A Summer With Bitter Rivals - Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Petty Man

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The next day, Emeline had breakfast with her father.

Duke Bernard chuckled as he spoke about the events from the previous evening at the banquet.

“Well done, Emeline. I didn’t expect that rascal to approach you while I was away. I heard you put him in his place.”

“…He tried to insult my name, so I simply responded in kind,” Emeline replied in a calm tone, moving her cutlery to eat slowly.

Bernard’s satisfaction with the incident kept Emeline recalling the events, despite wanting to put them behind her.

Emeline stabbed a cherry tomato in her salad with her fork as she thought, ‘Now that I’ve properly warned Zenon Trancium, there shouldn’t be any more attempts from him to approach me.’

If she continued to be around him, strange rumors might spread. It was for the best. Who knew if she’d end up being labeled as one of his numerous girlfriends, be it eight or eighteen of them. Most of all, it was unthinkable for a noble and refined lady like her to be entangled with a delinquent like him.

“…I’m finished.”

With no appetite, Emeline eventually left most of her food uneaten.

She immediately took her carriage and headed to school, trying to bury his face that kept popping up in her mind under the summer heat.

When she arrived at school, her expectations were met. Sure enough, Zenon Trancium was nowhere to be seen during her morning classes.

‘We don’t have any classes together today, but usually, he’d show up to bother me by now.’

Or perhaps he’d appear sometime in the afternoon. Whatever the case, the fact that he was nowhere to be seen suggested he had taken her warning seriously and backed off.

‘…Good riddance.’

The bell rang, and Emeline returned to the campus with her friends, putting her thoughts to rest.

Just then, Angel spoke up, “Lady Delzeier, you mentioned that you have self-study in the afternoon, right?”

“Yes, I’m planning to practice needlework on my own.”

It was a lie. But none of her friends could see through it.

“It’s a shame you didn’t get assigned to the vocal class during the same time slot—we could’ve gone together… I don’t understand why they randomly assign us even when we choose the same subjects.”

“I agree. It’s impossible to tell who this system benefits.”

Emeline sympathized with her friends’ complaints. Unlike them, Emeline had to head to a different building for her self-study. She bid her friends farewell and parted ways.

Emeline had used her family’s name to secure a private study room from her teacher, a quieter and more secluded place compared to the others.

She entered the outdoor passageway connecting the buildings on the first floor. Despite the roof overhead, the sides were open, allowing the unyielding afternoon sunlight to pour through.

Emeline continued walking, feeling the laziness of the surroundings, when she caught sight of something.

‘Is that… Zenon Trancium?’

A familiar figure appeared in the corner of her vision.

It was the outskirts of a building where people rarely passed by, and there stood Zenon facing a woman. The woman’s back was turned to Emeline, so she couldn’t see her face.

‘What am I looking at?’

Zenon Trancium, who hadn’t shown up even once during school hours, was now in a secluded corner with another woman. Emeline’s face crumpled immediately.

‘Figures.’

Recalling his promiscuous reputation, Emeline cast a disapproving glance at them.

She was about to walk away when she felt a sense of incongruity and paused. Emeline looked back at them, and upon observing closely, she started to notice something she hadn’t before.

A love letter seemed to have been thrust toward Zenon. He let out a sigh, his face hardening, his brows furrowing in frustration. His gaze, full of annoyance…

He said something to the other person, let out another sigh, and irritably ran a hand through his hair. It was a side of him she had never seen—so unfamiliar that, for a moment, she almost didn’t recognize him.

“I don’t do this with anyone else.”

As Emeline pieced together his actions, his low voice from yesterday suddenly came to mind. She recalled that moment as smoothly as water flowing, and Zenon’s gaze, full of displeasure, suddenly slid toward her.

Emeline, startled, quickly turned away. Feeling a bit dazed, she resumed walking, pretending she hadn’t seen anything. It felt almost like she was fleeing when she arrived at the study room.

‘Why did I stop, watch them, and then run away?’

Emeline grew increasingly puzzled by her own feelings.

‘It must be because I saw something I shouldn’t have…’

She reached for the door of the study room with lingering discomfort.

Then she heard it.

“Emeline!”

Hearing her name called, Emeline turned around and couldn’t hide her surprise. The man who had seemingly been on the verge of receiving a confession earlier was now standing right in front of her.

Zenon, panting as if he had run over, caught his breath before speaking, “I was just on my way to find you.”

Emeline squinted at him. Had he just rejected that confession? More importantly, did he forget her warning from yesterday? How could he appear before her again?

Feeling her gaze, Zenon smirked. It was the same playful smile he always wore, unchanged.

