Chapter 8
1299words
"WAIT!" Her voice rang clear and commanding, instantly commanding every eye in the room. "Your Eminence, before proceeding further, I formally challenge the bride's identity on behalf of my client."
"How dare you! Who is this woman? Guards, remove this lunatic!" The neighboring princess sputtered with rage, her regal composure crumbling.
The prince frowned deeply. "Miss, this is my wedding day. Please don't disrupt the ceremony."
"Disrupting?" Anastasia laughed sharply. "I'm merely assisting with final verification of pre-marital claims and... achievements."
She turned to the princess, voice projecting throughout the cathedral: "You claim to have rescued the prince, correct?"
"Of—of course!" the princess stammered defiantly.
"Excellent." Anastasia clapped her hands. "Harbor Master, I ask you: did Her Highness arrive at the palace by ship through the main harbor?"
The harbor master, startled at being directly addressed, answered truthfully: "Yes, that's correct."
"Stable Master, when you discovered the prince on the beach, was anyone else present?"
The stable master glanced nervously at Anastasia before nodding vigorously: "That's right! His Highness was completely alone!"
"So here's my question," Anastasia spread her hands dramatically, addressing the entire assembly, "How could someone arriving at the harbor possibly rescue someone on a beach twenty miles away? Does she possess the power of flight?"
The cathedral erupted in shocked murmurs. The neighboring princess's face turned ashen.
"You—you're spreading malicious falsehoods!"
"Don't be hasty—I have further evidence." Anastasia raised the magical conch. "Everyone knows His Highness heard a beautiful singing voice while unconscious. Perhaps this 'heroic rescuer' would grace us with a demonstration of that voice?"
The princess's lips trembled, but no sound emerged.
"Unable to sing? Allow me to provide a reference sample."
Anastasia raised the conch to her lips, and instantly, an otherworldly, hauntingly beautiful melody—seemingly born from the ocean depths—filled the cathedral.
That voice!
The prince physically recoiled. He stared at Anastasia in shock, then whipped around to fix his gaze on Ariel.
The silent girl who gazed longingly at the sea, who danced like a creature of the waves.
Everything suddenly crystallized.
"It was you..." he whispered, wrenching free from the false princess's grasp and striding purposefully toward Ariel. "My rescuer... it was you all along!"
With her deception publicly exposed, the neighboring princess fled the cathedral in disgrace, shielding her face from contemptuous stares. The prince enfolded the tearful, joyous Ariel in his arms, delivering a long-overdue, passionate kiss.
"Core conflict resolved. 'The Little Mermaid' scenario completed."
"Final Settlement: Correction Points +200. Overall Evaluation: S+."
The witch's voice resonated in Anastasia's mind.
She'd won—decisively and completely. Yet watching the embracing lovers, she felt strangely hollow.
Ariel had sacrificed her home, her family, her voice for this man, nearly forfeiting her existence—a catastrophic investment by any measure. Yet now she'd recovered everything and gained the love she sought.
Somehow, she'd lost nothing at all.
Anastasia frowned. She felt she'd missed something crucial—something beyond calculation or analysis.
"Not all values can be quantified in your ledger, Anastasia." The witch's voice seemed to penetrate her thoughts.
"Shut up!" Anastasia snapped mentally. "I'm simply annoyed that for such a complex case, I didn't receive a single coin in consulting fees! Pure financial loss!"
The world gradually dissolved around her. Her final vision was Ariel turning to offer a smile of pure, unalloyed gratitude.
That smile pierced like a delicate thorn into a long-neglected corner of her heart.
In the pristine white void, Anastasia stood motionless, mentally replaying Ariel's genuine, grateful smile.
"How can anyone smile so joyfully over such a terrible deal?" For the first time, she questioned her ironclad "principle of equitable exchange." "Could something actually matter more than profit?"
"You appear to be contemplating more profound questions." The witch's figure materialized before her.
"I'm merely conducting post-project analysis, identifying inefficiencies—nothing more!" Anastasia retorted defensively, refusing to acknowledge any influence from a lovesick mermaid.
"Is that so? Perfect timing." The witch's tone remained neutral. "Your 'internship' has concluded. Now comes your graduation assignment—your final task."
"Final task?" Anastasia blinked in surprise. "Where to?"
"Home." The witch replied simply. "To confront your own story and your own ending."
"Home?" Anastasia's emotions tangled. She recalled that dreary house, her self-righteous stepsister and manipulative mother. Yet she straightened her spine. She was no longer that bitter, envious stepsister. She was a premier consultant with substantial "Correction Points" who had successfully managed multiple high-profile "projects"!
"Good. I'm ready to return," she declared. "Perfect opportunity to show them I don't need some prince to provide a comfortable life."
"Before you return, there's a 'completion bonus' requiring your signature," the witch announced.
"Bonus?" At the mere mention of compensation, Anastasia's eyes lit up instantly.
"Given your innovative approaches throughout these assignments, which have provided several valuable case studies for the Narrative Stability Bureau, all your accumulated Correction Points and Performance Evaluations may be exchanged for tangible wealth in your home world."
"What did you say?!" Anastasia could hardly believe her ears. "Those points... can be converted to actual gold?"
"That would be an accurate interpretation."
The next instant, Anastasia felt her consciousness pulled into a realm of swirling data streams. She watched her "Correction Points" rapidly scrolling across a massive display, being "liquidated" like securities and transforming into a sum so vast it made her dizzy. Finally, a contract glowing with golden light materialized in her hand.
"Take this, return to your world, and claim the wealth specified therein."
Anastasia trembled as she accepted the contract. Success at last! She could finally convert those abstract points into tangible treasure!
"Haha... HAHAHAHAHA!" She laughed hysterically, tears streaming down her face. "I'm rich! I'm finally RICH!"
The world began to spin as her manic laughter echoed through the void.
When she opened her eyes, the familiar musty scent of home enveloped her. She was back.
She burst from her room to find Cinderella kneeling on the floor scrubbing, while her mother and sister Theresa lounged on the sofa sipping afternoon tea, grumbling about insufficient household funds.
Everything remained exactly as she'd left it.
"Stop whining."
Anastasia's voice startled all three women.
"Anna? When did you return?" her mother asked, surprised.
Anastasia didn't answer. She proudly lifted her chin and shook the magical contract. Instantly, golden light flashed as coins, gems, and pearl necklaces cascaded from the document like a waterfall, forming a glittering mountain on the living room floor.
The blinding golden radiance forced everyone to shield their eyes.
"Look," Anastasia stood beside her treasure mountain like a conquering queen, savoring the shocked expressions of her mother and sister. "I told you I could provide a good life. Now we have money—endless money. We don't need to pander to anyone's whims or chase after some prince!"
"My goodness! Anna! My darling daughter!" Mother recovered first. She shrieked as she dove toward the gold, burying her face in the cold coins with ecstatic moans.
Theresa followed suit, frantically draping herself with jewels. Only Cinderella remained in her corner, watching the frenzied scene with fearful eyes.
Anastasia watched her family's rapturous behavior with unprecedented satisfaction. This was her lifelong goal: proving herself capable of providing abundantly for her family.
Yet at this triumphant moment, disaster struck.
"BANG!"
The door crashed open as fully armed royal guards stormed in.
"By order of His Highness the Prince and Her Highness the Princess!" the captain bellowed. "Arrest the criminal Anastasia and her family!"
"What?" Anastasia's smile froze. "There's been a mistake! I—"
"Silence!" The captain glared coldly. "The Princess has informed the Prince of your family's years of abuse. His Highness is furious and has ordered all you cruel women imprisoned to await judgment!"
The Princess... Cinderella?
