To My First Love, With Regret (Libenia) Chapter 8

“I’ll have Baron Langdon watched closely so he never dares approach the lighthouse again. So could you keep this matter between us?”

“Of course, sir.”

Pay for the damages, then demand something in return.

As expected of the perfect model of irresponsibility.

This couldn’t be called taking responsibility.

“You may not know this, but living expenses in Richmond can’t be covered on a lighthouse keeper’s salary. While you attend university, I’ll handle your expenses.”

Those funds forced onto Ethan despite him never asking for them belonged to the same category.

The responsibility of society’s leaders was nothing more than a smokescreen.

The real goal was restoring shattered prestige.

At Kingsbridge, even great aristocrats sometimes failed to gain entry despite constructing buildings, donating land, and pouring in sums equal to their yearly income over many years.

Yet a poor boy from the same small town had entered solely through his own ability.

And just like that, the prestigious acceptance of the duke’s only son became stained.

But in this world, even pride could be bought with money.

By positioning himself as Ethan’s generous patron, the duke merely reinforced the hierarchy between them.

*Never forget it. Even if you study beside my son at a first-rate university, you still stand beneath us.*

And he didn’t stop there.

The duke even had an article published in the newspaper.

“Ethan Fairchild, a poor but talented youth who nearly abandoned his university dreams due to his circumstances, has been able to continue his education thanks to the generosity of Duke Kentrell.”

And so, the diploma that should’ve shined because of Ethan’s talent became tainted by “the noble philanthropy of Duke Kentrell.”

His grandfather said Ethan should be grateful since it allowed him to focus solely on his studies.

But to Ethan, it felt like an insult that would cling to his diploma forever.

Even so, he couldn’t insult the duke by refusing unwanted patronage.

One did not offend Duke Kentrell.

Not even when the duke’s own son committed a crime.

Today’s meeting had begun because the duke’s prestige had crumbled.

And in the end, it concluded with Ethan thanking him for his generous support, thereby restoring that prestige once more.

The victim had politely lowered his head before the guilty party and quietly withdrawn.

In a world where pride could be purchased with money, those without it were forced to sell even their dignity just to survive.

Ethan was sick of this Eden built atop the foundations of hell.

He was supposed to leave through the servants’ and workers’ exit.

The scent of dinner drifted from the ventilation system—food unlike anything found in ordinary homes.

Excessively refined.

Strangely unfamiliar.

Unbearably invasive.

Just like House Kentrell itself.

Lost in thought, Ethan abruptly stopped the moment he spotted his motorcycle parked in a secluded corner far from the mansion.

Lady Evelyn was sitting on his old motorcycle.

Perfectly dressed, she was waiting for him.

Even in his boldest—and most miserable—dreams, he’d never imagined something like this.

Because dreams where she appeared could never possibly become reality.

The woman gazing at Ethan with her usual confidence and arrogance looked strangely different today.

Though she still wore that flower-petal summer dress.

Knowing it was rude, his eyes still swept over her from head to toe before finally spotting what had changed.

She’d traded her comfortable shoes for heels.

And her makeup was slightly bolder.

But more than anything—

The restrained smile playing on her lips, tinged with mischief and nervous excitement instead of her usual icy expression, transformed her entirely.

She looked like a woman preparing for a date.

‘Could it be…’

No.

It *could* be a date.

But there was no possible world where the partner would be Ethan Fairchild.

She probably had some secret rendezvous and needed someone to drive her there.

Back when they were children, hadn’t he practically been her chauffeur already?

Of course, that didn’t explain why the man himself hadn’t come to pick her up.

Still, that possibility was far more realistic than the idea that a lady of House Kentrell wanted to go on a date with him.

He crushed the foolish hope rising inside him and approached.

Lady Evelyn, who had silently watched Ethan’s inner turmoil the entire time, slowly parted her dark red lips like a blooming rosebud.

“Where are you headed now?”

“I should go home.”

“The repair technicians from the estate already left for the lighthouse.”

“In that case…” Ethan hesitated. “Is there anywhere else I need to go?”

Her long, feline lashes framed eyes that stared intently into his.

At the edges, her pupils almost seemed to burn.

Those weren’t the eyes of the girl he remembered.

They belonged to an unfamiliar woman.

A woman yearning for something.

And the moment he realized that, he heard words he never could’ve imagined.

“May I borrow you for tonight?”

Take me.

You can borrow me forever.

But why do you want me?

Despite the countless elegant restaurants throughout town, Lady Evelyn chose somewhere completely unsuitable for an aristocratic lady.

“I want to visit a pub.”

A pub.

