Chapter 25: Marriage with
—CELIA—
"Oh my god," I whispered, staring at Sebastian in complete disbelief. "Oh my god."
"Nobody said anything worthy of that reaction," he replied imdiately.
"You just asked if I was pregnant!"
"Because you looked like you were about to faint!"
"I looked disgusted!"
"You were holding your stomach!"
"Because you called ’my love’!"
Sebastian flinched.
anwhile, Ren slowly turned his head away toward the street as if he had suddenly developed a deep scholarly interest in horse transportation.
Sebastian cleared his throat once, visibly regaining composure. "That is not the point."
"It is absolutely the point," I argued.
"Stop acting all lovey-dovey with , will you? You hate my guts. Also, I am no longer your fiancée. Haven’t I already introduced you properly to Cynthia? Why are you still clinging to like this? Let go of !"
I struggled again, attempting to pry myself free from his arms.
And when I thought he would finally loosen his hold...
He suddenly looked directly into my eyes.
I froze.
What... was with this atmosphere?
The playful irritation from earlier disappeared completely. His expression sharpened slightly, and sothing heavy settled behind his gaze that made instinctively still.
"Do you truly wish to be with that man?" he asked quietly.
His eyes shifted toward Ren.
Correction.
Glared toward Ren.
I blinked, confused.
"...What?"
Sebastian’s jaw tightened faintly. "That commoner."
Excuse ?
I imdiately looked toward Ren in offense on his behalf.
Ren himself remained standing quietly with the book bag still in hand, although his posture had beco noticeably straighter now, likely sensing danger the way wild animals sensed natural disasters.
What... am I hearing?
I stared at Sebastian in complete disbelief while Ren, that absolute traitor of a man, calmly bowed once before retreating toward the carriage with the speed of soone escaping a political assassination.
"I shall wait ahead, my lady."
And just like that, he abandoned .
The mont Ren disappeared far enough down the street, silence fell heavily between Sebastian and I.
A deeply uncomfortable silence.
Because my brain had finally caught up to what he had just said.
"Then embrace ! Be with ! Look for ! Cry to !"
Excuse ???
I blinked slowly at him.
Wait.
Shouldn’t those lines belong to the heroine?
Why was he saying them to ?!
My thoughts spiraled violently.
Hold on.
Hold on a damn minute.
In the original story, Sebastian was supposed to beco so devoted to Cynthia after eting her.
So why was he currently standing in the middle of the street looking offended because I hugged another man?!
I narrowed my eyes at him suspiciously.
"...Are you feeling unwell?"
Sebastian looked personally insulted. "What sort of question is that?"
"A very reasonable one!"
"You think I am ill because I told you to rely on ?"
"Yes!"
Sebastian remained silent after that.
anwhile, I was trying to peacefully return a male lead back to the plot where he belonged.
Preferably far away from .
"That makes no sense," Sebastian said at last.
"It makes perfect sense..." I argued imdiately. "You have spent the past year treating like a speck in your eye!"
Which honestly was not even his fault.
The original Aria truly had been exhausting.
Even I probably would have avoided her if I t her in real life.
His expression twitched slightly at my accusation.
"That is an exaggeration."
"You looked inconvenienced every ti I entered a room! Or whenever we t."
"You were loud."
"I am still loud!"
"Yes," he replied imdiately. "But now you are loud differently."
I froze completely.
"...What does that even an?"
"You have changed..." he simply said.
Oh no.
Dangerous conversation.
Abort mission.
I laughed awkwardly and waved my hand dismissively. "Ah... hahaha... people change."
However, my thoughts were already spiraling violently.
What?!
It has only been two freaking days since I arrived in this body and this man already changed his entire attitude?!
Wait.
Sothing is genuinely wrong here.
The tiline was malfunctioning.
That had to be it.
Maybe my sister secretly wrote bonus Chapters I never read. Maybe this was an alternate route.
I quickly cleared my throat before he could continue observing .
"Also," I continued more carefully, "there is truly no need for you to pressure yourself about our engagent."
Sebastian’s expression slowly stilled.
"I have already spoken to my father regarding the matter," I said. "So please... there is no need for all this."
I gestured vaguely between us.
The possessiveness.
The dramatic declarations.
The random "my love" attack earlier that nearly sent into cardiac arrest.
All this.
And for the first ti since this conversation began, my tone softened sincerely.
"...I truly apologize for the things I have done before," I admitted quietly. "I forced you into this arrangent and I regret it now."
The words felt strangely heavy leaving my mouth.
Not because I personally did those things.
But because the mories still existed inside .
The original Aria’s desperation.
Her obsession.
Her constant attempts to force affection from soone who clearly did not know how to return it.
It was uncomfortable carrying those mories while also being completely separate from them.
"I am giving you back your freedom," I finished with a sigh.
Sebastian stared at without speaking.
His expression beca unreadable again, which sohow felt worse than irritation.
"And now that I have changed," I continued carefully, "I have no intention of marrying."
That part, at least, was entirely true.
Romance sounded exhausting.
One wrong decision and suddenly you were crying in the rain while orchestral music played in the background.
No thank you.
"I want to go places," I said honestly. "et people. Experience new things."
Like magic and libraries, magical libraries!
And possibly surviving long enough to enjoy both.
I folded my arms and nodded firmly to myself.
"Yes. That sounds perfect and peaceful."
Sebastian’s gaze lingered on strangely.
"...Peaceful," he repeated.
"Yes."
"You wish to spend your life wandering around freely?"
"Exactly."
"With no husband."
"Yes."
"No children."
"Correct."
Sothing unreadable flickered across his face again.
I narrowed my eyes suspiciously.
"...Why do you look personally offended by my happiness?"
"I do not."
"You absolutely do."
Sebastian exhaled quietly before suddenly looking away toward the street.
For several monts, he said nothing.
Then finally...
"You speak as though marriage is imprisonnt."
I blinked.
"Well..." I paused carefully. "Historically speaking, for won, that answer is occasionally yes."
He looked back at softly.
"But that is not what marriage would be with ."
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