The next day was pretty calm, Cyrielle simply finished fitting the outfits and added the st details before giving the clothes to the stylist team. And the day after that, on the 29th, it was time for Cyrielle to appear on her first live stream. She would have loved to go and see the photoshoot, to observe how a professional model would present her designs in front of a camera, but the schedules were overpping so she had no other choice.

  She entered the building with Julie. It was one of the talent agencies created by MyTubers for them and their colleagues, including a recording studio for each of them and some big rooms for colborations. They were guided to one of those rooms, where a few content creators had already gathered. A nice looking man with a beard came to welcome her.

  “Hello, nice to meet you ! I’m Bil. It feels strange to see you in real life, you’re everywhere on the trending page nowadays !”

  It was true, Cyrielle’s MyTube channel had blown up with all the recent issues.

  [Mademoiselle Cyrielle]

  Subscribers : 715,964

  Videos : 109

  She was now one of the most popur french MyTubers, not yet in the top 100, but she would reach it before the end of the year. In fact, she was probably the content creator with the most subscribers in this room. A growth of that magnitude in only four months had never been seen before.

  She calmly nodded at Bil, her aura seemingly expanding to the whole studio.

  “Nice to meet you too. I have watched your lives, it has been entertaining.”

  She spoke softly, but her voice was so powerful that it reached the staff and the other celebrities, who turned their heads to watch her.

  “I don’t consider myself to be of good company, and I doubt I will bring much content to the show, but I will do my best.”

  Bil ughed nervously, intimidated by Cyrielle.

  “Don’t worry, as long as you are here it’s already good content. It’s your first live appearance, so people will probably get curious. We will do the brief when everybody arrives, so get comfortable while waiting.”

  He waved at her and took off, probably to welcome another guest. Julie leaned towards Cyrielle and whispered :

  “I’ll go over to the staff’s side. Don’t force yourself to talk to people if you don’t want to. Remember : Being mysterious is key !”

  Cyrielle nodded, she had perfectly adapted to her concept by now, and she knew what she needed to do in order to foster the misperception.

  She casually walked in the studio, studying the set. It resembled the original Question for a Champion, with desks equipped with screens for all the candidates, but it had a funny twist. First, the big logo in the front read ‘Question for a Paragon’, and the colors of the set were changed from blue to purple and pink. There was also a big screen in the background, probably to dispy the chatroom during the live.

  ‘For now… Everything is simir to the previous shows. I must be careful though, the ground seems slippery.’

  Having finished her inspection, she came back to the waiting area and elegantly sat on a chair, taking out her sketchbook. She had a rush of inspiration, and she needed a new outfit design for an upcoming concert anyway.

  The other MyTubers were stealing gnces at her, muttering between themselves.

  “I’m a huge fan, but I somehow can’t go to her. She seems intimidating.”

  “I thought I would have the opportunity to talk and get closer, but she’s closed off…”

  “Do you think she is looking down on us ?”

  “No, otherwise she wouldn’t have come at all. It’s not like she needs it, considering her popurity.”

  “Did you see the ‘Christmas sweater’ post ? Apparently she is very kind. Maybe she just isn’t the type to talk a lot ? I know someone like that.”

  “Yes, she just might be an introvert.”

  Soon, every guest had arrived in the studio, and it was time for the briefing. It was kept very short since they were all aware of the show, and the only things to discuss were people's boundaries and things not to mention on stream, or on the contrary, things Bil needed to say. Once this was settled, every guest went to the side of the set, to wait for their entrance cue. Cyrielle was the st, being the one with the most subscribers, and she was very gd. It gave her more time to mentally prepare.

  ‘My first time in front of my subscribers live… I’m suddenly getting stage fright, will I be alright ?’

  She couldn’t be more grateful for ‘coolheadedness’. Soon, music started pying and chat messages appeared on the big screen. Bil entered the set with a big smile, cue cards in hand.

  “Hello everyone and welcome to the 5th edition of Question for a Paragon ! Today, we have a lot of fantastic guests who will try to win the title of Paragon. Should we meet them now ?”

  He started introducing the celebrities one by one, who then entered the set in turn, waving or doing a little dance, and going behind their respective desks. Finally, it was Cyrielle’s turn.

  “You probably know her for her amazing singing voice, impressive modeling capability, godly interior design… Or just because she is nice and looks good, it’s Mademoiselle Cyrielle !”

  The chat went wild when she stepped elegantly on the set. She was wearing her signature look, the high waisted pants and dark green coat, paired with the infamous knitted sweater. Messages were posted so fast that nobody could keep up. Julie had talked about her appearance on the show in the Angel’s Horseboys group, and almost all the fans were here to see her in real time.

  Cyrielle gracefully walked, smiling softly at the camera, and went to her desk.

  “Thank you for being with us, Mademoiselle Cyrielle. I heard there is something exciting in the works for you ?”

