Chapter 312 How was Rafael’s Reaction?
Once everyone had left and the door was closed, Gerald and Hera remained for a moment before he guided her to the sofa and served her a cup of Da-Hong Pao Oolong tea, worth nearly $600 per pound. The tea had been used as a bribe for the Dean, who was an aficionado of expensive teas.
"Was it really necessary to make such a grand entrance?" Hera teased as Gerald poured the tea into a cup and handed it to her.
"Young Miss, isn’t it better to make a big splash and let everyone know there’s real weight behind the issue, rather than quietly resolving it?" Gerald replied, aware that Hera was testing him, as it was all part of her plan.
Hera chuckled, "Well, it’s not like I know how to hack or uncover who’s behind the slander and the Dean’s corruption. And aside from money, I don’t have much to offer." She said with a touch of teasing, acknowledging that she hadn’t anticipated the extent of the Dean’s misdeeds. Unlike the strong, independent women in novels, she wasn’t omnipotent and didn’t possess skills like hacking, painting, or healing people like divine doctors.
While she might not be omnipotent, she wasn’t useless either. The point was, why should she handle everything herself when she had the resources to delegate tasks and focus on her own priorities? After all, no man is an island, and that saying holds true. She couldn’t run her company alone; she needed to cultivate talented individuals to support her. However, that didn’t mean she could slack off—self-improvement was still essential.
Seeing her own growth would inspire her subordinates to strive for better because they knew their leader was also committed to success, learning from her own mistakes and improving alongside them. There’s no better role model than someone who is rising with their team rather than a distant, seemingly perfect figure. Employees would feel more connected to a leader who is human rather than robotic. However, Hera understood that jealousy was inevitable and anticipated that some would still question her capabilities.
"Young Miss," Gerald’s voice pulled Hera from her thoughts. "Through this incident, we’ve discovered that the girls who started this were peers of Alice Quinn, who were frequently seen together on campus. However, we have found no evidence that Alice coerced them into this or even encouraged it. According to the confession of the girls we apprehended before dealing with the Dean, Alice never indicated any desire to target you; it was their own decision. In fact, they claimed Alice was actually against it."
"They mentioned that Alice agreed to be voted as the Campus Bell solely to boost her career in the entertainment industry and to repair her image, which took a hit after the Variety Show."
"There’s also no connection to Minerva or Alexi. So, it looks like we can’t use this incident as evidence against them for orchestrating your slander. Unfortunately, we’ve hit another dead end." Gerald sighed as he reported to Hera.
Hera frowned. She didn’t particularly want to pin the blame on Alice, Minerva, or Alexi, but the coincidences were just too striking to ignore. She believed that too many coincidences might not be coincidental at all. If Alice and Minerva weren’t behind it, then perhaps the storyline itself was pushing people to help Alice bring her down. After all, it wasn’t as if Alice was aware she was receiving external help from the storyline, was it?