A Summer With Bitter Rivals - Chapter 94

Chapter 94: Time to Reclaim

On a night sunk in pitch darkness, Emeline, who had been lying in bed, rose from the mattress.

It was because she couldn’t sleep. Her mind was too full of thoughts.

The room, long since darkened, was pitch-black. But her eyes had already adjusted to the darkness, so her vision was relatively clear.

Emeline pulled the thin blanket completely off her body and got down from the bed.

She reached for the lamp placed on the nightstand. Slipping into her indoor slippers, she picked up the yet unlit lamp and approached the bookshelf on one side of the room.

“Father and I forged them. The letters.”

The hand that had been clutching the lamp tightly slowly relaxed, and with a click, she turned on the switch. At that moment, electricity flowed, and the lamp lit up, brightening the surroundings.

Her blue eyes, illuminated by the light, were sunken in gloom.

‘For the four years we barely managed to endure to be such an empty, meaningless time…’

Now that she knew their letters had been forged, Emeline finally understood Zenon’s past words and actions.

‘Just as I felt betrayed by you, you must have felt betrayed by me, too…’

What had seemed like shameless advances were all because he hadn’t lost faith in her, and the moments when he became sensitive and stopped appearing before her—those were times he had been close to giving up, unable to bear the pain.

Without realizing it, Emeline had done many things before him she shouldn’t have.

‘When you returned after four years, hoping to finally see me again, what did you think when you saw me kissing another man?’

Worse, when I slapped your cheek and pushed you away countless times—how much must your heart have ached?

She, too, had thought she suffered deep wounds over the past years, but the same was true for him.

Both had been deeply hurt by a misunderstanding.

‘And yet, you still… still tried to believe in me and come closer.’

As if holding back the emotions that were about to burst, Emeline tightly shut her eyes.

Then, taking a long breath, she slowly opened them again.

“There was never a moment when you were just a game to me.”

That one line Zenon had once said in a quiet, solemn voice.

Now, her gaze landed on a particular book on the shelf.

Emeline reached out and pulled out the book Zenon had given her, The Usurper of a Perfect World.

He had entrusted it to the bookstore owner—part of their shared memories—asking him to deliver it to her someday.

Perhaps it was a book he had wanted to give her in person, but shocked by the sight of her kissing her fiancé aboard the ship, he couldn’t bring himself to.

In any case, Emeline finally understood why he had gifted her this book.

The heavy lump that had remained as a question was now beginning to dissolve.

‘You must have wanted to tell me…’

To her, who passively accepted her circumstances but yearned for change deep down.

Zenon had wanted to tell her—through this book—that only by taking action, even in the face of helplessness, could life truly change.

Emeline pulled the thick book into her arms and held it tightly.

‘Just as you didn’t give up on me and kept trying to reach me… now it’s my turn to act.’

Perhaps it was time to stop being afraid of the scoundrels who had thrown her future into disarray.

“Let’s meet again, Emeline.”

We had promised to meet again.

It was time to reclaim what had been lost because of them.

***

The first thing she had to do was already decided.

Pushing forward a meeting with her fiancé that she had kept delaying, Emeline made arrangements and met with him two days later.

With her hair neatly tied up and wearing a composed day dress, Emeline folded her butterfly-embroidered parasol and entered the coffee house.

Normally, for an engagement meeting, her fiancé would come to pick her up and they’d travel together, but this time Emeline had asked that they meet directly at the location.

‘Because the moment we walk out of this building, we’ll be parting ways.’

The upscale coffee house, favored by nobles, was divided into private rooms like reception parlors for guests.

“I’m meeting someone. Lead the way.”

The attendant guided her to where Mathis, who had arrived first, was waiting.

Though Emeline wasn’t particularly late, Mathis Renier was the kind of man who always arrived ahead of time.

“Call me if you need anything.”

The attendant gave the standard response and quietly closed the door as they left.

Once the other presence disappeared, the gaze of the man waiting shifted to Emeline.

“Mathis, I’m sorry if I kept you waiting.”

“Not at all, Miss Emeline. I just got here myself.”

As Emeline approached and sat across from him, Mathis’s gaze continued to follow her.

