Chapter 14 — The Entrance of Two Faces
Three years passed in the blink of an eye.
At the De'ora mansion, the entire household was bustling with energy — maids, butlers, and even guards moving about like a small army on high alert.
Today was the day their precious Violet would take the Imperial High School entrance examination.
Even Miss Nela Levaton, her strict tutor of three years, had come along — partly to make sure Violet didn't skip breakfast, and partly because, in her own quiet way, she was proud.
Kingsley De'ora, on the other hand, was far from quiet.
"It's my daughter's big day! My baby's first step into Imperial High!"
He stood in the garage, dramatically tossing his car keys in the air before catching them like a movie star.
He had personally chosen his most expensive car — a limited-edition, obsidian-black vehicle that gleamed like liquid glass under the morning sun.
Lily sighed helplessly beside him.
If it were up to Kingsley, he would have hired pilots to fly a private jet with Violet's face printed on the wings, circling above Imperial High's campus just to "motivate" his baby girl.
Luckily, Lily intervened before that plan left the ground.
So instead, Kingsley contented himself with the privilege of driving Violet to the exam in style — an honor he took far too seriously.
Violet, dressed and ready, could only sigh.
Even Vira, floating lazily in her mind, couldn't resist commenting.
"Host, I think your dad might actually be on crack," Vira deadpanned.
Violet's lips twitched.
Tell me about it.
But deep down, she felt warm.
Despite all the chaos, this kind of noisy love was something she'd come to treasure.
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The moment the obsidian car rolled up to the Imperial High gates, heads turned.
The air buzzed with murmurs.
Who didn't know how much that car cost?
Even some of the teachers standing by the gate blinked twice to make sure they weren't imagining it.
When the door opened, all eyes shifted — and the murmurs grew louder.
A girl stepped out.
Her long, silky black hair was tied neatly in a ponytail, her eyes calm but sharp.
She wore a black cropped jacket over a crisp white shirt, paired with a fitted mini skirt and sleek heeled boots that gave her a confident, elegant aura.
For a moment, the crowd simply stared, stunned over her beauty.
Then came the whispers.
"Wait… doesn't she look like—"
"Julia Crescent?"
"Is it the child actress who came in earlier! , Yeah!, They do look exactly alike!"
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Julia Crescent — or rather, Clara — was already there.
She had arrived early.
Not too early to seem desperate, but just enough to avoid the De'oras' grand entrance.
Her outfit was carefullytstyled in gentle waves.
Her makeup was perfect — minimalist, with a soft blush that made her look like a fairy stepped out of a dream.
The moment she arrived, the crowd — and more importantly, the reporters — swarmed around her.
"Miss Julia! Please look this way!"
"Can we get a comment about your new drama?"
"You're here for the Imperial exam too?"
Flashing a sweet, practiced smile, Julia posed and signed autographs with the grace of someone who had done it a thousand times.
But her real goal wasn't the cameras.
She wanted everyone to see.
To compare.
She wanted whispers.
Doubts.
Questions.
And she got them.
Because when Violet stepped down from her father's car moments later, the resemblance between the two was undeniable.
The crowd went wild.
Comments about their resemblance flew around.
"Wait—why does she look like our Julia?"
"Who is she?"
"Did that girl get surgery to look like our Julia?"
"What's going on…?"
The rumors spread fast.
From a corner Julia couldn't help but smirk watching the drama unfold .
She saw the ripple of shock run through the crowd and felt a thrill of triumph.
People weren't saying she looked like Violet.
They were saying Violet looked like her.
Exactly what she wanted.
This was her stage, her script, and she was the star.
And even if Violet had arrived, Clara thought smugly, she was already one step ahead.
At first, some of Clara's fans jumped to accuse violet, claiming Violet to have gone under the knife at such a young age to imitate their idol.
But once Violet's identity was confirmed — the only daughter of Kingsley and Lily De'ora — the narrative flipped almost instantly.
Neitezens couldn't help but switch sides
Now Julia was the one being accused.
"Why will a heir to a conglomerate go through surgery just to look like an actress, does it even make sense."
"Maybe she's the one who got work done!"
"You know celebrities, anything for attention…"
But Julia's fans were quick to defend.
"What do you mean she had surgery to look like that heir".
"Our actress has been on screen ever since she was seven yrs old",
"You can go online and search, you will see that she's never changed" .
"And what do you mean celebrities can do anything for attention,Our Julia does not have to do anything, she will still get attention".
The story blew up online, comments , "arguments"flew around, amidst neitezens and Julia fans,
being far from over.
For now, only one truth mattered — the people are aware, just as Clara intended.
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Inside the massive glass-and-marble campus of Imperial High, hundreds of students gathered.
Among them stood familiar faces — Victoria Crescent, April, and Emery Avril — each more grown-up than before.
Victoria still talked too much, but she'd grown into her confidence.
April, elegant and composed, looked like a young noble lady despite the faint sparkle of mischeviousness in her eyes.
And Emery… well, he was taller, handsomer, and still the same charming little devil who trailed after Violet like a shadow.
Even Melissa Spears, who had been studying abroad, had flown back to Migan just to take the exam.
After all, the Imperial High entrance examination only happened once every five years — the gateway to a future reserved for the empire's best.
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As Violet walked confidently into the examination hall, the whispers followed her — half admiration, half curiosity.
Two identical faces.
Different backgrounds.
The game was just beginning.
At the moment, although Violet noticed the murmurs around her, she didn't care—at least, not until Vira flickered to life, her voice echoing in Violet's mind.
Vira: Host, your twin set you up pretty badly.
She came early on purpose, and I'm pretty sure she hired some water armies.
Your resemblance to her is already climbing the hot search.
Violet sighed softly, eyes calm despite the whispers around her.
