The Male Lead isn't Following the Script!
Chapter 273: Break Her

Chapter 273: Break Her

Edward’s smirk lingered long after his words settled into the air, a silent reminder that he had won this round.

Adeline, however, refused to give him the satisfaction of reacting.

She yanked her wrist out of his grasp and turned away, each step she took firm and deliberate. She didn’t need to argue with him—not when they both knew he had burned something, too.

She was certain of it.

Edward had found something he didn’t want her to see.

That fact alone sent frustration curling through her veins like wildfire.

Damn him.

He was always like this—a double-edged sword. His intelligence, his power, his ability to see through others’... They were all useful. But they were just as dangerous as they were beneficial. He wasn’t her ally. Not really.

And now, he was retaliating against her.

What had he destroyed?

Her mind raced as she moved through the abandoned base. She knew exactly what she had burned—the letters that confirmed this world was nothing but a story. She had done it to protect this world from collapsing, as the Goddess had warned.

But Edward?

Edward had his own reasons.

When she finally made her way to his side of the base, her heart pounded in her chest.

She searched everything.

Drawers. Cabinets. The floorboards. The walls. Nothing.

Everything had been reduced to ash.

Adeline stared at the pile of burnt remains, irritation clawing at her insides.

He really did it.

She had expected him to hide something, but to destroy it completely? He had burned whatever evidence he found before she could even set eyes on it.

She clenched her fists, biting back a growl of frustration.

"You’re so damn infuriating," she muttered under her breath.

Edward, of course, was nowhere to be seen. He had left first, letting her go on this wild chase, knowing exactly how much it would frustrate her.

She exhaled sharply and forced herself to calm down.

There was no point in standing here, stewing over it.

She hadn’t found a lead, but she had found some information.

And that, at the very least, was better than nothing.

Back at the Intelligence Guild...

By the time Adeline returned to the intelligence guild, her mind was still spinning.

What had Edward found?

What could have been so important that he immediately destroyed it?

She had burned the letters to protect the world from collapsing.

Was it possible that Edward had found something similar?

Something that, if revealed, would ruin his plans?

Adeline’s brows furrowed as she paced in her room at the guild, wracking her brain for answers.

Edward was calculating.

He was meticulous.

If he had burned something, it was because it was a threat to him.

She could speculate all she wanted, but without proof, it was just theories.

With an exhausted sigh, she sat down at her desk and closed her eyes, thinking.

There had to be another way to move forward.

She had wasted too much time already.

While Adeline was drowning in frustration, Dimitri and Annora were having a lovely time.

Unlike the chaos Adeline had just endured, their day was peaceful.

They were visiting an orphanage, tending to sick children, helping them get medical treatment, and arranging for them to be placed in schools.

Dimitri, ever the saintly man, had recruited a few of the older children. He planned to take them back to the mage tower and give them a future—one that he himself had never been given.

Annora smiled warmly, watching the children laugh and play.

She had once been an orphan too.

She knew exactly how it felt to have no one, to live with nothing but uncertainty.

"This is nice," she murmured, more to herself than anyone else.

Dimitri turned to her, his expression soft. "It is."

Then, for a moment, he hesitated.

His fingers tightened slightly at his sides, as if he wanted to say something—but couldn’t.

Annora noticed.

Her stomach twisted.

"What is it?" she asked.

Dimitri exhaled slowly, shaking his head. "I was just thinking... I was a refugee. I had no means of surviving."

He paused.

Annora’s grip on her sleeves tightened.

She knew exactly what he wanted to say next.

Adeline saved me.

But he didn’t say it.

He couldn’t.

The forbidden magic wrapped around his mind like chains, suppressing the very thought of Adeline.

Annora exhaled slowly, her heart pounding.

She had ensured that Dimitri wouldn’t remember Adeline.

And yet, he was still trying.

Somewhere deep inside, something in him refused to forget her.

She can’t let that happen.

She wouldn’t let that happen.

