A Summer With Bitter Rivals - Chapter 95

Chapter 95: I Missed You

After finishing her conversation with him, Emeline returned to her room and began packing what she needed into a large travel bag.

She could have asked the servants to do it, but that would have caused serious trouble.

Because this wasn’t a vacation.

“Miss, are you sure about this…?”

Benica, who was helping Emeline pack, asked cautiously.

She glanced over the large travel bag, the multiple sets of clothes, and the rest of the belongings.

She was preparing to run away.

After dropping a bombshell by asking her fiancé for a breakup.

But for someone on the run, Emeline looked far too composed.

Her face, firm with resolve, showed that she didn’t consider this a big deal.

Her hatred toward her father had overcome fear, and her trust in Zenon, along with the courage he had given her, were what now moved her.

‘If I stay still, nothing will change.’

Had she abandoned everything once in the past and gone to find Zenon while he was studying abroad, she wouldn’t have spent four foolish years letting others dictate her life.

‘Emeline Delzeier, you… you loved Zenon more than anything, and yet because of the things you had, you were paralyzed and let things come to this.’

Blaming external obstacles was just an excuse.

Having once been burned by hesitation, it only made sense to act without hesitation now.

Emeline calmed herself and recalled the conversation she had with Mathis before parting.

“…Would you give me time to think? I’m sure you know, Miss Emeline, that a breakup can’t happen without my consent.”

“Of course. That’s why I explained my reasons to you.”

“If you wait just a bit, I’ll give you my answer.”

Mathis had said he’d think it over and give her a reply, but Emeline had already anticipated that he would accept the breakup.

Since their engagement had started for mutual benefit, Mathis would naturally calculate the risks of taking Emeline as his wife.

His wife, Emeline Delzeier, could one day act on her own will and disappear in pursuit of her dreams, or continue an improper relationship with Zenon Trancium.

If those incidents turned into rumors, the damage to him would be immeasurable.

‘So no matter how fond Mathis is of me, he’ll have no choice but to choose the breakup.’

After gathering everything she needed, Emeline instructed Benica to close the travel bag and secretly prepare a carriage.

‘While he’s mulling it over and hasn’t answered yet, I need to be gone.’

Once the breakup was accepted, her father, who had been away on business, would return as soon as he heard—and he would be furious.

What would happen to Emeline afterward didn’t need imagining.

‘Even if it’s only for a short while, I have to use this time away to find a way to escape Father’s grasp.’

What Emeline needed wasn’t to leave forever, but to figure out how to become an independent person, no longer bound to her father.

To enter university, and to have a future with Zenon, she still needed the Duke of Delzeier’s permission.

So she had to find a way to resolve all of it.

While Benica quietly prepared the carriage, Emeline took out a sheet of stationery in her room.

With eyes full of determination, she began writing a letter.

The recipient: Zenon Trancium.

‘Let’s meet soon, Zenon.’

Just as a faint smile touched her lips, Benica came to report that the carriage was ready at the back of the mansion.

Emeline rose from her seat and headed to the door, giving Benica a soft instruction.

“Benica, please send this letter.”

From this point forward, everything would go just as she wished.

Because it was Zenon who had given her that faith.

***

The carriage, with Emeline’s travel bag loaded, ran non-stop for several hours before stopping in the modest port town of Hilbert.

As soon as she stepped down from the carriage, the salty, refreshing sea breeze rushed over her.

She lifted her gaze toward a large, serene mansion.

This was the villa where Emeline’s mother was recovering.

As a seagull screeched overhead, a cool wind blew, making the black hair under her bonnet flutter.

Gathering the flapping hem of her dress in her hand, Emeline narrowed her eyes.

‘I’ll stay here for a while and come up with a way to break free from Father’s hold.’

If she explained her situation to her mother—an optimistic and kind woman—she would surely understand and support her.

Even if she didn’t tell her everything, her mother would probably guess that Emeline had come to clear her head and warmly welcome her.

Together with Benica, Emeline stepped into the cool and beautiful Hilbert villa.

“Good heavens, Miss Emeline?”

The villa’s caretakers, surprised by her unexpected visit, greeted her with wide eyes.

Everyone at Hilbert, where the Duchess was recovering, had always been kind.

Because the Duchess preferred quiet, the staff here were few but carefully chosen—most of them older, warm, and gentle.

That was why Emeline loved Hilbert. It felt like the only place where she could truly be at ease, like a real home.

Emeline gave a calm smile and said, “I’m sure you’ve all heard that I was nearly in an accident recently. I already received Father’s permission to stay here with Mother for a while to recover.”

“So you’re here to recuperate. Are you alright, miss?”

Emeline lied as if it were nothing, and received a wave of concern from the villa staff as they escorted her to her room.

After unpacking and changing into her indoor dress, she went to find her mother.

