A Summer With Bitter Rivals - Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Flattery, Not Tricks

The bell signaling the end of class rang.

Emeline rubbed her strained eyes and took off her glasses. She let out a small sigh of fatigue, feeling a gaze from across the room.

Opening her glasses case, she glanced at Zenon.

“Do you have something to say?”

For some reason, his gaze seemed unusual. However, when their eyes met, he quickly erased his expression.

“I thought so before, but those glasses suit you well.”

At the sudden compliment, Emeline looked at him skeptically.

“Don’t say things you don’t mean.”

“Have you been deceived all your life? Just say thank you like you do with your friends.”

“……”

“I’m serious. You look kind of cute when you’re focused.”

Emeline slammed her textbook shut and stood up. She shot Zenon a distrustful glare.

“What’s with this weird act all of a sudden?”

“It’s not an act… You’re always treating me like some playboy. All those rumors you’ve heard—they’re all exaggerated.”

Emeline paused as she gathered her notebook and pens, looking at him. He was also standing.

“If they’re exaggerated, that means they’re partly true, right?”

To be honest, Emeline found it hard to believe the absurd claims that he had eight lovers.

However, regardless of the number, hitting on her while already having a lover was still sleazy. Emeline glared at him icily and pushed her chair back in.

Zenon followed her to the door, chattering away.

“I did date a few people, but they kept making ridiculous threats, so I had no choice.”

“……”

“After a few of those situations, weird rumors started spreading. One of them said she’d jump into a lake with my name written on her underwear. What could I do? I ignore those kinds of threats now, but at first, I was scared and felt I had to go along with it. I was fifteen, you know.”

Emeline, who had been pretending to ignore his words, was left speechless.

She couldn’t be sure if it was true or a lie, but she knew absurd things like that happened somewhere in the world.

“Anyway, this isn’t a trick; it’s flattery.”

“…Flattery?”

The strange word made her turn around. Zenon, who had stopped behind her, met her gaze.

“Would you mind letting me borrow your spot again sometime? It was more comfortable than I thought.”

“You don’t actually think that’s possible, do you?”

“No. That’s why I’m flattering you. To be honest, it’s the kind of request that requires some shamelessness, so I was worried about it.”

Emeline scoffed, glaring at him in disapproval. “I’ve already repaid my debt. I don’t want to risk myself by extending more kindness.”

“Friends can share a space for a bit. As an act of friendship, right?”

“You and I aren’t friends, are we? You must’ve forgotten, but we can never be friends. If you’re curious as to why, you should ask your father.”

“……”

“…And even if we were friends, it makes no sense for the top student and the runner-up to study together in the same place.”

Emeline clenched the textbook she had picked up and turned away.

“I’m leaving.”

The moment she left the study room, leaving Zenon behind, Emeline let out a sigh.

Again, she felt an odd, uncomfortable feeling. She walked quickly down the corridor, her skirt swishing.

Zenon Trancium was truly strange. Was everything he said true? That his rumors were exaggerated and that he was merely a victim?

‘No, why would he tell me that?’

Just as her feelings towards him were mixed with lies and contradictions, perhaps Zenon was also deceiving her. He definitely had an ulterior motive.

‘From the start, there’s no way the Marquis of Trancium  would let Zenon approach me like this.’

Her family had advised her to keep her distance from Zenon, and it was likely the same on his side.

But Zenon had even approached her at a crowded banquet. Could it be that the Marquis of Trancium had some plan to threaten her from the beginning? The more Emeline pondered, the darker her expression grew.

‘If only I hadn’t gotten involved with him in the first place, I wouldn’t have this headache.’

Already busy studying and avoiding her father’s suspicions, why should she concern herself with him?

Emeline narrowed her eyes, looking at the sky of the late afternoon, slowly fading.

Please, stop following me around, Zenon Trancium.

***

Early in the morning, Emeline rode in a carriage heading to Hilbert, a few hours away from the capital.

The scenery outside the window transitioned into that of a quaint port town as they drew closer to Hilbert from Elvarto, the capital.

