Published at 2nd of August 2026 8:04 am

Chapter 952: Cinderella

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At Arianna’s words, Clara rolled her blue eyes as though she had just heard the biggest lie in existence before speaking.

"While others who awakened on their third attempt might be motivated, I’m not. After all, I know that the Tenth Sun’s bloodline is probably what made him that powerful, and as a commoner, I know where my limits lie. There’s no need to lie to myself or give myself false hope just because the Tenth Sun broke the curse of the third attempt," she said, her voice calm and devoid of the delusions that many who had awakened on their third attempt now possessed.

Maeve simply sighed before speaking. "I’m of the same opinion. Just because he was able to do it doesn’t mean we all can do the same," she stated calmly as she rose to her feet, picked up a hairbrush from the nightstand, and sat behind Arianna. "I’m sure that in a couple of months, or even weeks, those burning with determination will come face to face with the harsh reality of their circumstances and the truth of their own situations," she stated in finality as she gently brushed Arianna’s hair.

"I, for one, am happy I didn’t even make it into the top fifty. If I had, I might have suffered at the Tenth Sun’s hands," Celeste stated, her black eyes fixed on the spread of food before her as she pondered which dish to eat first.

Arianna remained silent for a moment before speaking. "Well... I won’t lie, your words are indeed the truth," she admitted, a faint smile appearing on her face. "Asher is simply a unique case," she added.

She had always known that herself. She had merely wanted her friends to train more and take their own safety a little more seriously. After all, the world wasn’t forgiving. Although they were hardly ever in danger since they didn’t hunt monsters or undertake dangerous missions of any kind, they were still considered wealthy despite being commoners.

"Thank the Stars that whoever that Elox Patriarch was refunded our money. Otherwise, I might have lost my entire life savings, along with my parents, who even staked their house," Maeve stated with a sigh as she continued brushing Arianna’s hair with practiced ease.

Arianna’s lips twitched as she found herself at a loss for words. What exactly could she even say at this moment?

Indeed, Maeve, Celeste, and Clara had all staked their life savings on Arianna’s victory. Even their parents had sold their houses and wagered everything on Arianna, believing she would win so they could purchase even larger homes despite already living in spacious houses that had been gifted to them by influential people attempting to curry favor with Arianna through them.

Arianna couldn’t help but imagine how devastated her three friends and their families would have been had they truly lost everything. Although she knew none of them would have blamed her for the outcome, she also knew she would have blamed herself and done everything within her power to repay every single coin they had lost.

Fortunately, the Elox Patriarch had stepped in and come to everyone’s rescue.

"Also, speaking of the Tenth Sun, Uncle Azazel is best friends with the Duke of the Wargraves, right?" Clara spoke as an idea suddenly flashed through her mind.

The moment Clara spoke, Maeve seemed to jump onto the exact same wavelength as her, her green eyes immediately brightening with excitement.

"How did we forget that? Knowing Uncle Azazel and how much he boasts about the Duke, he’ll definitely want to head over to the Zarethorne Empire and visit the Wargrave Ducal Estate," she stated enthusiastically.

"We can ask him to take us along. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind. That way, we get to meet the famous First Sun, who reached the Crownstar Life Rank before the age of thirty, and we also get to meet the Duke himself, the man who fought Uncle Azazel to a draw on two separate occasions," Maeve stated as excitement coursed through her veins.

Maeve, Clara, and Celeste immediately looked at one another, green eyes meeting blue ones, blue ones meeting black ones, as identical smiles slowly spread across their faces.

Arianna simply sighed and remained silent. She knew that if she said anything that wasn’t in line with whatever plan those three had already concocted, it would only strengthen their resolve even further. Besides, her father had always had a soft spot for the three of them because they were her closest friends, and to a certain extent, he regarded them as children of his own. If they proposed such an idea to him, he would most likely agree without much hesitation.

Even Arianna wouldn’t deny that she was somewhat curious about what the Wargrave Ducal Territory looked like. She also wanted to witness firsthand how the Wargraves governed their lands and how their subjects and commoners viewed them. After all, one could tell a great deal about a ruler simply by observing whether their people loved them or resented them.

"We’ve already visited the Thalvorn Empire, and Uncle Azazel will probably take us to the Zarethorne Empire next, which means we’ll only have the Vandross Empire left to cross off our list," Maeve spoke as she finished brushing Arianna’s hair, neatly arranged it for her, then stood up and walked back to the couch where she had been sitting earlier.

"People usually wait until they become Crownstar Life Rankers before they even think about touring all four Empires, yet here you three are, talking as if the world is filled with nothing but butterflies and roses," Arianna mused with an amused smile.

Clara merely shrugged, completely unbothered. "We have no hope of reaching the Crownstar Life Rank unless some miraculous Fruit of Dawn just happens to fall into our laps. Until then, we’ll simply keep riding on Uncle Azazel’s coattails," she replied with a carefree smile.

"I wonder what the culture of the Zarethorne Empire is like... and their food too," Celeste stated between bites as she was already imagining all the places they could visit, all the delicacies they could eat, and all the activities they could experience.

As Arianna’s closest friends and also individuals under Azazel’s protection, Maeve, Celeste, and Clara had attended countless noble gatherings over the years. They had even spoken directly with Empress Nymeria Sol Virelle herself and had spent nights within the Imperial Palace as honored guests.

In a way, one could even consider the three girls to be Arianna’s and Azazel’s weaknesses. After all, almost everywhere Arianna went, the three of them were never far behind, as though none of them could truly exist without the others by their side.

"We should ask Uncle Azazel as soon as possible. After all, I’m sure he’s already making plans to head to the Zarethorne Empire," Celeste stated confidently, as though she understood Azazel’s personality better than anyone else.

Clara appeared to fall into thought for a brief moment before finally speaking.

"I wonder if the Star Academy Principal... what was her name again? Cinderella? Cindy?" she asked as she desperately tried to remember.

"Cindralis," Arianna corrected as she watched her best friend completely butcher the Star Academy Principal’s name.

"Yeah, Cindralis," Clara replied without the slightest embarrassment. "I wonder if she’d allow us to explore her Star Academy, just look around and stuff. After all, according to Uncle Azazel, I heard her Academy is hidden within an entire Separate Dimension that she personally created," she stated curiously.

Maeve fell into thought for a brief moment before replying.

"Although I highly doubt she’d allow unrestricted access, given Arianna’s talent and the fact that she was able to go toe-to-toe with the Tenth Sun, and Uncle Azazel being the Black Disaster, we might be granted permission to visit at least a few places within the Academy," she stated, making what she believed to be a reasonable guess.

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