The Male Lead isn't Following the Script!-Chapter 305: Renewed Courage

"I’ve been treading carefully for far too long," Adeline said, her voice low but firm. "I do not want to hide anymore. My fight is with Annora and Edward, and I intend to confront them head-on."

The words hung heavy in the air, final and resolute. For a long moment, Cassian didn’t reply. He simply looked at her, his blue eyes focused on her as he tried to understand her. And then he nodded once.

"If that’s what you want," he said, his voice quieter than hers, "I’ll support you."

Adeline should’ve asked how he broke free from the controls of the forbidden magic, but she was just glad that she had one person back on her side again.

As for Cassian, he was confident as always, what did he have to worry about now?

He had already provoked Benedict. Subtly, cleverly, in ways that were never obvious, never direct. But enough to push him toward Annora, over and over again. Enough to let his jealousy and insecurities eat away at whatever faint tether he had left to Adeline. Cassian knew what he’d done, and he didn’t regret it. He got what he wanted.

Even if things between Benedict and Adeline ever returned to the so-called "normal," they would never be the same. Too much had changed. Too much had been revealed.

Adeline turned to him, her gaze softer now. "Go back to the palace," she said. "I just need a little time to think about what to do next." With him on her side, she could try out more bolder plans. Her main thing was not to involve her family. They fell to ruin because of her in the original story, which was something she wanted to avoid at all costs.

"I need to figure out how to bring Dimitri and Benedict back," she admitted, eyes distant now. "I know what I’m capable of, and I also know my limits. But when I struck Benedict with my power and he absorbed it..."

She trailed off, shaking her head.

Cassian gave a crooked smile, trying to lighten the mood. "You know, considering I left Annora at the altar, Father will be foaming at the mouth. I might as well say I’m going to marry you instead. It’ll buy me a little peace."

Adeline froze.

It was just a joke. A simple remark meant to make her smile. But she didn’t laugh.

"I suppose you could say that," she replied quietly.

Her tone was unreadable. Not playful. Not dismissive. Just...

Cassian tilted his head. "You’re not opposed to the idea?" He said that to gauge her reaction, he was pleased to know that she did not reject that idea outright.

Adeline didn’t answer immediately.

She looked away, staring out at the garden outside the window.

She tried to rationalise it.

Politically, it made sense. If Cassian married her, he wouldn’t have to face the wrath of the Emperor alone. Marrying Adeline, the Marquess’ sister, with lightning running through her veins would grant him power, security, and an edge against his enemies.

Besides, the Emperor knew of her special condition and never revealed it because of his friendship with her father. She was planning to reveal her holy powers anyway, she was no longer the helpless girl who needed to hide anymore.

Someone who could rival Annora’s influence.

If he needed to protect his status, his claim, and his pride, then marrying her was not only strategic—it was genius. It would shut down the whispers, the criticisms. Turn a scandal into a statement.

He publicly left the grand wedding for her... She could do this much, right?

So yes. She could see why it made sense.

But that wasn’t the truth, not the real reason she didn’t protest.

Deep in her heart, buried beneath layers of rational thought and political calculation, she knew why the idea didn’t terrify her.

Because she still wanted him.

Cassian. The boy who once smiled at her like she was the only thing that mattered. The man who broke her heart, and yet—somehow—still held it in his hands. She sighed to herself, she was foolish, wasn’t she?

She would never admit that she was feeling this way to anyone or herself.

Because the fear still lingered. The memory of the story she had transmigrated into was always stuck in her head. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

In the original narrative, loving Cassian had been the cause of Adeline’s downfall. Her desperate obsession. Her delusion. Her end.

He was not anything like in the original story, but she was still afraid.

And though she was not the same Adeline, though she had rewritten so many fates, a part of her still wondered if that fate lingered. If some things could not be changed, no matter how hard she tried.

This was a political alliance... That was the only reason she agreed to get engaged.

Cassian, to his credit, said nothing more about it. Perhaps he sensed the depth of her hesitation, or perhaps he didn’t want to press. He just did not want to ask, making her rethink her choice and reject him.

She said it was okay, he was going to run with it.

Taking her hands into his, he spoke again, "I will be leaving then. Will you be writing to me again? I promise I will reply this time."

That earned him a wry smile from Adeline. But still, she nodded.

As he walked away, Adeline’s thoughts raced. She grew more determined as her hope renewed.

She had hidden long enough, played cautiously to avoid having the same fate as the original Adeline, even now, she did not want to die. But she was barely living right now, she was constantly stressed. The enemies his in the shadows, she was afraid they would come after her family.

And the damned alliance she had with Edward was worth absolutely nothing. What good did it do her? Nothing, he would never actually help her, it was foolish for her to think he would.

She was going to challenge him publicly.