Chapter 36: Princess Under Fire

"AAAAHHH!"

Beatrice shrieked and hurled her phone across the room. The device slammed into the opposite wall with a sickening crack before crashing onto the floor. Maya flinched sharply at the sudden outburst, nearly dropping the tablet she had been holding from where she sat on the leather sofa. Her eyes widened as she stared at the shattered phone, its screen splintered into dozens of jagged fragments scattered across the floor. This made it the fourth phone Beatrice had smashed that month whenever she lost control of her temper, and Maya doubted she would ever get used to witnessing such explosive outbursts from her employer. Of all her years serving Beatrice, there was one thing Maya had come to realize: the princess could be frighteningly unpredictable whenever her pride was wounded.

Beatrice had been the one who ordered Maya to create Night Owl in the first place, specifically to give the princess a platform where Maya could gather loyal followers who admired Beatrice, defend her whenever she was criticized, and support her whenever she had a dispute with someone. It was essentially Beatrice’s personal platform for building her fanbase, strengthening her influence among the students, and giving her a place to publicly go after anyone who crossed her or managed to get on her nerves. What had started as a simple way to gather supporters and maintain the princess’s popularity had eventually grown into one of the most effective tools she could use to manipulate public opinion, rally people against her enemies, and attack anyone who stood in her way. Maya had never imagined that the little platform Beatrice had ordered her to create would eventually become so powerful.

Although Maya had come to love the platform like a child, it was beginning to feel less like managing an account and more like standing in the middle of a battlefield. Night Owl was now on the verge of being taken down because of the constant reports flooding in since Miss Dawson had dropped her video. Maya knew she shouldn’t have been this worried. After all, she only posted whatever Princess Beatrice gave her and followed the instructions her employer provided. Yes, Night Owl was technically hers, but the content had always come directly from Beatrice, and Maya had never imagined that one scandal could put everything she had built at risk.

She would be so devastated if the account was taken down. Night Owl had taken years to build, and despite its questionable purpose, she had poured sweat and countless hours into growing its audience, maintaining its reach, and turning it into one of the most influential gossip platforms on campus. Losing it because of one disastrous scandal would mean watching years of hard work disappear overnight.

"How dare those wretched vermin!" Beatrice screamed, her entire body trembling with rage. "How dare they speak about me like that! I’ll make every single one of them regret it! I will make them all pay!"

She spun around sharply and began pacing across the room, her ponytail whipping from side to side with every furious turn of her head.

Beatrice could not believe the vile things that were being said about her. Every time she refreshed AsterBuzz, there were more accusations, more insults, and more mockery. It wasn’t only under that bastard Starlight’s video either. Different tabloids and students had started spreading screenshots, reposting clips, and openly questioning her character. Humans and werewolves alike were calling her a bully and demanding that she apologize for what she had done. To make matters even worse, the Wolfhart twins had reposted the video, prompting even more attention and engagement.

She just couldn’t understand what those two bastards were playing at. Some users were even sharing clips of Starlight slapping her, zooming in on the moment her lip split open and turning it into memes. A princess being turned into a laughingstock by a lowly student. The thought alone made Beatrice’s blood boil. She had spent her entire life being treated with deference because of her status, yet now thousands of students were openly laughing at her and questioning her behavior, all because a human had managed to twist one confrontation against her and make herself look like the victim.

"I will destroy her!" Beatrice snarled, her hands curling into fists. "I will make that disgusting human regret ever stepping foot into this academy, I will crush her!"

"Uhm... Princess," Maya began hesitantly, lowering her tablet into her lap and choosing her words with extreme caution. "I think... I think the best thing we can do in this situation is to give the public what they want right now. You can crush her later, after we get the crowd back on our side."

Beatrice froze mid-stride, turning her head slowly to glare at Maya. Her eyes burned with pure malice. "Are you suggesting that I, a Perigee princess, should admit that I am the one at fault and apologize to a human?"

"You don’t have to mean it," Maya said quickly, holding up her hands in a placating gesture. "You are only doing it to regain control of the narrative. We can’t afford to lose Night Owl or the public’s support. A brief, carefully worded statement acknowledging the tension could calm the outrage and stall the reports. Rebuilding your reputation will be much harder if we lose the platform and the audience we’ve spent years building."

"Read my lips, never!" Beatrice shouted, her voice ringing through the room. "I will never do such a thing! I will never apologize to a human! Over my dead body will I bow my head and admit that I was wrong!"

"Princess, please," Maya pleaded, leaning forward desperately. "Nobody is asking you to bow your head. Just give them a small apology. You only have to make it clear that you regret how the situation unfolded without actually admitting that you were wrong. Once everyone calms down, we can handle Starlight privately."

"Drop it, Maya!" Beatrice said coldly, her expression hardening. "My decision is final. I will never give in to the demands of those filthy mongrels!"