The heart of Hilbert was filled with the cool sea breeze and the cries of seagulls. Emeline’s carriage came to a stop in front of a particularly conspicuous mansion amidst modest Hilbert.

As she got off the carriage, the bouquet she held in her arms rustled.

“It seems a lot has changed. Mother really does love flowers.”

“Indeed, the garden’s landscape has changed a lot since I last saw it.”

Emeline looked around, feeling her black hair scatter in the cool breeze, and gathered it up.

For the past few years, Emeline’s mother, the Duchess of Delzeier, had been staying at the annex in Hilbert for recuperation.

Once a week, Emeline would visit her mother here with her father. Last time, however, she had to skip the visit due to the king’s birthday banquet.

It would have been nice if her mother could stay with her at the townhouse in Elvarto, where Emeline mainly resided, but the Duchess preferred to regain her health in a quiet place.

The Duke, who was also examining the changed garden, patted Emeline’s shoulder and took the lead.

“Let’s hurry; we have to attend a concert this evening.”

“Yes.”

When they entered the mansion, the annex’s butler approached and led them to where the Duchess was.

Sometimes, she would be out for a walk, but fortunately, today she seemed to be resting in her room.

“I’ll prepare some tea right away,” said the butler and personally opened the door to the Duchess’s room.

“Lily.”

Bernard called his wife’s name in a cheerful voice.

When Emeline followed him inside, she saw her mother, small in stature, leaning against the headboard of the bed.

The Duchess Lily, who had been watching the small birds nesting on the terrace, turned at the sound. Soon, her face lit up with a delighted expression.

“Dear, Emeline. You’ve come.”

Whenever she saw them, she always looked as if she’d been waiting just for this moment.

Emeline approached her mother with her father, watching her complexion.

‘Her condition seemed to have been improving, but now she looks even thinner…’

The face, once beautiful like a bright flower, looked pale, and her once-glossy wheat-colored hair now seemed a bit dry.

They said she’d been frail since birth. Those around her often remarked that it was a miracle she had managed to have two children without any complications.

But even that miracle couldn’t prevent her body from weakening over time.

“You must be tired from the long journey. Let’s all have some tea together.”

“Let’s do that.”

As Emeline handed the bouquet to a servant, Lily took Bernard’s hand and got out of bed.

Bernard, seemingly worried about her health, moved carefully as he led her to the tea table.

Warm herbal tea, steaming, was prepared.

Emeline cherished these moments spent gathered with her family.

Lily looked at her daughter with a gentle gaze. “Emeline, you seem even more mature since I last saw you.”

“I’m learning from both you and Father every day.”

“Who did you take after to be so well-spoken?” Lily teased, pretending to scold Emeline for such a model answer, saying it felt a bit bland.

Emeline smiled at her mother’s playfulness.

Talking to her gave her a sense of comfort, as if she had finally come home.

Since childhood, she had always felt more at ease with her mother, who was consistently gentle, compared to her father, who had always been a figure of fear.

Although they were different in disposition, Bernard didn’t dislike his wife for it.

Emeline had heard that their marriage was arranged, yet she had no doubt that the two loved each other.

“My mother visited two days ago.”

“Did she come in person?”

“Yes, she spent the whole day looking after me and genuinely wished for my recovery. I was so grateful.”

Emeline, sipping her tea quietly, nodded at her mother’s story.

The person Lily spoke of was Emeline’s grandmother, the former queen.

It was she who had made it fashionable for noblewomen to attend school.

Emeline truly admired her grandmother’s accomplishments, though her father, for his part, had a rather poor relationship with the queen dowager.

Ironically, however, Emeline’s grandmother had a deep bond with her daughter-in-law, Lily.

Perhaps because she was so fond of Lily, Emeline too had received her grandmother’s love since childhood. Though she couldn’t meet her now, due to her father’s interference.

Emeline was reminiscing about her grandmother when Lily suddenly asked, “By the way, Emeline. Isn’t it time you started thinking about marriage?”

“…Marriage?”