The Male Lead isn't Following the Script!
Chapter 277: Realisation

Chapter 277: Realisation

Her heart clenched painfully, and for a split second, her breath caught in her throat.

Childhood friends.

They weren’t.

Not anymore.

Not in the way that mattered.

The Cassian she had known, the boy she had once trusted, was no longer the same person.

He was gone.

And even if he wasn’t...

Even if a part of him still existed beneath all the manipulation, beneath all the forced perfection and control—

He wouldn’t remember.

He couldn’t.

Adeline forced down the lump in her throat, keeping her expression neutral as she took his hand and climbed onto the horse.

It was fine.

This was fine.

She wasn’t going to chase after him like the original Adeline.

She wasn’t going to beg for his love.

She had bigger things to worry about.

So as the horse carried them forward, Adeline kept her silence.

And Cassian...

Cassian never let go of the reins.

But for the briefest moment—

His fingers twitched.

The rhythmic sound of the horse’s hooves against the cobblestone streets filled the silence between them. The cold night air bit at Adeline’s skin, but she barely noticed it. Her thoughts were too tangled, her emotions too raw.

She sat behind Cassian, her hands resting stiffly on her lap rather than holding onto him. She didn’t trust herself to touch him. This was not the person she knew, he was a stranger.

Cassian had just dropped a bombshell on her.

He was planning to marry Annora.

The words still echoed in her mind, sending sharp pulses of unease through her chest. She had spent so much time fighting against the story’s events, trying to navigate around them, but now the plot was rushing ahead without her.

And worse?

She had no idea why.

This shouldn’t be happening yet.

Cassian shouldn’t have feelings for Annora this early. He should still be the perfect prince—detached, composed, controlled by his mother’s expectations.

In the original story, his engagement with Annora happened much later, when she had already solidified herself as the Saintess and proven herself as a valuable political asset.

But now...

Now, he was actively choosing Annora.

Something had changed.

And Adeline had no idea how much of it was her fault.

Cassian’s voice broke through her thoughts, casual yet laced with something pointed.

"Aren’t you going to congratulate me?"

Adeline inhaled sharply.

Her fingers twitched where they rested against her dress, her nails pressing into the fabric.

She clenched her jaw.

The urge to punch him was almost unbearable.

She wasn’t sure what irritated her more—the news itself, or the fact that Cassian sounded like he was waiting for her reaction.

Was he testing her?

Was this fun for him?

She exhaled slowly, forcing the tension from her body. If she let her emotions get the best of her, she would lose.

So she swallowed down the storm raging inside her, forced a neutral expression onto her face, and replied flatly—

"Congrats."

Half-hearted. Dismissive.

But at least she had said it.

Cassian chuckled.

A low, amused sound that sent a shiver down Adeline’s spine.

"Hah... You’re the first person I’ve told. You could be a little more excited."

Adeline’s fists tightened.

Her nails dug into her palms, but she didn’t break her expression.

What did he want from her?

Did he expect her to react like the original Adeline?

To cling to him?

To cry?

To beg for an explanation?

No. She wouldn’t give him that.

But even so, a quiet sense of wrongness crawled over her skin.

Cassian shouldn’t be like this.

His cold amusement, his lingering gaze, the way he seemed to be watching for her response...

It wasn’t normal.

Not for him.

Not for the Crown Prince who was supposed to be indifferent, perfect, untouchable.

Adeline forced herself to breathe.

She needed to regain control of this conversation.

So she redirected.

"What about Benedict?" she asked, voice carefully neutral.

Cassian tilted his head slightly, as if uninterested.

"What about him?"

Adeline felt another sharp pulse of unease.

Cassian wasn’t stupid.

He knew exactly what she was talking about.

Benedict liked Annora.

Everyone in high society knew it.

And yet Cassian acted like it was irrelevant. Like it didn’t matter.

Adeline studied him carefully, searching for any hint of emotion beneath his perfect mask.

But there was nothing.

No guilt. No hesitation.

Just cold, detached apathy.

The realisation sent a chill through her.

This was how he was supposed to be.

If she had never interfered. If she had let the story unfold as it was meant to.

Cassian had never truly cared about Benedict’s feelings.

He had never cared about anyone’s feelings.

Because he was never allowed to.

