Free Web NovelChapter 35: Chapter 35: Realization
Chapter 35: Realization
—SEBASTIAN BLACKWOOD—
"I wanted to tell her," Cynthia said quietly after a long pause. "Several times, actually."
"But you did not."
Her expression dimmed slightly.
"I was afraid."
The honesty in her voice left little room for judgment.
For several moments, silence settled quietly between us while the afternoon breeze drifted through the balcony.
Then Cynthia spoke again.
"When I first arrived here..." she said carefully, "Lady Aria was actually the first person who greeted me warmly."
My gaze shifted toward her again.
"She looked surprised to see me," Cynthia admitted softly. "But instead of making things uncomfortable, she immediately tried to ease the situation."
And once again, against my will, I remembered Aria smiling brightly while practically pushing Cynthia toward me.
’Please take good care of her.’ frёewebηovel.cѳm
At the time, I thought she was merely behaving strangely.
Now however...
That memory unsettled me deeply.
Because I found myself wondering whether Aria had already known exactly where she stood long before the rest of us did. ƒreewebɳovel.com
"At first, I believed she disliked me," Cynthia continued softly. "I had already heard many rumors about Lady Aria before arriving at the capital."
"That is unsurprising," I replied quietly.
Cynthia smiled faintly at that.
"Yes. Most people speak of her rather harshly."
The statement carried no malice.
If anything, she sounded uncomfortable acknowledging it aloud.
"But then..." Cynthia hesitated briefly, "Lady Aria thanked me for coming."
I frowned slightly.
"Thanked you?"
"She said the estate had been too quiet recently," Cynthia answered with a small smile. "Then she told me I was beautiful."
I nearly exhaled sharply at the memory that immediately surfaced.
’You are so pretty!’
Aria truly possessed no understanding whatsoever of moderation.
"At the time," Cynthia continued carefully, "I assumed she was merely trying to be polite. But afterward..."
Her voice softened slightly.
"She looked relieved."
My chest tightened unexpectedly.
Relieved.
Relieved...
That contradicted nearly everything I once believed about Aria Valen.
For the longest time, I had viewed her possessiveness as selfishness.
Her desperation as manipulation.
Her attachment as emotional immaturity.
But recently...
The more I observed her, the more uncertain those conclusions became.
Cynthia lowered her gaze toward her tea once more.
"I truly intended to tell her the truth eventually," she admitted quietly. "But after that first meeting, I became frightened."
"Because she treated you kindly?"
"Yes."
A soft sigh escaped her afterward.
"She had every reason to resent me."
The words lingered heavily between us.
Because unfortunately...
She was correct.
An illegitimate daughter suddenly brought into the estate.
A daughter Duke Valen clearly favored.
Any noble household would have expected conflict.
And yet Aria had welcomed her instead.
No.
Not merely welcomed.
She had attempted to hand me over to Cynthia personally.
The realization unsettled me more than it should have.
I leaned slightly back into my chair while staring absently toward the gardens below.
The fountain waters shimmered beneath the fading afternoon light while servants moved calmly along distant pathways.
Everything looked peaceful.
Yet my thoughts remained entirely disordered.
"...Your Grace?"
I glanced back toward Cynthia.
She hesitated briefly before speaking again.
"May I ask something honestly?"
"You may."
"...Did Aria truly wish to end the engagement?"
The question caught me off guard immediately.
Because strangely enough...
I no longer knew.
At first, I assumed her actions were impulsive.
Temporary.
Another emotional outburst that would eventually reverse itself.
But now?
Now I remembered her expression too clearly.
Calm.
Resolved.
Almost detached.
I slowly lowered my gaze toward the teacup resting between my hands.
"She said she wished for my freedom," I answered at last.
Cynthia remained quiet.
"She apologized as well," I continued slowly, recalling the conversation with growing clarity. "She said she regretted forcing the arrangement upon me."
A faint sadness crossed Cynthia’s expression.
Then unexpectedly, she smiled faintly.
"You miss her."
I immediately frowned.
"That is absurd."
"Is it?"
"Yes."
Cynthia lowered her gaze politely, though amusement briefly flickered across her face before disappearing again.
"...Forgive me."
I exhaled quietly while rubbing lightly against my temple.
Annoying woman.
No.
Annoying situation.
Because logically, none of this should have affected me.
Aria stepping away should have solved everything.
The engagement had always been inconvenient.
Unwanted.
Suffocating at times.
So why did her absence feel so unbearably noticeable now?
This emptiness bothered me.
I disliked the realization immediately.
Cynthia carefully lifted her teacup at last before speaking again, her voice soft enough to almost disappear beneath the breeze.
"If your broken engagement truly does not affect you..." she began carefully, "...then do you perhaps consider me as a potential wife?"
The question caught me entirely off guard.
My gaze lifted toward her immediately.
Cynthia herself looked mildly embarrassed after saying it aloud, though she still maintained her composure far better than most noble ladies would in such a situation. Her fingers tightened slightly around the delicate porcelain, and I noticed the smallest hesitation in her breathing, as though even she was surprised by her own boldness.
"I apologize if my words sound too forward," she added gently, lowering her eyes for a brief moment before forcing herself to meet my gaze again. "But father clearly wishes to arrange such a future between us eventually."
I remained silent.
Not because the idea itself shocked me.
Truthfully, this outcome made perfect sense politically.
Cynthia possessed everything noble society would have admired without hesitation.
Grace.
Intelligence.
Refinement.
Beauty.
A reputation unburdened by scandal.
And unlike Aria, she carried herself with elegance rather than chaos, with control rather than instability.
A woman like Cynthia would undoubtedly become an excellent duchess someday.
Objectively speaking...
She was the ideal choice.
There was no flaw in her etiquette, no rational reason to reject the possibility outright. If I had been asked this question in any other circumstance, I likely would have answered without hesitation. It would have been simple, even expected, the sort of arrangement that secured stability for both houses without unnecessary complications.
Yet strangely enough, the moment she asked the question...
Something inside me shifted almost instantly.
As though my thoughts had been cut off before they could form properly.
Another face surfaced inside my mind immediately.
Dark hair slightly disheveled.
Bright eyes filled with playfulness, too alive to ever remain still for long.
A loud woman, running around without regard for dignity, clutching her skirt too high while laughing at something entirely inappropriate.
A woman who spoke too freely, too loudly, too honestly, as though etiquette was merely an optional suggestion she enjoyed ignoring out of principle.
And for some reason...
That image did not feel distant.
It felt familiar and...comfortable.
I exhaled slowly, almost as if to dismiss the thought, yet it lingered stubbornly in place, refusing to dissolve like it should have.
Cynthia was still speaking softly in front of me, but her words blurred slightly as my attention drifted inward instead of outward.
I should have been considering her offer properly.
I should have been evaluating the political advantage, the stability, the convenience of it all.
Instead, I found myself remembering something completely irrelevant.
The way Aria had looked when she laughed without restraint in the middle of the street.
The way she spoke when she was not carefully filtering herself through noble etiquette.
The way she had pushed people together as though the world itself could be arranged with sheer will alone.
I let out a faint, quiet chuckle before I even realized it, the sound barely audible even to myself.
Only then did I finally understand what I was feeling.
"...I see." I muttered under my breath.
