The Return of the Cannon Fodder Trillion Heiress - Chapter 315

Chapter 315: Chapter 315 A Pig Teammate
All the students turned to Hera, their expressions a mix of shock and concern. Her face was pale, and her eyes trembled as she struggled to hold back tears. The room was silent, with everyone waiting for Hera to speak.

The people around Hera were young students, emotionally charged and less swayed by logic. Emotions were more likely to resonate with them, as Alice had demonstrated earlier. Hera realized that to counter Alice’s approach, she needed to rely on her acting skills rather than reason. This would test which of them could better appeal to the crowd. Hera planned to use a combination of emotional appeal and a touch of logic in her argument to navigate through the chaos Alice had created.

Hera now regretted stepping out to watch the show, only to be pulled into it by Alice. She had simply wanted to enjoy some drama from the sidelines, not become a part of it. However, Alice had targeted her from the start, turning her into the villain. Alice’s strategy seemed to be to shift the focus away from her friends’ actions and manipulate the students into morally supporting them, thereby deflecting blame onto Hera.

It seemed that moral manipulation was Alice’s forte. However, repeatedly using this tactic had exhausted Hera, making her realize that such an approach couldn’t be sustained indefinitely. Relying on emotional manipulation all the time would be draining, as it required her to keep her tear ducts ready and her acting skills sharp to convincingly portray victimhood. Thankfully, Hera only employed this strategy selectively, depending on the people she was dealing with, to avoid constant emotional exhaustion.

As she reflected on it, Hera realized that this situation was excellent practice for honing her acting skills. No wonder Alice had won a Best Actress award—she was effectively performing in real life. Hera thought with a hint of mockery, all while maintaining her own façade.

Hera lowered her head with a sorrowful pout, struggling to hold back her tears while trying to project remorse. “I’m so sorry, Miss Quinn,” she said, her voice trembling. “I never intended for clearing my name to result in those behind my bullying being jailed for slander and bullying. I didn’t foresee that their past actions would come to light and add to their record.” She sobbed pitifully, her apologies coming in a continuous stream as she trembled like a drenched quail.

Hearing Hera’s rebuttal, Gerald suppressed a chuckle. He understood what his young miss was doing. For someone like him, who had a keen grasp of human nature and could view situations without bias, reading people’s true intentions was second nature. Hera’s mockery and disdain for Alice’s attempt to manipulate her were glaringly obvious, and he didn’t even need to use his expertise to see through it. Her contempt for Alice’s tactics was evident in her every word and action.

After hearing Hera’s heartfelt apologies and witnessing her apparent distress, it seemed as though she was being unfairly targeted and forced to take the blame for something she hadn’t done. The students around them began to feel that Hera’s words carried weight and that Alice might be manipulating them into believing that Hera was at fault. They started to see Hera as the victim of Alice’s scheme, feeling that Hera’s only mistake was attempting to clear her name and expose the real culprits.

In reality, Hera hadn’t asked for any of this and was, in fact, the true victim of the situation. So why should she apologize or endure Alice’s anger and scolding as if she were the one in the wrong? Why should she be punished for fighting for justice when she was the one being wronged?

Sure enough, the students, who were still naive and had limited knowledge of the outside world beyond their studies, were easily swayed by Hera’s words. They now looked at Alice with contempt and anger for suggesting that Hera was at fault and even wanting her to just let it go.

Alice looked at Hera with wide eyes, brimming with barely concealed indignation. Before she could respond, Hera continued smoothly, “Miss Quinn, I apologize if I have offended you in any way during the Variety Show that led to your dissatisfaction. I’m sure your friends are only acting out of a desire to address their grievances. After all, I never even crossed paths with them to warrant such bullying.” Hera’s tone was understanding, yet subtly undermined Alice’s position.

‘Isn’t this how the “white lotuses” in novels handle their enemies? By creating misunderstandings and subtly undermining them?’ Hera chuckled inwardly as she watched Alice’s expression shift through various emotions before she composed herself, or at least pretended to be calm and collected.

“Hera, you misunderstand me,” Alice said, her eyes reddened as if she were on the verge of tears. “I’ve long forgotten what happened at the Variety Show. I’ve been reflecting on how socially awkward I must have seemed, struggling to express myself because I’m not used to sharing my feelings.” Many people can relate to this struggle, finding it hard to communicate their emotions because they’re accustomed to keeping everything inside.

“Oh, I see,” Hera said, her voice filled with faux realization as if she had just understood Alice’s point. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment as she quickly added, “I’m truly sorry for the misunderstanding. It seems they must really dislike me to act out so without reason and use you as a cover, making it seem like they’re doing it for you. It’s as if they’re pretending to be your friends while taking advantage of you.” Hera looked at Alice with feigned pity, causing Alice’s friends to erupt in anger.

As Hera continued to provoke the three women in front of her, she found a perverse satisfaction in watching them turn against each other and watch their trust unravel with just a few carefully chosen words. ‘Maybe this is why many ancient strategists used this tactic to conquer strongholds,’ she thought. ‘By sowing internal conflict, they could cause the stronghold to crumble from within, making it easier to deal with before any external threats even arrived.’

“You!!!” The girls pointed at Hera with eyes wide and red with anger. “We’re her friends, and we were only trying to punish you on her behalf! Her reputation and popularity have suffered because of you!!!!” one of the girls roared. Alice stepped in front of the two girls, trying to defuse the situation before their outburst led to more damaging accusations or undermined her further.

Hera was stifling laughter inside as she listened to Alice’s friends drag her down without even realizing it. “This is what you get for having such unreliable allies, A pig teammate as they call.” she thought with amusement, all while maintaining a façade of surprise.

“Hera, I’m sorry. My friends are just very protective of me. Didn’t you have protective male friends who ended up in a scandal with you? They even came to the university and fought with a student just to save you, like a knight in shining armor,” Alice said softly. Her words were a subtle reminder of Hera’s recent scandal, jogging everyone’s memory of the dramatic events from just yesterday.