A Summer With Bitter Rivals - Chapter 47

Chapter 47: Ill-Fated Relationship

Emeline sat curled up on the bed, despondent.

The room at the far end of the third floor, near her father’s study—it was the space she feared most, and once again, she was confined there.

Meeting Zenon was, of course, out of the question.

…I will never repent. I did nothing wrong.

As a form of protest, Emeline refused to eat or drink while in the room. Though meals were delivered regularly, she sent them all away.

It was only when she felt on the verge of collapse that she nibbled on bread and sipped water.

She hoped this would convey to her father how serious she was about her feelings.

But nothing changed. The only thing that continued to pass was time, which felt cruelly indifferent.

‘…The entrance exam is tomorrow.’

It was hard to believe she’d been confined in this room for several days already.

If there had still been a chance for her to take the exam, Emeline would have found a way to escape the room and reach the test site, no matter the cost.

But being disqualified from the exam was an entirely different matter.

Sitting quietly, Emeline turned her gaze to the clock hanging on one wall.

11 a.m.

Seeing the time, she stared into the dim air, her mind racing.

‘After lunch, there will be a brief moment when I can go outside.’

Emeline was allowed a short walk once a week after lunch. Being trapped in the suffocating room all day made anyone crave a bit of freedom.

During those moments, her father granted her thirty minutes or so of sunlight—a ploy to instill a desire to repent and leave the room.

When she was younger, Emeline often fell for this tactic. After savoring the rare outside air and sunlight, she would immediately confess her supposed wrongdoings, apologizing profusely.

But this time, she intended to use her father’s petty method against him.

‘Just a little longer, and lunch will arrive.’

She fidgeted with the letter she had hidden in her clothing.

Since a servant always accompanied her on these walks, escaping the house during this time was impossible.

However, she hoped she could at least send a letter to Zenon.

Clinging to that hope, Emeline waited until her walk began. As soon as she stepped outside, she turned to the servant following her.

“Could you walk a little farther behind me?”

The servant hesitated, looking conflicted.

“Miss, that’s…”

“It’s suffocating to be watched so closely all the time. Where could I possibly go?”

Despite her seemingly resigned tone, the servant hesitated further. Finally, Emeline resorted to a stronger tactic.

“If I lose my sanity because of this suffocating surveillance, you’ll be held responsible. Do you not understand why I’m acting this way?”

With a sharp gesture, she brushed her hair back and glared at the servant. Ultimately, the servant retreated a few steps, looking uncomfortable.

Only then did Emeline step lightly toward the walking path.

The outside air, cool and clear, felt refreshing after so long. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before heading toward a familiar tree along the path.

Once there, she stood with her back to the servant, pretending to examine the tree.

The tree had been planted by the duchess during Emeline’s childhood, providing a perfect excuse for her behavior.

‘During my confinement, I realized this servant isn’t particularly attentive.’

She let the letter hidden in her clothing drop near the tree and, pretending to kick the ground idly, pushed it into a crevice in the tree with her shoe.

Since she often kicked the ground during these walks to feign boredom, the servant wouldn’t think much of it.

“I’m tired. I’ll head back now.”

Having achieved her goal, Emeline deliberately took a circuitous route back to the mansion. Her heart pounded the entire time.

How long has it been since I sent a letter?

Immediately after her confinement, she had done nothing, fearing any action might arouse suspicion. But the thought that her letter might finally reach Zenon filled her with relief.

On her next walk, she noticed the letter she had placed in the tree’s crevice was gone.

Instead, there was another letter in its place—a reply from Zenon.

Fearing that the person delivering these letters might have quit, Emeline had been worried. Seeing the reply, she felt immense relief.

Back in her room, she opened the letter immediately, a faint smile forming on her lips.

‘Zenon must be missing me as much as I miss him. He always used to write so playfully in his letters.’

By now, he would have already taken the university entrance exam.

Regrettably, Emeline had failed to keep her promise to him. She had lost her chance to enter the university.

“I know Emeline Delzeier always keeps her promises.”

Recalling his playful words, her expression darkened. To console herself, she hurriedly opened his letter.

The familiar handwriting greeted her as the scent of grass wafted from the paper.

A small smile played on her lips as she began to read.

But the more she read, the more her expression hardened.

‘…What is this?’

After finishing the letter, Emeline stared blankly for a moment, unable to comprehend what she had just read.

Her gaze wandered aimlessly through the air before returning to the beginning of the letter.

[Hello, Emeline.

I’ve been hearing about you through someone from our side who works at your estate.

But I never expected you to send me a letter. At first, I didn’t even believe it was really from you—I doubted it for a long time.

You said you miss me… Yeah, I miss you too.

