A Summer with My Bitter Rival - Chapter 10

Chapter 5.2 — Care for a Chat? (2)

In this society, women were expected to focus more on supporting their husbands than on improving themselves. Yet, for Emeline, studying was precious. It was her only real passion, and the dream of attending university was an extension of that.

In the end, she had no choice but to lie.

She had to protect her dream, the one thing that made her feel truly alive in this suffocating life.

Holding her report card, which showed she was still in first place, she coyly said:

“I inherited my sharp mind from you, Father. How could it suddenly go dull? I was only focusing on school to set a good example, and I haven’t done any extra studying. You know how caught up I’ve been with violin practice lately. I don’t even have time for that.”

She even suggested that perhaps the teachers, eager to please the duke, had schemed to place her in first place.

Emeline used every excuse she could think of, no matter how pathetic. Although her father’s suspicions and surveillance continued, after more than a year of acting carefully, he finally let down his guard. That’s how she maintained first place. She held onto it for the sake of her dream, even if it meant deceiving her father.

Sighing as she left the school building, Emeline strolled down the stone path. It was painted in the soft red glow of the sunset, and on either side of the narrow walkway, Elvarto’s summer roses bloomed vibrantly.

As she stared down the street, bathed in orange light, Emeline made a firm promise to herself.

‘I won’t just stand by and do nothing about this.’

Just then, she came to a stop.

The scent of the red roses, swaying in the breeze, hit her more strongly than before. Her eyes shifted to the left side of the path, where someone was leaning against a tall streetlamp.

Emeline immediately knew who it was.

It was a man, arms crossed, standing silently with his eyes closed.

She had only ever heard of him through the gossip of others. In reality, they had only exchanged glances once or twice. But even so, Emeline recognized him instantly. The face she had only vaguely pictured in her mind became sharp and clear as if the final piece of a puzzle had suddenly clicked into place.

She breathed in the rose-scented air and slowly exhaled.

Suppressing her emotions as much as she could, she breezed past him.

‘I want to confront him right now, but… it’s getting late.’

If she stayed out any longer, her father would surely scold her. Besides, she didn’t have any solid proof to accuse him of cheating.

Her throat suddenly felt dry, and she tightened her grip on her bag.

“Hey.”

Emeline stopped in her tracks. She had barely taken a step past him when a low voice called out.

‘Is he talking to me?’

She slowly turned her head.

She could now see the man’s green eyes, when before, he had looked like he’d been lost in his own world with his eyes closed. Zenon straightened and took a few steps toward her. In the blink of an eye, he was standing right in front of her.

For a brief moment, Emeline questioned whether this confusing situation was really happening.

‘We hardly even know each other…’

She had only ever seen him from afar or heard about him through rumors, but now that she was seeing him up close, he was quite different from what she had imagined.

For one thing, he was so tall she had to crane her neck just to look at him.

She assumed that someone his height might carry themselves with a certain arrogance, but contrary to the rumors, his demeanor was surprisingly composed. At least on the surface, he seemed polite.

What struck her the most, however, were his eyes. They shone brightly in the middle of his handsome face.

According to her father’s description, he should’ve had an arrogant look in his eyes. However, his clear green eyes were like a reflection of nature itself. They held a boyish innocence, and perhaps because of that, he looked oddly pure.

As she unconsciously studied his perfectly symmetrical face, his lips parted.

“Hi there, Lady Delezor.”

That short greeting snapped Emeline back to reality.

She was about to return the greeting when she replayed his words in her head. Just like her, he must have seen her in passing and figured out who she was, but…

Did he just address her informally?

Feeling irritated, she skipped the pleasantries and asked,

“Did you need something?”

“Hmm, it’s not so much that I need something… It just seemed like you were looking for me, Lady Delezor.”

“Pardon?”

“So I waited. For quite a while, actually. You sure took your sweet time leaving.”

Zenon grumbled playfully, flashing her a mischievous smile. Despite his words, there wasn’t a trace of annoyance on his face.

Emeline had no idea what he was talking about.

Why would he be waiting for me? And why is he speaking to me so casually? Like we know each other?

It was her first time in a situation like this, so she stood there, momentarily frozen.

As if sensing her confusion, he spoke again.

“I heard you’ve been looking for me.”

“…Who told you that?”

Emeline frowned slightly.

“Your Galleyan teacher, Mr. Francis. He said you thought I cheated.”

Zenon Trancium grinned.

“How about we have a little chat?”

His radiant blond hair was carelessly pushed up on one side, fluttering gently in the wind, which carried the faint scent of roses.

Hello,

This will be the final chapter of “A Summer With My Bitter Rival” that you’ll see on Belle Reservoir, as we are sadly dropping this novel. We picked this up under the assumption that no one else has started working on this novel yet, but we later found out that another group already is—except, they had not claimed it on Novel Updates beforehand. With them asserting their claim on the novel, it has led us to this unfortunate situation.

We had high hopes of continuing this lovely story and are disappointed to see our efforts go to waste over such a simple oversight on their part. Nonetheless, we encourage you to support the novel on the other group’s site.

However, we also come bearing good news! We’ve decided to pick up “Battle Divorce!” and we’re excited to share it with you~ Please check it out if you are interested!

With much love,
Nabi and Nieye