She Was the Treasure All Along novel Chapter 526

Usually, the moment a blueprint was presented, the judges could instantly identify the designer. Every creator had a distinct artistic signature and conceptual approach. It made evaluating the overall quality incredibly straightforward.

But during today's review, something highly unusual caught the panel's attention.

"Looks like Élégance hired a new designer this year," one judge noted in surprise. "This is infinitely more compelling than their usual conservative, highly commercial garbage."

The other judges leaned in to examine the sketches in his hands.

"It is quite striking," a veteran female judge agreed, adjusting her glasses for a closer look. "Look at the silhouette of this coat. It's bold, fluid, and entirely breaks away from Élégance's traditional mold. The line work is highly artistic, and it utilizes their proprietary premium fabric to its absolute maximum potential."

"It's about time they stopped wasting good material."

The entire collection radiated a refreshing, spring-like vitality. Fittingly, the flagship piece was titled *The Spring Collection*, paired beautifully with jewelry from the renowned Langley Group. It was undeniably a standout submission.

Typically, Élégance only ever scraped by with a participation trophy, barely qualifying for the runway. But today, the judges were unanimous in their high praise.

"Who is the designer? Where did they poach this talent?" The female judge flipped to the designer profile, freezing when she saw the name Sybil Seabrook. Noting her age, she gasped. "This is the heiress of Élégance? She's still college-aged and producing work of this caliber?"

"It makes sense," an experienced male judge chimed in. "If you look closely at the linework and structural choices, there's a certain raw, unpolished energy typical of a young prodigy. It fits the profile of a naturally gifted designer at that age."

"With an heiress this talented, Élégance has a very bright future ahead."

After setting such a high bar with Élégance, the judges found the subsequent entries rather lackluster.

That was, until they opened the portfolio for Bloomberry.

The submission file was significantly thicker than the others, immediately drawing the judges' curiosity.

"Bloomberry? Isn't that a teenage fast-fashion brand? I remember they're owned by the same parent company as Élégance, but their designs are usually disjointed knockoffs with terrible manufacturing quality. I thought the brand was practically dead."

"Why are they competing alongside Élégance? Is the CEO trying to revive their youth demographic?"

The veteran female judge, having meticulously examined both sets of blueprints under a magnifying glass, delivered the verdict with razor-sharp certainty. "At first glance, they look the same. But the technical detailing on Bloomberry's sketch is far more advanced and resolved. Not to mention, Bloomberry's four seasonal pieces share a cohesive structural dialogue that the Élégance piece completely lacks."

The other judges frowned. "Tch. And here I thought the declining Élégance had actually found some talent. Turns out they're just stealing from a dying subsidiary."

"So much for a teenage prodigy. Just a morally bankrupt thief," the female judge sneered. "How do we handle this? Do we issue a public disqualification? They've probably already finished production on the actual garments."

Everyone in the industry knew that plagiarism was a death sentence. For any designer, especially one backed by major brand partnerships, getting caught meant immediate blacklisting and the end of their career.

"No. Let them compete."

A man strolled into the room, picking up the blueprints and tossing them back onto the table. "Funny enough, I attended the new owner's homecoming gala a few days ago. The rumors are completely wrong. She's not some spoiled brat throwing money around."

Hearing him, the judges immediately crowded closer. "What are you suggesting?"