Chapter 520: Anti-fans

"Aya, don’t be angry. We can still think of other ways."

"What other ways are there?"

"For a while now, I’ve been lurking in Melody Monroe’s fan groups. I’ve noticed some male fans are particularly obsessed with her. A little while ago, when all that news about her love life was causing a stir, these guys were demanding that she reveal details about her personal relationships. They seemed really invested."

"How come I haven’t heard about this?"

"They’re just a small minority, and they were shouted down by the other fans, so they didn’t get much attention. But what if... what if there are a few extremists in that group? People who, out of ’love’ for their goddess, might do something... extreme?"

Aya Winters understood instantly.

"You handle the arrangements. Tell me what it costs. No matter what, we can’t let Melody Monroe win Best Newcomer."

"Okay."

...

The first heavy snow of winter fell silently during the night.

By the time Melody Monroe arrived on set, snow had completely covered the ground, and a thick layer had piled up on the rooftops. It was still coming down.

The scene they were filming today was of Solara and Javian serving as slaves in the Veridian Inner Court.

On the way to defect to Veridia, Javian had been poisoned. He was saved just in time, but his health never fully recovered. As soon as winter set in, he fell gravely ill and had already been in a coma for several days.

Now, Solara had to face a difficult reality: to survive in the Veridian court, she needed a powerful patron.

Upon arriving in Veridia, she had refused the Emperor’s demand to enter his harem.

She would rather be the most wretched of slaves than serve the enemy with her body.

As they prepared to start filming, the assistant director began clearing the set.

Suddenly, a few people in the distance holding up their phones started filming the set. They kept trying to inch closer, ignoring the restricted-area boundaries.

"Melody Monroe! I love you!"

"Melody, you’re my goddess! I traveled over a thousand miles just to be here and see you."

The assistant director went over to reason with them. "Gentlemen, we’re filming right now. If you’re really fans of Melody Monroe, please cooperate with us. This is a closed set, so please don’t take pictures."

"We’re Melody Monroe’s fans! What’s your problem?"

The assistant director was completely baffled. ’What was *his* problem?’

He was only trying to reason with them politely! He forced a smile and said, "Could you please cooperate with us? Alright?"

The men finally backed off a little.

The assistant director told two crew members to keep a close eye on the men before turning to his other duties.

"All departments, stand by! We’re ready to shoot."

Melody Monroe sat in a corner of the palace set, wrapped in a down jacket. Once filming started, all she would have on was a single, thin palace gown.

Talia Mercer came over with a few heat packs. "You should put some of these on," she said to Melody. "It’s freezing out there. What if you get frostbite?"

"It’d be worse if they showed through the costume. I’d rather not. Let’s try to get it in one take. That’ll save time."

With that, Melody Monroe took off her down jacket and walked out of the palace set.

’It’s so cold. The chill is bone-deep!’

She could feel her teeth chattering.

The men the assistant director had just spoken to immediately raised their phones the moment they saw Melody Monroe step out.

"No pictures!" a crew member called out as he walked over. "You with the phones, put them down." But not only did the men not put their phones down, they kept right on filming.