Guidelines for the Perfect Goodbye - Chapter 264
Cecilia feigned excitement at her long-awaited outing, taking several detours along the way. It was to check for any potential tail.
In the past, Adam had ordered someone to follow Lilith whenever she snuck out. But since he had no such interest in Cecilia, there was no one tracking her.
“Mary.”
Only after stopping in a quiet alley did Mary clasp her palms together as if she had been expecting it.
“…You’ve gotten into the habit, huh?”
“Huh? There’s none today…?”
Disappointment was written all over her face. Cecilia handed her half of the money she had received for the handkerchief.
Mary’s face immediately lit up.
“You don’t have to… no, wait! T-Thank you…!”
She was always such an easy person to read.
If everyone in the world were like her, society would be a much simpler place.
“Today, wait in an inconspicuous alley instead of the park.”
“Yes! I even wore a hat today to cover my face.”
Could one even develop a knack for playing the errand boy if they did it long enough…?
“Then, I’ll be off! See you here later!”
She was growing bolder by the day.
‘If I use her well, maybe I can keep her around for a bit longer…’
Cecilia found herself thinking about the distant future as she looked at Mary’s bright, oblivious face—then shook her head. What was the use of what-ifs in human relationships? It would all end someday, anyway.
Yes, an employer and an employee bound by money. Keeping it at that level was easier.
“I’ll be back.”
Cecilia pulled her hat low over her face and walked quickly. Only after she had stepped further into the inner alleys did her tension ease, and her pace slow.
There were few people in these backstreets who would recognize the young lady of the Lasphilla County.
Only three people knew her here.
“Ceci! It’s been so long!”
Dane greeted Cecilia warmly.
She exchanged brief pleasantries with Dane and Gilbert before heading straight to Diana’s hideout.
Unlike Dane, Diana showed no sign of being pleased to see her.
Instead, as if she had been expecting her, she held a pen in her mouth and gestured with a sheet of paper.
“Come in.”
“It’s a mess…”
The poorly ventilated room reeked of paper and ink.
“It’s been a while. Have you been well?”
At Cecilia’s greeting, Diana set down her pen and kicked away the scattered papers that had fallen beneath her desk.
As if by magic, a round chair appeared.
“I received your letters properly. As you said, I’m in the process of recovering the investments from that company. Most of the gold and foreign currency have already been liquidated, and now, I just need to collect what was put into paper assets. The due date hasn’t come yet, so the interest might be lower than expected, but… what choice do I have? Orders are orders. Your words have never been wrong.”
Since Diana had cut straight to the point, Cecilia also sat down and got straight to business.
“Good job. Wrap up the rest as well. What about the letter I asked you to send?”
“Oh, the one to Caroline? Yeah, I sent it right away. I had it delivered directly instead of through a messenger, so it should have arrived by now. But why did you ask me to send it?”
“I can’t freely change my handwriting. Unless I write with my left hand, some part of my usual habits will show. Rather than force it, it’s better for the source to be this side from the start.”
“You know that’s not what I’m asking.”
Diana’s eyes always gleamed whenever the Lasphilla family was mentioned.
“Did you change your mind? Are you betraying me to return to your family’s embrace?”
“Were they ever my family? First time I’ve heard that.”
“Don’t dodge the question. Explain properly.”
Cecilia relayed everything that had happened in the capital.
Christian and Caroline’s relationship, her own conflict with Count Heens’s daughter, and her arrangement with Nigel.
Diana, who had initially scoffed at the mention of Caroline’s romance, suddenly flared with anger.
“You were fooling around with another man without telling me?”
Something about the way she phrased it sounded off.
“I only made a deal with him for my own purposes. Just like I’m doing with you now.”
“Then why didn’t you inform me beforehand? I’m your business partner, aren’t I?”
“Because our objectives are different.”
“What do you mean…?”
“You and I share a common enemy—my father. Our goal is to financially ruin him and seize his wealth. But when it comes to other matters, I can’t rely on you. That’s obvious, isn’t it?”
Her broken engagement and marriage prospects had nothing to do with Diana.
“It wasn’t something that benefited you. In other words, you wouldn’t have helped me.”
“……”
Diana’s silence was brief but heavy. Cecilia immediately realized that she was feeling hurt. But why?
“…I could have helped.”
“What?”
Diana mumbled under her breath before abruptly changing the subject.
“Never mind. This works out. I don’t have time to waste listening to your troubles anyway.”
“Right. I figured as much.”
“……”
She averted her gaze and tapped her papers against the desk.
“Anyway, I understand your intentions now. You’re trying to use Caroline to inform Christian Pierce about Dan’s existence.”
Diana already knew that Cecilia’s plan extended to targeting the Pierce family as well.
“That’s right. If my prediction is correct, he should be drowning in debt right about now.”
“Then wouldn’t it be easier if I just wrote him a letter? I don’t like the idea of Caroline taking the credit.”
“Christian Pierce is fundamentally an arrogant man. Even if he’s desperate for funds, he’s not the type to humble himself and ask for a loan. Even taking the first step would be a blow to his pride.”
Cecilia smiled and continued.
“Right now is the perfect time to draw in someone as conceited as him. If an apple from a tree he planted carelessly were to fall at his hungriest moment, he would let his guard down completely.”
Dan must not become his savior.
From the start, Christian was not someone who felt gratitude or trust toward those who helped him.
“Dan’s information must not be seen as a gift from someone else, but as an apple from a tree he himself planted. A miracle brought forth by his own good fortune.”
