The Male Lead isn't Following the Script!
Chapter 190: Mistakes

Chapter 190: Mistakes

Alaric was going to be the Marquess and Aaron would lead the knights, she did not have anything to achieve, so why bother going? She kept telling herself that but when Alaric got engaged and Victoria was named the successor... Things changed.

Her one last friend would leave for the academy too and she would be left alone! Her dream of being a simple leech to society crumbled.

And stupid Cassian! He refused to come back home! She missed him! She wanted to see him! And the only way that could happen was if she went to the academy. She was ready to give him a piece of her mind!

"Benedict?" Adeline whispered to herself as she caught sight of a familiar figure. His striking red hair made him impossible to miss even in the sea of students.

He was leading the tour for the Defensive faction, his confident stride and commanding presence drawing attention from everyone around him.

It took a while for him to return to normal, but she was glad that he did. She was happy that she asked Cassian for help... And look at them now... Her heart was warm. They were doing so well in the academy!

Regarding the Northern Duke and Anna... He still held resentment towards them but he brightened up a bit. He no longer wanted to completely shut himself off and self-isolate. He showed interest in joining the academy.

He wished to take over as the Northern Duke as soon as possible. He wanted to get rid of Anna from that estate entirely. Adeline agreed with him! She wanted her gone! She did not know what to think of his father though.

In the story, it was later revealed that it was a misunderstanding. His father did not abandon him... He did not marry Anna to replace his mother... He only did it for political reasons, but the damage was done.

Benedict would never trust his father again.

In this timeline... Everything was messed up. Was this because she delayed the Northern Duchess’s eventual death? How could the Duke marry Anna immediately and let her take over the Duchess’s room?!

Her fists subconsciously clenched. As she saw Benedict leave she thought to herself about the imminent disaster. Soon, the Northern Duchy will lose its footing, their lands will turn barren and they will face a crisis.

She had prepared for this. She planned to revitalise the soil through special fertilisers, basically, the fertilisers she imbued with her holy powers.

She wanted the Northern Duke to suffer because of what he did to Benedict, but Benedict was to take over the Duchy eventually. She could not let him take over a problem like that! He already suffered a lot!

Adeline’s lips pressed into a thin line as her eyes scanned the crowd again, searching for someone else—Cassian. But of course, she wouldn’t find him here. He wasn’t part of the factions for students with powers. Instead, he had joined the group for those without powers.

That liar.

Adeline clenched her fists at the thought of him. She couldn’t fathom why Cassian insisted on keeping his abilities hidden. His ice powers were extraordinary—powerful enough to rival some of the best mages in the Empire.

She hated how the Empress treated him, and she hated even more that he endured it without fighting back. The image of Cassian revealing his powers and scaring the life out of the Empress filled her with grim satisfaction.

One day.

The person leading the tour for the Offensive faction was a girl named Serisa, who possessed fire powers, just like her brothers.

Serisa spoke with authority, guiding the group through the sprawling campus with a practised ease. Adeline followed along with Victoria, listening absently as Serisa highlighted the key areas of the academy.

Adeline sighed softly. The more she explored the academy, the more her initial fears began to resurface. She had hoped—perhaps naively—that she might find someone here who could guide her in mastering her lightning abilities.

But the likelihood of that seemed slim. Ice was rare, lightning was impossible, and she hadn’t encountered a single instructor or senior who specialised in it.

By now she had gotten used to the constant stares and whispers. Everybody around her kept a safe distance. She was like a legend, a person who possessed lightning powers? How could that be?

As the tour continued, her thoughts drifted back to Cassian. This was his final year at the academy. Just like Benedict, he would be graduating soon. Adeline couldn’t shake the sense of urgency she felt.

She hadn’t come to the academy simply out of boredom or loneliness, though those were certainly factors. She had come for Cassian.

In the original timeline of the novel, Cassian had already begun making moves during his time at the academy. He had started dismantling the networks of those who supported the Second Prince, setting the stage for his eventual claim to the throne.

But in this timeline, none of that had happened. Cassian remained quiet, restrained, and utterly unlike the decisive and powerful Crown Prince she remembered from the novel.

Adeline couldn’t stand it.

She wanted him to get the recognition and respect he deserved. She wanted him to rise above the suffocating control of the Empress, to prove to the world—and to himself—that he was more than a pawn in her schemes.

And most of all, she wanted to see the Empress rot.

The memory of Cassian’s plight twisted her heart. For years, she had watched helplessly as her closest friend endured the Empress’s abuse. The verbal assaults, the physical punishments, the constant manipulation—it was all so vile. Cassian bore it all in silence, never showing weakness, but Adeline knew the toll it took on him.

It was hard to escape the control of an abuser, especially when that abuser was your own mother. Adeline knew that better than anyone, and it filled her with both rage and helplessness.

But this year, she vowed, things would be different.

Cassian had one year left at the academy, and Adeline was determined to make it count. She didn’t care if she had to upend the entire academy, she was going to make sure he found a teacher, and if she had to expose his powers to everyone, she would do it.

She walked in silence as Serisa continued the tour, her mind racing with plans. In the original story, Cassian had found a mentor during his time at the academy, someone who had helped him hone his ice magic to devastating effect.

But now, that seemed unlikely. Adeline knew Cassian too well. He would never seek out help on his own, not when he was so used to hiding his powers and enduring everything alone.

The reality was much different than Adeline expected. This time Cassian changed. He found an instructor and he wields his powers with ice. But instead of dismantling those on the second prince’s side... He planned to manipulate them.

He planned to cause way more chaos that he did in the original story. She thought he became kinder, but due to her intervention he became more twisted than she would have guessed.