Free Web NovelChapter 84: Chapter 84: Mad Aria
Chapter 84: Mad Aria
—SEBASTIAN—
I knew something was wrong the moment Ezekiel stopped walking.
The three of us had originally gone looking for Aria because there was something we needed to discuss regarding what had happened at the banquet.
It should have been a simple conversation.
Then again, anything involving Aria Valen had long since stopped being simple.
Ezekiel rarely reacted visibly to anything. He was the sort of person who could witness a political scandal unfold in front of him and still maintain the same expression. That was precisely why the slight tightening of his jaw immediately caught my attention.
"What’s wrong?" I asked.
Instead of answering immediately, he closed his eyes briefly, extending his senses through the estate. When he opened them again, his expression had become noticeably darker.
"Aria isn’t in her room."
At first, that didn’t seem particularly alarming.
Aria had a habit of appearing wherever trouble happened to exist. More than once, the household staff had spent an hour searching for her only to discover she had somehow wandered into places nobody expected her to be.
"What does that have to do with that face you’re making?" I asked.
Ezekiel looked directly at me.
"She’s in Ren’s room."
The silence that followed was immediate.
For a moment, I genuinely thought I had misheard him.
Beside me, Matthias slowly raised an eyebrow. The movement was subtle, but after knowing him for years, I recognized it immediately. He was displeased.
I looked from Ezekiel to Matthias and suddenly found myself feeling significantly better.
Because if I was experiencing an entirely irrational sense of irritation, apparently I wasn’t suffering alone.
"I’m sure there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation," I said.
Neither of them answered.
That, unfortunately, was answer enough.
The realization settled uncomfortably in my chest as we continued walking, but faster now.
It was ridiculous.
Aria was free to go wherever she wanted. She could spend time with whoever she wanted. But still, I feel bothered by the fact that she happened to be inside Ren’s room.
The worst part was realizing exactly why. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
Ren had always occupied a place in Aria’s life that none of us could reach.
He was there when she woke up.
He was there when she went to sleep.
He knew her habits, her routines, the foods she liked and disliked, the expressions she made when she was annoyed, embarrassed, or secretly pleased with herself. While the rest of us had spent quite some time trying to get closer to her, Ren had quietly been standing beside her the entire time.
The thought was deeply unpleasant.
Judging by the expressions beside me, Matthias and Ezekiel seemed to agree.
By the time we reached the servants’ wing, the atmosphere between the three of us had become oddly tense. Nobody acknowledged it. Nobody spoke about it. Yet all three of us were very clearly thinking about the exact same thing.
But I was snapped out of my own reverie when we heard shouting.
Immediately, whatever jealousy had been lingering inside me took a step back.
We exchanged a glance before finally opening the door.
And immediately froze.
Not because Cynthia was there.
Not because Ren was there.
Not even because the room looked like the aftermath of a disaster waiting to happen.
No.
The true reason was Aria.
She stood in the center of the room with one hand raised, her eyes blazing with a fury I had never seen directed so openly at another person.
Every trace of hesitation had disappeared from her expression.
She looked powerful.
Dangerous.
Entirely prepared to start a war if necessary.
To my eternal shame, my first thought was not concern.
It was admiration.
Good heavens.
She was terrifying. freewebnøvel.com
And somehow that only made her more beautiful.
A chill ran down my spine.
Beside me, Matthias smiled proudly.
The expression looked oddly natural on him, as though he had been waiting a very long time to see Aria stop retreating and finally fight back.
Ezekiel’s reaction was even worse.
The man actually looked pleased.
His arms folded across his chest while the corner of his mouth lifted ever so slightly. Most people would never notice it. I did.
The man was enjoying this.
Unfortunately, my gaze then drifted toward Ren.
Immediately, my mood worsened again.
The idiot was standing behind Aria like a loyal knight protecting his lady. Worse, he looked entirely comfortable there.
The sight irritated me far more than I cared to admit.
Then Cynthia noticed us.
The transformation was so immediate that I almost admired it.
One moment she had been screaming at Aria with enough venom to poison an entire kingdom.
The next, her eyes widened, tears gathered at the corners, and her entire posture softened into that of a helpless victim seeking protection. If I had not witnessed the previous several seconds with my own eyes, perhaps I might have been moved by the performance.
