Guidelines for the Perfect Goodbye - Chapter 269
Christian returned home after several days.
The reason he lumped it together as ‘several days’ was simply because he had lost track of time himself.
“Good heavens, Christian! What happened to you?!”
As soon as Alexandra saw him, she covered her mouth with her hands and glanced around anxiously.
“You didn’t run into any of my acquaintances on the way here, did you? Oh, please, tell me you didn’t. At least say they didn’t recognize you.”
Christian shot her a glare.
He had intended to return home, he was sure of it.
Yet, without thinking, he had ended up at his maternal family’s manor, at the Lope Viscountcy’s annex.
‘Habits are terrifying.’
Just how often had he wandered here that his mind instinctively led him to the viscount’s manor rather than his own?
On the other hand, it meant that his father’s and mother’s house had never truly been a place of refuge for him.
‘Might as well make use of it. I should at least change clothes before I head back—save myself some dignity.’
He didn’t particularly care if his mother noticed his debts, but he absolutely did not want his father to find out.
“The pretty boy, who was only worth his face, has returned looking like an actual corpse. Good thing my sister didn’t have to see you like this!”
Alexandra’s voice was so shrill that listening to it for too long made his ears ache.
Christian rubbed his tired, shadowed eyes.
His skin felt rough and unkempt.
“I’d like to wash up first.”
Alexandra quickly stepped aside, not even bothering to argue.
His state was so pitiful that even she found it difficult to add anything more.
A short while later, he returned, now neatly dressed.
His eyes still looked somewhat sunken, but his platinum hair and well-defined features remained untarnished.
“Have I lost some weight, I wonder…”
Sitting on the sofa in the drawing room, he carefully observed his reflection in the window.
Just then, Viscountess Lope strode in from the doorway.
He turned his head lazily, his posture relaxed.
“As always, I’ll only be staying for a day.”
Within the familiar environment, his usual nonchalance began to return.
But Viscountess Lope looked as if she had seen a ghost.
“Stay? If your mother finds out you were here, she’ll have my head and throw me out onto the streets!”
“…Did something happen with my mother?”
“Do you even need to ask…?! You’ve been missing for days without any word!”
Christian had always been prone to disappearing from home.
Would they really be worried over something that happened more than once or twice?
‘No way…’
He forced a grin and asked,
“Since when has my mother ever cared about my nights away from home?”
“She heard everything. That you’ve been gambling.”
“…Me?”
“The moment she found betting slips and playing cards in your pockets, she lost her mind. Do you really think parents don’t know what their children are up to?”
“I was just indulging in a friend’s hobby for a bit. She’s overreacting.”
“If you wanted to play cards, you should have played with me instead of running around outside!”
“Because that wouldn’t be any fun.”
He chuckled.
“Who wastes time on things that aren’t enjoyable? Life is short, and there’s barely enough time to enjoy it as it is.”
“So? Was it fun, then?”
“Hmm…”
If he were honest? It was dreadful.
The pleasure was fleeting, and after that, only bitterness and compulsion remained as he sat glued to his seat, chasing after what he’d lost.
But he couldn’t be honest.
His life had been far too beautiful to openly confess the weight of his sins now.
“Well, since I was gambling with your money, Grandmother, it was all still my money in the end. At least when I played outside, I had the chance to take other people’s money—that made it somewhat worthwhile.”
Even as he fell off a cliff, he clung to his vanity like it was something tangible.
“So… you didn’t lose any money?”
“Of course not. Have you ever seen me lose?”
“Well, I suppose you’ve always been lucky.”
The moment she heard he hadn’t fallen into debt, she visibly relaxed.
“Even so, five days, Christian. Five days. Don’t tell me you spent the entire time playing poker?”
At Viscountess Lope’s nagging, something clicked in his mind.
Five days.
So today made it the fifth day.
There was no sunlight underground, so he had lost all sense of night and day.
With no distinction between evening and morning, time itself had become meaningless, and reality had started to blur.
The same reason he had displayed such reckless optimism toward money.
Christian had not been born a fool.
In most areas, he was more than competent.
His biggest flaws were his lack of persistence and his tendency to grow complacent too easily—but for someone of his position, those weaknesses were insignificant.
It was his environment that had ruined him.
The mold-ridden state of his mind was finally starting to clear.
“…Of course not.”
Choosing his words carefully, he denied the accusation.
“I was staying at Madam Vattler’s residence.”
“Wait… have you been meeting a new woman in the meantime?”
