### Chapter 55: The Final Two Days of Deification
#### The Goddess Selection Tournament: A Total Disaster
The goddess selection tournament has come to an end. Tillysha lost thoroughly, utterly crushed, fulfilling Aileen and Fland’s wish for her downfall.
For Fland, he merely wanted to teach that ungrateful Wild Female a lesson. Naturally, the harder he beat her, the happier he was. Witnessing Tillysha’s resilience, Fland wasn’t bothered. In his mind, only those who were utterly useless would fight with their life on the line. This only proved Tillysha’s incompetence as a proper goddess, and with that, he left, fully satisfied.
But for Aileen, the match didn’t go anywhere near her expectations.
Her goal wasn’t just to get revenge publicly by taking Tillysha down in front of everyone; she wanted to make a name for herself in this debut battle, catching the attention of better peers and mentors so she could secure a top-notch team.
But instead, even though she had won, the reaction was completely opposite.
The crowd didn’t praise her strength but whispered behind her back.
“Man, that second daughter of the Cardiff family? What a tough cookie. On the arena she’s like… well, a real pain in the neck. I wouldn’t offend her if I were you. Let’s just keep our distance.”
“She was like some kind of torture executioner. I didn’t even know if I was watching a match or some brutal interrogation.”
“She’s pretty, sure, but if she can be this ruthless to a classmate, can you even imagine what she’d do to a teammate?”
Such rumors filled Aileen with anger. If she ignored them, they’d only spread, but trying to stop them might make things worse.
So Aileen decided to put all the blame on Tillysha.
That little brat ruined her image! Unforgivable!
If only Tillysha had just taken a few lashes and surrendered quietly!
Aileen didn’t understand why Tillysha would deliberately act against her, doing anything to get her replaced. Naturally, this wasn’t something that would simply fade with the tournament’s conclusion. Aileen’s vendetta against Tillysha would only continue.
#### Tillysha’s Notebook: A Drenched Disaster
Opening the wet, soggy notebook, Tillysha remained speechless.
The pages were stuck together like pickled vegetables.
It contained all her work for the past two weeks, a careful blend of the teacher’s lessons and her own research, her painstaking efforts… Her heart and soul were in there, and now, ruined.
Tillysha, who had never retaliated or caused trouble before, stood up, her steps heavy as she walked toward Aileen, who was chatting merrily with classmates.
Clearly aware of Tillysha’s presence, Aileen ignored her completely, continuing her cheerful conversation.
“Ms. Tillysha, is there something you need?” Finally, Aileen lazily turned, smiling.
“Ms. Cardiff, was it you who threw my notebook into the water?” Tillysha asked clearly, each word deliberate.
This was one matter Tillysha absolutely couldn’t overlook. She couldn’t bear how someone would so recklessly destroy another’s hard work.
“What? That’s quite an accusation without evidence, isn’t it?” Aileen shrugged and then turned to the other students nearby. “Hey, did anyone see me dump Tillysha’s notebook into the water?”
Naturally, they shook their heads in unison.
“Did you see that, Tillysha? No one saw anything.” In this class, it seemed no one was willing to stand up for Tillysha.
“After the last class ended, I saw you leave the classroom with a female classmate carrying a notebook.” Tillysha’s calm gaze locked onto Aileen.
“And? Does that prove it was me? Did you even confirm which notebook it was? It might be mine or someone else’s. Your imagination is running wild, Ms. Tillysha.” Aileen grinned.
“Do you have any witnesses who say it was me?”
“Besides…” Aileen leaned forward, hands on the table, moving close to Tillysha’s ear.
“So what if it was me? What are you going to do about it?”
Tillysha lowered her head, silent.
“You’re really good at pointing fingers, aren’t you? I get it though, someone as fake as you probably thinks everyone else is just like you, pathetic.” Aileen giggled.
Tillysha raised her emerald eyes, looking straight into Aileen’s.
“What are you up to now? Class is starting, and you’re still standing here gossiping?” A deep voice interrupted them.
Tillysha turned. It was Lalo, the class’s temporary leader. He had an unmistakable ‘feature’ – a face that looked like a horse and an expression that seemed perpetually grim.
“Isn’t this seat not yours, Tillysha?” Lalo said with false righteousness, always pretending to uphold justice as if every wrongdoer must face judgment. But if you thought he was there for fairness, you’d be wrong. They were on the same temporary team. Tillysha knew he was just acting, doing what suited his image. If he were truly righteous, would he have let all this nonsense continue?
“I’m here to settle things with Ms. Cardiff.”
“Settle things? What exactly?” Lalo laughed. “She just said a few words. Now it looks like there are two people with thin skins instead of just one. How amusing.”
“…Mr. Class Leader, your horse-like face is truly amusing to look at.” Tillysha suddenly smirked.
“You!…” That did it. Lalo’s biggest sore point was his face being compared to a horse’s. “You little orphan midget…”
“It’s always easy to criticize others from a position of supposed moral superiority, isn’t it? Until it’s your turn to be insulted, and you lose control instantly, don’t you Mr. Class Leader?” Tillysha said, hands behind her back, smiling faintly.
“Right now, there are three people with thin skins.”
“Tillysha…!”
Tillysha turned away without another word.
The notebook? Maybe it could still be used if dried.
“What’s the rush, Class Leader?” Aileen didn’t care, coldly watching Tillysha’s retreating back.
“In three days, it’s the Crown Cup. You’re wasting time being mad at someone who’s going to get expelled anyway.”
“…True.” Lalo snorted. “I’ll personally sweep both her and her ridiculous Male out of this Academy.”
Back at her seat, Tillysha tightly gripped her golden butterfly hairpin, an unintentional smile tugging at her lips.
Time was running out. Only two and a half days remained for the final phase of deification.
—
(Today’s two updates are done. Tomorrow, her little girl form will be gone.)
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