Emeline noticed a shadowy hue in his eyes. Perhaps he had already sensed the reason for this meeting.

Or maybe he had learned something when the news about Zenon Trancium began making waves.

Before her was a cup of milk tea Mathis had ordered early, its steam still rising gently.

“Miss Emeline, are you feeling any better after the shock from the accident?”

“Yes, Mathis. I’m sorry for making you wait all this time.”

He could have easily given the polite answer of “I’m fine,” but he only kept his mouth shut.

Emeline was the one to speak first.

“There’s something I need to tell you.”

The reason she had arranged this meeting with Mathis today was to request a breakup.

She knew full well that proposing such a thing when their wedding wasn’t far off was not socially acceptable.

But if she continued her vague relationship with Zenon without breaking off the engagement, it would be even more disgraceful.

If her suspicions about Zenon had truly been a mere misunderstanding, Emeline would have gone through with the marriage without hesitation.

But things had changed.

Emeline said with quiet determination, “I’m not asking for your understanding. You probably wouldn’t understand in the first place.”

“…Wouldn’t understand, you say.”

Mathis’s gaze grew darker. He was expecting the name Zenon Trancium to come up next.

But what Emeline said wasn’t what he had been bracing for.

“You wouldn’t know that I have a dream.”

For a moment, Mathis’s expression flickered with confusion.

Emeline hadn’t come to deliver a cold, one-sided breakup.

Even if their relationship had been born of mutual benefit, she still felt the need to show him courtesy, especially since she had once used him out of a sense of revenge.

“My desire for that dream runs deep. So much so that I’ve been rebelling against my father for years. He probably introduced me to you as his perfect daughter—but that was practically a scam.”

She let out a faint, ironic laugh. The contempt and weariness in that smile were shockingly cold.

Mathis looked surprised by the unfamiliar sharpness in her expression and words.

“My dream is to go to university. Honestly, my deepest wish is to study for the rest of my life rather than serve as someone’s wife. In fact, I’ve continued studying in secret all this time.”

“…I’d heard you enjoyed reading.”

“I enjoy gaining knowledge. There are many reasons, but the biggest one is that it’s the only thing I do entirely by my own will. I won’t be a woman who quietly follows her father’s or husband’s orders.”

“……”

“You don’t understand, do you? You probably wouldn’t. That’s why you would try to strip me of the one happiness and dream I have.”

What man would hand his wife a student’s duties instead of a lady’s?

Especially when there was no precedent for women being admitted to university.

If Mathis let his wife attend, he would be ridiculed—mocked for letting a woman dabble in a man’s world.

Most people found higher education for women ridiculous, even offensive.

Of all the people Emeline had met, the only man who truly admired and supported her dream was Zenon Trancium.

Just as she was unusual, so was he.

It was under that shared “unusualness” that they came to find each other special.

“So… is that why you’re asking for a breakup?”

As expected, Mathis’s face showed clear bewilderment.

Breaking off an engagement over a dream likely seemed absurd to him.

But to Emeline, her dream wasn’t something trivial.

“From the start, this engagement wasn’t my choice. It was a promise between my father and you, not me.”

The moment she spoke with such clarity, Mathis looked stunned.

Though he hadn’t reacted with scorn at her dream, Emeline didn’t hold back.

She needed to draw a firm line.

“Even if we got married… I’d eventually leave in pursuit of my dream. And even if your feelings are sincere, I could never return them—not to someone who doesn’t understand my ambition.”

She paused after the heavy words, then looked him straight in the eyes.

“Mathis, could you truly take me as your wife knowing full well the disgrace it would bring you in the future?”

Mathis remained silent. The heavy stillness pressed down on the air.

Emeline knew that he had feelings for her.

That’s why this wasn’t an easy question to answer—even when the woman he loved was the one asking.

Because she was asking if he could accept the collapse of his reputation.

After a long while, he finally spoke.

“…Zenon Trancium—can that man really make your dream come true?”

He asked because he knew her breakup request wasn’t only about the dream.

Emeline thought for a moment, then smiled. “Who knows… I can’t be certain. But at the very least, he’s someone who understands me.”

Even when her own family never had—only Zenon Trancium had.