I AM NOT THE LOVE INTEREST!

Chapter 18: An Unwanted Feeling

—SEBASTIAN BLACKWOOD—

"Aria...?"

At the sound of the unfamiliar voice behind me, I turned slightly.

And the moment I laid eyes upon the young woman standing at the end of the corridor, I understood immediately why Aria had suddenly gone silent.

She was beautiful.

Not in the overwhelming manner many noble ladies tried so desperately to achieve with glittering jewels, expensive fabrics, and carefully practiced smiles meant to charm every person in the room.

No.

Her beauty was simpler than that.

She looked gentle and refined.

The afternoon light spilling through the tall windows rested gently across her figure, giving her an almost delicate appearance. Her hair framed her face naturally, untouched by the excessive styling fashionable among high society, while her dress suited her in a graceful way.

She looked calm, like a woman men would instinctively wish to protect.

I understood immediately why Aria’s expression had changed the moment she appeared.

Anyone would notice her.

But she was not as pretty as my Aria.

The realization arrived so naturally that it took me several seconds to process it properly.

Heh.

But then, I flinched internally the moment the thought settled in my mind.

...My Aria?

What exactly was wrong with me?

I frowned slightly at myself.

That description alone sounded deeply inappropriate.

Aria Valen was many things. Troublesome. Stubborn. Irritating beyond reason. Reckless. Loud when she wished to be. Entirely incapable of behaving with proper restraint.

But somehow, despite all of that, she possessed a beauty impossible to ignore once she entered a room.

She looked radiant.

And frustratingly enough, I had apparently grown too accustomed to it.

That realization left an unpleasant sensation in my chest.

I looked toward the woman standing before us once more, attempting to regain my composure.

Yes.

This woman was undeniably beautiful.

For a brief moment, she looked uncertain standing there.

Then she smiled politely.

And somehow the entire atmosphere shifted.

I blinked.

Before the young woman could say another word, Aria suddenly stepped forward with alarming enthusiasm.

"Cynthia!" she exclaimed brightly.

I glanced toward Aria immediately, caught off guard by both her tone and expression.

She looked delighted.

Genuinely delighted.

"You are so pretty!" Aria continued before Cynthia could properly speak. "And do not worry about anything! I shall support you with all my heart!"

I stared at her. I did not expect such warm welcome from someone like Aria.

Cynthia herself appeared startled by the sudden warmth directed toward her.

"Ah... thank you," she replied softly.

Then, before either of us could recover properly, Aria reached forward and took the gifts directly from Cynthia’s hands herself.

I frowned slightly.

That alone was unusual.

Aria rarely carried anything personally if servants were available nearby.

Then again...

Since this morning, almost everything about her had become unusual.

Aria stepped backward afterward until she stood beside me.

Then, with a smile far too pleased with itself, she gestured between us.

"This is my friend duke Sebastian," she announced playfully. "Sebastian, this is my beautiful cousin, Cynthia."

Friend...?

Friend.

The word settled strangely within me.

Before I could comment, Aria looked directly at me again.

"Please take good care of her," she said while lifting her brows meaningfully.

As though attempting to communicate something I was apparently failing to understand.

Then she clapped her hands together lightly.

"I shall give the two of you space to talk!"

And before either Cynthia or I could respond, she ran.

Straight down the corridor without a single ounce of dignity expected from a duke’s daughter.

I stared after her in complete disbelief.

Did she just act like a matchmaker between me and Cynthia?

That damned woman!

A vein of irritation throbbed faintly at my temple as I watched the empty corridor she had vanished into, as if she had not just committed a completely incomprehensible act and left me behind to deal with it.

Have she forgotten that I am to be wed to her?

The thought struck harder than it should have, and I immediately frowned at myself for even framing it that way. Of course she had not forgotten. The engagement was precisely the reason this entire situation was absurd.

Then what exactly was she doing?

Did she truly lose interest in me?

The idea should have been relieving. That had always been the logical outcome I preferred. A clean dissolution, no unnecessary complications, no emotional entanglements that served no purpose.

And yet, instead of relief, something settled uncomfortably in my chest. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

My gaze drifted back toward the corridor again, though she was long gone.

Could it be because I had been acting distant, cold, and irritated with her every single day?

I paused at that thought.

No.

Aria Valen, as far as I knew, did not simply stop pursuing something once she set her mind to it.

She had never been the type.

And yet ever since this morning, she had looked at me once, spoken as if everything had already been decided, and then broke off our engagement.

I frowned deeper.

"...What exactly are you thinking," I muttered under my breath, though there was no one left to answer.

For several moments, silence lingered heavily around us.

Cynthia suddenly giggled, covering her mouth slightly as if the thought itself amused her more than it should have.

"...I believe my cousin is trying to pair us up, Your Grace."

The words should have felt light and harmless.

A simple misunderstanding to be corrected and dismissed.

I turned my gaze back toward her at once, expecting to feel at least some mild inconvenience at the assumption.

Instead, there was nothing.

"...That is unlikely," I replied evenly.

Cynthia blinked slightly, perhaps surprised by the immediate rejection.

"I see," she said softly. "I-I thought perhaps she might have been encouraging it because she seemed so pleased when introducing us."

I pressed two fingers lightly against my temple, as if that could organize the increasingly disordered sequence of events.

I briefly looked at Cynthia again.

She was still waiting politely with hands folded awkwardly.

There was nothing wrong with her presence here.

And yet my attention drifted away from her almost immediately, back toward the corridor Aria had vanished into.

Cynthia’s earlier words lingered again.

"She seems rather different from what I expected."

I hummed.

I had thought it merely an impression caused by this morning’s behavior.

But now I was no longer certain.

Because what I had witnessed just now did not resemble the Aria I knew at all.

I realized I had been silent for too long when Cynthia tilted her head slightly.

"Your Grace?" she asked gently.

I exhaled once, forcing my attention back to the present.

"Yes," I replied. "That assumption is incorrect."

Cynthia nodded politely, though I could tell she did not fully understand.

"I apologize if I misunderstood," she said.

"There is no need," I answered, turned, and walked away leaving her.