The End of First Love - Chapter 12

The gentle rocking motion increased her drowsiness, yet a contradictory tension ran through her body. The firmness against her back and the sound of steady breathing near her ear only heightened Elizabeth’s unease.

A few hours earlier—

Elizabeth had been enjoying a long-overdue tea party with Iris and Miranda, their first in six months, when Heinz and the two ladies’ partners suddenly barged in. Before she knew it, they had all agreed to go on a horseback excursion that would also serve as lunch. Up until that point, Elizabeth had no objections. However, what came next became a serious problem.

Iris and Miranda, both inexperienced riders, naturally rode together with their respective partners. But Elizabeth, who was well-versed in horseback riding thanks to her time on her family’s estate, had no need to share a horse. Despite this, for some inexplicable reason, she found herself paired with Heinz.

(There are plenty of horses in the stable! He could have simply picked one of his own—so why is he riding my beloved horse with me?)

Unable to argue in front of everyone, Elizabeth was left with no choice. She soon found herself atop a horse, Heinz right behind her, his arm securely around her waist.

And then came an unexpected disaster—drowsiness.

(Sleepy… so sleepy…)

The rhythmic movement of the horse only made it worse. Exhausted from a sleepless night, she would have fallen off if not for Heinz’s firm grip around her waist.

(I should have refused the excursion from the start…)

“Elizabeth, are you sleepy?”

“Huh?”

“You couldn’t sleep last night, could you? You have dark circles under your eyes.”

“No way!?”

She frantically rubbed under her eyes, but of course, dark circles couldn’t just disappear like that. She was so exhausted that she hadn’t even realized they were there.

“If you rub too hard, you’ll hurt yourself,” Heinz said smoothly, effortlessly controlling the reins with one hand while using the other to grasp her wrist, stopping her from rubbing her eyes.

The sudden warmth of his grip sent a sharp tingle through Elizabeth’s body.

(No way… my hand—!)

She tried to pull away, but his grip remained firm.

“Let go of me.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t like it.”

“You don’t like it? Then why didn’t you refuse to ride with me?”

“There was no way I could have refused in that situation! Lady Iris and Lady Miranda were both sharing a horse—it wouldn’t have been right for me to be the only one declining.”

“Oh, so you were being considerate of me.”

“That’s not what I meant!”

“Then you must have wanted to ride with me, after all. You did sneak into my room at night, after all.”

“Wha—!? That never happened!”

“Hey, don’t move around so much. You’ll fall.”

Elizabeth whirled around in outrage, only to be met with Heinz’s playful smirk.

(How dare he! He’s obviously teasing me!)

The amusement in his gaze was unmistakable. But even though she was furious, she knew better than to move recklessly on horseback—it was too dangerous. With no other choice, she turned back forward.

“There, that’s better. Now, shall we continue our conversation?”

“There’s nothing to talk about with you.”

“Is that so? I would have thought you’d be curious about why I came to the Baker Duchy.”

“…Well, yes, I am a little curious. Though I doubt it’s for any good reason.”

“You sure have a sharp tongue. But are you sure you should be speaking so carelessly? It concerns your future, after all.”

“My future?”

“Yes. Your future.”

Something in Heinz’s tone made Elizabeth uneasy.

(My future… it couldn’t be…?)

“Hmph! My future is a matter for the Baker family to decide. It’s not something I need to hear from you.”

“Oh? Are you sure about that? Even if your future has already been entrusted to me?”

“What!? What do you mean by that!?”

Elizabeth’s startled outburst caused the two riders ahead of them to stop and turn around. Realizing she had drawn attention to herself, she quickly bit her lip to stay quiet.

“Heinz! Is something wrong?”

“No, nothing at all. But Elizabeth seems a bit unwell. I’ll take her back to the Duke’s estate. The rest of you should continue enjoying the ride.”

The leader, Kyle, nodded in understanding.

“Got it! Take care, Heinz. Look after Lady Elizabeth.”

With that, Kyle and Louis turned their horses forward again and galloped off.

“Wait a minute! I never said I was feeling unwell!”

“Oh? You look exhausted to me.”

“Ugh…”

“Besides, if you really want me to explain why I’m here, I could always call them back and say it in front of everyone. But I doubt you’d want that. Once they hear it, there will be no escaping it.”

(Is he saying this is something I shouldn’t let others hear?)

Anxious, Elizabeth could find no words to respond.

“I see you understand now. Well then, let’s go. To a place where no one else can hear us.”

He turned the horse in the opposite direction from where they had come. At his command, the horse broke into a gallop, weaving through the trees until they reached a familiar clearing—

The secret spring.