Chapter 511: What Is the Point?

Chapter 511: Chapter 511: What Is the Point?

The judges all panicked, their expressions changing drastically.

Ms. Foster had sent an email to all the judges, announcing the matter. While it was true that some hadn’t seen it yet, the majority of the judges had already watched the video and knew the truth.

To know the truth, yet refuse to announce it, and actively stop Estelle Lockwood from proving her innocence... What on earth were these judges plotting?!

[Looking at the judges’ expressions, did they actually know??]

[Obviously. Ms. Foster just said she already published the truth and the evidence. Out of over thirty judges, did absolutely no one see it? Impossible!]

[Then why did they all unanimously claim that Estelle Lockwood seduced Benjamin Carter, and even refuse to give her a chance to speak?]

[Look at how agitated Old Mrs. Yeats was just now. Are you sure any judge would dare speak up for Estelle Lockwood? So what if it’s the truth? Anyone who stands in Claire Yeats’s way is going against the Yeats Family!]

[But Estelle Lockwood is also one of the Yeats...]

[Then you’d have to ask that biased old hag.]

Old Mrs. Yeats trembled with anger. "You... you all..."

However, Zion Yeats pulled tightly on her sleeve. "Mother, maybe Estelle really is innocent..."

Benjamin Carter’s eyes were filled with terror as he constantly cast pleading glances at Claire Yeats, unable to utter a single word.

Estelle Lockwood smiled. "Mr. Carter, why are you looking at Miss Yeats?"

An uproar broke out as the crowd finally realized that ever since the video started playing, Benjamin had been silently begging Claire for help!

Who could still claim this had nothing to do with Claire Yeats? If it truly had nothing to do with her, why was Benjamin looking at her so frequently in his panic?

Claire Yeats’s face turned livid. She clenched her hands into tight fists, her nails digging into her flesh.

She thought, "Why!! How can Estelle be such a bitch! Is she happy now that she’s pushed me to this point?!"

Tears welled up in her eyes, and she shook her head helplessly. "Estelle, I didn’t... I just... I just felt bad for Liza..."

Right, there was also Liza Shelby. If Estelle hadn’t seduced the judge, then Liza’s advancement would be invalidated.

Liza Shelby rushed forward like a madwoman. "Estelle Lockwood, you’re lying! You’re lying! How can a single video prove that you didn’t seduce the judge?! Maybe you wanted to, but backed out halfway through! Regardless, you had the intention. What right does someone like you have to stay in the competition! You bitch!"

Benjamin immediately caught on and hurriedly chimed in, "Right... Right, that’s exactly it! Miss Lockwood, I was just trying to save your pride, which is why I didn’t tell the truth. You just regretted it because you felt I didn’t have enough power, and you... you wanted to seduce someone else! This video doesn’t prove anything!"

"This..." The crowd kept their eyes averted, choosing to stay out of it. No one spoke a word.

Estelle sneered. "How strange. You all claimed I seduced the judge, so I brought out evidence to prove that Mr. Carter came to my room entirely on Miss Yeats’s orders.

"Yet, you said that doesn’t prove anything, claiming that if I didn’t harbor such intentions, Miss Yeats wouldn’t have done that.

"Now, I’ve brought out the video to prove that I definitely didn’t seduce Mr. Carter. Everyone can see the footage and hear the audio plain as day.

"But now you’re saying that I might have had the intention but backed out halfway... Don’t you guys think that’s a bit of a stretch?

"Time and time again, I prove my innocence, but you refuse to believe it. Ms. Foster says she has already investigated and uncovered the truth, but you refuse to listen.

"How strange... Aren’t your demands of me, the victim, a bit too high?

"I can understand why Mr. Carter is so agitated. After all, his reputation is in ruins. Of course he would look out for himself and sling mud at me. And as for Liza’s agitation... well, she has a reason, too. If I return to the competition, she’ll be eliminated in 21st place. She doesn’t want me to prove my innocence for the sake of her own interests.

"But as for Miss Yeats...?"

Estelle tilted her head in feigned distress and tapped her temple. "You’re sitting comfortably on the champion’s throne, so it seems you have nothing to do with this matter, right? Even if I return to the competition, it won’t affect your champion status. After all, you are ’Ember.’ Ember’s design in the last competition was absolutely breathtaking. If you can still perform at that level, I’d only get second place at best. So... what are you so agitated about?

"The other contestants know I’m a huge threat to them, yet none of them have gotten this worked up. Why would Miss Yeats, the perpetual first-place winner, target me?

"If this still isn’t considered evidence, then what kind of evidence does Miss Yeats want to see?"

The contestants blinked in realization.

She was right. If Estelle returned to the competition, who would be the most threatened? It would definitely be them, the other contestants. They had seen Estelle’s design, and it was truly amazing and stunning. It was on par with Miss Ember from back then, perhaps even more brilliant than Ember’s championship-winning design.

But three years had passed, and Miss Ember had definitely improved as well, not to mention the boost from her reputation... If anyone said Claire was afraid Estelle would snatch her champion’s throne, no one would believe it.

None of the contestants who might drop a rank due to Estelle’s return were agitated. So what was Claire doing?

Zion’s expression stiffened. He noticed everyone’s suspicion toward Claire, and his heart ached with pity and tenderness for her.

He wondered, "Claire is just... too strict about the rules. She wants to figure out whether Estelle cheated or not. Isn’t that completely normal?

"But why is Estelle deliberately targeting her? Why does she have to put Claire in such an awkward position and make so many people doubt her?

"Does Estelle have any conscience at all? We’re all family—how can she treat her own sister this way?"

Claire bit her lip and said with forbearance, "Estelle, I’m not targeting you. If what happened today had happened to anyone else, I would still want to get to the bottom of it."

Unwilling to concede, Liza roared, "You have a guilty conscience! Estelle Lockwood, you must have a guilty conscience! You can’t prove a thing!!"

"Sigh." Estelle let out a breath. "Miss Shelby doesn’t know, so I don’t blame her. But Miss Yeats, you know full well... Even if I really needed to seduce a judge to advance, I wouldn’t have gone for Mr. Carter."

What... what did she mean by that? Wait, what was Estelle trying to do!

Estelle’s gaze flickered as she looked toward the judges’ seats with a radiant smile. The corners of her lips curled up. "Which judge can guarantee that a certain contestant will definitely advance? None of them can, right? The judging system of the XM Design Competition isn’t dictated by one person. Seducing a single judge can only guarantee that this particular judge will give me a high score...

"However, after over thirty judges give their scores, the highest and lowest scores are dropped before calculating the average. May I ask what the point would be of me singling out and ’seducing’ just one judge?"

The viewers watching the live stream hadn’t been familiar with the competition’s scoring system, but upon hearing this, their suspicions were roused.

[Hey? That makes sense. Estelle really had no need to do that.]

[Seducing Benjamin Carter could only guarantee that he’d give her a high score. But if her work isn’t outstanding, even if Benjamin gave her a perfect ten, it would just be dropped as the highest score. So what would be the point of seducing him?]