To My First Love, With Regret (Libenia) – Chapter 16

Author: Piki

“I’m scared we’ll get exposed… but at the same time, I can’t wait for it.”

“They’d probably faint.”

A scholarship student falling for his patron’s daughter.
An aristocratic lady falling for a nursemaid’s son.
The son of a criminal and the daughter of the ruling class.

A man and a woman from opposite ends of the world willingly stepped into a relationship that could cost them everything—just to have each other. Who could’ve imagined it?

“That’s what makes it exciting.”

“You feel it too…?”

As Ethan looked at Eve, it felt like staring into a mirror.

“Should we make her faint for real?”

With a sly, feline glance toward Becky, Eve flashed him a wicked grin. Before he could answer, she grabbed his tie and crashed her lips against his.

Becky’s ice cream slipped from her hand and splattered into the sand.

“A-AH—!”

That reaction was a little excessive.

Becky stood frozen in shock, soda trembling in her hand.

“Khk—!”

She choked trying to take a sip, and Ethan immediately started patting her back while Eve laughed under her breath.

“This is kind of funny.”

Ethan agreed.

“But also not funny at all.”

He agreed with that too.

Becky’s reaction looked comedic on the surface, but the fear shaking inside her eyes was the opening act of a tragedy waiting to happen.

To the lovers, this was pure love.
To society, it would look like something grotesque—something that should never have existed in the first place.

Funny, wasn’t it?

They always said tragedy arrived wearing the mask of comedy.

That was why Ethan couldn’t laugh.

He ordered whiskey, but Becky instantly snatched the glass away, downed it in one gulp, and demanded:

“Why?”

“…”

“Why my brother? Why Lady Evelyn?”

“Are you worried about your brother or me?”

“No. I think both of you are completely insane.”

“…”

“In that case, I don’t feel sorry for either of you.”

Becky decided this was no longer the time to choose her words carefully.

This was an emergency.

A ticking bomb had just gone off inside her family.

God, why did You drop the bomb into our house of all places? We were living such decent lives…

The duke’s family would protect Lady Evelyn no matter what happened. Becky’s fear wasn’t for Eve.

It was for Ethan.

If the duke decided to kill him, nobody would shield her brother.

“Ethan, I swear I’ll keep your secret, so please… don’t get caught. And you too, milady. You understand you’re supposed to enjoy this summer and end things before it leaves any scars, right?”

The moment Becky dismissed their love as nothing more than a fleeting summer affair, something rebellious flashed in both their eyes.

Really now.

Out of everyone Becky knew, the two worst rebels in existence had somehow found each other.

She knew trying to stop them would only make them burn hotter. But she also couldn’t force herself to say something like “You’re perfect together! Live happily ever after!”

“So I’ve basically been serving as cover for your secret dates? And you becoming a chauffeur was part of the disguise too. Wow. I really got played.”

Deciding she deserved compensation for helping create their alibis, Becky waved over a passing waiter.

“What’s the most expensive ice cream dessert you have?”

“‘Kiss & Blush Parfait.’ Brandy-soaked cherries and three kinds of ice cream create a sweet, refreshing flavor. It’s the pride of our bar.”

“Was it named that because it cools down your face after watching people kiss?”

“…Pardon?”

“I’ll take one.”

The waiter retreated.

All three of them lit cigarettes in awkward silence, staring absentmindedly ahead when a group of young men in swimsuits wandered over from the beach volleyball court.

One of them—a copper-haired guy with cropped hair—kept glancing toward their table before finally turning and walking straight over.

Good-looking. Nervous.

Becky understood immediately.

Oh no… poor guy. Lady Evelyn already has a lover. Ethan, please don’t start a fight. Solve this peacefully for once.

She shot her brother a severe warning look in advance, but the man approached and said—

“Excuse me.”

“Yes?”

—not to Eve, but to Becky.

“I lost the game because your beauty blinded me. I think you should take responsibility.”

“…How exactly?”

“Go on a date with me.”

“M-Me? Not the beautiful lady sitting here?”

“Yes. That beautiful lady.”

He pointed directly at Becky.

“The gentleman beside you is family, right?”

“My brother, yes.”

“That’s what I thought. If you already had someone, you’d be on a double date. Since you’re alone, that means I still have a chance.”

“…Your observation skills are terrifying.”

“Mind if I sit down?”

“Go ahead.”

The man dragged over another lounge chair while Becky scooted aside, still looking stunned.

Ethan didn’t understand her surprise.

Siblings knew every embarrassing detail about each other. And if even he thought Becky was pretty, then how beautiful must she look to strangers who didn’t know her true personality?

“Thomas Holbrook. But call me Tom.”

“Rebecca Fairchild. Everyone calls me Becky.”

“Rebecca means one who captures hearts. A fitting name.”

The man—somewhere between charming intellectual and shameless flirt—offered Ethan a handshake.

“Ethan Fairchild.”

“And I’m Eve.”

Eve deliberately left out her surname. Thankfully, Tom seemed completely uninterested in another man’s girlfriend.

Tom was a year older than Becky and the same age as Ethan. He attended the nearby Naval Academy.

“It’s summer break, so I came to relax with friends before heading home. Looks like I just used up the luck of my entire life.”

It didn’t sound fake.

The Naval Academy crest embroidered on his polo shirt looked authentic enough. Of course, anyone could buy the uniform—but the way he spoke, the discipline in his posture, the military sharpness beneath his easy compliments… that couldn’t be faked so easily.

Now Ethan was the one studying him carefully.

The Naval Academy was prestigious. This cadet belonged to the elite—not like the questionable men Becky used to date.

And after graduation, he’d become an officer. Stable income. Respectable status.

A real future.

Let Becky escape the fate their mother suffered. Let her avoid marrying some dockworker or criminal. Let her rise above a life where the peak of success was serving as a maid in a duke’s mansion.

Ethan refused to let this opportunity slip away.

“I study at Kingsbridge too.”

He intentionally mentioned his own prestigious university, trying to imply Becky’s background wasn’t so lowly.

And technically, it wasn’t. Their mother’s family had produced respected civil servants for generations.

The problem was their father’s bloodline.

Damn it.

“I was actually feeling guilty toward my sister. Perfect timing. How about a double date?”

Ethan cast the net wide.

He wasn’t about to let a catch like this escape.

Surprisingly, the double date turned out wonderfully.

Ethan and Eve no longer had to feel awkward around Becky, and could focus entirely on each other instead.

Ethan got along well with Tom, while Eve liked the future naval officer’s humor and manners. The four of them danced until late into the night, and by the time they parted ways, they’d already arranged another double date.

By the time Eve returned to White Cliff Hall, it was past midnight.

She deliberately walked home to air herself out and even used perfume, but the cigarette smoke soaked into her clothes from the dance hall still clung stubbornly to her skin.

I was reading at the café. That’s why I smell like this.

She prepared the excuse in case she ran into her father, but fortunately she avoided him.

Still, it seemed he was awake.

The maid helping her prepare for bed handed over a note from the duke.

Apparently, he assumed she’d been avoiding Harry’s group by staying outside all day.

Eve hoped the misunderstanding lasted as long as possible.

She stared at her father’s handwriting and let out a soft laugh.

A note?

Was he too embarrassed to look me in the eye after this morning?

Unlike a certain shameless woman.

“Lady Evelyn, please don’t be angry.”

Fresh from her bath and seated before the vanity, Eve watched Shantal barge into her room without shame and immediately begin pestering her again.