Dr. Kerrick's voice grew authoritative, his final sentence echoing sharply across the
room.
The sheer force of his words was undeniable.
Hailey's face drained of color, turning ashen.
Her lips trembled as she tried to form an excuse, but she lacked the strength to even lie.
Angela scoffed. "When we questioned your design, we at least pointed out specific flaws and gave you the chance to explain yourself."
"For you to blindly slander Ms. Rainsford and Miss Serena... Are you implying that the competition committee, every professional in this room, the media, and millions of viewers on the live stream are all blind?"
Angela's sharp retort escalated Hailey's personal tantrum into a direct attack on the integrity of the entire industry.
Hailey realized it too.
Before she could speak, the President of the Elyndor Jewelry Association interjected. "Miss Serena's piece can only be described as divine. The micro-carving technique used to etch the cosmic elements into that sapphire, giving it such dazzling brilliance... No one in this room could ever replicate it."
"We simply aren't capable of such visionary concepts or flawless execution."
The other judges nodded with heavy, solemn expressions, fully agreeing.
The President's statement and the judges' reactions left the live audience and online viewers absolutely floored.
Even them...
These titans of the jewelry design world had just admitted they couldn't reach that level of artistry.
Just how incredible was this girl named Serena?
Had her skills really surpassed the most legendary figures in the industry?
She looked... twenty at most, right?
Sure, they had seen with their own eyes how this young girl took a cracked raw sapphire and transformed it into a vibrant, living cosmos. It was breathtaking.
But it defied logic for someone her age to be more skilled than masters with decades of experience!
In the entire world, the only person whose talent rivaled or exceeded these Elyndor masters was the legendary... Queen.
"Did you all take a bribe? Or did her secret benefactor threaten you into this?" Hailey spat, listening to them shower Serena with praise and degrade themselves just to elevate, her
She was trembling with rage. The jealousy was consuming her alive.
Why were these industry giants worshipping Serena? Praising her? Acting as her stepping stones?
She was supposed to be the one getting that treatment!
She was the one who had shocked them time and time again with her sketches!
Why did Serena get to steal the spotlight?
"She's just an unrefined nobody! A worthless piece of gutter trash! She doesn't know the first thing about design!" Hailey screamed. "Saying her technique is beyond you is a flat out he. Unless she's the master designer Queen, it's impossible!" Cóntent
"Ha."
A soft scoff suddenly cut through Hailey's hysterical shrieks.
Daphne, who had been sitting in total silence, finally stood up.
Her gaze was cold and commanding, a mocking sneer curving her lips.
"Designer Number Four, you question everyone in this room, yet you fail to question your own abilities."
There was no trace of emotion in
Daphne's eyes, only the absolute
authority of an apex predator. "Judging by the crude patch-job you performed on that sapphire, it's glaringly obvious you don't know the first thing about jewelry design. You completely lack artistic aesthetic."