Guidelines for the Perfect Goodbye - Chapter 268

Duchess Pierce swallowed back her tears and continued.

“They call me a scentless flower. How unattractive must I be that my husband strayed and fathered a bastard child, that my son roams the streets instead of staying home? That must be what they’re all thinking.”

“That’s not true. Everyone respects you.”

“Me? Mother, they don’t know me. They only judge by appearances. Even now, they’re under a misconception about my son’s origins.”

“That’s…”

“A misconception. They have no idea. They don’t know how miserable I am, how miserable I’ve been…”

She bit her lip.

“An affair? An illegitimate child? What a joke. Do you know how much I’ve done just to escape this wretched life…?”

Viscountess Lope flinched.

“No one will ever know. No one will ever understand just how miserable I am…”

Duchess Pierce recalled a woman’s face.

A woman full of life, who had a natural talent for drawing people to her.

That woman had introduced the now-duchess, gloomy and withdrawn, as her friend.

Though she had envied her—a girl who had grown up showered in love in a wealthy household—at the same time, she had been thrilled to be acknowledged as her friend.

She had pretended otherwise, but in hindsight, that had been the most exhilarating day of her life.

“Her family was of common origin, but they lived far more comfortably than ours.”

Meanwhile, Viscount Lope’s household had been drowning in debt even back then.

“Everything she had was real. I was left clutching only an empty shell. Back then, and even now…”

Duchess Pierce murmured,

“I am an unfortunate woman. I am destined to be. My misfortune is a fate ordained by God.”

It was an uncomfortable subject for any parent to hear. Viscountess Lope hesitantly changed the topic.

“Once Chris gets his act together, you’ll find some peace. Just where is that boy and what is he up to now?”

* * *

Christian threw his cards down onto the floor.

“This can’t be happening.”

Clutching his head, he let out an agonized scream.

“This can’t be real!”

“What’s wrong? If you’re upset, do you want another round?”

“Another round? A do-over?”

“Of course not. You’d have to place a new bet.”

His sharp eyes glared at the gamblers, who merely sighed in response.

“Where did that handsome face of yours go? Maybe you should at least shave before coming back.”

In just a few days, Christian had fallen apart, both inside and out.

His usually neat hair was greasy and unkempt, his eyes were bloodshot, and stubble had grown thick on his jaw.

“You’re all rigging the game, aren’t you?”

“Does it look that way?”

“Otherwise, there’s no way I could keep losing like this.”

“If you’re suspicious, you could always walk away. Oh, but of course, you’d still have to pay your debts.”

“How dare you…!”

Christian seethed, pointing fingers wildly at everyone around him.

“You all cheated, so why should I pay the money?”

“Do you have proof?”

“……”

“Accept the results. It’s not a good look for a duke’s heir to be so stubborn about his losses.”

A man standing nearby handed him the bill for his drinks.

Even paying for alcohol was becoming burdensome now.

“They must have rigged the game…”

Otherwise, there was no way someone as lucky as him could have lost so utterly. They must have conspired against him, plotting to bury him.

But even if it was rigged, what difference did it make? He had already lost all his money, and his luck had run dry.

Just as good fortune had come to him in succession, misfortune, too, seemed to follow its own steady rhythm.

In his desperate attempts to recover his losses, he had thrown himself into every gambling den he could find.

He had even ventured into horse racing—something no individual could truly control—but not once had the horses he bet on been called to the winners’ circle.

At this point… yes, this was bad luck.

He was simply unlucky right now.

“Even the great Christian Pierce loses his composure when he loses a fortune.”

Someone laughed at him.

“Hey, golden boy. Maybe it’s time you faced reality.”

A hand clapped his shoulder in mock sympathy.

“How insolent…”

Christian spat back instinctively, but his opponent only chuckled.

“I’ve never seen such an arrogant debtor before.”

“Weren’t you the one claiming you could never lose because of your luck? Where’s that overconfident Young Duke now?”

“……”

There is no absolute truth in the world.

When there is no foundation to support it, even something that once seemed obvious can shatter in an instant.

He should have realized sooner the difference between coincidence and inevitability.

‘Should I go to my father?’

Christian immediately shook his head.

He wasn’t ready to endure his father’s wrath.

‘It’s fine. I can fix this on my own. I still have something left to bet on.’

He had invested in a few businesses as a mere pastime.

If he withdrew his capital and collected the interest from those, he might be able to pay back at least half.