The End of First Love - Chapter 47

Since the debutante ball introducing William and Baroness Maria, the social world has been in utter turmoil. Several months have passed, yet the chaos has not settled.

Naturally, Elizabeth faced some repercussions for her outrageous behavior at a royal ball. However, despite the gravity of her actions, her punishment was nothing more than a month of house arrest. The lightness of the penalty strongly suggested some behind-the-scenes dealings.

(It must’ve been Lord Heinz or Father pulling some strings… definitely.)

Once again, Elizabeth was reminded of the powerful influence of those around her.

Then came the announcements of punishments for those involved in the broken engagement scandal.

As for William—now more aptly referred to as her ex-fiancé—he was found guilty of seducing countless noblewomen despite being engaged, and for abusing his power to coerce them into physical relationships. As a result of his disgrace to the royal family, he was stripped of his succession rights and disowned from the royal household.

The royal consort, William’s mother, was initially put under house arrest for failing to properly supervise her son. However, her own misdeeds were soon exposed: an affair with Count Mareille, a relationship with a male prostitute from a brothel, and illegal drug use. Upon discovering these, His Majesty declared their divorce.

Her family, a ducal house, was demoted to the rank of marquess and banished to a remote, mountainous region far from the capital—alongside the former consort and William. Effectively, both were sentenced to lifelong confinement in an isolated landlocked territory.

Count Mareille, on the other hand, faced the death penalty for a multitude of crimes: human trafficking, illegal drug trade, illegal gambling, threats and kidnapping targeting high-ranking nobles, embezzlement within the royal castle, and bribery involving public projects. The Mareille family was abolished.

Leonard Mareille, too, was accused of similar crimes and attempted abduction of a duke’s daughter. However, since it was proven that he acted under his father’s orders, he was sentenced to exile in a foreign land across the sea.

As for Baroness Maria Kashtor, she was found guilty as per the charges read aloud by Heinz—verbal and physical assault against high-ranking nobles and attempted abduction of a duchess’s daughter. Her family’s assets were seized, and the Kashtor barony was dissolved.

Initially, Maria was sentenced to live out her life in a brothel for nobles in a neighboring country as punishment for defamation and attempted abduction. However, Elizabeth later heard rumors that she had died suddenly in prison.

The truth of her death remains unknown, but it was said she continued cursing Elizabeth until the end, and her final moments were grotesque and insane.

The last Elizabeth saw of Maria was her being dragged away by guards, her face twisted into something demonic. What had Elizabeth been to Maria? Why had she been hated so deeply? No one would ever know.

What was clear, however, was that to Maria, Elizabeth had been the villain—a hindrance standing in the way of her happiness.

“If only Elizabeth hadn’t existed… I could’ve been happy…”

Those spiteful final words stabbed deeply into Elizabeth’s heart.

While Elizabeth found happiness, Maria met a tragic and bitter end.

Her crimes were unforgivable. But still—if Elizabeth had ended her relationship with William sooner, would Maria’s life have taken a different path? That bitter thought lingered heavily.

There’s no point in thinking about it now…

Perhaps these backward thoughts came from not having seen Heinz for months.

In the aftermath of the scandal, many high-ranking nobles aligned with the second prince were also exposed for their connections to Count Mareille. Manipulating public projects under William’s name, forging documents, bribery, embezzlement—the list of crimes led to arrests and revocation of noble status.

As a result, the noble ranks were restructured to fill the void, causing massive upheaval in society.

Even the royal castle had become consumed with handling the fallout.

According to a letter, Heinz—leading the charge as a government official—had been too busy to return home, living day and night at the royal palace.

Elizabeth understood why he couldn’t come see her. But still… she missed him terribly.

Shaking her head to chase away the gloomy thoughts—

(If I keep thinking like this, Lord Heinz will laugh at me.)

She stood up from the sofa to re-center herself when—

“—My lady! A messenger just arrived from the royal castle. Lord Heinz is coming to the Baker duchy tonight!!”

Hearing Milia burst into the room with those words nearly brought Elizabeth to tears. Her heart surged with joy—after so long, she would finally see Heinz again.

“Heinz!”

As soon as she spotted him entering the duchy from the entrance hall, Elizabeth ran straight into his arms. It was utterly improper behavior for a lady to embrace someone without so much as a greeting, but Heinz simply smiled and hugged her back.

Surrounded by Heinz’s familiar scent, she felt overcome with emotion.

Effortlessly, Heinz lifted her into his arms. With the butler leading the way, they moved to the parlor where they could be alone. Once there, he leaned in and kissed her.

A soft, intimate sound echoed through the quiet room, making Elizabeth’s cheeks burn.

“Elizabeth, not being able to see you was agony. I wanted to drop everything and come to you so many times. Did you miss me too?”

“Heinz… I missed you so much. I felt like I was going crazy without you. But in your arms, surrounded by your scent, I feel so safe. You’re staying with me tonight, aren’t you?”

Elizabeth clung tighter to him, not wanting to let go.

“Elizabeth, I’m sorry. I have to return to the royal castle soon.”

Elizabeth shook her head frantically, holding on as if her life depended on it.

Even as she behaved like a child throwing a tantrum, Heinz didn’t scold her—instead, he embraced her gently.

After raining soft kisses over her, he placed a tender one on her forehead.

“Elizabeth, I came today because I have something very important to tell you.”

He handed her a letter. The moment she opened it, tears spilled from her eyes.

‘Permission is hereby granted for the wedding ceremony of Heinz Schwein and Elizabeth Baker to be held.’

“Heinz… this is…”

“Elizabeth, we can finally get married. All those days I longed for you—finally, they’ve been rewarded. I will never let you go again… my bride…”

Trembling with joy and overcome with emotion, Elizabeth wept in the arms of the man she loved, hearing the words she had waited so long to hear.