Guidelines for the Perfect Goodbye - Chapter 288

“You know I’m quite sensitive about backgrounds.”

Of course she knew. After all, he had fixated so much on Lilith for being a gypsy, yet still never accepted her as his wife.

If not for her modest but legitimate family background, Bernarda could never have become the Countess—even if she had been Adam’s only helper and adviser in introducing Louise to him and planning the death of his wife.

“So you mean you no longer want to use the gypsies’ sinister magic.”

“Exactly. To be even more honest, I’m starting to think it’s time to send Louise Cléon out of our household. Of course, since she’s done us a service, it would be best to guarantee her secrecy and provide her with enough assets to leave.”

“…So it’s because she’s a gypsy, too.”

“Mm, that’s right.”

“Then what about Lilith Dust?”

“Lilith?”

A glacial chill flickered in Adam’s once-languid gaze. It was a sensitive reaction, as if she had touched a nerve.

“Why are you bringing up Lil now?”

“Miss Lilith is also of gypsy origin. If you were to send her away together with Louise, the household would be all the cleaner.”

“Lil… she’s different. She knows less about gypsy magic than the average person. She’s closer to a dancer than a gypsy… Not that either is any less low-born.”

Adam spoke as if that fact was a genuine regret. Bernarda’s lips twisted for a moment, as if in a brief spasm.

Adam quickly noticed her fleeting loss of composure.

“You promised you wouldn’t be jealous. You said you’d accept her.”

“Yes, of course. After all, I am only here as Your Excellency’s ally, not in hopes of love.”

Bernarda quickly regained her expression.

“I only mentioned Miss Lilith because I didn’t know you had such a strong aversion to gypsies.”

“She’s an exception.”

“Yes, I know. I spoke out of turn.”

“……”

Adam stared at Bernarda sharply. Then, as if to break the mood, he switched topics with a lighter tone.

“Even if Louise were to cast a curse, there’s no guarantee it would work as well as before, is there? Even if Louise Cléon resents the marquis, how much resentment could she really feel for someone she’s never even met?”

Adam knew at least this much—that the poison he’d used to kill Evelyn was made from bitterness and hatred toward the target.

According to Bernarda, Louise was a jealous gypsy who longed for a noblewoman’s life and thus held a deep grudge against aristocratic ladies.

The only reason she served Bernarda faithfully was because she owed her a favor.

If Bernarda was right, then Louise’s resentment toward the old, dying marquis would be far less than what she felt for Evelyn.

It was praiseworthy of Bernarda to have brought the marquis’s personal effects just in case. Still, Adam had no desire to use the same method twice.

His wife’s death…

That was among the gravest of Adam’s many sins.

He didn’t want to repeat anything that might remind him of it.

***

There are times in life when nothing goes your way.

A day when one misfortune piles atop another.

For Adam, everything lately had been nothing but misfortune.

Nigel, who had come to propose to Cecilia, kept their meetings lukewarm and then, without a word, returned to the capital one day.

Since he didn’t propose to Cecilia, the marquis’s watch chain that Bernarda had stolen became a useless trinket.

Before Adam could even complain to Nigel, the business he had invested in was nationalized. Staring helplessly at his now worthless stock certificates, Adam was left speechless.

Suddenly, he recalled the advice of that damn Nigel.

…No, not him.

It was the message from that so-called investment expert.

Wasn’t he told to get rid of those shares now, because soon they wouldn’t even be salable?

If that prediction had really foreseen this situation, it was practically prophetic since it had all unfolded without Adam knowing a thing.

‘Adam Lasphilla, stabbed in the back? Unbelievable…’

Unable to find any way to recoup his losses, Adam eventually wrote a letter to Nigel.

Instead of filling it with the curses and threats he’d originally intended, he wrote a brief and polite request.

[ Could you introduce me to the agent named Dan? ]

For Adam, it was a blow to his pride. But with profit as his first priority, he could no longer put off making contact.

• Author
• Recent Posts

mikan

Latest posts by mikan (see all)