Back when they wandered around together as children, people mistook them for a rich young lady and her servant.

Now they’d probably misunderstand them in a different way.

It would become troublesome if rumors spread that the princess was dating the son of a gang leader.

If she wanted to avoid people who recognized her face, then a pub truly was the perfect choice.

At the same time, it was risky.

What if they ran into servants from the estate?

Ethan passed by the White Horse—the most popular pub in Cliffhaven—and instead chose one frequented only by wandering tourists.

Even then, he still felt uneasy.

He guided her all the way to the furthest corner behind a divider.

Their efforts to remain unnoticed completely failed.

People kept glancing toward them from every direction.

And honestly, it wasn’t surprising.

A lady possessing breathtaking beauty one rarely saw even once in a lifetime—and carrying an aristocratic elegance utterly out of place in a cheap pub—was curiously looking around like a fascinated child.

Lady Evelyn examined everything around her as though the ordinary sights Ethan took for granted were something entirely new.

The faded wallpaper covered in visitors’ scribbles.

A torn movie poster announcing *Coming Soon!* for a film released five years ago.

A filthy table with blackened corners and a cigarette burn in the middle.

This grime of the world, absent from expensive seaside restaurants, must’ve looked exotic to a noble lady.

Like a zoo carrying the scent of manure.

Ethan was already familiar with the nausea that rose whenever he felt that insurmountable wall between them.

But imagining disgust coming from the woman he loved felt unbearable.

Suddenly, he wanted a cigarette.

He held himself back, thinking she’d probably hate it if the scent of cheap smoke mixed with her expensive perfume.

Though the thought was pointless.

Half the people in this windowless pub were already locked in a deadly embrace with Madam Nicotine.

‘I shouldn’t have brought her here.’

The duke’s daughter blinked repeatedly while watching cigarette smoke drift lazily beneath the rusted lamp overhead, pretending to be fog.

I should’ve insisted on a proper restaurant, no matter how stubborn she got.

While Ethan regretted everything, the waiter roughly slammed their beers onto the table.

Foam overflowed from the tall glasses.

Ethan reached for a napkin to wipe the table clean—

Then froze.

Lady Evelyn grabbed her overflowing glass and pressed her lips directly against the foam spilling over the rim.

And from that moment onward, *she* became the surreal sight.

The bubbles bursting against her crimson lips curved upward into a smile.

It looked utterly unreal.

“Now *this* is what beer should taste like.”

Ethan stared at her in disbelief.

Lady Evelyn ignored the beer spilling over her fingers, tilted her head teasingly toward him, and clinked her glass against his.

She looked like someone who’d never touched anything but expensive alcohol in her life.

Yet she took another long sip of cheap beer without hesitation.

“When did you—”

“—about you?”

Their questions collided simultaneously.

Right then, glasses shattered loudly somewhere inside the bar, drowning out her words completely.

“What did you say?”

He had to raise his voice over the noise.

The pub was so loud he couldn’t even tell whether the radio was playing jazz or folk music.

“—about you?”

He still couldn’t hear her.

Lady Evelyn crooked a finger toward him.

Ethan leaned closer.

She leaned in too.

Their faces ended up dangerously near each other, and Ethan stiffened, terrified she might hear even his uneven breathing betraying his hidden feelings.

“What do you think about Kingsbridge?”

What changes once you become a university student?

You choose your major in the second year, right?

Have you decided already?

How’s dorm life?

Do you get along with your roommate?

What clubs did you join?

The moment he answered one question, another immediately followed as though she’d been waiting eagerly for his response.

‘Ah… so that’s it.’

Lady Evelyn had “borrowed” Ethan simply because she wanted to hear about university life—

The dream she herself could never have.

She was prepared to ask about every single detail of his freshman year, from the day he entered until the very end of it.

No one had ever shown such interest in Ethan’s life before.

And honestly—

He was happy.

Not disappointed.

This too would become one of those rare memories he’d spend years savoring alone.

“Really? My God, seriously? Ah… that sounds so interesting.”

Her eyes, usually indifferent toward other men, sparkled brilliantly while she listened to Ethan speak.

The face that normally remained emotionless now carried a dreamy smile.

She leaned toward him as though she wanted to melt into him completely.

But in reality, it was Ethan sinking deeper and deeper.

“Have professors already started taking interest in you? You’re amazing, Ethan.”

When else would he ever hear Lady Evelyn call him amazing?

He was the first person in his family to attend university.

The first student from a rural public school to enter such a prestigious institution.

So yes—he really was “amazing.”

But admiration from Princess Kentrell, a woman born at the top of the world among true titans—

A woman difficult to impress—

Meant something entirely different to him.