Unfortunately for her, I had.
"Your Grace!" she cried, rushing toward us as though salvation itself had arrived. "Please help me! Aria has completely lost her mind!"
I stared at her.
Then I looked at Aria.
Then I looked at Cynthia again.
And suddenly, a very important realization struck me.
I did not want to be involved.
Not because I feared Cynthia.
Certainly not.
But because I think I had just heard Aria Valen slap someone twice with enough conviction to make seasoned knights reconsider their life choices.
More importantly, I happened to like my face exactly as it was. If I don’t take care of it, how could I make her fall in love with me?
Also, how could I possibly interfere under those circumstances?
If I chose the wrong side, there was a very real possibility that I would become the next victim of her righteous fury.
No, thank you.
I enjoyed living.
"Oh dear," I said with an awkward laugh, already taking a careful step away from the battlefield. "I believe we may have arrived at a rather inconvenient moment."
Cynthia blinked.
The tears threatening to fall from her eyes seemed to pause out of sheer confusion.
Matthias blinked as well.
Even Ezekiel turned his head slightly toward me, his expression carrying the unmistakable look of a man trying to determine whether I was being serious or deliberately making the situation worse.
The answer, admittedly, was both.
I glanced toward Aria.
She still looked furious.
Actually, furious might have been an understatement.
Her eyes were blazing, her posture rigid, and there was something deeply unsettling about the way she continued holding her raised hand as though she was genuinely debating whether a third slap would improve the conversation.
It was magnificent.
Terrifying.
But magnificent.
Most importantly, she looked alive.
This Aria was fighting back and I love the sight of her this way.
And frankly, I thought it was long overdue.
A smile pulled at my lips before I could stop it.
"You can proceed, sweetheart."
The room went completely silent.
Cynthia stared at me.
Aria stared at me.
Ren stared at me.
Even Matthias looked momentarily stunned.
Only Ezekiel seemed unsurprised, which honestly said more about him than it did about me.
The silence stretched so long that I briefly wondered if perhaps I should elaborate.
Then I decided against it.
Instead, I gave Aria a very encouraging thumbs-up, holding her gaze with what I considered to be exceptional moral support and restraint under pressure.
"You are doing a great job," I added warmly.
I gently but decisively guided Cynthia back into the room and closed the door as though sealing away a particularly unfortunate Chapter of history.
The silence that followed lasted exactly long enough for me to feel satisfied with my decision.
"What, you scared of her?" Ezekiel asked, his voice carrying that irritatingly casual edge that always suggested he had already decided the answer and was merely enjoying the act of saying it aloud.
I let out a quiet, almost offended laugh, because the accusation was objectively absurd. "Of course not," I replied, adjusting my posture as though that alone would restore my dignity. "Do you not see how adorable she is getting mad like that?"
The words left my mouth before I fully considered them, but in my defense, they were technically accurate.
Aria angry was still Aria, and anything involving Aria was, by default, tolerable in ways most things in life were not.
Matthias nodded in agreement as if this were the most reasonable conclusion anyone had ever reached.
"She is worthy to be a knight’s wife," he said thoughtfully.
The corridor instantly went silent.
Both Ezekiel and I turned our heads toward him at the same time.
There are moments in life when a person realizes they have made a mistake in real time.
This was one of those moments.
Ezekiel’s eyes narrowed slightly. "Pardon, Royal Knight Commander?" he said slowly, his tone sharpened by disbelief rather than respect. "Do you not see that I outrank you in matters of court authority? If anything, I should be the one making that assessment."
I clicked my tongue, already deeply unimpressed by the direction this conversation was taking.
"In case the two of you have forgotten," I interjected smoothly, lifting a hand. "I am still the fiancé."
That single statement should have ended the discussion.
It did not.
Ezekiel looked at me.
Matthias looked at me.
Before I could further defend my rightful position in this conversation, the door behind us suddenly slammed open with enough force to silence even Ezekiel.
All three of us straightened instinctively.
She stepped out of the room like a storm given human form, her expression still carrying the remnants of anger that had not yet cooled. The sight alone was enough to make even Ezekiel lose his usual lazy composure.
"You three!" she snapped.
And just like that, whatever ridiculous conversation we had been having died instantly.
