The Male Lead isn't Following the Script!
Chapter 72: Doubts

Chapter 72: Doubts

She hadn’t expected to reveal her powers in front of Cassian, and though he had promised not to tell anyone, she was full of doubts. What if he changed his mind? What if others found out and twisted her intentions?

These questions overtook her mind until her eyes grew heavy, and despite the sheer amount of stress she felt, she fell asleep.

Dimitri woke her gently as the carriage came to a stop at the Kendrick estate. "My Lady," he whispered softly, his voice breaking through her sleep. "We’re home."

He knew that she told him to call her by her name. But the display of her powers made him reevaluate everything. He couldn’t call someone so great as her by her name.

She was saving people disregarding her own safety. He deeply respected her for it. He felt the desire to become strong as fast as he could.

He was prepared to train day and night under the Captain and become her knight.

Adeline’s eyes fluttered open, she was still dazed. Unfortunately, she didn’t have a pleasant rest, she was haunted by nightmares. Being separated from her family, dragged away by the Holy Temple... It made her shiver just thinking about it.

She had to tell her father. She didn’t know if he found out about what happened in the garden from the Captain.

She was thinking about what kind of an explanation she had to give as sprinted down the hallway. It was a choice she made... And she doesn’t think she regretted it... A life was at stake and she was not strong enough to turn her back on them.

She just hoped her father wouldn’t be disappointed in her... She knew she promised but...

"Father?" She knocked twice. No reply. She carefully twisted the knob and peeked inside. He wasn’t there. This was just perfect...

She had to wait for him to come back... Every minute would feel like hell for her.

With a sigh, she turned to find Alaric instead. She needed to talk to someone who could listen.

She found him in the library, surrounded by stacks of books and papers, his expression focused and thoughtful. He seemed to be hard at work, he would be leaving for the academy in a year.

Once he saw that Adeline was here, he smiled softly at her and pulled out the chair next to him.

"So, was the gathering that bad?" He assumed that she didn’t get along with Victoria as much as she wanted to. Or maybe Victoria’s usual bluntness made Adeline feel bad.

"No..." Adeline vigorously shook her head. Victoria has been great. That wasn’t the problem.

Putting the book down, he turned to her, "Then, what’s wrong?"

Adeline fidgeted for a bit before she opened her mouth to talk. She was exhausted just thinking about it much less narrating what happened.

She took a deep breath and began to recount the events of the day. The Captain’s sudden appearance, his sister who was gravely injured, him begging her to save her... And Cassian being there to witness everything.

When she finished, he was silent for a moment, there was a frown on his face. He placed his hand on her head and sighed. "You did good, Linny. You saved a person’s life. And I think instead of worrying, you should take pride in it. Faced with a difficult choice, you acted selflessly."

Her eyes stung, and tears started streaming down her face. She quickly wiped them away and sniffled. She didn’t want to cry! So she changed the topic quickly, "I saw a cute ginger cat at Victoria’s house... I think we should get a pet too."

She looked at him with wet eyes.

Alaric found it absolutely adorable how she was pretending to be strong. He didn’t want to expose her.

He rested his face on his hand and acted like he was deep in thought, "A pet huh... We have Aaron, that’s close enough." His attempt to cheer her up worked.

She pretty quickly forgot about her worries and smiled. "He’d get angry if he heard you."

"Well then, we might just have to put a bell on him. That way I can shut up knowing he’s coming."

Adeline imagined Aaron wearing a bell like a cat and laughed.

Somewhere on the training grounds, Aaron sneezed. "I’m not getting a cold, am I?"

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"My Lord," the Captain began, bowing his head low, his voice tight with tension, "You have to forgive me." The Captain didn’t even change out of his bloodied, broken armour. After handing over his sister to a doctor, he came rushing to the Marquess’ study.

The Marquess cared about his daughter’s safety as much as he did about his sister. He might have put Adeline in danger by putting her on the spot.

’My Lady is very kind, bless her soul. If anything were to happen to her I will put my life on the line...’ The Captain firmly made a decision.

Seeing the state of his Captain, the Marquess was confused. He should’ve been at the border, right?

"What happened?" he asked, his voice low and steady. A million thoughts ran through his head but he remained calm.

Somehow he could already sense that whatever was about to happen was because of the Holy Temple, and he was right.

When the Captain told him what happened. The Marquess got up, "I am disappointed..." His words were firm, but he softened his tone, "But I can understand..."

The Captain didn’t lift his head, in all honesty, he felt disappointed too. They were the Knights of the Marquess. They were destined to give up their lives for him.

But... He just couldn’t imagine losing the only family member he had left. Dying on the battlefield is an honour for all knights, he might have denied his sister that... He couldn’t say for sure that given a second chance, he would act differently.

He changed into something more formal, and something with the seal of the House of Kendrick and set off in the direction of the Palace.

He needed to have a discussion with the Emperor. The only figure that could rival the Holy Temple.