Violet (inwardly): Ah, Smart but typical.
Those tricks are what we call old Chinese tactics in my world.
If her first move is to show the world we look alike, then she's playing the wrong card.
Her gaze softened, not out of pity, but out of amusement.
If she'd saved this stunt for later—after something big—it could have been a deadly blow.
But now? It's just noise.
Mom and Dad won't let that rumor live for long."
Vira hummed in agreement.
Vira: Indeed.
This could've been her trump card.
What a waste.
Violet gave the faintest smirk.
"Leave it.
Let me focus on what I came here for."
And just like that, she turned her attention back to the entrance exam, walking past the stares and cameras as if the world's gossip didn't exist.
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You might have wondered if Clara made a mistake with this move.
No, she didn't.
She needed to set the foundation for the long game she was about to play against her sister—and that foundation had to be this rumor.
She knew it would eventually be taken down, but by then, the seed of doubt would already be planted.
And she was right, outside imperial high , As soon as gKingsley and Lily heard the trending topic about their daughter and a look-alike actress from John, a chill ran through them.
Was the past coming back to haunt their child?
Fear gnawed at them until Kingsley ordered John to dig up information on the young actress.
When John returned with the report—revealing she was the daughter of the second branch of the Crescent family—they finally felt relieved.
Kingsley immediately instructed him to release the girl's background to the public, cutting off any potential connection before the rumor spread further.
Soon, netizens filled the comment sections:
"Oh, they're both from rich families! The one in black is the De'ora heir, and our actress is from the Crescent family's second branch—it's just coincidence."
But beneath the flood of comments, the water armies Clara had hired planted subtle poison:
"I heard Julia was adopted by Joe Crescent from the second branch".
"What if our Julia's true identity is a De'ora?"
"Maybe she's the twin the De'ora's usually discard or hide."
"There's an old rumor that the De'oras hate twins... what if it's true?"
Those comments were buried for now—but they had already taken root, without the De'ora's knowledge.
Back in the exam hall, students were being seated according to their assigned numbers.
All phones and devices were collected, leaving only silence and tension.
Violet began her exams—five subjects in total, from math to English, then chemistry, physics, and biology.
She finished each one early.
So early, in fact, that she began resting her head on the desk between papers.
To the invigilators, it looked like carelessness.
They whispered among themselves, doubting her reputation as a genius.
"Even if she's a De'ora, how can she sleep during the most important exam of her life?"
A student overheard them and spread the gossip like wildfire through the examination hall.
By the time the last paper was over, everyone was whispering that Violet De'ora was just a spoiled rich girl pretending to be a prodigy.
When the news leaked outside, reporters stood, waiting for her at the gate.
Even students already enrolled at Imperial High began talking.
Somewhere in one of the boys' dorms of Imperial High, a red-haired boy burst through the door.
"Boss! Bad news! Your wife's being talked about all over the school!"
Another boy, taller, with dark hair, sighed. "Relax, Dannon. It's probably just a rumor."
"What do you mean just a rumor?" Dannon exclaimed.
"They're calling boss's wife dumb!, they said she was sleeping during the exams"
A blonde boy lying on the couch chuckled lazily.
"Maybe she's just tired.
Or finished early.
Either way, genius or not, dumb or not—it doesn't matter.
As long as she's my wife, I'll take care of her."
Dannon grinned mischievously, making kissy noises.
"Aww, boss is so in love~"
"Do you want me to kick you to death?" Andrea glared.
"Sorry, boss," Dannon yelped, ducking as Andrea threw a book that hit him squarely in the forehead.
"Ouch!"
Lucas, the dark-haired boy, laughed softly.
Andrea sighed, glancing toward the window. "Where's Angelo?"
"Angelo isn't here".Lucas answered
"He went to his sister's exam to support her."
Andrea blinked.
"Why didn't he tell me? I could've come along to support my wife!"
"He knew you'd want to come," Dannon muttered, rubbing his head.
"That's exactly why he didn't."
Andrea grabbed another book. "Say that again?"
Dannon bolted for the door.
"Nope, shutting up now!"
The sound of laughter filled the dorm room, as the boys bantered playfully amidst each other.
After a while, silence settled over the room.
The earlier laughter faded, replaced by the quiet hum of thoughts.
Each boy sat on his own bed — the air suddenly heavier.
Then Lucas broke the silence.
"Andrea… something else happened this morning."
Andrea lifted his eyes lazily from the book in his hand. "What?"
Lucas hesitated, exchanging glances with Dannon.
"A news spreads online — about your wife and an actress who came for the exam… they look alike."
Andrea frowned.
"Look alike?"
"The actress obviously went under the knife to look like my wife," he said with certainty, his tone cold.
"That's what we thought too," Dannon added, scratching his red hair.
"But then her fans started posting her old pictures.
She didn't have any surgery done.
The resemblance is real."
The air in the room thickened.
Andrea's golden eyes darkened as he leaned back slowly, his fingers tapping the edge of the bedframe.
"What's her name?"
"Julia Crescent," Lucas replied quietly. "Daughter of the second branch of the Crescent family."
For a moment, Andrea said nothing — just stared ahead, silent.
Then, his voice came out low and calm, but carrying an edge that made both his friends glance up.
"Leave it for now," he said.
"But if it becomes a problem for my wife—"
He paused, a faint, dangerous smile tugging at his lips.
"—destroy it."
Dannon whistled under his breath.
"There he goes again, the overprotective husband."
Lucas chuckled nervously.
"Remind me never to get on Violet's bad side.
Having you as her guard dog is terrifying."
Andrea didn't respond.
He just leaned back, eyes half-lidded, his mind already miles away — toward a certain black-haired girl who probably had no idea how she had completely filled up his thoughts without even trying .