  It was a promotional segment talked about in advance. Julie had given Cyrielle clear instructions, and now was the best time to rile up the fans.

  “Indeed, something interesting happened. Let’s say, you might soon notice my face on a magazine stand.”

  All the guests’ heads turned to Cyrielle in shock. Even Bil had wide eyes, and the chat had stopped moving.

  “Are… Are you going to be on a magazine cover ?!”

  Cyrielle calmly tucked her hair behind her ear.

  “Well, it’s not the only thing I’m working on, but since I was asked, I said that I would give it a shot.”

  The viewers went wild, same with the guests who started talking excitedly amongst themselves. Bil had to move on to the next section, so he tried to calm down.

  “Before we start the first round of questions, can everybody tell me their level of general culture knowledge ?”

  The celebrities did their best to keep the show going, pouring cold water on their heart internally, and trying to remain entertaining.

  “I’m really bad, I’m just here to troll everyone !”

  “I studied a lot, I’m sure I’ll make it to the finale !”

  “I’m average, I think. I mean, I finished lycée and I watch TV, so I shouldn’t be completely ignorant !”

  Then it was Cyrielle’s turn. She opted for a modest reply.

  “I don’t think I will be bad, but I didn’t particurly review my notes.”

  Bil ughed.

  “Well, if with all that talent you are also a god of knowledge, I might quit my job out of spite ! Now, if everyone is ready, I’ll start with the first question. Remember, you must push the button if you have the answer, and talk only when I say your name… And… Go !”

  He raised his cue card and his lips slowly separated. Cyrielle was seeing all of that in slow motion. Contrary to what she said, Julie made her work very hard for today’s show. She had trained to the point of becoming an expert and developing her own strategy. First, while ‘refinement’ needed to stay activated at all costs for the ‘coolheadedness’, she also brought forth the gift ‘mind and body linked’, to have the least amount of dey between the moment she found the answer, and when she would press the button. Then she called ‘studying’.

  “I am a woman…”

  She pulled out all her mental files about women.

  “...who won…”

  She closed all the files of women who didn’t win anything.

  “...a Nobel prize…”

  She closed the files of women who didn’t win a Nobel prize. Only 59 remained, counting the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, but since the questions were straightforward, she could eliminate those. 57 remaining.

  “...in Physics…”

  Closing the files for women who didn’t win a Nobel prize in physics, there were now only four files opened.

  “...and…”

  Cyrielle pushed the button. Everybody’s heads turned to her in disbelief. Even Bil looked confused.

  “Yes, Mademoiselle Cyrielle ? Do you have the answer ?”

  She calmly straightened her back.

  “Only one woman won two Nobel prizes, it was Marie Curie in 1903 and 1911. When I heard ‘and’, I thought you might announce a second Nobel prize this woman had won, in that case Marie Curie is the only answer.”

  Bil opened and closed his mouth several times before finally decring :

  “That’s the right answer, Mademoiselle Cyrielle scores the first point !”

  Appuses erupted on set, but Cyrielle simply nodded. It was only the beginning. After that, she scored her nine points in a row and was selected for the next round before the other contestants had even a chance to press their button. It took much more time for the second and third celebrities to earn nine points and advance to the second round, marking Cyrielle as the one to beat. But honestly, none of them had even a glimmer of hope. It seemed impossible to win against Mademoiselle Cyrielle.

  “We are getting ready for the second round ! It’s the ‘four in a row’ ! You must answer correctly four times in a row, and if you make even the slightest mistake, you’ll go back to 0. You have one minute to try and raise your score as much as possible.”

  He turned to Cyrielle with gleaming eyes. His initial shock gone, he was now seeing the situation objectively. Mademoiselle Cyrielle was really smart, and that was the best content he could have imagined for this stream, as proven by the chat who didn’t show any sign of slowing down.

  “I suppose you can score all your points in less than 30 seconds ?”

  Cyrielle modestly nodded.

  “I can try.”

  Bil ughed and started the countdown. Cyrielle once again prepared ‘studying’.

  “I am an equine…”

  She opened all her files about different equines.

  “...from Africa…”

  She closed the other files. There were only two equines from Africa, if you didn’t count all the subspecies of zebra, and the show didn’t generally go in such directions.

  “... my tin name is Equus africanus…”

  “African wild donkey.”

  “Yes ! Next, I am…”

  The round unfolded at a fast pace. Cyrielle didn’t even need 30 seconds, she scored all her points in 25. She continued her stelr performance in the finale, and soon the stream ended with her perfect victory.

  As she was about to leave, the other content creators flocked to her.

  “Mademoiselle Cyrielle ! I was wondering if you wanted to appear on one of my streams…”

  She fended them off with a polite nod.

  “Thank you for today, it was entertaining. For any inquiries, please talk to my manager.”

  Today was fun, but she couldn’t wait to go back to her hotel bed.