The Glow Up No One Saw Coming

HER ANSWER

The whispers were deafening.

Claire stood in front of the notice board in wrinkled pink silk.

Across from her: Julia in red, perfect and poised.

Beside Julia: Edward, arms crossed, staring at Claire like she was a mistake.

The yellow edict fluttered between them.

*"Then say it,"* Julia said. Her smile didn’t reach her eyes. *"Tell us how _you_ would strengthen the state, Claire."*

The crowd leaned in. Waiting for her to embarrass herself.

Claire’s mouth was dry. She didn’t know ancient law. Didn’t know farming.

But she knew scams. She knew people.

She tapped the edict.

*"You want to strengthen the state?"* Her voice came out louder than she expected. *"Then stop taxing people who have nothing left."*

Edward scoffed. *"That’s not governance. That’s naivety."*

*"Is it?"* Claire shot back. *"Right now, the decree says ‘talent to govern’. The original girl ripped it because she was scared of losing you, Ed. But what if the problem isn’t the people? What if it’s how we’re bleeding them?"*

Julia’s expression cooled. *"And your solution is?"*

Claire pointed at the crowd. At the merchants. At the tired farmers at the back.

*"Trade. Not just grain and silk. Information. Roads. Let the merchants move freely and take a cut. Let the villages sell directly instead of through ten corrupt middlemen. The state gets richer, the people don’t starve."*

Gasps from the crowd.

*"Let merchants run free? That’s heresy!"*

*"She sounds like a foreign trader..."*

Edward’s jaw tightened. *"You lack talent, looks, and you’re just boy-crazy. And now you think you can rewrite the economy?"*

Claire met his eyes. No flinching this time.

*"I may be boy-crazy in the past. But I’m not stupid. And I’m not letting my family die because I was."*

Silence.

Julia stepped forward, touching the scroll again. Her voice was honey and poison.

*"Bold words. But His Majesty wants results, not speeches. Can you even prove any of this?"*

Claire’s heart dropped.

She had no proof. No plan written down. Just the idea.

The crowd was split. Half laughing. Half... listening.

Julia looked at Edward. Then back at Claire.

*"Then answer me this, Claire Grant. If you’re so talented, why did you tear the decree in the first place?"*

All eyes on Claire.

*"Then answer me this, Claire Grant. If you’re so talented, why did you tear the decree in the first place?"*

Julia’s voice was quiet. But it cut through the crowd.

All eyes on Claire.

The wind pulled at the yellow edict on the board.

Claire’s throat was dry.

_So, I've transmigrated into a jealous, boy-crazy girl who secretly ripped the royal decree._

She could see it in their faces. They already knew. The Duke was furious about it. The crowd was whispering about it.

*"The original girl ripped it because she was scared of losing you, Ed,"* she had said earlier.

Now they were waiting for her to say it again.

Claire looked at Edward. Blank. Cold.

She looked at Julia. Red silk, hand still on the scroll.

She looked at the crowd. Half laughing. Half listening.

*"I tore it,"* Claire said.

The crowd murmured.

*"Because I was boy-crazy,"* she continued. Voice low. *"I didn’t want you to go, Ed. I didn’t think about the state. I didn’t think about my family."*

Edward’s jaw tightened. He said nothing.

*"That was me before,"* Claire said. *"But I’m not letting my family die because of that."*

Silence.

Julia’s smile returned. Small. *"So you admit it. You tore the Imperial Edict."*

Claire didn’t look away. *"Yes."*

*"That is deceiving the king,"* Julia said softly.

The word hung in the air.

_Deceiving the king._

The crowd went still again.