Hailey's mouth moved, but no words came out. Her face was ashen.
Before the competition, she thought she had done her homework.
She knew people loved to delve into the concepts and origins of a design. So, for every discarded sketch she found, she had diligently researched and written out a concept, memorizing them all.
But she never expected the judges to be this meticulous.
"Well? Contestant Number Four, what's wrong?" Seeing her prolonged silence, Angela's lips curled into a probing smile. "Isn't this your own creative idea? Why can't you answer?"
Knowing she couldn't stall any longer, Hailey forced herself to speak, stammering, “I-I just thought....... it looked better this way. Art... art is supposed to be... it's about creative freedom..."
Angela laughed again.
That laugh made Hailey's palms break out in a cold sweat.
Angela's eyes narrowed as she slowly stood up. “In that case, one last question.”
She leaned forward, planting her hands on the table, the smile on her face chillingly cold.
"—Contestant Number Four, was this design truly, personally, created by you?" The question landed like a bombshell, echoing through the hall.
For a few seconds, there was dead silence.
Then the room erupted.
"What does Angela mean? What does she mean, 'personally created by you'? Is Angela suggesting... that Contestant Number Four plagiarized?"
"That's impossible, right? The competition is so strict, how could she plagiarize?"
"Exactly, wasn't it a themed design? And the theme was given by Ms. Rainsford herself. How could Contestant Number Four have known the theme in advance?"
"Maybe there's some kind of misunderstanding?"
Some found it impossible.
But others felt Angela's suspicion was justified. "But Contestant Number Four's reaction... she really doesn't seem like the kind of person who could create something as brilliant and intricate as the Thorn Rose."
"And her answers... even a layman like me could tell something was off. What do you mean you designed it that way because it 'looked better? Didn't she just go on and on about how valuable her creativity and ideas are? So, her value good?"
halde, is it looks
On the screens around the venue, Hailey's pale face was on full display.
She gripped the microphone so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
A lump formed in her throat, and she couldn't utter a single word. She looked as if she might collapse at any moment.
"You know, something funny has
been going on recently," Daphne said, leaning back in her chair with a
humorless laugh. The chill in her
eyes was palpable. "There's been some interesting buzz in the jewelry world. They say a genius designer has appeared out of nowhere, a future star of Eternity, And designs are repeatedly being compared to my mentor, Queen."
The entire hall fell silent once more.
All eyes instinctively turned to Hailey.
Hailey knew, of course, that Daphne was talking about her.
Her face was ghostly white, her fingers digging into her palms so hard they might
break, and her heart was pounding uncontrollably.
Daphne continued, "The first set, 'Aurora Cloud,' was a gift you gave to the
Blackwood family's daughter for her coming-of-age ceremony."
"The second, the full 'Starlight Brilliance' set you're wearing right now."
"And, of course, this design draft for 'Starfall Radiance.""
“Three designs, and without exception, all of them bear the distinctive style of my mentor, Queen."
"I'm genuinely curious, Contestant Number Four. Can you explain why your design process so closely mirrors that of my mentor, Queen?"