To My First Love, With Regret (Libenia) Chapter 6

The tall man standing at the edge of the white cliff curving around the beach was too far away for her to make out his face clearly.

But that sun-bleached blond hair—

That color was impossible to forget.

“Lady Evelyn, are you alright?”

The voice calling out to her sounded unfamiliar.

Perhaps because she hadn’t heard Ethan’s voice since the day he’d broken down. Yet the polite tone tinged with faint mockery was unmistakably Ethan Fairchild’s.

The crown prince, who had been sitting on the steps, slowly rose to his feet and looked up at him with a displeased expression.

Ethan asking if Eve was alright meant he’d mistaken the prince for some creep harassing a woman.

Well… he wasn’t exactly wrong.

“The lady and I were merely talking. Everything is fine, so you may leave.”

The man tried to dismiss Ethan like an unwanted intruder ruining their pleasant encounter, but Ethan didn’t budge.

“Your Highness, since you seem unaware, allow me to inform you that it’s customary here not to disturb the princess while she’s painting alone.” His gaze turned colder. “And behaving in a way that makes you look like a suspicious man bothering a lady is considered basic etiquette for any gentleman.”

Now that there was a witness, Eve no longer had any reason to humor this man.

“I had no ill intentions, Lady. However, I acted thoughtlessly.”

Only then did the crown prince finally retreat uphill.

By now, Eve had completely lost both her inspiration and desire to paint. She began packing her things in silence.

She hoisted her bag, canvas, and easel onto herself, tucked the parasol beneath her arm, and started climbing the slope.

Then—

Footsteps rapidly approached from above.

Someone was descending the hill in broad, quick strides.

A pair of old men’s shoes dusted in white chalk came into view.

The last time they’d seen each other was before Eve had left for boarding school.

More than five years ago.

There was no way either of them could still be the same.

What kind of man had Ethan become?

The moment she lifted her head, burning with curiosity, her gaze collided with the eyes of a complete stranger wearing a familiar face.

Eve unconsciously stepped back in shock.

This man… was really Ethan?

It felt as though her time had stopped in the past while his had surged recklessly ahead.

The once delicate line of his jaw had sharpened into something firm and masculine. The tall, skinny boy she remembered had become broad and solid enough to leave her flustered over where to even look.

Could she still call him “Ethan”?

Or should she now address him as “Mr. Fairchild”?

Time changed many things.

Boys became men.

Girls became women.

Then what became of childhood friends?

The years between them had carved out a dizzying chasm called man and woman.

It felt like a distance that should never be crossed.

The sensation made her head spin more violently than the cliffside trail beneath her feet. Eve shuddered, feeling as though her entire body might tumble into that invisible abyss separating her from Ethan.

‘What’s wrong with me?’

Meanwhile, Ethan looked just as dazed.

She could see her own reflection trembling within his pupils.

Ethan’s sea swallowed her whole.

Because of the chalk washed down from the white cliffs, the ocean beneath them carried a muted gray-blue hue. Once, she’d told him his eyes looked like the sea here. People had thought it overly poetic for someone of his status, yet none of them argued.

But if she claimed today that there was fire burning in Ethan’s eyes—

Everyone would surely call it an illusion.

Like every other man who met Eve, Ethan was stunned by her appearance.

Yet unlike the others, he didn’t look foolish because of it.

If anything, this was the first time Eve had to actively struggle not to look foolish herself.

“You didn’t have to come all the way down here.”

Wonderful.

After all that effort, that was the idiotic thing she blurted out.

“Ah, then I’d end up getting mistaken for a creep too.”

Ethan effortlessly took the luggage from her arms before immediately turning his back toward her.

It was a broad, masculine back stretched tightly beneath his shirt.

As she followed behind him up the slope, Eve secretly rubbed the spot where their fingers had brushed.

For a fleeting instant, it had felt as though electricity passed from Ethan into her.

‘This path is going to end soon… and then we’ll have to look at each other again. What am I supposed to do?’

That unfamiliar nervousness resolved itself on its own.

The moment they reached the cliff, they ran into the crown prince of Rosenholm once again.

“Are you waiting for Harry’s car?”

At Eve’s question, the crown prince of an entire nation suddenly resembled a child waiting for his mother to pick him up.

“The baron’s vehicle has already returned to the estate.”

Ethan joined them then.

Completely ignoring him, as though Ethan neither existed nor spoke, the crown prince stepped closer to Eve.

“I couldn’t leave a lady alone in such a dangerous place.”

