Guidelines for the Perfect Goodbye - Chapter 281

A little less than two weeks had passed.

Caroline still had not returned to the Lasphilla territory. Instead, a letter arrived saying she would spend a few more days at a friend’s house in the capital.

With the master and mistress absent from the Coffret Manor, there was no one to oppose Caroline’s decision. The fact that Louise, her governess and practical guardian, was accompanying her also gave her considerable freedom of movement.

‘It’s a little enviable, being able to act so freely without any effort.’

Cecilia smiled quietly with a hint of sarcasm.

It twisted her insides, but objectively speaking, this was by no means bad news.

Caroline had decided to remain in the capital even after the party at the Lope Viscountcy’s manor ended. Since the woman who loved the security of the Coffret Manor had no other reason to stay in the capital so long except for a man, it was safe to assume that things between her and Christian Pierce were going smoothly again.

It was highly likely that Dan’s information played the role of a bridge between them. Given Christian’s current situation, beset by debt, and Caroline’s impatient personality, it must have come up somehow.

Cecilia was satisfied with her decision. What’s more, she was even happier that she could carry out her plans without having to see her face.

However, the clueless little Young Count did not welcome the absence of his family.

Realizing it had been over ten nights since his parents left, Nathan whined from morning till night. When he learned that even his eldest sister would be returning later than expected, he broke into tears.

“Waaahhhh!”

Under the dining table, Margaret, who had been playing by gluing pressed flowers onto paper, clamped her hands over her ears.

“Ugh, so noisy!”

With a bang, Margaret ran out and reached for the decorative sword on top of the stove.

“No, Miss!”

Cecilia alone continued to move her fork between them.

Anyway, with Margaret’s petite figure, she wouldn’t even leave a fingerprint on the scabbard, and Nathan was the sort of spoiled child who would only cry louder if comforted, so ignoring them was best.

As expected, Margaret was lifted up around the waist by a maid, palm outstretched. Nathan, comforted by another maid, only raised his voice even louder.

As the room grew rowdy enough to give her a headache, Cecilia finally set down her cutlery and pushed back her chair.

“I’m done eating.”

Amazingly, all of this had happened during the meal.

‘A table full of children really is like a battlefield.’

She’d quietly moved her hands and mouth so as not to get caught in the chaos and have her appetite ruined during the sacred meal. But even Cecilia’s patience had worn so thin that only the barest thread remained.

“Why do children always cry?”

Choosing the Garnet Room, where no one would seek her out first, Cecilia complained as she settled in.

“All children grow up crying.”

Her mother, whom she’d expected to commiserate, instead gave a surprisingly gentle answer.

“Did I cry a lot when I was little?”

“When you were very young, yes. About…”

Lilith started counting the years on her fingers, but when she passed five, she stopped.

“…You barely cried at all after you turned six.”

“……”

Cecilia stared intently at Lilith, and only looked away when Lilith scratched her cheek and snapped back.

“Miss Lilith, I have something I’m curious about.”

“What is it?”

“Gypsies use all sorts of wicked arts and craft mysterious items from magic drawn from monsters. Miss Lilith, can you use magic too?”

Lilith’s face dried up like a rag, then twisted as if wringing out the last drop of moisture.

“Are you treating me like a gypsy, too?”

Cecilia had expected a reaction like this. Still, it was something she’d always wanted to confirm.

‘Can the present Lilith Dust use gypsy sorcery?’

She didn’t know about Poena’s Tears. If she had known the true use of that substance, she would never have dared to keep the former Countess’s wedding dress at the bottom of her wardrobe to this day.

So when, and how, did Lilith learn gypsy magic?

In her previous life, the one who had taught her how to make the Poena’s Tears into a poison and how to turn back time was none other than Lilith herself.

But now that she was back, it turned out Lilith had hardly any knowledge of gypsy magic—she barely even knew back-alley drug intel.

“…I didn’t mean it that way. I was just curious.”

“I don’t know anything. Why would I bother learning something so creepy, when if people find out I know it, they’ll treat me just the same?”

Her following words were complaints. She didn’t know any sorcery, not even fortune-telling, yet there were idiots asking her to predict the future, and she resented that she was treated worse than noblewomen with odd hobbies even though she knew less than they did.

Cecilia now wanted to plug her ears like Margaret. If she got up now, that would only make Lilith angry in a different way.

Still, she didn’t regret asking.

At least one thing was clear now.

The current Lilith was not the same Lilith who had taught her sorcery. In other words, it meant that in the brief moment right before her marriage to Logan, she must have learned gypsy magic.