Emeline stared at him, lost for words. After blinking several times, Emeline finally spoke, “You… What are you doing here? Didn’t you remember my warning?”

Zenon tilted his head briefly, then, with a sly grin, responded, “You mean when you told me not to waste my time getting involved with you, even though I helped you out?”

“…You remember it well. Then why are you here?”

Emeline felt somewhat embarrassed, but she deliberately maintained her sharp tone.

Zenon, however, didn’t seem to mind her cold voice, adding some gestures as he spoke, “Well, I feel a little wronged. Don’t you feel you owe me anything?”

“What?”

“I helped you, didn’t I? I stopped you from falling and hitting your head on the floor, and yesterday, I chased that jerk away.”

“……”

“I feel like you owe me. Until that feeling is gone, I’ll just have to keep following you. I am quite petty, you know.”

Emeline looked at Zenon with an incredulous expression, her mouth hanging open. “Did you hit your head? Is your memory faulty or something?”

“Nope. I remember everything—even how many sighs you took while telling me off yesterday. It broke my heart.”

Despite his words, Zenon was smiling.

Feeling exhausted for some reason, Emeline got straight to the point.

“What do you want?”

“Are you going to fulfill my request?”

“Say it.”

“You’re not very enthusiastic.”

“Just tell me what you want, and I’ll repay whatever debt you think I owe,” Emeline urged, feeling exasperated.

The hallway was usually deserted, but if someone were to see them together in such a secluded place, it would be disastrous. Most of all, she hated the idea of Zenon trailing after her, claiming she owed him something. It was better to get this over with quickly.

“Anything I want?” Zenon leaned in closer with a mischievous smile, stopping just a handbreadth away from her.

Emeline’s face twisted in annoyance. “I said ‘say it,’ didn’t I?”

“That’s a bit harsh for someone who’s been helped.”

“I never asked for your help.”

“Oh… Really? So, you’re not even a little grateful?”

His innocent question caught Emeline off guard, and she hesitated. She wasn’t ungrateful, but since it was Zenon Trancium, Emeline could be as heartless as she wanted—in fact, she had to be.

But instead of answering, she shifted the topic. “Just tell me what you want so I can either do it or not. And please, keep your distance.”

Emeline shot him a displeased look, and Zenon chuckled before stepping back willingly.

“I want to borrow your study room.”

Emeline, expecting some ridiculous request, was taken aback by his surprisingly reasonable answer. However, after thinking about it, she still wasn’t pleased.

The top and second-ranked students sharing the same study space? Moreover, Zenon had robbed her of the top spot, causing her both humiliation and frustration. Not to mention that he constantly followed her around, hindering her studies.

Who was to say he wouldn’t do the same in the study room? Emeline’s face twisted in displeasure.

“You want to borrow my study room? Are you serious?”

“That’s all I want. If you refuse, I’ll have to follow you around until this uneasy feeling of mine is resolved.”

“What kind of…”

Before she could finish her protest, Emeline’s gaze shifted to something behind Zenon.

Voices were coming from the staircase.

Emeline hesitated for a moment before deciding. She quickly led Zenon into the study room. Though she could have entered alone to avoid being seen with him, Zenon was the type to knock and pester her with unwelcome remarks if she left him outside.

Once inside the study room, Zenon looked around the small space and smiled broadly. “So, this means I can use the study room, right?”

Emeline, who had been staring at him for a moment, recalled the “debt” he had mentioned. Rather than not repaying it and having Zenon follow her around…

Yes, this was better.

Given how shamelessly Zenon showed up in front of her, it was obvious he would continue to bother her endlessly.

“…Do as you please.” Reluctantly, Emeline granted permission.

She made it clear with her cold voice. “I can’t deny you helped me, so I’ll let you use the space this one time.”

Emeline pulled out a nearby chair and quietly began preparing to study. Perhaps Zenon was tactful enough to avoid sitting directly across from her. Instead, he chose a seat diagonally opposite her.

“Other study rooms were too crowded, so I was in a bind… Thanks for letting me use this one.”

His sincere gratitude reached her from across the room. Unbelievably, it sounded genuine.

Emeline suddenly felt strange. He had threatened her to repay a debt, yet now he was thanking her. How could he express gratitude so easily—to her, of all people?

A sense of discomfort washed over her. Perhaps it was her own frustration at herself for not having properly thanked him before—something she regretted.

Emeline pursed her lips and began to move her pen.

She offered no response to his gratitude.

She feared that responding would force her to acknowledge the strangeness of the situation, the bizarre reality where she couldn’t even thank him properly.