His mother had shaped him into the perfect Crown Prince—a man who did not feel.

And Adeline—

She had been so stupid to forget that.

She had changed things.

But not enough.

Not in the ways that mattered.

Cassian’s horse slowed as they neared the teleportation circle. The faint blue glow of the magical runes illuminated the dark street, casting eerie shadows along the ground.

Cassian pulled the reins, bringing the horse to a stop.

"This is where we part ways," he said smoothly.

There was no warmth in his tone, no real concern.

Just the perfect, detached politeness of a Crown Prince saying farewell to an acquaintance.

But before Adeline could dismount, he added, almost offhandedly—

"I hope you’ll teleport home safely."

Adeline’s breath caught.

He wanted her to leave.

He wanted her to disappear.

It was subtle, almost imperceptible, but it was there. The quiet expectation that she would teleport away and stay out of his business.

Her chest tightened.

Cassian may not have remembered everything, but the magic controlling him had still made sure of one thing—

He saw her as insignificant.

Not a threat.

Not a piece in his game.

Just an obstacle to be removed.

Adeline forced a smile, even as something inside her ached.

She nodded once, short and polite.

"Thank you."

Then she dismounted, stepping lightly onto the stone pavement.

She didn’t teleport right away.

She didn’t move.

She just watched as Cassian turned his horse and rode away, his black hair catching the moonlight, his back straight, unbothered.

Unchanged.

Adeline exhaled.

The moment Cassian disappeared into the distance, Adeline was left alone in the dimly lit street, the teleportation circle glowing softly behind her. She exhaled slowly, trying to steady herself. Her emotions were all over the place—frustration, unease, and something dangerously close to despair clawed at her.

But then—

CRACK—

A violent burst of neon-purple magic shot toward her, illuminating the night like a wicked omen.

Adeline’s instincts screamed.

She twisted her body, dodging just in time as the attack seared past her, its energy crackling dangerously in the air. The force of it sent a gust of wind whipping through her hair, and the sheer pressure of it made her skin crawl.

Forbidden magic.

Someone had been waiting for her.

Her frustration vanished in an instant, replaced by cold, sharp focus.

Adeline’s gaze snapped to the source of the attack—a shadowed alleyway to her left. Figures moved swiftly through the darkness, their eyes glinting with malice. More were emerging from behind buildings, closing in on her like hungry predators.

It was an ambush.

Her jaw clenched. Fine.

She welcomed the fight.

Adeline raised her hand, electricity sparking to life at her fingertips. Blue lightning crackled around her, illuminating the street with an unnatural glow. With a single flick of her wrist, she sent a bolt of pure lightning ripping through the air toward her attackers.

The first scream rang out as her magic hit its mark.

A man convulsed, his body jerking violently before collapsing to the ground, smoke rising from his charred robes.

The others didn’t hesitate.

They surged forward, more spells hurtling toward her—dark, corrupted energy that twisted and churned unnaturally.

Adeline barely had time to react.

She threw up a shield of holy power just in time, the pure white barrier flaring to life around her. The enemy spells collided with it, but instead of merely deflecting them, her shield neutralized them, absorbing the corrupted magic and dissolving it into nothingness.

Her eyes widened slightly. She seemed to have realised something.

The realisation barely had time to settle before she moved.

Lightning surged through her veins as she struck back, her movements precise, calculated. The battle was fierce, her enemies relentless, but she was faster. Stronger. Smarter.

One by one, they fell.

And when the last of them collapsed to the ground, their bodies twitching from the residual electricity, silence fell over the street.

Adeline took a slow breath, her heart pounding.

She had won.

But her mind was no longer on the battle.

She turned her hand over, staring at the faint pure white glow still flickering around her fingertips.

Holy power could neutralize almost any attack.

Could it—

Could it do more than that?

A bold thought formed in her mind, wild and desperate.

Could she use her holy power to "heal" the male leads?

Her lips parted slightly, her breath quickening.

She had spent so much time trying to fight against the story, trying to manipulate events to work in her favour. But what if...

What if she had been looking at it wrong?

What if the solution wasn’t forcing change—

But undoing what had already been done?

The magic controlling Cassian, the strange shifts in the story—could they be reversed?

Could she restore the people they were supposed to be?

Her fingers curled into fists, determination surging through her.

She had to try.

She had to.