The Male Lead isn't Following the Script!
Chapter 39: The Second Prince

Chapter 39: The Second Prince

Cassian never knew he would be on the receiving end of somebody’s protection, and he certainly didn’t expect that someone to be a five-year-old. When Adeline called him by his name in front of his mother, he knew that she would be pleased. Calling each other by their names was a level of closeness people had to reach. But at that moment he didn’t care about his mother, he blushed when she called him by his name.

The Empress sent Adeline off with the maids so that she could be dressed and cleaned up. If Adeline got sick under her watch, it would put her in trouble with the Marquess.

She looked at her son up and down, the redness on his shirt was clearly visible but she acted like she didn’t notice.

"I see that you became closer. Good."

They say that bad things happen all at once, one of the messengers brought over an invitation from the Imperial Concubine. It was an invitation to the second prince’s birthday. The Empress resisted the urge to tear up that invitation the moment it was handed to her.

It was a celebration in the palace, the palace that is her home. How dare she be ’invited’ to a celebration in her own home. The Imperial Concubine was treating her like an outsider.

"Hah... Very good..." Anyone could see that she was fuming, the maids dare not make a sound. She pointed to her son, "Why are you here? Get dressed and make another appointment with her! Do I have to teach you everything?! Useless!"

No one dared to come in her way as she angrily stomped her way back to the palace. Was she going to complain about this ’insult’ to the Emperor? That would not be the wise thing to do given how little he cares about them.

He would say that he was occupied with the nation’s affairs and he didn’t have time for their petty squabbles.

Cassian didn’t mind his mother’s scolding, he was practically used to it. He was more interested in scheduling another meeting with Adeline. He quickly got changed, redressed his wounds and let the maids dry his hair.

Adeline on the other side was having an intense discussion with the Goddess while the maids helped her get tidied.

"It’s almost time to go home and you haven’t done the thing you came for!"

’I can’t just ask him a favour like this, I need to build a rapport first!’

"The longer you delay, the more Benedict suffers."

Adeline was frustrated with this Goddess. Yes, she acts like she was annoyed in the past but she secretly enjoys her company. But for the first time, she felt like the Goddess was being overbearing.

She understood that Benedict needed help but so did Cassian!

"Did you forget the memories you saw?"

’How do you know about them?’

She didn’t hear anything back from the Goddess after that. Her being spied upon wasn’t surprising, the Goddess crossed boundaries very often. So when she shut up, Adeline didn’t bother calling out to her because she was not in the mood to deal with her.

Once she was all clean she headed out only to bump into someone.

"I- I’m so sorry."

The boy had his head down and was able to apologise, he felt even more nervous due to his stutter.

"It’s alright. Don’t worry about it." She smiled. Why would she get angry at a child? She examined the boy in front of her. His clothes were extravagant, he was definitely part of the nobility. Adeline didn’t want to be mean, but his clothes didn’t suit him well, they were too extra.

"I’m Adeline, what’s your name?"

"Your Highness." The maids bowed immediately upon stepping out of the room.

Finally, the young boy lifted his head up. Adeline could recognise him now, it was Lucas the second prince. What was he doing here? This section was designated to the Empress.

"I- wanted to pe- personally invite you." He nervously handed over the invitation. He looked like he was on the verge of tears!

Lucas looked very similar to Cassian, and both of them looked quite similar to the Emperor. The only difference was that Lucas had amber eyes, unlike his father and half-brother.

The palace was a scary place indeed, thought Adeline. She accepted the invitation to put him at ease. If her guess was right, the Imperial Concubine picked up on the Empress’ scheme to get Adeline on her side and now she was trying to poach her. It was the first time she was in this much demand. She felt both flattered and awkward.

Adeline concluded that Lucas, like Cassian had faced immense pressure from his mother, the rivalry between the Empress and Imperial Concubine wasn’t a secret. So, Adeline treated this young boy with much kindness, "Thank you. I look forward to it. Is there anything you like? I will try my best to get you that as a gift."

"Oh- Um-" His face became red so fast it was amusing. This was the first time he was ever asked this question. He didn’t have too many friends, and it was considered rude to be so open about gifts. "I don’t need anything!" Truly he didn’t. As the prince, he could have anything he’d ask for.

"I’ll think of something then." She wasn’t about to bully the boy into giving her his wishlist.

As she left to go find her brother, the mood changed. The nervous smile on his vanished. He looked at Adeline’s departing figure, lost in thought.

"Different." His hand slowly flattened out his hair, making sure most of it covered his face.

"What are you doing here?!" Cassian quickly appeared. He wanted to talk to Adeline before she left but he saw his half-brother approach her. He didn’t want to spy on their conversation but he couldn’t help it. He was only able to catch the last sentences of their conversation.

Without another thought, he ran to confront Lucas.