The Return of the Cannon Fodder Trillion Heiress

Now, all eyes shifted towards Minerva and Alice, the two figures often at the center of the disputes that seemed to follow whenever they approached Hera. At that moment, a collective realization swept through the group, shedding light on the recurring source of conflict. And in fact, this is what Hera wanted to achieve. Alice probably not only wanted to get close to Xavier in the Variety Show but also, to bolster her popularity by projecting an image of a sweet girl next door vibe who seems genuine, magnanimous, pure, and kindhearted. But who told her to target Hera in the show?

Had Alice not set her sights on Hera, she could have at least made progress toward one of her goals, allowing her to focus on the next objective if opportunities presented themselves. However, Alice’s eagerness to win Xavier’s affections drove her to recklessness, a vulnerability that Hera astutely exploited.

Hera’s inner villainess was practically gleeful at Alice’s evident distress, but she wisely kept her thoughts to herself, not wanting to reveal her true intentions. In a surprisingly good mood, Hera kindly reminded everyone, "The Victory Celebration is scheduled for lunch, and I hope to see everyone there." With the sweetest smile she could manage, she excused herself and headed to her room to prepare for a much-needed shower.

Hera believed that she wouldn’t be able to kill her enemies with schemes and acting vile but the only thing that could kill them was her kindness, letting them be plagued by their own guilty conscience and the ’what ifs’, by doing this, she’ll kill them slowly mentally and this will be their true downfall.

It sounds evil but that’s the most effective plan she could think of, since Alice has the world backing her, Hera could only create her own defensive measure and hide behind the male leads if she successfully enlisted them to be her knight in shining armor. But for now, she could only play dirty.

While Hera wasn’t accustomed to such tactics and initially hesitated to employ them, Alice and Minerva’s repeated smears against her name left her with little choice. After gathering her thoughts and packing up in her room, she went out to take a shower. Coincidentally, Leo emerged from his room at the same time, also ready for a shower after his rest.

So when he noticed Hera coming from her room too, his deadpan expression transformed into a wide smile. "You going to take a shower?"

Hera nodded as she walked closer to Leo but not too close because she felt insecure because she was sweaty all over and she didn’t want him to smell her, even though she knew she did not smell but she was still embarrassed, to say the least.

As Leo noticed Hera maintaining a bit of distance, he felt a pang of disappointment. He wanted to get closer but saw Hera take a step back, her actions perplexing him. Leo’s wide smile froze momentarily, sensing Hera’s apparent avoidance. He took another step forward, only to observe Hera becoming visibly fidgety and shy. It dawned on him that she might be feeling self-conscious about her sweat and worried about any potential odor. Leo found her shyness cute and felt tempted to tease her further, but he restrained himself, aware that Hera might genuinely get upset.

Leo stepped aside, gesturing for Hera to proceed first. She hesitated momentarily before darting out of the hallway toward the stairs. Agilely avoiding Leo, she resembled a rabbit fleeing from its predator, prompting a chuckle from Leo as he touched his nose. ’How can she be this cute?’ he mused to himself.