Annora’s smile remained, but her fingers curled ever so slightly.

Her body was fragile.

She knew that better than anyone.

She was never supposed to exist.

She was an anomaly—a vessel crafted with forbidden magic, one designed to carry holy power.

She couldn’t afford to mess up.

But Dimitri...

Dimitri was the only person who had ever treated her right.

And she would not let him remember Adeline.

Summoning forbidden magic, she reached out, her hands trembling slightly as she channelled the power.

She had watched those forbidden mages assert control over the mind before.

She had studied it.

And now, she was recreating it.

Dimitri stiffened.

Then, he collapsed.

Annora gasped, her own legs giving out beneath her.

The moment she forced the magic upon him, her body began to weaken.

This was the price.

The longer she kept him under her control, the more her own power would leak away.

It didn’t matter.

She didn’t care.

She would do anything to keep him by her side.

Adeline sat at her desk, rubbing her temples.

No leads.

No breakthroughs.

Just more questions.

She needed to regroup.

She needed to figure out her next step.

But no matter how much she thought about it, her mind kept drifting back to Edward.

What had he destroyed?

What had he found?

And most importantly—

Was it more dangerous than the letters she had burned?

Her fingers trembled slightly, not from fear, but from exhaustion. How many nights had she spent like this? Pouring over documents, tracking movements, chasing whispers—only for it all to lead nowhere. Dead ends, every single time.

She had thought she was close, so many times, only for her hopes to be crushed. There was an invisible hand pulling the strings, hiding the truth from her. She could feel it, like a presence just beyond her reach, taunting her.

No matter what she did, no matter how many informants she bribed, spies she deployed, or archives she scoured, she could find nothing. And she had reached her limit.

She was tired. So incredibly tired.

The Goddess’s voice, soft yet insistent, echoed in her mind. "What is your plan, Adeline?"

She did not answer.

The Goddess had been relentless ever since Adeline had decided to write the letter. Always asking. Always watching. Adeline knew the Goddess was worried, perhaps even afraid. But at this point, she did not care.

She had done everything in her power to unearth the secrets of the organisation backing Annora. Yet, nothing had come of it. Time was slipping through her fingers like sand, and she could not afford to wait any longer.

She had to act.

Edward was out of the question. Adeline had no doubt that revealing the truth to him would lead to disaster. The Goddess had been clear on that—telling Edward that this world was nothing more than a story would cause the very fabric of reality to collapse. But the Goddess had never said anything about Annora.

That meant there was a chance.

A small, reckless part of her found satisfaction in the loophole. If the Goddess had truly wanted to stop her, she would have warned her against it. She would have told her that Annora learning the truth would bring ruin. But she hadn’t. And Adeline clung to that.

Her fingers tightened around the quill as she finally put ink to paper.

"Annora,

We need to meet. Immediately.

I know who you are. I know the truth. And I think you know exactly what I mean.

I do not believe we have to be enemies. You and I are the same in many ways, though neither of us wishes to admit it. But I am willing to share what I know if you are willing to do the same.

If you do not take me up on this offer, I am sure that you will regret it."

Truthfully, she would be the one regretting if this did not work out as expected.

She read the letter over three times before sealing it. Her heartbeat was steady, her mind eerily calm. It was a gamble, but she had no other choice. If she wanted to protect her friends, if she wanted to put an end to this dangerous game once and for all, she needed to take risks.

She would tell Annora everything.

She would lay bare the truth that had been tormenting her ever since she had come into this world. That this was not their reality, not truly. That everything—every person, every event—had once been confined to the pages of a novel. And she would watch Annora’s reaction carefully.

She needed Annora to break.

She needed her to slip, to panic, to say something—anything—that would reveal the truth about the forces backing her. Because if Annora had a weakness, it was her desperation to maintain control.

And Adeline was willing to bet that hearing the truth, knowing she was nothing more than a character, would shake her to her core.

She wished with all her heart that this plan works.

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