Free Web NovelChapter 39: Chapter 39: Mysterious
Chapter 39: Mysterious
—EZEKIEL—
"Let me go, bastard!"
Her voice cut through the hillside like a blade.
For a moment, I did not react to the words themselves. It was not the crude language that struck me. I had heard worse in court disputes, in mage councils, in the mouths of nobles who thought etiquette only applied when it benefited them.
What made me freeze was the tone.
She sounded hostile which carried no hesitation, no confusion, no trace of gratitude for being pulled back from the edge of death.
Aria Valen had just regained consciousness. Her breathing had been uneven, her mana still scattered and unsteady. Even now, faint traces of magical exhaustion lingered around her presence like ripples that had not yet settled.
And yet the first thing she did upon seeing me was not disorientation or relief.
It was rejection.
She shoved my hands away with more force than I expected from someone in her condition. My grip had only been meant to steady her, to keep her from collapsing again after her sudden mana disruption. There had been no intention to restrain her, no attempt to control her movements.
But she did not see it that way.
Aria’s posture was still slightly unstable, her shoulders tense as though her body had not fully recovered from whatever force had overwhelmed her earlier. Yet her eyes were clear, sharp, and alert.
And directed at me with unmistakable hostility.
That was what unsettled me more than anything.
Her hostility.
I slowly lowered my hands, allowing space between us. There was no need to escalate her reaction further. If she was stable enough to speak like this, then forcing restraint would only worsen things.
Still, I could not ignore the contradiction forming in front of me.
She looked at me as though I had wronged her.
As though I was the source of whatever distress she carried.
As though I had done something worth hating.
I exhaled quietly and let my voice settle calmer, more controlled.
"I stabilized you," I said softly. "You were unconscious. Your mana collapsed."
But she did not soften.
Instead, she straightened slowly, pushing herself fully upright with Ren’s assistance. The servant moved carefully beside her, clearly wary of both her condition and the situation unfolding between us.
When she spoke again, her voice was colder than before.
"I will have someone send compensation for your help." she said. "But, this will be the last. I no longer intend to involve myself with you."
The words were delivered cleanly, without hesitation.
She continued before I could respond.
"So please maintain a respectful distance from me moving forward. Whatever happens in my life, you are not part of it."
A few of the apprentice mages inhaled sharply at her tone. The audacity of speaking to an archmage in such a manner was not something most nobles could even imagine doing without consequence.
Yet I found myself less concerned with the disrespect itself.
And more concerned with the consistency of it.
Since Libracia, the interaction I had with Aria Valen had followed this same pattern. She avoided me when possible. When she could not avoid me, she spoke with hostility sharp enough to cut through formal courtesy. There was no negotiation in her tone, no attempt at maintaining even surface-level civility.
It is so difficult to understand.
I studied her for a moment longer. She was still unsteady, but deliberately hiding it. Her hands were clenched slightly at her sides, as though maintaining control over herself required effort.
"Lady Aria," I said after a pause.
Her gaze shifted toward me immediately, as if she had been waiting for me to speak again only so she could dismiss it.
"I did not manhandle you," I continued evenly. "I stopped your mana from collapsing further. That is all. And I do not wish to receive compensation."
Her expression tightened faintly.
"Very well," she said. "Thank you."
There was no sincerity in the gratitude. It was as if spoken only to end the exchange.
Then she turned slightly, preparing to leave.
"Let’s go, Ren."
Her servant hesitated for a fraction of a second, clearly uncertain whether leaving immediately was wise. But he obeyed her command anyway, stepping closer to support her.
That should have been the end of it.
It would have been the sensible end.
But the question had been forming in my mind since the moment she pushed my hands away.
And I found myself speaking before I fully decided to.
"Aria."
She stopped.
"Why do you treat me like this?" I asked.
The silence that followed was immediate.
Even the wind felt like it paused.
The mages behind me shifted slightly, uncertain whether they were witnessing something that should not be heard.
I did not look at them.
My focus remained on her.
Her shoulders tensed, but she did not turn back fully.
But I continued anyway.
"Ever since Libracia, you’ve been hostile toward me. You act like I’ve done something to you."
Her head turned slightly then, just enough for me to see her expression fully.
Cold, uninterested in pretending otherwise.
"Because I do not like you," she said simply.
The answer made me flinch but I only kept watching her.
I had known Aria Valen for years. I remembered her clearly from the academy. Loud, stubborn, overly persistent in ways that irritated most of the faculty. She was the type of noble who refused to accept distance when it was appropriate and insisted on inserting herself into matters that did not concern her.
And she had been fixated on me.
I remembered the confession. I remembered the insistence. I remembered the refusal and the aftermath, which had been far more exhausting than the confession itself.
She had not accepted rejection gracefully. She had continued behaving as though persistence would eventually change the outcome. It had been irritating, predictable, and ultimately meaningless.
I had believed that Chapter of my life was closed.
Especially after her engagement to my good friend, Sebastian.
That decision alone had confirmed what I thought I knew about her. That she was impulsive. That she chased attention without regard for consequences. That she treated relationships as leverage rather than sincerity.
So when I saw her again after all this time, I expected the same Aria.
Instead, I found something I could not easily categorize.
She was not chasing me anymore.
She was rejecting me.
Completely.
And not in the same way I had rejected her.
There was no lingering attachment in her hostility.
Which made no sense.
If anything, I should have been relieved.
I had never regretted rejecting her. I had considered it the correct decision every time I revisited it. free𝑤ebnovel.com
And yet...
Her behavior now did not fit any logical continuation of the past.
I had been informed she had recently broken off her engagement with Sebastian. That alone had already raised questions.
So when I saw her leave the capital which was uncharacteristic of her, I thought she was meeting someone else.
A lover maybe.
So I shadowed her.
But when her mana had collapsed suddenly.
That was what brought me here.
I had followed the signal without hesitation, using my shadow constructs to trace her, and when her mana signature vanished, I had teleported immediately to the location. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
I had not expected to find her conscious again so quickly.
I had not expected hostility.
And I certainly had not expected this level of rejection.
My gaze remained on her as she turned away and left.
I took a deep breath to calm myself.
"Aria Valen... what a mysterious one you are."
