The Male Lead isn't Following the Script!
Chapter 44: Victoria

Chapter 44: Victoria

"I apologise for her behaviour. I am Isabelle Griffin, her older sister."

It seemed like she was used to apologising for her sister’s behaviour. The Griffins family was known for their extremely talented eldest daughter Isabelle. She was a water mage who showed great potential and was given the opportunity to enter the academy a year early.

Her younger sister Victoria was two years older than Adeline and made quite the name for herself when she attended her first gathering in society.

She was called rude, unremarkable and arrogant. Since then she mostly kept to herself.

Adeline wasn’t much of a gossiper herself but it was quite the first impression.

As her sister apologised, Victoria’s expression remained unmoved, maybe it was this quality that pushed people’s buttons.

"Victoria, apologise right now."

She looked at her sister with that blank expression and then looked straight at Adeline.

"Sorry."

Her apology was as devoid of emotion as her expression.

Isabelle looked very frustrated with her younger sister. Adeline didn’t want to argue or cause a scene so she accepted the rather half-hearted apology.

"It’s fine. I don’t mind."

She shot a look at Dimitri. He looked at her in confusion. What did she want him to do?

"You said something mean too."

Though reluctant, Dimitri faced Victoria and apologised very softly. One could almost miss it if they didn’t pay attention.

"I meant what I said. It doesn’t look good on you."

"Victoria!"

"..."

Adeline didn’t know what to do at this point. She just wanted to buy a dress but she was already insulted twice by some kid. Sure, she looked like a kid, but she was a grown-up on the inside, she knew that kids have no filter. It was an arrow through the heart when Victoria told her she didn’t look good.

Her mouth twitched as she tried to reason with the kid, "Then, what would look good on me?"

Adeline swore she saw a spark in Victoria’s which always looked like they were disinterested in worldly affairs.

"Purple. Purple would look very good on you."

By this time the owner of the boutique came back after tending to other customers.

"Get me a purple dress please." Adeline quickly requested. Anything would be better than what she was wearing right now.

Isabelle just stood in place, she was confused because this never happened before. Victoria basically alienated everyone around her with her behaviour but Adeline was the first to not take offense immediately.

Adeline followed the owner to select a beautiful purple dress from the collection.

Victoria nonchalantly turned toward Dimitri, seeing her blank expression, he felt like he was being taunted. This was the first time Dimitri got annoyed by someone. He was usually a quiet and kind kid.

Victoria was used to others looking at her like that. She didn’t care. She walked over to Aaron and Dimitri and plopped herself on the sofa. She sat right in the middle of the two.

"Victoria..."

Aaron who was quiet for a very long time finally spoke, "It’s alright. She can stay with us. I think you were in the middle of selecting a dress for the banquet, go right ahead."

Isabelle wasn’t unfamiliar with Aaron and Adeline. They were the children of the Western Marquess. Isabelle knew them in another way, they were Alaric’s siblings. He and Isabelle were set to enter the academy soon. Both were prodigies in their respective elements, and the academy assigned them to the same class.

"Don’t cause any trouble Victoria. Remember what I said."

Isabelle knew her sister meant well, but it certainly did not come out that way. She was too straightforward... She thinks she is helping by being honest but doesn’t understand that honestly hurts people sometimes. Other than this, she was a wonderful child. Other kids would be fussy and make trouble but not her Victoria. She would spend most of her days studying and reading books.

Isabelle was the heir to the County, and she intended to work as hard as she could to take over. She wanted to make sure her younger sister lived a good life, unburdened by responsibility and free to choose what she wanted.

Although she was worried, she left her sister under the care of Aaron and went to finish the task she came for. She needed to choose an appropriate dress for herself and her sister. Her sister hated dresses and banquets. She needed to pick something that wouldn’t be too uncomfortable and overwhelm her during the celebration.

"Alrighty, how does this look?"

Adeline chose a simple but elegant lilac gown that perfectly complemented her hair colour. She was just like a children’s doll. The Owner of the boutique absolutely fell in love, if she were to wear her designs in public, her shop would be flooded with customers!

"My lady, I want to make your dresses free of charge, you would be the first to wear any new design I come up with. In return, I ask you to wear only my dresses."

Adeline tilted her head and began to think, was this a roundabout way of asking her to be a muse? She was ready to accept. She loved the designs she came up with, so wearing exclusively her dresses wouldn’t be a problem.

She turned to look at the reactions of the people she came with and... Victoria.

Dimitri was blushing so hard he had to hide his face. His ears revealed everything though. Aaron simply said, "I guess this looks better." Typical brother response. He wouldn’t directly say she looked beautiful.

Victoria’s blank expression finally changed, she had a faint smile on her face. In her language, this meant that Adeline looked outstanding.

Adeline did a little twirl and admired herself in the mirror. She was absolutely pretty!

Once Adeline got back into her old dress, Aaron rubbed her head hard. It absolutely messed up her hairstyle but compared to the big smile on his face, it was nothing. She felt giddy with happiness.

"Now you." She smiled evilly at Dimitri. She was about to treat him like a doll and buy loads of clothes. How could she not? He was adorable!