The End of First Love - Chapter 38

“—P-Please, raise your head.”

Before Elizabeth, a woman knelt on the floor, pressing her forehead to the ground as she trembled and uttered words of apology.

She appeared to be around Elizabeth’s age. Dressed in a black sister’s habit with a cross-shaped rosary, she was undoubtedly a nun of this church. However, Elizabeth had no idea why this woman was desperately apologizing to her.

(She’s that nun, isn’t she? The one rumored to have caught Lord Heinz’s eye?)

Then… could she be apologizing because she had an affair with Lord Heinz?

Following her thoughts, Elizabeth shifted her gaze toward Heinz. However, the man in question was looking downward, shoulders trembling, clearly stifling laughter.

(Judging by his reaction, there’s absolutely no way he had an affair with this nun.)

Then why was she so desperate in her apology?

Moreover, despite having no apparent connection, this woman already knew Elizabeth’s name.

(Could we have met before, and I simply don’t remember?)

Elizabeth’s mind swirled with questions, but no answers surfaced.

“Excuse me, Sister. I have no recollection of any reason you should apologize to me. Forgive my bluntness, but have we met somewhere before?”

Taking the nun’s trembling hand, Elizabeth crouched slightly to meet her eyes. The shaking of her hand revealed the extent of her nervousness.

“Please, won’t you raise your head? It’s difficult to talk like this.”

Speaking as gently as possible, she finally coaxed the nun into lifting her face. Even up close, tear-streaked and all, Elizabeth still found no recognition.

“Sister, I truly don’t understand why you’re apologizing. If you feel guilt over something, would you be willing to tell me what it is?”

“…Lady Elizabeth, I am a sinful woman. What I have done is unforgivable. But… the child is innocent. Please, I beg you. I will accept any punishment, but please spare the child. Please, please—”

(The child? What child?)

Elizabeth caught the phrase “the child is innocent,” but was she hearing things?

Turning to Heinz for help, she found him still convulsing with suppressed laughter, his back turned to her. He was utterly useless at this moment.

“Um… Who is this child you’re referring to?”

“—The child of Prince William.”

“Huh? …HAAAAA?!”

Prince William’s child.

Prince William’s child.

The words spun wildly in Elizabeth’s mind.

(What on earth does this mean?)

The shock was so overwhelming that she nearly staggered.

At this point, she wanted nothing more than to collapse on the spot.

“Wait, hold on… So, the one you had an affair with wasn’t Lord Heinz, but Prince William?”

“Huh? Why would Lord Heinz’s name come up?”

“Well… um, that is… uhh…”

Elizabeth could never admit that she had traveled all this way because she mistakenly assumed the nun was Heinz’s mistress and had been determined to catch them in the act.

As she scrambled to come up with an excuse, a sharp burst of laughter erupted behind her.

She reflexively turned around, only to find Heinz leaning against the wall, barely holding himself together, shaking with mirth.

(Honestly, this man…!)

With sharp, deliberate steps, Elizabeth approached him.

Raising her hand, she slammed it against the wall beside Heinz with all her strength.

A loud BANG echoed through the room, sending a jolt of pain through her palm.

“Lord Heinz… enough is enough.”

Her voice, deeper than she had intended, rang through the room.

“You know the truth, don’t you? If you don’t start talking right now, I’ll kick you where it hurts.”

“I’d rather avoid that,” Heinz chuckled. “I never intended to laugh, but you were just too adorable…”

“A-Adorable?! Stop teasing me—”

“—I’m not teasing you. Sister, may I explain the situation?”

The nun—Rebecca—bowed deeply in gratitude, allowing Heinz to speak.

Her full name was Rebecca Walter, the second daughter of the Walter Count family.

“The Walter family… they’re supporters of the second prince, aren’t they? But why would a count’s daughter be living as a nun in such a remote place?”

“Because she became pregnant with Prince William’s child.”

“So she was imprisoned by the royal family to prevent the birth of an heir with a claim to the throne?! That’s… outrageous…”

“Well, it’s something like that. However, Rebecca has her own reasons for not wanting to return to the Walter family.”

Indeed, an affair with a prince resulting in a child would cause a massive scandal. And yet, no rumors had ever surfaced about such a thing. That meant Rebecca had been secretly taken away and hidden here.

(But something doesn’t add up… Why hasn’t the Walter family raised a fuss about their missing daughter?)

“May I ask something? Why hasn’t the Walter family caused an uproar over their daughter’s sudden disappearance?”

Rebecca, who had been quietly weeping, finally lifted her head, as if she had gathered her resolve.

“It’s because, to the Walter family, my existence never mattered in the first place.”

The story she went on to tell far exceeded even Elizabeth’s worst expectations.