“…”

Ethan, who had been fastening her painting supplies onto the motorcycle, slowly turned to look at the shameless parasite clinging to her.

His expression looked like he genuinely wanted to punch the man.

Eve couldn’t stop herself from smiling.

It was like staring into a mirror.

“Dangerous? And why would I be alone?” she asked sweetly. “My reliable neighbor is protecting me.”

“Ah… reliable…”

The crown prince twisted his lips mockingly around those words.

He looked ready to slander that “reliable neighbor,” but strangely quieted the moment Ethan stepped forward.

“Lady Evelyn, please apologize to His Grace on my behalf, but could you inform him I have an urgent issue at the lighthouse? I’ll pay my respects tomorrow instead.”

“What happened?”

“Some lunatics just shot up the lantern room.”

It was obvious which “lunatics” he meant.

So the gunshots she’d heard earlier on the beach hadn’t been aimed at birds—

They’d been aimed at the lighthouse.

“You mean they fired at a building where people live?”

No matter how reckless Harry was, he wasn’t a murderer.

Hadn’t he adored the old lighthouse keeper when they were children?

So what could’ve driven him this far?

“Is Mr. Robinson alright?”

“Yes. The old man’s safe. The lantern isn’t.”

“And what are you going to do tonight?”

“I need to repair the damaged electrical wiring immediately, but I’m missing a few parts, so I’m heading into town now. If I can fix that, we’ll survive tonight somehow. But unless the shattered glass is replaced, the machinery will rust from the salt air… and the lenses cracked by bullets need replacing too.” Ethan let out a quiet sigh. “First, I need to report everything to the Maritime Safety Office.”

“Destroying public property is a crime,” Eve said coldly. “Did you see the culprits’ faces?”

“I did.”

The crown prince, who until now had been listening with a sympathetic expression as if he had nothing to do with it, instantly went pale.

Even if Harry had instigated it, he was still an accomplice to a crime.

And in a foreign country, no less.

Perhaps no one could punish a prince directly, but it was only a matter of time before rumors reached Queen Mercia.

And once they did, the gossip would spread across the continent.

The future king of Rosenholm is a violent lunatic.

Faced with the possibility of becoming an unwanted figure among royal families and governments alike, the man’s eyes darted around frantically.

He was clearly searching for a way out of this disaster.

“You should report the criminals’ names to the police and coast guard immediately.”

Just as Eve cornered the culprit—

“I will,” Ethan interrupted smoothly. “But repairs come first.”

Quickly understanding the situation, Ethan tossed the crown prince a lifeline.

The timing was perfect.

Eve, unusually animated, immediately began fussing over the situation while Ethan calmly listed the damages. The two of them seamlessly guided the conversation toward the exact outcome they wanted.

“You said you were going into town for supplies?” Eve asked. “I’ll cover the expenses. No, actually, I was planning to donate to the lighthouse fund anyway, so this works out perfectly. I’ll pay for all the repairs.”

“Ah— no. I’ll pay.”

The man, realizing the lifeline thrown at him, grabbed onto it without hesitation.

At that moment, Eve dropped the mask entirely.

“What a wonderful idea,” she said with a dazzling smile. “If you do that, I’ll keep this matter hidden from Her Majesty the Queen… who also happens to be my dear friend’s mother.”

The man realized he’d been trapped.

Too late.

He hurriedly pulled out his wallet and scribbled out a compensation check, looking desperate to escape as quickly as possible.

“Hm…”

“My, my. I had no idea the royal family of Rosenholm relied on charity donations.”

As both Eve and Ethan openly expressed dissatisfaction, the prince stiffened before reluctantly adding another digit to the front of the amount.

Only after receiving enough money to completely replace the lighthouse lantern did Ethan finally tuck the check into his pocket and climb onto his motorcycle as though he had no further business here.

Eve stared blankly at his swift movements.

Just moments ago, the two of them had carried out an entire scheme through nothing more than exchanged glances.

That strange feeling of being accomplices together sent an inexplicable thrill through her chest.

But now it was over.

And he was simply leaving.

Eve, who normally hated even sharing the same air as men, unexpectedly felt a sting of disappointment watching Ethan walk away so easily.

Then he suddenly turned back toward her and extended his hand.

“Lady Evelyn, allow me to give you a ride.”

It was the same respectful phrase she’d heard countless times during childhood.

Yet today, for some reason—

It stole her breath away.

‘Good heavens… what is wrong with me?’