But, Emeline, what do you think about our relationship?

Lately, I’ve been feeling a little exhausted. You and I… we have such a huge wall between us. It’s draining, don’t you think?

I don’t know about you, but for me, it is.

So, how about we start wrapping things up?

We got caught up in the moment and promised each other things like marriage, but…

It’s not like we actually went through with a wedding. In the end, it was just words. There’s no need to take it so seriously.

From the very beginning, wasn’t our relationship just a game?

You know this as well as I do—we were never truly sincere with each other.

There’s no reason to drag this out and waste any more time.

And in the midst of all this, all we’ve done is take unnecessary losses…

Because our relationship was discovered, my family is casting disapproving glances at me.

Ah, but I’ll admit this much—it was fun.

And you’re beautiful. I liked that about you too.]

“What…?”

What kind of ridiculous letter was this? Emeline let out a bitter laugh as she closed the letter.

She knew Zenon wasn’t someone who would say such things. Yet when she reopened the letter, it was undoubtedly in his handwriting. Even the tone of the sentences felt similar to his.

‘And besides, if it wasn’t Zenon, how would they know about that place?’

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Emeline reread the letter. What was this?

Why was a letter like this, written in his handwriting, left at their secret spot?

‘Have I… been confined in this room so long that I’m hallucinating?’

No matter how many times she looked at it, it was Zenon’s handwriting. Again and again, she scrutinized it.

But you’re not like this, Zenon.

Perhaps her vision was failing her after the series of shocking events she’d endured recently. Learning about her father’s affair, discovering that her lifelong faith in him was like a rotting tree, losing the opportunity she had prepared for so long…

And now, she couldn’t even meet Zenon.

The more she dwelled on reality, the more her anguish piled up.

She let out a faint, bitter laugh, which soon turned into a sorrowful sob that she tried to suppress.

She didn’t want to cry, didn’t want to waste her strength, but tears welled up uncontrollably.

Her hand, clutching the letter, trembled.

‘Zenon, I know you didn’t write this letter.’

I know you’re not this kind of person.

So please, can you rescue me from here…?

Zenon was still the only person she could rely on. Even as she held this thorn-like letter that might have been from him.

***

Hoping for a reply, Emeline wrote and left letters at the same spot countless times.

But though the letters always disappeared, no response ever came back.

‘…Could it be that Father and Antony know about the spot?’

In desperation, Emeline even wrote letters full of regret over her foolish actions and curses directed at Zenon, sending them to the same place.

If her father and brother were monitoring her letters, she thought it might provoke some reaction, considering the punishment she was already enduring.

But the letters simply vanished, and nothing changed.

Before long, Emeline heard the news that Zenon had left to study abroad. It was now nearly impossible for him to come to her rescue.

As she continued secretly sending letters under her father’s watchful eye, Emeline grew increasingly worn out.

No matter how many letters she sent, there was never a reply.

Refusing to eat, Emeline missed her debutante ball and, eventually, the engagement talks with the Young Lord of Hanover ended.

But Emeline had become too withered to find any joy in that.

She missed Zenon.

She wanted to feel the future and hope he had once inspired in her, even for a moment.

If it were him, he would have lifted her up and made her believe she could overcome anything.

“Miss…”

After months of confinement, a servant cautiously handed her the morning paper.

Thinking it was nothing special, Emeline took it without much thought.

Her indifferent gaze scanned the paper, but suddenly, her eyes stopped.

“What…”

She started to speak but couldn’t finish.

Her eyes remained fixed on the same page for a long time before she collapsed weakly to the floor.

The newspaper in her hands, now crumpled, bore the news of Zenon’s engagement.

‘You’re lying about getting engaged.’

A lie…

You couldn’t even send a reply to my letters.

Why did I have to learn this from a newspaper?

She silently begged for an explanation, but no answer came.

Emeline suddenly recalled the first and last reply Zenon had sent her.

It was only then that she opened his letter again. Her breath grew shaky.

‘Is this… your true feelings?’

Her hand fell limp as she read the letter again.

A trembling laugh escaped her lips. The sensation of falling from a cliff was so vivid it felt real.

After giving her hope, he had trampled on it so effortlessly.

Her resolve to resist life, inspired by Zenon, had crumbled into foolishness in an instant.

Laughter mixed with sobs and anger-filled cries spilled from her lips.

‘From the start, there was no such thing as a fate I could change…’

‘Joe’ had always been an unattainable existence for Emeline.

Her will to live and her passion for her dreams had both died. She had no choice but to return to her place in submission.

And after four years…

The surveillance from her father had eased, and her secret communication tree was no longer effective. She began sending letters directly.

That was the point when her ill-fated relationship with Zenon Trancium began once more.