The Male Lead isn� Chapter 228: He Could Not

Chapter 228: He Could Not...

After sending him an invitation to Adeline’s graduation celebration, she hadn’t been entirely sure he would reply, let alone accept.

To her surprise, Dimitri had written back promptly. He accepted her invitation and confird that he would co. Isabelle leaned back in her chair, the letter still in her hands. She hadn’t expected it to be this easy.

She knew about the Mage Tower’s strict rules and how reclusive its mbers could be, especially soone like Dimitri, who held the highest position as the Archmage.

Still, she supposed it made sense. As Archmage, Dimitri wouldn’t be restricted like the others. If he wanted to visit, no one could stop him. That thought reassured her, though she couldn’t shake the nagging curiosity about why he had stayed away for so long.

Later that day, as they exchanged a few letters back and forth, Isabelle found herself asking a question she hadn’t planned to.

"When did you beco the Archmage?" she wrote.

His reply ca quickly, stating that he had taken the title a few years ago. Isabelle couldn’t hide her surprise. She had heard rumours about his talents, but to achieve such a position so young was extraordinary.

Her next question was harder to put into words, but it had lingered in her mind for too long. Finally, she wrote, "Why didn’t you ever co to visit?" Was it even her place to ask that? No, they were not familiar.

She was asking on Adeline’s behalf though. She heard from her sister how close those two used to be.

When Dimitri’s reply arrived, the tone was different. The usual straightforwardness of his letters seed to falter.

"There were... circumstances," he wrote.

He didn’t elaborate, and Isabelle imdiately sensed that it wasn’t a topic he was comfortable discussing. She thought about pressing him for more details, but sothing in his brief response made her stop.

It was clear there was more to the story, but Dimitri wasn’t ready to share it, and Isabelle respected that.

"Thank you for accepting the invitation," she wrote back instead, choosing to change the subject. She hoped that being here, seeing Adeline and the rest of the family again might ease whatever burden he was carrying.

With Dimitri’s attendance confird, Isabelle turned her attention to other matters. The house was already buzzing with preparations for the celebration. She was not going to be there, she was going to be celebrating her sister’s graduation with her family.

That was why she made sure Dimitri would arrive, going as far as asking Aaron to go check. She was not going to be here, but she was going to make sure her present for Adeline’s graduation was!

Victoria was heading to the Griffin estate, where she had been preparing to take on her role as the head of the family. Isabelle smiled to herself as she thought about her sister.

Strong, capable, and commanding, Victoria was everything the Griffins needed in a leader. Isabelle couldn’t help but feel proud of her, even as she acknowledged how different their lives had beco.

Soon, Isabelle herself would no longer be a Griffin. Her wedding date was set, and in just a few months, she would officially beco a Kendrick.

The thought filled her with a mix of excitent and nostalgia. She loved Alaric and looked forward to starting a new Chapter with him, but it also ant leaving behind the life she had always known.

When Victoria arrived, Isabelle greeted her at the door with open arms.

"Welco ho, Victoria," she said, pulling her sister into a warm hug.

"It’s good to be back," Victoria replied, her voice steady and assured as always. She glanced around, noting the busy servants and the lively atmosphere. "You’ve been busy, I see."

Isabelle laughed. "It’s your big day. Of course, we’re busy. Everything has to be perfect."

The two sisters spent the rest of the afternoon catching up. Isabelle told Victoria about the preparations for the celebration and shared the news about Dimitri’s arrival.

"He accepted?" Victoria asked, her surprise evident.

"Yes," Isabelle said with a nod. "I wasn’t sure he would, but he did."

Victoria studied her sister for a mont. "That’s good. Adeline will be happy to see him. They were close once."

Isabelle’s expression softened. "I know. That’s why I wanted him to co. She deserves to have people who care about her by her side."

As the sun began to set, the two sisters sat by the window, watching as the last rays of light painted the garden in shades of gold and amber. For a mont, they were silent, each lost in their own thoughts.

Isabelle thought about how much had changed and how much more was about to happen.

She was going to be a Marchioness... She was going to be married to the man she loved. And yes, the people of the Kendrick family had welcod her wholeheartedly, but she was still going to miss this place.

"I can’t believe this might be the last ti I welco you here as Isabelle Griffin," she said softly.

Victoria reached over and took her hand. "You’ll always be my sister, no matter what na you carry."

Isabelle smiled, her heart full. Her sister truly learnt so emotional intelligence by being friends with Adeline, she chuckled to herself.

The old Victoria would have said sothing like, Why? Our residences aren’t that far. And teleportation circles make everything easier.

Dimitri stood before her, a familiar yet distant presence. Adeline’s emotions swirled as she processed his unexpected appearance. She wanted to ask so many things, but his soft words stopped her train of thought.

"It was Isabelle who made this possible," he said quietly, his voice steady but carrying a trace of sothing unspoken.

Adeline’s heart skipped a beat. She could tell that he was hiding sothing. She wanted to think that this was not the Dimitri she knew... But they were apart for more than ten years... So the Dimitri she knew was gone... Was he not?

The sa questions that had lingered in her mind, Isabelle must have already asked him. Why hadn’t he visited? What had kept him away all these years?

But now wasn’t the ti to dig into the past. Adeline knew that pressing him would only bring tension to what was ant to be a joyful day. She swallowed her questions, forcing a small smile. For now, she would let them remain unspoken, tucked away for another ti.

"Thank you for coming," she finally said, her voice soft but sincere.

Dimitri nodded, his gentle smile returning. "Of course."

Adeline turned her gaze toward her family. Her father, Alaric, and Aaron stood nearby, their expressions warm and proud. For just one day, she told herself, she would let go of her worries and enjoy the mont.

They were all together again—her family, the people she cared for most.

Today, she would pretend everything was fine. Today... Things were back to how they used to be when they were younger, without complications or distance. For this one fleeting mont, they were a happy family again—Dimitri, her brothers, her father, and herself.

"Hah... Adeline..." Dimitri called out softly, his voice barely above a whisper.

Her head turned to him, and he saw the way her forced smile faltered. It was so unlike her to be this sad. She had always been such a cheerful girl. Soone who would lift everyone’s mood. Just what had happened while he was away?

His chest ached at the sight. He could sense her disappointnt, the quiet questions she kept buried deep inside. She tried so hard to keep her composure, to act like his presence didn’t affect her.

But it did.

Dimitri’s eyes softened as he gazed at her. He had ruined this day for her. This was supposed to be her special mont, a celebration of her accomplishnts, of how far she had co.

Instead, his sudden reappearance had brought confusion and doubt into what should have been a happy occasion.

"I’m sorry," he murmured, the words almost inaudible.

He wanted to explain, to tell her everything, but the weight of his past held him back. The truth was complicated. He had wanted to co back so many tis. He had wanted to see her again, to be there for her, but he couldn’t. Not when the risks were so high.

The previous Arch Mage, his master, had been a madman. Obsessed with power, his dangerous experints and erratic behaviour had made him a threat to everyone. Dimitri had been his prized pupil, the one grood to inherit the title.

His master had drilled into him the idea that worldly attachnts were weaknesses, that they would only hold him back. They were not empty threats... No, he would destroy everyone and everything he held dear.

He could not make friends, not after he witnessed the brutal murder of the kid he beca friends with...

"He was leading you astray... Dimitri. As my pupil your focus should not be diverted. I will personally make sure of it."