Free Web NovelChapter 36: Chapter 36: Unpredictable Woman
Chapter 36: Unpredictable Woman
—SEBASTIAN BLACKWOOD—
"Is there... something funny, Your Grace?" Cynthia asked carefully.
Her voice pulled me back to the present, though only barely.
I realized then that I had been silent for longer than appropriate, staring into nothing while my thoughts drifted somewhere far beyond this balcony, beyond this estate, beyond even the conversation I was currently supposed to be having.
I exhaled quietly and straightened my posture.
"No," I replied at last as my composure returned. "Forgive me. I was merely thinking of something unrelated."
Cynthia studied me for a brief moment, her gaze calm yet observant that made it clear she was not entirely convinced. She did not press further, however.
Instead, she lowered her teacup as though choosing silence over intrusion was its own form of courtesy.
"I see," she said softly. "Forgive me for interrupting your thoughts, Your Grace."
Instead of responding, I found myself rising from my seat.
The motion was abrupt enough that Cynthia blinked in surprise.
"Forgive me, Lady Cynthia," I said, offering a formal bow. "I must take my leave. I have urgent matters to attend to."
Her eyes widened slightly, a little caught off guard by the suddenness of my departure.
"Oh... of course, Your Grace."
There was hesitation in her voice, but I did not remain long enough to acknowledge it properly.
Not because I lacked manners.
But because remaining there any longer would have meant continuing a conversation I no longer had the patience for.
Or worse.
It would have meant sitting still long enough to fully recognize what I was avoiding.
I turned away from the balcony without delay.
The corridor beyond felt longer than it should have as I stepped back inside the estate. Servants immediately bowed upon my passing, respecting me as usual.
But I did not acknowledge them.
My attention had already moved ahead of me.
There was only one direction now.
Only one place that made sense.
Aria.
I want to see her.
I need to see her.
The thought arrived with unsettling clarity, as if it had been waiting beneath everything else to surface the moment I stopped speaking.
As I moved into the estate, I ascended the grand staircase leading toward the upper corridor where her chambers were located. The higher I went, the quieter everything became.
Which was a little new to me.
A few days ago, I would have preferred this silence.
It was predictable, controlled, and free of disruption.
Now, however...
It felt wrong.
I reached the corridor leading to her chambers and slowed slightly. The final stretch was familiar enough that I did not need to consciously guide my steps, yet I found myself adjusting my pace regardless.
It was inappropriate for a man of my position to approach a lady’s private quarters without prior notice.
I was aware of that.
Completely.
And yet I continued walking.
Because propriety no longer felt relevant in the same way it usually did.
I had already decided.
I would speak with her.
I would resolve whatever this situation had become before it progressed further into something I could not clearly define.
Because remaining uncertain was no longer acceptable.
Not after everything that had shifted recently.
Not after...
"Your Grace?"
The voice cut through my thoughts cleanly.
I stopped.
A maid stood near the corridor entrance, hands clasped tightly in front of her. Her posture was respectful, but her expression held uncertainty, as though she did not understand why I was here at all.
I adjusted my stance immediately.
"Yes?" I replied.
The maid hesitated briefly before speaking.
"...May I ask what brings you here?"
"I wish to speak with Lady Aria," I said plainly.
There was no reason to complicate it.
The maid blinked in surprise, then glanced toward the closed door behind her.
"Oh," she said softly. "Lady Aria is not inside at the moment."
I frowned slightly.
"That is not what I was informed."
The maid nodded quickly, as though correcting herself.
"Yes, Your Grace. It has been quite a while since she had locked herself inside her room."
"And now?"
"She did," the maid continued carefully, "but she suddenly came out dressed and left the estate a short while ago with her servant, Ren."
Silence settled immediately. freeωebnovēl.c૦m
I stared at her without speaking.
"...Left?"
"Yes, Your Grace."
"She left a few minutes ago," the maid added quickly, noticing my silence. "Very suddenly. She seemed... in a hurry."
My gaze drifted past her toward the closed door.
The room that was supposed to contain her.
The room I had come here to reach.
A strange sensation settled beneath my chest.
It felt as though I had arrived at a place where the situation had already moved forward without informing me.
"...With that servant," I repeated slowly.
"Yes, Your Grace."
I clenched my fists subtly trying to keep my own jealousy, that I know.
That man again.
Always beside her recently.
Always present when others were not.
Always...
I stopped the thought before it could fully form into something I dare not acknowledge.
It was irrelevant.
It should have been irrelevant.
I exhaled once, measured and controlled, then turned slightly away from the corridor.
"Did she state where she intended to go?" I asked.
The maid shook her head immediately.
"No, Your Grace. She only said she wanted to go out."
I remained silent for a moment longer.
Then I nodded once.
"I understand."
I turned away completely and began walking back toward the staircase.
The fact that it irritated me that Aria had gone somewhere with another man I did not even recognize, continued to linger in my mind without permission.
It should not have mattered.
There was no formal obligation anymore. The engagement had already been dissolved. By every reasonable standard, her activities were no longer my concern.
And yet...
Something inside me refused to accept that conclusion so cleanly.
It was unfamiliar. Unsettling in its persistence. Not anger in the usual sense, nor simple annoyance. It was sharper than indifference, heavier than logic.
A thought surfaced before I could suppress it.
Is this simply jealousy?
The word itself felt improper when applied to me. Impractical. Almost absurd.
I slowed slightly at the bottom of the staircase with one hand resting briefly against the railing, as I considered it with more scrutiny than I would normally allow.
Am I merely frustrated because she refuses to see me?
Because she will not speak to me, will not acknowledge me, will not even allow my presence to reach her?
It would make sense for pride alone to be unsettled. For a man of my position to find rejection inconvenient.
But even that did not feel sufficient.
Because rejection, in itself, was not new.
What was new... was that she did not simply avoid me.
She changed...completely.
One moment she stood before me with clarity in her decision, as though severing what had once mattered deeply. The next, she behaved with an openness I could not reconcile with the Aria I thought I understood.
I groaned in frustration and tried to calm myself down.
For now, I should look for her.
That unpredictable woman.
