Guidelines for the Perfect Goodbye - Chapter 50
āWell, I did try to kill the Countess before… but she died before that…ā
Lilith, uncharacteristically, blushed.
Lilith was more naive than one would imagine. Her so-called meticulous plans had all failed, and she had grown tired of them, opting to live a compromised life until Evelyn died.
āI thought maybe she would die before me, being so frail…ā
Her look seemed to say it all turned out as she expected, needlessly innocent. Like a child seeking praise for both good and evil deeds.
“Hah.”
Guinevere couldnāt help but let out a hollow laugh.
“Where was the guarantee the second child would be a girl? If it had been a boy, Evelyn would have kicked you out that very day.”
ā…I was just lucky.ā
āHow long did you live with that ferocious woman? Five years? Six years?ā
“Seven and a half years.”
āOh dear.ā
From Guinevereās perspective, neither side made sense.
āUnder such luxurious conditions, I would have finished it within a year.ā
Guinevere chuckled through her nose.
āWell, even if your plan had succeeded, you wouldnāt have become the Countess anyway.ā
āUrk…ā
āTell me. Whose scheme is it?ā
ā…I orchestrated it.ā
Lilith stuck to her story till the end.
***
After Lilith left, Guinevere, now alone, pondered the series of events.
It still didnāt make sense.
Who could have known about the type of poison in advance and prepared an antidote?
Itās implausible, but if someone did plan it and included Lilith…
āCecilia?ā
As soon the name of Lilith’s child was uttered, Guinevereās lips curled up.
āImpossible.ā
She’s only seventeen. Moreover, she’s Lilith’s daughter, known for her naivety.
What was Cecilia like? Guinevere hardly remembered, as the girl was so unremarkable.
āAh, always cleaning up after her accident-prone motherās messes.ā
A timid, reticent child. Always on edge, fearing she might be sent to an orphanage.
Cecilia hadnāt shown her face all throughout the incident.
Even when the sachet was being investigated due to Nigelās poisoning conspiracy, she was quietly drinking tea in the living room, as if she was unrelated to it all.
Could that child orchestrate such a grand scheme and sit so distantly, acting nonchalant?
āImpossible.ā
At least double her age… Only then could someone accumulate that much experience.
“How could she know my plan.”
Cecilia was not the one. She lacked the information and power needed for such a scheme.
Then who? Someone who can put Lilith forward and partially fulfill their own desires.
“…Could it be?”
There was only one possible person.
Adam Lasphilla.
Strategic, cold, and more knowledgeable about the householdās affairs than anyone.
A man whose specialty was using others’ hands to keep his own clean.
‘He must have sensed my intentions and played along, just like I did with him.’
Adam had the power to use and monitor servants, and he could arrange for Hannah Linfitt to be seen adding poison to the lotion.
That night, the men’s conversation was led by Adam. Having servants watch the second floor and timing the disturbance would not be difficult for him.
‘I knew Adam always finished dinner around midnight. Thatās why I deliberately sent Hannah to the nanny’s room after midnight, when everyone was likely in their rooms.’
But Hannah was seen returning to her room past midnight by Ulysses and Nigel.
‘What if Adam had noticed my plan and left the table later than usual?’
Everything fits if I think about it this way.
‘He didnāt arrest Hannah right away because he wanted to catch Ulysses in the trap I set with the sachet.’
However, he made one mistake.
He knew the sachet belonged to Ulysses but didn’t realize that his own daughter had gifted it.
Adam seemed genuinely flustered when Caroline had been implicated. Thatās why he kept silent when Guinevere interrogated Caroline.
How amusing it must have been when Mary Swinn’s name came from Caroline’s mouth.
She recalled how Adam had summoned the two maids defiantly.
His face filled with coldness. His unemotional demeanor.
…Itās clear.
Adam, that heartless brute. It was him who deliberately set her up.
“You dare play games with me?”
And now, he wanted to shift the blame for his actions to the naĆÆve Lilith?
‘No chance in hell.’
Adam knew his own desires but was indifferent to others’. Thatās his mistake. He didnāt foresee that Lilith, driven by her own greed, would slip up and reveal her intentions.
‘A chaperone? Sure, Iāll do it. If it maintains ties with the Lasphillas, all the better.’
As long as the connection with the Lasphillas remained, there would be another opportunity to redeem the shame she had to endure now. And there would be another opportunity for her to achieve her goals…
Guinevere clenched the blood-soaked cloth.
And, she silently vowed revenge against Adam.
‘I won’t ever forgive you. No matter what, Iāll make you pay a hundredfold.’
