A Summer With Bitter Rivals - What If Side Story 3

What If Side Story: Marriage with a Rival (3)

“Practice… you say.”

It was absurd. Who on earth rehearses something like that?

All she had to do was tell him not to spout nonsense—but Emeline’s mouth stayed frozen, as if broken.

No words would come out. Even more absurd was the fact that she didn’t particularly want to push him away.

“Don’t want to?”

“……”

“If you don’t want to, I won’t.”

After pushing so cheekily all this time, now he acted like he’d really stop if she refused.

To Emeline, it didn’t seem like thoughtfulness—more like his earlier actions had all been part of some game.

She was overcome with a sense of indignation.

Their strange exchange of glances ended as she finally opened her mouth.

“…I told you, I don’t see you that way.”

“Yeah, you did.”

“So something like this—‘practice’—doesn’t mean anything to me.”

For some reason, the smile in his eyes gradually faded.

So it really had just been a joke?

“Go on, then.”

But at this point, Zenon had no path to retreat.

Just as annoying as his prank had been, Emeline met his eyes squarely.

Zenon, who had remained still, finally moved.

His gaze dropped to Emeline’s lips as if drawn in, and his green eyes disappeared beneath lowered lashes.

Without warning, warmth touched her. Their lips met lightly at first, then pressed more firmly.

Emeline hadn’t thought he would actually do it so suddenly, and her whole body tensed.

The unfamiliar sensation made it hard to breathe in or out.

She clenched her eyes shut, catching up with him belatedly, but eventually pulled away under the ticklish sensation.

Their lips, once tightly joined, hovered again within a breath of distance. Zenon didn’t pursue further and quietly pulled back.

Thinking it was over, Emeline opened her eyes.

And met his, gazing at her from a short distance away.

“Why are you backing off? You said to practice.”

“No…”

She had no defense.

To spite him, she had accepted the idea of ‘practice,’ only to shy away first—she could hardly believe herself.

Not wanting to say it plainly, Emeline came up with a flimsy excuse.

“You pressed too lightly… it tickled.”

“What?”

As expected, Zenon let out a baffled laugh.

Knowing full well she had the losing hand, Emeline pushed him away by the shoulder. She disliked her own evasiveness, but the embarrassment outweighed it.

“One time’s enough for practice…”

“No.”

Zenon cut her off. Just as she looked at him, thinking he was going to argue with her wording—

He cradled the back of her head and laid her down.

Caught off guard, Emeline’s eyes widened. “What are you—”

“You said I seemed hesitant to you.”

The hand supporting her head slid down to cup her cheek. Zenon smiled faintly and furrowed his brows.

“I don’t usually care about things like this, but that stung a bit.”

“……”

“You’re the first person to ever make me feel this way. If it just tickled, then consider that a warm-up. Shall we do it properly now?”

“What?”

“You said I’m not someone you see as a man, so it wouldn’t matter. We can go again, right?”

Emeline opened her mouth, startled. She felt like she’d stepped into a trap of her own making.

She wondered if he was teasing, but his gaze was earnest.

Lying on the sofa, she had no escape route.

Zenon chuckled at her shifting expressions.

“Wait… wait a second…”

Before she could finish, he pressed his lips to hers. Just like before, the kiss was firm and sure.

Worried that things might go further, Emeline squeezed her eyes shut.

But his lips lingered only briefly before pulling away, leaving just the sound of a soft kiss.

“……”

Far from what she had feared, it ended rather anticlimactically. Emeline blinked at him in confusion.

Their eyes met. Zenon, smiling like it had all been a prank, laughed with eyes like crescent moons.

His laughter was clear and crisp.

Strange. She’d seen him up close more than once, yet Emeline suddenly felt lightheaded.

His cheeks were more flushed than usual, which added a strange tension.

At the same time, she found herself oddly disappointed that it ended so quickly.

“…Zenon Trancium.”

Emeline grabbed the hem of his clothes as he began to pull away.

With the feeling that she was laying her heart bare, she continued, “Again… properly this time.”

“Huh?”

“We agreed to practice, so do it properly.”

Zenon looked briefly startled, then gazed at Emeline with a now-serious expression. She tugged at the hem of his clothes.

He let himself be pulled without resistance—until just an inch away, then he stopped.

“You’re… really reckless sometimes.”

He spoke slowly, then kissed her. This time, unlike before, he didn’t pull away like it was a joke. He tilted his head as their lips met and breathed with her—gentle and careful.

Emeline’s mind, already in disarray, grew more clouded.

She shut her eyes and focused only on the sensation.

***

“Ah…”

Recalling what happened a few days ago, a sigh escaped Emeline’s lips.

It was because she had grabbed Zenon and ended up kissing him.

That day, she couldn’t even remember what had gotten into her.

Every time their lips touched and moved, her head heated up and her breath came short. Her heart pounded so hard she couldn’t think straight.

Even now, some time later, Emeline remained troubled, unable to make sense of her actions.

At least she knew one thing for sure: it had been impulsive.

After two pecks, that last one had truly been a kiss.

‘Even if we’re getting married… what was I thinking?’

“Lady Delzeier, is something wrong?”

Someone seated beside her tilted their head.

It was Lady Angel Laresa.

Following her question, the other young ladies seated around the same table at the coffee house all turned to Emeline.

“You seem particularly worried today, Lady Delzeier.”

“Well, of course she would be. She’s marrying Zenon Trancium, after all…”

“Ahh…”

While Emeline was remembering something entirely different, everyone else sighed in unison.

Emeline only smiled. She couldn’t possibly say it was because of her first kiss with Zenon.

Let alone that she’d kissed him three times in a row, and that she had initiated the third one herself.

‘I was taught since childhood that a lady must always remain proper…’

And Emeline had lived by that principle.

Even if her fiancé was Zenon Trancium, she had always intended to maintain her dignity.

To ask him to kiss her more—that was so unlike her.

It felt as if she had lost her senses. Like her beliefs had been punctured.

“But the Young Lord of Trancium is undeniably handsome!”

“That’s right. I’m sure just seeing that face could lift your mood now and then, Lady Delzeier. Imagine if he were unpleasant and unattractive…”

“If we’re only talking about looks, I’m actually jealous of Lady Delzeier. There’s something almost radiant about him, you know?”

Several ladies nodded in agreement.

Even back when the Trancium family supported that disgraceful Second Prince, there had been comments about how good-looking he was.

To hear such praise for someone considered a political enemy spoke volumes.

Zenon Trancium was, without question, the most handsome man in the kingdom.

For Emeline, marrying such an ill-mannered man might be humiliating, but it also meant marrying the most attractive man in the realm.

So of course, there was a bit of envy.

“…Is that so?”

Emeline gave an awkward smile.

She couldn’t tell if these words were meant to comfort her or if they were truly sincere.

But since they didn’t sound like empty flattery, she found them entertaining enough.

That was when Lady Reina, daughter of Count Adelie, who had been silent until now, suddenly joined in.

“I completely understand why Lady Delzeier would be concerned. That man is rude and his history with women is filthy! Can you imagine the headache he’ll cause… That family is unbelievably selfish. Marrying off a man like him who seems born for affairs?”

“Ah, Lady Adelie…?”

“Who cares if he’s handsome? He has a terrible personality! I’ve spoken to him before. He was appallingly crude.”

Reina Adelie grimaced and continued ranting.

The other ladies exchanged nervous glances, trying to stop her.

But Reina wouldn’t stop.

“Isn’t his name always tied to some woman in the gossip papers? I’ve read them all. They’re true! You must be terribly worried, Lady Delzeier.”