?Chapter 791:

    Her lips trembled slightly, searching for words, and she murmured, “So, Grover, are you saying you want my mentor and me gone? Be honest… Is this really how you feel?”

    Grover stayed silent. He lowered his gaze, avoiding her eyes, saying nothing at all. Sometimes silence cut deeper than any harsh reply.

    Alice struggled to understand how Grover could stand there, quietlyplicit, without a single word in her defense.

    “Gee…” A dry, humorless chuckle escaped her lips, her chest tightening with grief and humiliation.

    She had been the one urging Maia again and again to attend the art show. She had boldly promised, “Here in Sceibar, I have a little sway. Anyone who tries to mess with you will have to go through me first.”

    Yet now, faced with the unthinkable, her confidence shattered.

    Her guest, her respected mentor Maia, was being humiliated in front of everyone — told to leave.

    And Alice could do nothing.

    It felt as though something was stuck in her throat, choking back her words.

    Through the murmur of the crowd, hushed voices floated around them.

    “What’s happening? Why are they being asked to leave?”

    “They don’t look like real artists to me…”

    “Art shows will take in anyone these days… it’s all a bit of a mess now.”

    The whispers weren’t loud, but each one pierced Alice’s heart like a needle.

    She clenched her fists, her eyes burning, and turned to Maia — her admired mentor — with a look full of guilt.

    Right at that moment, Maia broke her silence.

    ??α???????? ?hαρ???????? g??l????v??????．?????

    “Are you certain you want to throw me out?” she asked.

    Her gaze locked on Kiley, her tone cool and even but edged with steel. The crowd fell silent in an instant.

    All eyes turned toward her.

    Maia stood tall,posed and poised, radiating calm authority.

    “If I walk away now, you maye to regret it,” she said.

    Kiley narrowed her eyes, briefly caught off guard.

    Maia had far more inner strength than she had anticipated. No wonder udius had taken an interest in her.

    Raegan, standing nearby, frowned. Something about this exchange felt off, though she couldn’t put her finger on it.

    Before anyone else could speak, Mariana burst out. All the frustration she had bottled up against Maia finally boiled over.

    “Maia, this is Sceibar! You’re standing in a top-tier international art show. Do you think you’re still in your little hometown? Who do you think you are, making threats? Leave — right now!”

    She didn’t stop there. Turning sharply, she jabbed her finger at Alice.

    “And you — Alice Byrd! You dare to call giarism ‘drawing inspiration’? What nerve! Like the old saying goes, bad apples stick together. You and Maia — the same shady breed. Just showing up here cheapens the whole event. You didn’te to showcase art — you came to copy others and snatch ideas for those low-grade fashion knockoffs of yours.”

    All that pent-up rage from Wront had been simmering inside Mariana. Now, with everything out in the open, she felt a weight lift from her chest.

    .

    .

    .