The End of First Love - Chapter 13

—This place…

Standing before the Fountain of Memories, Elizabeth instinctively turned around. That couldn’t be. There was no way he could have known about this fountain.

She shook her head to dispel the déjà vu clouding her thoughts, but as Heinz stood with the sun at his back, his figure overlapped with that of the golden-haired boy from her past.

“Elizabeth, give me your hand.”

“Huh?”

“You can’t stay on horseback forever.”

Heinz had already dismounted and was offering his hand. But Elizabeth couldn’t take it. If she did, she had the ominous feeling that there would be no turning back. That she would be trapped, unable to escape him anymore.

She could just tighten her grip on the reins and ride away. She could still run now.

As if reading her hesitation, Heinz suddenly reached for her hand and pulled.

She lost her balance and fell.

Before she could do anything, she landed in Heinz’s arms.

“Heinz, please put me down!”

“Heh, you were planning to run, weren’t you?”

“Ugh…”

“I knew it. You’re terrible, Elizabeth. You were planning to abandon me in the middle of this forest.”

“No! That’s not true. I was going to send someone to fetch you properly!”

“So, you were planning to escape.”

“Ah…”

Realizing she had fallen for his trick, Elizabeth’s cheeks flushed red.

(This is so embarrassing… Now I look like the villain here.)

Unable to meet his gaze out of sheer awkwardness, she could only look down.

“I understand why you’d want to run, given your current situation. But even if you did abandon me, I have my own ways of getting back. The Schwein Duchy is right next door, after all.”

What? The Schwein Duchy is right next door?

Even as she mulled over Heinz’s words, she couldn’t make sense of them. She had never heard that the Baker Duchy and the Schwein Duchy were adjacent. But considering the vast lands noble families ruled over, it was entirely possible that she simply didn’t know.

(Could it be… that Heinz knew about this fountain all along?)

“Well then, let’s get to the main topic. Do you know why I’ve come to the Baker Duchy?”

“Huh…? No…”

“To arrange a marriage between the Baker and Schwein Duchies. What would you do if I told you that?”

Elizabeth wasn’t surprised. She had considered the possibility from the moment Heinz arrived in the Baker Duchy, right after her engagement with William had been broken off. But she could never be sure of his true intentions.

Because there was an unspoken rule in the Kingdom of Glütenburg—

“Marriages between ducal houses are forbidden.”

The four ducal houses of Glütenburg held immense power, wealth, and influence, rivaling even the royal family. If two dukedoms were to unite through marriage, they could become a force as powerful as the king himself. That was why marriages between ducal houses were strictly prohibited.

As long as that rule existed, marriage with Heinz was impossible. He must have known that. That was why Elizabeth couldn’t figure out his true objective.

“I’m surprised. You don’t seem shocked at all.”

“Of course not. Your claim is absurd. A marriage between ducal houses? That’s ridiculous. Every noble knows it’s impossible.”

“Yes, it’s impossible… for now.”

“What do you mean!? That sounds like you’re saying it will become possible in the future.”

Heinz crossed his arms and smirked. Then, suddenly, he burst into laughter. Watching him laugh only deepened Elizabeth’s confusion.

(There’s no way he knows how to make a marriage between ducal houses possible… right?)

“Heh… Sooner or later, the Baker and Schwein Duchies will be joined by marriage. I’ve already laid the groundwork. But the most troublesome person involved has set forth a condition.”

Marriage between ducal houses? Impossible…

Wait—hold on…

More than the idea of marriage, it was Heinz’s dark smirk and his approaching figure that terrified Elizabeth. She instinctively took a step back. His hand reached for her, and she couldn’t even bring herself to push it away.

“You see, Elizabeth… I need your consent to make this engagement happen.”

“Huh?”

His whisper sent her mind spiraling into chaos.

(My consent? What does that mean?)

Her father had full control over her future. Whether she would be engaged again or sent to a convent as someone without value—Elizabeth had no say in the matter. She had already written in a letter to her father that she would abide by his wishes. He must have known that.

Yet here Heinz was, claiming that her approval would determine the fate of two ducal houses.

(Is this just another lie to manipulate me?)

Elizabeth couldn’t comprehend his motives. That was what frightened her the most.

“Elizabeth, are you afraid of me?”

“I’m not afraid…”

“You’ve never changed. Even when you were alone, an unnoticed wallflower at the royal balls, you never sought my help. Every time we met, I lashed out at you, hoping you’d finally see me.”

“What is this? Some kind of late apology?”

She didn’t care why Heinz wanted to tie their families together. The reason couldn’t be anything good. But if her consent was truly necessary, she swore she would never give it.

“An apology? Not at all. Hatred is a powerful emotion, you know. Whether you realize it or not, I’ve taken up more space in your mind than before.”

“That’s not true!”

“Are you sure? Ever since I arrived at the Baker Duchy, your thoughts have been occupied by me. You’ve even forgotten about Prince William.”

It was true.

(Come to think of it, I haven’t thought about Prince William at all…)

That didn’t mean she was grateful to Heinz.

“This has nothing to do with you, Heinz.”

“Is that so? And yet, even though I just proposed to you, you’re not reacting cutely at all.”

“W-what? Proposed?”

“Ha… Don’t tell me you didn’t realize I was talking about you this whole time.”

His sharp gaze pierced through her.

(Wait a second. Of course, I knew this was about me. But I didn’t think Heinz was the one proposing! I thought maybe he had a younger brother or something…)

“I did think it was about me, of course! But I didn’t think you were my intended fiancé. Maybe your younger brother—”

“…I have no siblings.”

“Wha—”

Oh no.

She had just made an unforgivable mistake as a noblewoman.

A high-ranking noble was expected to memorize the genealogy of their country’s aristocracy. Once, Elizabeth had even memorized the noble records of neighboring countries. But in her past six months of self-indulgence, she had lost even the most basic of her noble education.

“Hah… Haha… You really don’t remember me, do you? Nothing has changed since back then.”

“Back then?”

“Yes. Back then. I had hoped that bringing you here would make you remember, but I was a fool to believe it.”

Bringing me here would make me remember…?

The déjà vu she had felt since earlier surfaced in her mind once again.

(That can’t be. He had golden hair…)

“Elizabeth, does this fountain remind you of anything? When you were young, you and I met here.”

“You’re lying. That’s impossible! Because he… he had…”

Heinz’s words sent her mind into disarray. No matter how much she denied it, the déjà vu refused to disappear.

“You’re lying, you’re lying! That can’t be true!”

Her mind, overwhelmed, finally shut down.

(I have to run, or I’ll never escape…!)

Gripped by an inexplicable fear, she broke free from his grasp and bolted.

But in her panic, she failed to watch where she was going.

A loud splash echoed.

By the time she realized she had fallen into the fountain, it was too late.

Her soaked clothes clung to her as she sank. Memories from the past flashed through her mind, flickering like a broken film reel.

Was she going to die?

As that thought crossed her mind, the world suddenly resurfaced.

A man stood against the golden light.

As she looked into his eyes, everything came flooding back.

“You’re as troublesome now as you were back then, my lady.”

As his voice reached her ears, Elizabeth’s world faded into darkness.