes, Mother.”

“He won’t be particularly pleased by it…”

Bernarda responded indifferently.

“Still, he’s making such a long journey for my sake. I feel so guilty… I want to show at least a small gesture of my sincerity.”

“…Well, I suppose it wouldn’t look good for a grown woman to send her father off empty-handed.”

Bernarda handed Cecilia just enough money to buy a single handkerchief.

It was not enough to rent a carriage or to do anything foolish.

“Get something simple.”

It didn’t really matter. Adam wouldn’t even glance at the handkerchief, no matter what it looked like.

Both Bernarda and Cecilia knew Adam well.

“Don’t go out alone, and be back before afternoon tea ends.”

“Yes, I will.”

Cecilia firmly promised to bring a maid along.

She simply did not mention that the maid in question was Mary. After all, Mary was still a maid, technically speaking.