The Male Lead isn't Following the Script!
Chapter 89: The Duchess returns

Chapter 89: The Duchess returns

Adeline almost shrieked when she saw that Everett turned around. He was startled by the butterfly before him. He stood up, eyes narrowed and started walking closer and closer.

The hairs on Adeline stood up. She can see through the butterflies, she can hear through the butterflies... Can she talk through them?

"You are dreaming..." She whispered.

"What?" Everett immediately responded. His eyebrows furrowed at what was happening.

Her eyes widened. So she can communicate through the butterflies!

She took a deep breath, doing her best to sound soothing, and repeated, "You are dreaming... Child..."

Everett was not having any of it. He was sceptical about this talking butterfly, he inched closer and closer to the glowing insect.

Adeline got tired of this very quickly, this wasn’t going as planned. So, she changed tactics, with her hand movements she directed the butterfly to attack him.

Just like how she made Aaron fall down by shooting her holy powers, she knocked over Everett using her butterflies.

With full force, it aimed for his forehead. He immediately fell down on impact and was knocked unconscious.

The only word she heard out of him before passing out was, "Ow!"

Adeline waved her hand dismissively, He’ll be fine! It’s Holy Powers!

She hoped that when he awoke, he would dismiss the encounter as a strange dream rather than recalling a magical butterfly of light.

The butterfly dissipated into white particles and landed on him. She made sure the child wasn’t hurt.

Adeline would not say violence was the answer but boy did it make everything easier.

After knocking out a child she had been spying on, she opened her eyes. Her butterflies dissipated into white particles one by one until none were left.

Remembering how it all went down... She felt a feeling of Deja Vu... And then she realised she was just like that weird Goddess!

She was spying on some random child just like her!

Still, she would say this experiment was productive. She learnt the place of the orphanage, she also learnt that the Duke intended to bring home Everett as soon as possible.

He probably thought that if his wife dared to bring in a candidate for inheriting the Duchy, so could he.

It had been three days since the Duchess left. What she thought would be a brief trip turned out to be so long drawn out, that she was left irritated. The reason for her irritation was not the length of the trip...

Seeing the condition of the Duchy... She knew it would take up a significant amount of her time... What irritated her was her physical condition.

To say she was exhausted was an understatement.

Whatever illness she contracted seemed to suck the life out of her. She struggled to even move. But thankfully she made it back to her safe haven... Her house.

She knew the severity of the illness sweeping through the capital, yet she had dismissed it as a common sickness.

Now, however, she was afraid that it might be the very plague that had been ravaging nobles and commoners alike.

With two young children in her house, she couldn’t go there. They would be the most vulnerable. She couldn’t do that to them.

As much she would prefer to rest in her room, the Duchess avoided the main estate entirely and instead retreated to a remote building nestled in the farthest corner of the grounds.

This was a guest house that was rarely used, it would be a perfect place for her to stay and wait out the illness.

She ordered her personal maids to leave her be. She selected one trusted attendant who would bring her letters and meals. Even in her weakened state, she still held a strong resolve to carry out her duties. She was the Duchess of the East, she will never forget her responsibilities.

She sent a letter to the Duke, detailing her condition and explaining her self-imposed isolation.

The timing... It was such a pity. She was very much looking forward to meeting the promising young lady her acquaintance talked so much about.

If given the chance, she knew that the Western Marquess could go on for hours about his daughter. In a way, he was much like her father.

Her condition was deteriorating, she felt weaker and weaker... She was alone in this building but the memories of her father kept her happy.

The Duke received the letter in his study and scanned it quickly. He didn’t attempt to hide the nefarious smile forming on his face. Wasn’t this perfect? This would delay her taking in a successor.

This meant he could easily bring in his son... For him, this was an opportunity, a well-timed twist of fate that suited his plans perfectly.

Everything was coming together, he thought. It felt like the world was helping him, was it not his destiny to take over the Duchy? The Duchess would be bedridden. She wouldn’t be in her right mind. Maybe with slight manipulation, he could get her to adopt his son.

He had long waited for a way to secure the Duchy under his control, and his wife’s illness could be the very key to unlocking that future. He seemed to be so sure that he would run things better than her, but the real question was... Who would take him seriously?

Most of them were loyal to the Duchess and her only, she was capable, resolute and diplomatic when needed.

None of those concerns were on his mind, without delay, the Duke sent his most trusted servant to the orphanage to retrieve Everett.

He made sure that the man would escort Everett discreetly and safely back to the estate, where he would train him.

His appearance and manners would need some work, and during the time his wife recovered, he was sure that he would be able to transform his son into the perfect heir.

"I don’t care if she dies... I care if she dies before signing the adoption papers." He muttered to himself.

Adeline knew something was up. The Duchess left the day she arrived... And now Everett was brought to the manor...

She couldn’t help but doubt if the Duke orchestrated the problem on purpose so that the Duchess would leave...

Adeline hadn’t heard of the plague yet. She was a child, no one told her. Not her father, not the Duchess, and certainly not the Duke.

The Duke treated her with a surface level of respect. He completely disregarded Dimitri though. He would ignore him even if Dimitri greeted him.

To the Duke, Dimitri was the Western Marquess’ way of trying plant an inside man. And he would not be allowing that to happen. He didn’t welcome Adeline or the ’distant cousin’ she brought along.

So, he refused to tell her any information, including how the Duchess had returned. Whenever she would ask, he would tell her that he didn’t know and that the Duchess was a busy woman.

Adeline wanted to ask the Goddess but refrained from doing so. She couldn’t keep calling her whenever she faced an issue. There are things she had to do herself.

Employing the latest technique she learnt, she created thousands of butterflies. She sent it across the Eastern Duchy. She wanted to find the Duchess at any cost. She sent those butterflies everywhere except the estate.

She didn’t think the Duchess would be hiding in her own estate...

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