The Return of the Cannon Fodder Trillion Heiress-Chapter 1052 Standing Up For Herself

Minerva felt like slapping herself, but since she was pretending not to see Alice, she had to maintain her composure. Even when Alice called her name, she feigned that she was having a conversation with Athena beside her, acting as if she hadn’t heard a thing, even though Alice’s voice echoed loudly down the hallway.

Athena, noticing how hard Minerva was working to ignore Alice, couldn’t hide her amusement. A devilish grin curved her lips as she enjoyed watching Alice squirm. Her villainous side had been itching to surface ever since Alice had spent so long manipulating Minerva from the shadows, whispering commands and using her as a pawn.

Now that Minerva had finally shaken off her former naivety, Athena leaned back, eager to see how the schemer would respond to this newfound defiance from Minerva.

Besides, in most romance novels, the female lead always has her best friend, someone who supports her in times of need, offers wisdom to snap her out of her delusions, and stands by her through thick and thin.

It’s similar to how villainesses have their loyal sidekicks, carrying out the dirty work so they can maintain their air of superiority. A best friend is essential for the female lead’s growth, just as a sidekick is crucial to a villainess.

But what happens when the female lead loses her best friend? How would a villainess cope without her sidekick to execute her schemes? How would the plot continue to unfold? Athena didn’t know exactly how these changes would affect the storyline, but she was eager to see what would happen next.

Athena wondered whether losing Minerva as Alice’s best friend would prevent Alice from overcoming her toughest moments, or if Alice could still pull herself together afterward. After all, she’d be losing the one person who had always helped her through everything.

Meanwhile, Hera found her thoughts wandering along similar lines. How would Minerva react when Alice called her name? Would she come over, reminisce about their past, and then return to her role as Alice’s best friend, pulled by the storyline to act out her character?

After all, how could the female lead’s story unfold properly without her confidante, the one she relied on in times of need, the one who spoke her grievances while she pretended to be weak and innocent?

Hera wanted to know whether Minerva would be forced by the storyline to return to her original character. If she did, it would reveal whether Hera’s attempts to defy her predestined fate might succeed. So the moment Alice called for Minerva, Hera’s nerves tensed, her ears perked, and she waited eagerly to see what Minerva would do next.

But, seeing Minerva deliberately pretended not to hear Alice’s voice, making it obvious that she had no intention of engaging. Hera exhaled a breath she hadn’t even realized she’d been holding, the tension of waiting for the plot to unfold finally easing slightly.

Seeing Minerva keep her distance from Alice only reinforced Hera’s certainty: once a character in the novel awakened, just like she had, the storyline lost its control over them. Even if the plot tried to assert itself, awakened characters possessed the strength to resist, to fight back, and to choose their own paths.

Hera also recalled how the storyline had tried to control her in the past, the flickering white screen that had appeared in her mind, attempting to play her script before her eyes. But now, having fully awakened, she knew the storyline no longer held any grip over her character.

Hera exhaled a relieved sigh, watching with amusement as Alice fumed in frustration. The girl wasn’t used to being ignored, especially by Minerva, who had always followed her every move like a devoted servant, carrying out her bidding without question.

Alice was accustomed to having Minerva act as her mouthpiece, voicing grievances while she played the innocent white lotus, and crying in the background to gain sympathy and distinguish herself from girls who could fight for themselves. She had relied on Minerva as her caretaker, sidekick, and source of support, leveraging Minerva’s resources and influence to maintain her image.

Now, with Minerva no longer catering to her whims, Alice was struggling to cope. At first, she assumed Hera was suppressing Minerva because of her relationship with Minerva’s brother, who controlled the family’s wealth and resources.

But the reality is that Minerva simply refused to play her usual role beside Alice any longer, and this hit Alice harder than anything Hera could have done.

But seeing with her own eyes that Minerva wasn’t being suppressed, that she was acting on her own, possibly even thinking of cutting ties with Alice, Alice felt a surge of burning hatred so intense she almost forgot to hide it from those around her.

Yet she wasn’t willing to let go of Minerva so easily. After all, she had worked tirelessly to earn Minerva’s trust, to become her best friend, all to get closer to Minerva’s brother, Rafael.

So, putting on her usual pitiful act, Alice feigned hurt at being ignored, hoping to provoke Rafael’s chivalry and make him reprimand Minerva. With a trembling, calculated tone, she called out, "Minerva... do you hate me now?"

But unfortunately, Rafael wasn’t the least bit chivalrous. He didn’t care if Alice cried rivers of tears, her eyes puffed up like a pufferfish; his attention was fixed on the man beside her, a figure radiating a sinister aura and wearing a smug grin. Just the sight of him ruffled Rafael’s temper, as if the man were openly spitting in his face and daring him: "I can take whoever I want. What can you do about it?"

It wasn’t what the man decided to do with Alice or that he was standing beside Alice that angered Rafael; it was the way he looked at Hera while sending that challenging glare toward Rafael and Zhane. Rafael didn’t even care about Alice in that moment; he barely noticed how she was watching them.

Rafael’s muscles tensed, coiling like springs, ready to strike at any moment. Luckily, Zhane, keeping his cool, grabbed Rafael by the arm, restraining him from acting rashly. He could sense the man’s provocation; every taunt was a trap, designed to make Rafael act impulsively.

If Rafael struck, the man could use it to undermine his business, let the public judge him, and even drag Hera’s name through the mud for being associated with a lover who attacks at the drop of a hat.

While the two sides were fighting their own battles, Rafael, Zhane, and Alice’s new backer stood locked in a silent standoff, tension crackling between them.

Meanwhile, Minerva and Alice played out their charade of a "betrayed best friend" scene. Hera’s other entourage, Cherry, Logan, and the rest, were completely baffled, unable to catch the undercurrents of what was really happening. The Music Director and Logan’s assistant were equally lost, but Zen, who had long seen through Alice’s two-faced ways, merely snorted in amusement at her antics.

"Minerva..." Alice called out again, frustrated that Minerva had ignored her for the second time. But seeing Alice’s pitiful act, Zen could no longer hold back. He wasn’t the type to sugarcoat or spare a woman’s feelings. He snorted.

"Miss Alice, can’t you see she doesn’t want to talk to a two-faced woman like you? Why make it uglier than it already is? Why not just scurry away? After all, anyone with half a brain would know that a ’friend’ who only takes and never cares about the one they use has long lost her place in Minerva’s eyes."

"How can you even say that about me when you don’t know me?" Alice choked out, tears spilling like pearls down her cheeks, making her look both pitiful and strangely beautiful, enough to ignite a man’s protective instincts.

The man beside her broke his silent standoff with Rafael and shot Zen a murderous glare. But Zen didn’t flinch. He was used to such intimidating glares; his grandfather’s had always been far stronger, far more terrifying than this hoodlum standing before him.

"I can say whatever I want. What are you going to do about it?" Zen challenged, crossing his arms like a child daring an adult. Athena chuckled softly before pulling him back, reminding him to stand down.

After all, this was Minerva’s battle. If she truly wanted to break free from Alice’s control, she needed to face her on her own. Shielding her now might backfire. What if, in the future, Alice sweet-talked Minerva again and they came back to being best friends? Then they’d only be playing into her hands, giving Alice more ammunition to manipulate Minerva and turn her against them.

It was better to let Minerva handle this on her own, so she would learn to stand on her own two feet and not rely on anyone, not even her brother. Only by becoming strong and self-reliant could she avoid being swayed by Alice or manipulated into doing her bidding.

Hera shared this thought and didn’t intervene once; she wanted to see how Minerva would face the challenge herself.