A Summer With Bitter Rivals - Chapter 102

Chapter 102: I’ve Come to Take My Daughter

Emeline echoed the tone she had learned from Bernard Delzeier, mockingly.

But the Duke simply stared down at the special edition, as if he couldn’t hear anything.

Emeline twisted her lips into a smirk.

It must’ve been a considerable shock.

How lowly must he have regarded Zenon to be this horrified by what he had accomplished?

“W-what is this…”

“It’s worth being surprised. I once underestimated him too, just like you did, but… I learned that was wrong. From him.”

After a long silence with his eyes still locked on the paper, the Duke looked up at Emeline, his expression crumpled.

His face twisted in rage as he spat out his words.

“…So what are you trying to say to me?”

“Please accept my relationship with Zenon.”

As Emeline calmly made her request, a thunderous shout erupted in return.

“You’re determined to drive a stake through your father’s heart! Must you humiliate me this much? You know I have a hostile relationship with that family, how could you do this?!”

He spoke like a father overcome by his child’s disobedience. He acted as if he were the victim.

Emeline’s gaze turned colder than ever. “That man knew exactly how you would judge him, and to stay by my side, he raised his status high enough not to lose to anyone… And still, it’s not enough for you?”

“No matter what you say, Zenon Trancium is absolutely unacceptable!”

Emeline was dumbfounded by his stubbornness.

She had once thought her father a shallow man, but now she saw it was more than that—he was prideful beyond belief.

Just how far would Zenon have to go for him to be acknowledged?

According to today’s special edition, he had already inherited his title and become the Marquis of Trancium. He had taken over numerous assets from his father and was now running a defense company that dealt with the royal family.

And yet, he still wasn’t enough for Bernard.

Everything Zenon had accomplished was an effort to gain the Duke’s approval.

Staring at her father’s shameless face, Emeline turned away.

“If that’s how you’re going to be, then I have nothing more to say.”

With a chilling murmur, she walked past the Duke.

“Emeline! You’re walking away from your father in the middle of a conversation?! Come back this instant!”

He shouted behind her, and then came the order to a servant to bring her back.

Emeline stopped.

A sigh of utter exasperation slipped out.

She turned to her father with eyes full of resentment and disappointment.

“Have you ever seen me as anything more than a possession?”

To him, she had always been a proud doll, a trophy to be handed off at the highest price—and now he had the audacity to invoke the word ‘father.’

If anyone had the right to feel anger and sorrow, it was Emeline.

She had followed him loyally and looked up to him more than anyone—until he stole her dreams.

Not once had she ever tried to displease him. She had lived as the perfect daughter to win his approval.

‘And yet, you took my devotion and affection for granted.’

Not once did he try to understand the emotions or dreams a person might have.

Her eyes, now sharp and burning, reddened with emotion.

“The more you try to control me, the more I’ll resist, and your precious reputation will crack. Why don’t you understand that?”

“Are you threatening me now?”

“A threat? If that’s how it sounds to you, then that’s truly unfortunate.”

With those final words, Emeline turned her back on Bernard and stepped out the front door.

The blinding sunlight immediately washed over her vision.

She blinked against the brightness and casually opened her parasol.

Ignoring the sound of her father’s shouting behind the door.

***

Damn Zenon Trancium.

Bernard paced anxiously in his study, seething with rage.

He couldn’t stop thinking about all the ways that man had humiliated him.

Finally, he slammed a hand down on the desk.

‘That bastard has ruined everything!’

The defense company he had invested so heavily in turned out to be owned by that delinquent.

Rather than admiring Zenon, Bernard only grew more agitated.

Cursed Trancium.

Lance Trancium, now the former marquis, had supposedly gone into retreat to recover from the shock of being betrayed by his eldest son.

Bernard should’ve been pleased by that, yet he felt nothing but foul.

With Lance gone, that annoying Zenon Trancium was popping up everywhere.

There wasn’t a single thing about him that he liked. To think that the one who was interacting with the royal family as the owner of the defense company was that bastard all along.

