I AM NOT THE LOVE INTEREST!

Chapter 24: Are You Pregnant?!

—CELIA—

"Holy mother fff—freakin’ nature!!!!"

The words burst out of me the moment we were far enough from Libracia that my legs finally remembered how to stop moving.

Unfortunately, my brain also remembered everything at the same time.

And that was worse.

I stopped in the middle of the street, hands flying to my head as if I could physically hold my thoughts in place before they escaped and ruined my life further.

There is no freaking way I just did that.

I stared at the stone pavement beneath my feet like it might offer some form of divine explanation or at least a polite apology on behalf of reality.

A few meters away, merchants continued their work, pedestrians moved about their day, and life in general refused to acknowledge that I had just verbally challenged one of the most dangerous men in the kingdom.

Meanwhile, I was actively malfunctioning. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"I argued with him," I whispered to myself, horrified. "I actually argued with him."

I turned slightly, pacing in a small circle while my mind replayed everything in brutal clarity.

Ezekiel Rowe.

Archmage.

Walking authority problem.

And I had looked him in the face and told him to shut up.

I pressed my palms against my cheeks.

What is wrong with me?

A small part of my brain tried to justify it immediately.

To be fair, he was being insufferable.

That same part of my brain was immediately slapped by common sense.

That is the Archmage. You do not "to be fair" the Archmage.

I groaned loudly and tilted my head back toward the sky.

"I am going to die," I muttered.

Beside me, Ren had been silent the entire time.

I slowly turned toward him.

He was standing very still, one hand lightly holding the strap of the bag containing the books I had insisted on buying earlier. His expression was calm, as always, the kind of calm that suggested he had already accepted that reality was going to behave unpredictably whenever I was involved.

I, however, had not accepted anything.

"Ren... Reeeeen!!!!" I whined, my voice cracking into full dramatic collapse as I suddenly lunged forward and clung to him like my life depended on it.

He stiffened slightly on instinct, clearly not expecting impact, but he did not pull away.

Instead, I buried my face against him the way I used to cling to my stuffed bear back in my old world whenever life became too emotionally unbearable. The comparison did not help my dignity, but dignity had long since abandoned me.

"I am going to die," I declared with absolute certainty, my voice muffled against his clothing. "This is it. This is the end. I insulted a walking magical disaster and now I will be erased from existence."

Ren let out a quiet breath of resignation.

"You are not going to die, my lady," he said evenly.

"That is what people say right before someone dies," I insisted, tightening my grip slightly for emphasis. "And when I die, bury me with lots of gold and jewelry. I deserve compensation for emotional distress."

Ren looked down at me.

Then, very calmly, he lifted his free hand and placed it on the top of my head and patted me.

Like he had already accepted that comforting me was now part of his daily responsibilities.

"You are not dying," he repeated.

"I feel like I am dying," I corrected immediately.

Ren exhaled again, his shoulders relaxing slightly as he continued to pat my head with the same patient rhythm.

"...You are very brave today," he said, as if the statement itself was enough to stabilize the entire situation.

I did not feel brave. I felt like a person who had narrowly escaped divine punishment and was now clinging to the nearest stable object in existence.

But before I could respond, the atmosphere shifted.

I was suddenly pulled away from Ren with force, like a piece of packing tape yanked off a surface that had finally decided it had tolerated enough.

My feet left the ground for half a second before I stumbled into someone’s arms.

"You!" a sharp voice cut through the air. "What are you doing with my fiancée?!"

I blinked.

Then I exhaled a long, suffering breath that came from the deepest part of my soul.

"Geez!" I muttered, going completely limp in his grip. "Let me rest!"

I tilted my head slightly to look up, only to find Sebastian Blackwood standing there looking like a man who had just witnessed a crime against his personal authority.

I gasped and immediately tried to push him away, but it was about as effective as trying to move a stone wall with pure spite.

"You! What are you doing here?!" I asked nervously, squirming in his arms while attempting to create distance between us.

Shouldn’t this guy be with Cynthia right now, acting all soft and romantic like a properly functioning male lead?

But Sebastian did not loosen his hold.

If anything, he looked more unsettled than before, his brows drawn together as though he had just caught me committing a serious offense against reality itself.

"My love!" he suddenly said, voice rising slightly as if he had been holding it in for too long. "I have been waiting at your father’s estate to have breakfast with you, but you did not come! Then I found out you left the estate with another man!"

I froze.

Completely.

Like my entire system had just been forcibly shut down.

"...Uh," I said weakly, blinking up at him. "...What?"

My brain refused to process anything beyond the first part of that sentence.

My love?

He called me... my love?

Love?

What the fffff—aaaaagggghhh!

I felt something short-circuit violently inside my skull.

A strange combination of confusion, horror, and unwanted physiological reaction surged through me all at once. My spine tingled in a way I did not approve of, and I suddenly became very aware of how close he was holding me.

Goosebumps erupted across my skin.

Even my stomach felt like it had attempted a full gymnastics routine.

I immediately slapped a hand over my mouth and another on my stomach, literally feeling nauseous.

Unfortunately, Sebastian interpreted that in a completely different direction.

His expression shifted instantly.

His grip loosened just slightly as his eyes widened.

"A-are you pregnant?" he stuttered.

Ren who had been quietly observing the entire situation like a man trying very hard not to get involved in royal-level insanity, suddenly went still.

Then his eyes widened sharply.

And slowly, he looked down at his own hand.

The same hand that had been patting my head earlier.

As if he had just been accused of participating in a crime.

Oh my god.

These men!