Betrayed by Blood: My Second Life as a Queen novel Chapter 396

Willow's lips curved into a cold, dismissive smile. "Tess, I highly suggest you watch your mouth. I might not be able to stop you from spreading malicious slander here, but you have to go back to our country eventually, right? Care to guess how many years a defamation charge will add to your probation?"

Hearing the word 'probation', someone in the shadows discreetly arched an eyebrow.

Tessa couldn't win the argument, and she was terrified that pushing Willow further would result in all her dirty laundry being aired out. Grinding her teeth, she stormed off to a corner to sulk.

A few nosey musicians couldn't resist their curiosity and sidled up to her, asking with feigned casualness, "What kind of bad blood do you have with that woman?"

Tessa initially thought they were coming over to mock her, but then it clicked—this was the perfect opportunity!

She immediately plastered on a deeply sorrowful smile, letting her voice grow thick with fake tears. "She's my sister... but she has an obsession with my husband..."

The moment those words hung in the air, the musicians exchanged knowing glances, their eyes darting toward Willow with unmistakable disdain.

These classical artists always held themselves in impossibly high regard. They absolutely refused to associate with someone of such low moral fiber!

Seeing her plan working flawlessly, Tessa hid a triumphant smirk and continued with a theatrical sigh, "Honestly, I wasn't even planning on coming. But unfortunately, she managed to anger someone very important, and I was forced to step in... But as you just saw, the moment we crossed paths, she came right for my throat."

Who was this someone? She didn't have to spell it out; everyone knew exactly what she meant.

Who else could she be referring to but someone from the royal family?

Combined with the fact that Tessa had been a sudden addition to the roster—bypassing the official selection process—who else besides the royals wielded that kind of power?

Because she framed it so perfectly, the vast majority of the room swallowed the lie whole.

In an instant, the atmosphere in the hall shifted noticeably. Willow caught on immediately, raising an eyebrow with a private sense of amusement.

Keep acting, she thought, perfectly content to give Tessa the stage.

The higher Tessa built her pedestal, the harder the fall was going to hurt.

Sure enough, thanks to Tessa's aggressive smear campaign, Willow and Caspian were subtly iced out by the rest of the room.

The most blatant display of this was when Willow's assigned piano solo segment was forcibly stripped away from her.

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