The End of First Love - Chapter 10

(I can’t sleep…)

After parting ways with everyone, Elizabeth returned to her private room as usual. She finished her nightly reading and slipped into bed, but sleep refused to come.

Tossing and turning from right to left, counting hundreds of sheep—it was all useless.

She knew exactly why she couldn’t sleep. The adjoining door was on her mind, and she couldn’t shake the thought.

“It’s all because Milia said that before she left!”

Kicking off the blanket, Elizabeth sat up and ran her hands through her hair, making it even more tangled and unkempt.

(This is all Heinz’s fault! Really, why did he have to come?)

Imagining the person likely sleeping peacefully in the room next door only made her heart grow more restless.

(Ugh, this is so frustrating!)

Ignoring the fact that she was just venting her frustrations, Elizabeth turned her gaze toward the adjoining door.

(It couldn’t possibly be unlocked… right?)

Milia’s parting words kept swirling in her head, making her restless. Telling herself she would just check for a moment, Elizabeth cautiously stepped out of bed, walked over to the door, and placed her hand on the doorknob. She turned it.

(No way… It opened!)

With a quiet click, the door cracked open slightly. Staring at the open door, she knew she should close it, but her hand refused to let go of the knob.

(Why is it open!? Was this Milia’s doing? No, that can’t be!)

Even if Milia had mentioned something about leaving the door unlocked, she would never actually do so. In the kingdom of Glutenburg, where chastity was strictly upheld, unmarried men and women were never to be alone together. A third party was always present to ensure no improprieties occurred. This rule existed not just as a precaution but to protect women, who held a weaker societal position. Because of this, noble households always took strict measures to prevent unmarried nobles from being in private together. The very fact that Heinz was in the room next to hers was already unusual.

(Could it be that a servant simply forgot to lock it?)

It didn’t matter now. She just had to shut the door, call Milia, and have it locked again. That was all. Yet, Elizabeth found herself unable to move, still gripping the doorknob.

The moonlight streamed through the slight opening, illuminating the furniture in the adjacent room. Even when she strained her ears, she could hear nothing but silence.

(He must be asleep by now… right?)

Suddenly, an image of Heinz during dinner flashed through her mind, and her heart skipped a beat. The way he handled his cutlery so elegantly while eating had captivated her for a moment. It was, without a doubt, the behavior of a duke’s son. She cursed herself for getting caught up in the moment.

“It’s unfair for him to show that side of himself!”

Muttering to herself, Elizabeth felt her cheeks grow warm.

(But… that wasn’t the Heinz I know…)

Unlike his talkative demeanor at social gatherings, the way he quietly ate his meal felt strangely different. That wasn’t to say he was silent; whenever spoken to, he replied with sharp wit, skillfully guiding conversations so that the other party felt comfortable speaking.

(Is the Heinz I know completely different from the one my friends know? Does he have another side to him?)

A golden-haired boy flashed through her mind. Heinz and him couldn’t possibly be the same person—she knew that. Yet, the memory from that morning clung to her thoughts.

When she saw Heinz standing with his back to her, bathed in sunlight, a faint, long-forgotten feeling stirred inside her.

(Heinz isn’t him. It’s impossible—he has black hair and black eyes…)

Even as she thought this, her grip on the doorknob tightened. The door slowly creaked open, and her heartbeat grew louder. Every instinct in her head screamed for her to stop, but it was too late.

Elizabeth stepped through the now open door and entered Heinz’s room. The plush carpet silenced her footsteps. In the moonlit darkness, she could see the canopy bed at the far end of the room.

(Just a little bit… Just enough to confirm that Heinz and the golden-haired boy aren’t the same person…)

Using that excuse to justify her actions, Elizabeth pressed forward.

She passed through the doorway leading to his bedroom and cautiously approached the bed—

“Elizabeth, what are you doing?”

“—Eep!”

A sudden voice from behind made her heart nearly jump out of her chest, and she froze.

“I noticed the adjoining door open and wondered what was going on, but I never expected you to come in. Could it be… you’re here for a midnight rendezvous?”

A midnight rendezvous!?

“No, absolutely not! That’s not what this is!”

Shocked by his accusation, Elizabeth forced her frozen body to move and hurriedly denied it.

“Then, why are you in my room at this hour?”

“Well, um… Oh! That’s right. The lock! I was concerned about the lock on the adjoining door!”

“So you were checking to see if it was properly locked?”

“Yes! If it wasn’t locked, it could have caused problems for you, Heinz. You wouldn’t want people assuming something happened between you and me, a woman whose engagement was annulled, would you?”

Yes, that made sense. He wouldn’t want any rumors about being involved with a so-called “disgraced” woman.

A self-deprecating smile crossed Elizabeth’s face as her heart ached.

(Making up excuses just to hurt myself… How foolish can I be?)

“Cause me trouble? I wouldn’t mind at all, actually. But fine, let’s say I accept that explanation. It still doesn’t explain why you’re in my room, does it?”

“Huh?”

“Huh? is not an answer. If you were only checking the lock, you could have just asked a servant to handle it. Yet, here you are, in my room. Why?”

“Ah…”

“Heh, you’re adorable. That’s why I called it a midnight rendezvous. Now, let’s return to the matter at hand.”

“…Heinz.”

“Elizabeth, sneaking into a man’s room in the middle of the night—what do you think will happen next?”

Before she could react, Heinz closed the distance between them and grabbed her shoulders. With a gentle push, Elizabeth tumbled onto the bed.

With a soft thud, she looked up to see Heinz smiling down at her. Panic surged through her veins, rendering her immobile.

His face slowly descended toward hers—then vanished.

A wet sound echoed in the quiet room.

“—Mmph… Wait…”

As she tried to protest, his tongue slipped between her slightly parted lips. It explored, teasing and tasting, leaving her helpless beneath his deep kiss. The sensual sounds filled her ears, sending a shiver down her spine.

Elizabeth, inexperienced in matters of intimacy, could only grasp helplessly at his clothes as her body trembled with unfamiliar sensations.

A heat she couldn’t control burned deep within her.

The strength drained from her limbs, and her mind went blank as the soft moonlight bathed them in its glow.

“Perhaps that was too much for you. Your eyes are glistening—so beautiful.”

Wiping away the tears that had welled in her eyes, Heinz suddenly pulled away, the weight of his body disappearing.

“Let this be a lesson: don’t sneak into a man’s room at night.”

His words snapped Elizabeth back to reality. Scrambling off the bed, she fled the room without looking back.