The Male Lead isn't Following the Script!
Chapter 162: Strengthened Resolve

Chapter 162: Strengthened Resolve

The tension in the Duke’s estate had reached an unbearable high. Benedict, once a warm and gentle boy who clung to the dreams of an intact family, now carried an icy demeanour that commanded authority.

Anna, emboldened by her new title of Duchess, was determined to seize control over the household, believing that her newfound power could not be contested. However, she had underestimated the young heir.

Benedict, grieving and determined, was no longer the naïve child she had once dismissed.

It began when Anna attempted to dismiss several loyal servants who had been with the Duchy since before Benedict’s birth.

She claimed they were inefficient and outdated, masking her true intention to replace them with people loyal to her. However, the head butler stood firm, refusing to carry out her orders.

"Mrs. Knott," the butler said, addressing her without the honourifics she craved. "These men and women have served this house faithfully for decades. If you wish them gone, you will need the young master’s approval."

Anna’s face flushed with anger. "I don’t need approval from a child!"

But the butler stood his ground, unyielding in his loyalty to Benedict. "He is the heir, madam. This house is as much his as it is the Duke’s."

Infuriated, Anna marched to confront Benedict, confident that she could manipulate him as she had done with others. She found him in the study, poring over estate documents—a new habit he had taken up since assuming more responsibilities.

He just had to make her life more difficult, didn’t he?

"Benedict, I want to inform you about the staff," She began, her voice sharp. Even after becoming the Duchess, she couldn’t believe that she had to seek this brat’s permission.

She would not, this was not a discussion, she was simply telling him.

He didn’t look up from the parchment. "What about them?"

"They’re insubordinate, and I’ve decided to dismiss them." She declared.

For the first time in their conversation, Benedict raised his eyes to meet hers. There was no warmth in them, only a cold detachment that made her falter.

"You mean the staff who have been here longer than you?" He scoffed. "They stay."

Anna’s fists clenched. "You don’t have the authority—"

He looked at her and scoffed, "You’re a new hire. They’ve been here since the beginning, they earned their place, you haven’t yet. As the young master, I look after my people." He didn’t consider her a Duchess. Just some lady who was taking on his mother’s responsibility.

A servant for hire, that was all she would ever be. And if she thinks that she could ever be more than that... He will personally squash those ambitions.

She wanted to yell at him. How dare he try to create trouble for her, but before she could say anything he taunted her back, "Go ahead. Complain to my father. I dare you." His words were a calculated blow, and they struck true.

Anna remained rooted, shaking from anger. He knew very well that she couldn’t do that. He had already mocked her once, asking her to resign if she couldn’t handle it.

Fine... If she couldn’t fire people, then she would hire more! She brought in about fifty servants who would stay loyal to her, thinking that now she had some support.

But within a few days, most of them shifted their loyalties as soon as they realised who truly held the power. Once again, she was isolated.

Benedict stopped caring about his father’s affection, instead, he worked on being the perfect heir which appeased the Duke. He had an increased level of responsibilities and funds that infuriated Anna.

She tried her best to drive a wedge between the two but what could she do? The Duke was ready to hand over the responsibilities to Benedict, she couldn’t goad the Duke saying that he was after his title and power.

And Benedict stopped caring about his father completely. It didn’t matter what Anna would say, nothing worked. She was driven crazy by this, just as she got the position she wanted, she was being driven out.

In a moment of desperation, she snuck out and went to meet with the hooded man... She requested help in dealing with the Duke and Benedict... She wanted to seize the power and become the sole head of the household.

"I need your help," Anna began, her voice trembling with suppressed anger. "The Duke and his son—they need to be... Dealt with."

The hooded man chuckled, a low, mocking sound that made Anna’s blood run cold. "Dealt with?" he repeated. "And who do you think you are, Anna Knott?"

"I’m the Duchess!" she snapped, her fists clenched. "I deserve—"

"What you deserve is irrelevance," the man interrupted. "You are a pawn. Nothing more. The next time you come to me with such absurd requests, I will not be so kind."

She left the lair in humiliation, her fists clenched, nails piercing her skin making it bleed. Why help her become the Duchess if he didn’t want power? What did he want?!

When Anna returned to the estate, her humiliation turned to horror. Her belongings had been unceremoniously removed from the late Duchess’s room and dumped in the hallway. Furious, she stormed toward the room, only to find Benedict standing in the doorway.

"This is my mother’s room," he said, his tone devoid of emotion. "It belongs to her memory. Not to you."

Anna’s voice rose to a shriek. "How dare you?! I am the Duchess!"

"And I am the heir," Benedict replied coldly. "The room you stole is mine now. If you don’t like it, you can leave."

Anna lunged at him in a fit of rage, but Benedict was prepared. With a flick of his wrist, a small bump of earth emerged that hindered her plan.

Anna stumbled, tripping over her own feet and falling flat on her face. Laughter erupted from the gathered servants, their loyalty to Benedict evident in their open mockery.

"You’re a duchess only in name," Benedict said, his voice cutting through the laughter like a blade. "And you want to have a bigger room than the heir? Keep dreaming."

Ignoring Anna’s sputtering protests, Benedict entered the room and shut the door behind him. He spent hours restoring it to its former state, replacing the furniture and decorations Anna had removed.

When he was finished, he stood in the centre of the room, though it looked like her room... Her scent was gone... What remained was only her memory.

For the first time in weeks, Benedict allowed himself to feel something other than anger. Standing in the room that had once been his mother’s sanctuary, he felt her presence. It was a bittersweet comfort, but it strengthened his resolve.

This was his house now. And he would let no one—not Anna, not even his father—take it from him. For the first time in days, he let out all his grief... He didn’t know how long he cried, but he huddled up in the bed, hugging one of her dresses.

He wishes it was all a dream but every time his eyes opened, the reality hit him. He was alone in this world.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.