Chapter 249 It’s Defamatory!
“Yeah, Veronica is from the countryside and she definitely does not know how to dance.”
“Hehe, what a Cinderella-wannabe. She is, after all, a country bumpkin. Had she not saved Young Master Matthew and Old Mrs. Kings, she would have ended up on the streets selling stuff.”
“I know, right?”
“She doesn’t even know how to dance, let alone meddling in upper-class affairs. What an outcast.”
“Look at the way she binges on food. She really looks like a refugee who just escaped from the famine. Useless bumpkin.”
…
These harsh, uneducated mouths all gathered around as they commented.
However, Veronica could not care less about what they had to say. I don’t gain anything by living under your scrutiny, that will only exhaust myself.
Hundreds of glances came her way, but her elbows remained on the table as she cupped her cheeks. She grabbed a piece of brownie with a fork on the other hand and chewed it slowly. While blinking her pair of big, bright eyes, she looked at Conrad and asked, “Uncle Conrad, is the Charmante jewelry set they mentioned really expensive?”
Everyone was expecting her to be embarrassed, but she remained calm like she was the light of the party.
“Pfft… I told you she’s greedy. She only cares about money.”
“How could she ask it in this way? This is humiliating Charmante.”
“Charmante Jewelry Atelier is a branch of the Dame Group. Miss Dame is in charge, so she is naturally generous.”
“As expected from the countryside, hillbilly.”
…
Seeing how Matthew was not present at that moment and Conrad had been away from the country for many years, which made the crowd unfamiliar with him. They spoke to Veronica in a particularly unpleasant manner to intentionally embarrass her.
As she digested the words of the badmouths, she realized after a while that it had nothing to do with her luck; it was clear that Ruka Dame was behind all this.
“This… You’ve got me there.” Conrad shook his head as he answered truthfully. He did not know how much it was worth at all.
“If it’s worthless, I’m not going to join in the fun,” Veronica declared aloud.
“Miss Murphy is new to Bloomstead, so it’s understandable that she doesn’t know about Charmante Jewelry. However, today’s two sets of the latest limited-edition jewelry are worth 5.58 million. Moreover, the limited edition will increase in value over time.”
Ruka, who had changed into a white and gray gradient dress, emerged from the crowd. She was haughty as a white swan, completely dismissive of Veronica while still mocking with her eyes.
Though Veronica had bid a high price on the necklace just now, it was self-explanatory that the money was naturally going to be footed by the Kings Family. A pretense was still a facade, after all; no matter how noble Veronica pretended to be, it could be easily exposed anytime.
“Ruka, stop embarrassing Veronica. I’ll dance on her behalf.” Tiffany appeared out of nowhere and smiled at Veronica, then turned to Ruka. “She just happens to be feeling a little under the weather today.”
Anyone present there could not help but admire Tiffany’s open-mindedness and flexibility. Her ‘explanation’ saved Veronica from embarrassment, which demonstrated how thoughtful Tiffany was, but it would also expose the fact that Veronica could not dance at all!
“No one cares about your sisterhood, but the rules of the party are here. Dancing on her behalf is equivalent to cheating. That’s a violation of the rules and you guys are being unfair.”
Tiffany’s old classmate, Caitlyn, had also been brooding about Tiffany when she was in Kings Residence last time. They were classmates for a long time before losing contact with each other and this was the very reason why Caitlyn spoke up. It was to add salt to injury.
However, this was exactly what Ruka and Tiffany wanted.
“Nothing can be accomplished in the absence of norms or standards. If you dance for Veronica, the prize will not be hers, then.” Caitlyn continued to fan the flames in an attempt to embarrass Veronica.
All of sudden, Veronica became the target of public criticism.
After all, she had just been favored by Matthew and Xavier at the auction activity upstairs and became the highlight of today’s charity party. Some people envied her luck while others were jealous of her looks so it was inevitable that people wanted to see her fall.
The spotlight had now landed on Veronica, thanks to the lighting engineer. So, I am under the spotlight both literally and figuratively, then?
The people around her were all standing, but a calm Veronica sat and sipped her champagne, then raised her eyes to look at Ruka. “Miss Dame, how many lucky winners will there be tonight?”
“There are only two of them.” Ruka raised her chin slightly and replied with the arrogance of the Dame Group’s eldest princess.
“Oh.” Veronica responded with a nod. She then pretended to be curious and inquired, “Since I am so uneducated, I have no idea what ‘lucky winner’ means. Anyone care to explain to me?”
Ruka was keenly aware of the deliberately said statement, so she did not answer Veronica immediately.
However, there were a lot of people dreading to have a good laugh at her. Some random smarty answered, “Since it’s a lucky winner reward, of course it’s a reward for the luckiest groups of people today.”
After the girl in the audience replied, Veronica tilted her head deliberately and glanced at the crowd. “Wow, this young lady is truly knowledgeable.” She extended her thumb and praised her.
Everyone was perplexed when they heard Veronica’s words, but those who were astute had already deduced her intentions.
After that, she slowly stood up and batted her cold eyes at Ruka. “Since Miss Dame has set up a ‘lucky winner’ reward, she must’ve depended on luck too for that to work. Sure, we dance and we have fun, but if it’s all about luck and randomness, shouldn’t consent matter too even as the ‘lucky winner’?”
As she spoke, she turned to look at Caitlyn once more before shaking her head. “Miss West, am I right? It makes no difference whether you’re uneducated or incapable. What matters most is self-awareness. You see, although I’m not well-educated, I’m not gonna come out and brag like I know it all. Instead, I will only humbly seek advice. Besides, today’s ‘lucky winner’ is sponsored by Charmante Jewelry Atelier, a subsidiary of the Dame Group, which makes Miss Dame—the executive president—ultimate person to explain the terms and conditions.”
“Seeing how you come across so brazenly, some might mistake you for Miss Dame, you know?”
“On top of that, what is the point of Charmante Jewelry Atelier being a sponsor today? For advertising! Your baseless explanation may or may not have just painted Miss Dame as a sore loser. Oh no, aren’t you indirectly smearing the Dame Group, then?”
“No, this isn’t smearing. It’s defamatory!”
Veronica fought against the whole crowd with just her words and brain. To finish it off, she shook her head and sighed. “Oh, Miss West, even as an adult, you’ve failed to see the bigger picture. Your English teacher would be embarrassed if they found out! Oh, by the way, which school did you graduate from? Tsk tsk tsk… Did you pay for your college entrance?”
“You—”
Caitlyn only wanted to humiliate Veronica, but she would have never expected Veronica’s words to be so cunningly sharp. The direct verbal attack had left her in black and blue.
She faltered and stomped her feet angrily before finally roaring, “All this speech just to avoid dancing? Well, I’ll tell the truth for you then. You’re just a wild girl from the countryside who can’t even dance to save her life!”