Surely, she too would have heard the news about the statue collapse at the Edelroa exhibit and must be terribly worried.

She lightly knocked, then opened the door to her mother’s room.

“Mother, I’m here. I must’ve startled you, showing up so suddenly…”

She had just stepped into the bedroom when Emeline froze.

It was because there was someone unexpected in the room with her mother.

“…Grandmother?”

Her grandmother, whom she hadn’t seen in years, was sitting at her mother’s side.

Emeline’s paternal grandmother had always been on poor terms with her two sons, so Emeline herself had barely met her since childhood, having been taken away by the Duke of Delzeier.

But Emeline still remembered that she had once adored and cherished her dearly.

“Oh, is that you, Emeline? I heard you were coming, but to see you in person like this… It’s like a dream. I hear about you from Lily every day…”

Emeline, wide-eyed and frozen in place, hurriedly grabbed her skirt to offer a proper greeting.

No matter how familiar she was, this woman was once a reigning monarch—and someone Emeline deeply respected.

She had been the one to permit women’s entrance into university and open the path to education.

“I-it’s been a long time…”

So overwhelmed and emotional, Emeline’s voice came out in a tremble.

Just as she was about to lace her words with formal niceties, her grandmother, Marcella Betenard, waved her hand. “No need for all that. Come here, child, won’t you?”

“…Yes.”

Trying not to lose her composure, Emeline walked toward her. She glanced at her mother, Lily, who returned a gentle smile.

‘Even if she’s on bad terms with Father…………… it must’ve been true that she visits Mother often.’

Marcella Betenard had always doted on her daughter-in-law, Lily.

“Goodness, you’ve grown into such a fine lady. Weren’t you just up to my waist the last time I saw you… Time is truly merciless. Though no one more so than your father.”

“Ah…”

“You’ve taken after Lily—you’re quite the beauty.”

While Emeline stood stiff with mixed feelings of joy, emotion, and disbelief, her mother chuckled warmly beside her, saying, “Marcella, you’re too much.”

Only then did Emeline gather herself and respond to Marcella’s kind smile.

“Thank you for the compliment, Grandmother. I’ve missed you so much…”

Her smile, born of joy, only deepened.

The moment she saw Marcella, Emeline’s mind had already begun calculating.

‘What kind of luck is this?’

They say if you don’t kill your resolve and just wait, opportunities will come. And here was both the chance and the answer to her future.

This was never a dream she could achieve alone.

‘If that’s the case, then I’ll make full use of the help around me to shift the tides in my favor.’

***

The days Emeline spent in Hilbert were peaceful and quiet.

To the point where she could fully understand why her mother had wanted to convalesce here.

On the second day, Benica, who had accompanied her, came to find her.

“Miss.”

Benica had ignored orders to stay at the townhouse in Elvarto and followed her here, and now gave her a silent signal with her eyes.

Emeline immediately understood and stood up.

It seemed the man who had gladly agreed to receive her letter had arrived.

“Where is he?”

“He said he’d wait by the shore in Hilbert.”

“Alright.”

Dressed lightly, Emeline stepped calmly out of the villa.

Though she was alone, the beach was close enough that it was no concern.

It was just around sunset.

The red twilight bathed the rippling sea in a warm, fiery glow.

As Emeline arrived at the coast and scanned her surroundings, her eyes caught the back of a man quietly admiring the sea.

Suppressing her joy, Emeline silently walked toward him.

Zenon’s relaxed figure, framed by the shimmering shoreline, felt so peaceful that she didn’t want to disturb the scene.

‘If I sneak up and surprise him, will he startle easily?’

Just as that uncharacteristically mischievous thought passed through her mind and she reached out toward him—

Snap! Her wrist was grabbed.

Wh–

Before she could even let out a startled yelp, her vision spun.

Emeline’s eyes widened as she stumbled, and Zenon caught her head with one arm.

But unable to stop the lost balance, Emeline collapsed onto the sand.

In a daze, she stared up at the man who had suddenly pinned her down.

Seeing the shock written all over her face, Zenon grinned playfully.

“Hello, Emeline.”

Emeline narrowed her eyes in disbelief, having meant to surprise him, only to be surprised herself.

“What kind of greeting is that? You’re supposed to be a patient! Where’s your splint now?”

“I’m tougher than you think. And when you’re standing right in front of me, who cares about being hurt?”

“…So you jumped in to save me, huh?”

“Yup.”

“Unbelievable. Who told you to value my life more than yours?”

“I did.”

Emeline had meant to scold him further, but instead let out a chuckle.

“You really do have a pretty smile.”

His eyes, lit by the rosy sunset, studied her face carefully, as if committing it to memory.

At the end of that long gaze, Zenon met her eyes again. With a bright, crinkled smile, he said, “I missed you, Emeline Delzeier.”

My love.