Joshua was always quick on his feet—a fountain of ideas, really.


    Rachel''s eyes lit up. "Joshua, what are you thinking? Tell me!"


    Joshua replied, "There''s nothing I can do about the livepetition itself. That''s all on you. But when ites to the livestream, I can make your numbers look a whole lot better."


    Rachel immediately understood what he meant. "Wait... you want to boost my stats?"


    She felt a pang of difort. Sure, she''d seen numbers be "helped along" before -Haynes O''Brien and Jasper Wilkinson had both poured money and resources into her career to drum up real fans for her when she was starting out. But that had felt genuine; those were actual people, supporters who cared.


    What Joshua was suggesting felt different. This was smoke and mirrors-an illusion of poprity. No one wants a fake crowd. The thought of performing for an army of bots made Rachel uneasy.


    Sensing her hesitation, Joshua added, "Look, I can put money into promoting your stream. That way, you''ll have a shot at attracting real fans yourself. But I can''t guarantee you''ll beat Ste."


    Rachel fell silent.


    Thepetition had already started. Even if she threw money at publicity, there was no guarantee she could outdo Ste. Building a following the right way took time—and time was the one thing she didn''t have. Joshua''s way was fast, almost dangerously so.


    She made up her mind. "Alright. Let''s do it your way."


    Joshua asked, "Anything else you need?"


    Rachel hesitated. “Joshua... is there any chance you could get to the judges?"


    He chuckled softly. "Rachel, I''m not from Novaris, and this is Haynes''s territory. That''s out of my league. Maybe you should ask Haynes himself? If anyone could pull it off, it''s him."


    Rachel fell quiet.


    Absolutely not. She couldn''t bring herself to ask Haynes for something like that. It would be like openly admitting she needed to cheat to beat Ste. What would he think of her then?


    Time was running out. Rachel ended the call without another word.


    She stared at the TV screen, watching as Ste shed a confident smile for the cameras. A shadow flickered in Rachel''s eyes.


    Five minutes passed quickly.


    The host was reluctant to let Ste go-she was the kind of contestant you didn''t see every year: talented brilliant, and charismatic. Of the ten finalists, six were returning fromst year, and the host knew thei abilities by heart. If those same faces kept representing the country, it was easy to guess how the international rankings would y out.


    And this year, Antoney hadn''t even entered. The scandal had left Novaris''s reputation in tatters, and it had been ages since a real up-ander had appeared.


    Now there was Ste-gorgeous, gifted, practically born for the stage. In music, the eyes matter as much as the ears.


    As Ste exited, Rachel took the stage.


    Her piece was a ssic-"Longing for Liberty." Just as demanding as "Moonlight" or "Moonlight Bay," but with a different spirit. Where Ste''s performance radiated calm serenity, Rachel''s was wild and bold a surge of unrestrained passion.


    Abby Murphy, watching from the audience, couldn''t help butment, "I''m surprised—Rachel''s actually ying it straight. I thought for sure she''d pull some


    stunt."


    Antoney gave a cold, dismissive


    smile. "This is the real deal. No one


    here''s going to indulge her. If she


    messes up, Star wins by defaul ult. Sure, maybe the homepetitions would give her another shot. But up against international contenders? If she keeps screwing up, who''s going to let her start over?"


    He shook his head. "No matter how talented she is, no team wants someone who


    can''t keep it together."