Bernard had been so curious about the identity of this mysterious figure—who was said to be personally greeting the royal family—that he even went to his elder brother, the King, to ask.

But the King had simply cleared his throat awkwardly and sent Bernard away with a polite refusal.

And now it turned out that the person even his own brother hadn’t revealed was Zenon Trancium.

It was odd that this man, who had reportedly visited most of the royal family—even Marcella, the eccentric who had left the royal palace—had not once come to see Bernard, a man of real influence.

It was clear that arrogant bastard had deliberately excluded him.

Just imagining how much Zenon must’ve laughed at him for investing a fortune without knowing his identity made Bernard boil.

‘How dare he mock me! Does he think that just because he’s gained some status, I’ll bow my head to him? Pathetic fool.’

A chilling fury filled Bernard’s eyes.

‘Presumptuous scum, eyeing my daughter. Emeline is under my authority; without my permission, she will never be with Zenon Trancium.’

If she disobeyed, it would be an act of betrayal, and society would condemn her.

Bernard had no intention of sullying his daughter’s name, nor of handing her over to that unruly Zenon Trancium and allowing her to be corrupted.

‘Strut around all you like. Do you really think I’ll grant your wish? Fool. You’d better start begging.’

While Bernard inwardly spewed curses, someone came to his study. Frowning at the interruption, he exhaled deeply and erased the anger from his face.

Upon his permission, the visitor entered—it was the butler.

“What is it? If it’s not urgent, I don’t want to be disturbed.”

“Well, sir… the Young Lord of the Marquisate of Trancium—no, the Marquis of Trancium himself is here to see you.”

“What?”

The sudden outburst was uncontrollable.

The Duke of Delzeier’s face contorted again, his earlier restraint forgotten.

‘He dares show his face here?’

Fuming, Bernard snatched up the cane he had left by the window and gave orders to the butler.

“Tell Emeline nothing about that man’s visit, and don’t let her leave the house!”

He stormed out of his study.

He needed to see that insolent face for himself.

Wasn’t Emeline, now under Zenon Trancium’s spell, ignoring her once-beloved father and acting completely irrational?

‘He’s corrupted my daughter this far…’

Stepping outside, Bernard saw a carriage parked near the gate.

And in front of it, that wretched, smug face waiting calmly.

The Duke frowned as he struck his cane on the ground and stepped in front of him.

Zenon, who hadn’t even acknowledged him until then, finally moved and looked at him.

There was a slight smile on his composed face, and his eyes sparkled with bold confidence, as if stars were twinkling in them.

“It’s been a while, Your Grace.”

Bernard’s brow twitched as he looked down at him.

Something about this situation felt familiar.

That this man had come again to confront him at his residence.

Zenon, dressed neater than usual and with his hair neatly swept back, seemed to recall the same moment from the past, the corners of his lips lifting slightly.

On top of that composure, there was a more solemn air than usual.

“This time, unlike before, I’ve come with qualifications. So now, I’ve come to take your daughter.”

At that brazen declaration, Bernard let out a huff of disbelief.

Zenon, as if he had expected such a reaction, simply smiled without flinching.

The sight of that face made Bernard’s blood boil. Take his daughter? How dare he?

“Qualifications? Did I ever ask you to prove yourself?”

“I assumed you dismissed me before because I was unqualified. So I’ve prepared myself this time to show I’m capable.”

“Ridiculous. No matter what position you’ve gained, my answer won’t change. I have nothing more to say. You won’t be seeing my daughter this time ei—”

Just then, Zenon’s gaze, which had been fixed on Bernard with a calm smile, shifted past him.

Noticing that he was looking elsewhere, Bernard’s frown deepened.

To look away while someone is speaking—how rude.

Bernard, thinking again how detestable this man was in every way, was about to speak again—

When Zenon’s expression suddenly brightened, and he raised his voice.

“Emeline!”

“What?”

At the name that should not have been spoken, the Duke whipped around.