The Villainess Now Has the Whole Galaxy on Their Knees

Benjamin Wyatt: "?"

He stared blankly for a few seconds after hearing that.

Benjamin Wyatt had long grown accustomed to all of Sophie Wexler’s songs being original compositions. He had assumed this one was no different and was already planning to have her record and release it directly.

But as it turned out, this song wasn’t one of her originals. It took Benjamin a good while to convince himself to accept it.

’Right,’ he thought. ’Singers can’t do everything. Her previous songs have all been great, so it’s not a big deal if this one isn’t an original.’

"So, who’s the original creator of this song? I’ll go buy the rights," Benjamin Wyatt asked Sophie.

But still... a song this powerful and majestic? How had he never heard it on the StarNet before? It didn’t make sense.

Hearing this, Sophie Wexler pressed her lips together. Her gaze faltered, a hint of hesitation in her eyes.

How could she tell them? This song wasn’t from the Galaxy. It was from ancient Aethel, the "March of the People’s Liberation Army" from Valeria.

In the eyes of Galactics, Ancient Aethel had long since ceased to exist, but it was her homeland.

Seeing her silence, Benjamin asked, puzzled, "What’s wrong?"

Cillian Forrest’s gaze followed his. He saw the young woman lower her eyes slightly, her thoughts unreadable.

Sophie sensed their attention on her and quickly snapped back to reality, smiling as she answered his question. "The original creator isn’t on Karath."

"Another planet is fine. I have a wide network of contacts, and I know people on other planets. Finding them won’t be a problem."

Benjamin was quite confident in his connections. As long as it was within the jurisdiction of the Empire, he could find anyone.

Even if they weren’t in the Empire, he could figure something out.

Sophie shook her head. "You won’t be able to find them."

"How is that possible?" Benjamin looked unconvinced. "We have to find the original creator. After this war, the song has become a huge hit. It directly inspired and boosted the morale of the soldiers and the public. We absolutely have to record it, and we can’t do that without the rights."

"It’s a song from Ancient Aethel," Sophie explained. "I happened to find it in a book. I learned it because I thought it was so majestic and powerful."

Of course, she couldn’t just say that as a citizen of Valeria, she knew the song by heart, to the point where she sang it instinctively when faced with such an intense battle scene.

Benjamin looked up in surprise. "In a book?"

Suddenly, something clicked for Benjamin. Weren’t all the instruments Sophie used from Ancient Aethel? Then that book...

"Don’t tell me it was a book from Ancient Aethel."

’Then there’s really no way to get the rights. After all, the people are long gone.’

"What about that ancient text?" Benjamin’s eyes lit up.

’Give me more ancient texts like that! If only we could discover a few more classic pieces of music from them.’

He knew that records about Ancient Aethel were incredibly scarce. Most documents and literature had been destroyed during the migration. Otherwise, the development of culture and entertainment in the Galaxy wouldn’t be so slow.

Therefore, an ancient text from Ancient Aethel was an exceptionally rare item.

Sophie: "..." ’Where am I supposed to find an ancient text for him?’

’If we’re talking about ancient things, I’m the most ancient person here. I can’t very well say I’m actually from Ancient Aethel, can I?’

"I didn’t think that book was very useful, so I didn’t pay much attention to it after I learned the song. I think it got accidentally burned one time." Sophie spread her hands helplessly. "It’s gone."

Benjamin Wyatt: "?!"

That was an ancient text from Ancient Aethel, and she just carelessly burned it?!

"You... you..." For a moment, Benjamin’s heart ached so much he was at a loss for words.

The look he gave Sophie seemed to accuse her of sacrilege.

But the book was burned, and there was nothing to be done about it now. The main thing was to focus on the song at hand.

"Since the ancient text is gone, we’ll base the recording on your version. You’ll be the original artist."

Sophie immediately rejected the idea. "No, I can’t be credited as the original artist."

This was Valeria’s military anthem. No one could erase its original creators.

"I can sing this song, but only as a cover or an arrangement."

"The book may be burned, but I remember the relevant details. The lyrics were by Mason Gable, and the music was composed by Richard Trent. That information must be included when it’s released," Sophie said, her tone firm.

She had her own principles on this matter. She could adapt parts of it to fit the Galaxy’s context, but the true ownership could not be misrepresented.

Benjamin was a little baffled by Sophie’s attitude. It was just a song from Ancient Aethel. Since the original creators were impossible to find, wouldn’t it be better to credit it to her? It would even boost her reputation.

Sophie looked at him, her expression resolute. Beside her, Cillian Forrest, who had been silent the entire time, shot him a brief glance.

Benjamin was instantly reminded of the clause he had added to the contract: in case of a disagreement between him and Sophie, her decision would be final.

He immediately swallowed his rebuttal. ’Crediting the original creators of a song is no big deal anyway. It’s not worth arguing with her about it.’

"Alright, I’ll make sure it’s noted on the release," Benjamin agreed.

With everything settled, Benjamin had no other business. As he was leaving, he also inquired about Sophie’s health, telling her to get more rest.

After Benjamin left, Sophie quickly replied to the messages from the streaming platform.

Once the platform learned she had participated in the war against the Swarm, they stopped pressuring her to stream and instead urged her to rest well.

They were especially worried after hearing she had fallen into a coma, and the messages of concern hadn’t stopped coming.

Sophie replied that she had woken up, was fine, and that they shouldn’t worry.

She also told them she would start streaming again as soon as possible and make up for the lost time.

After that, she browsed the comments on the StarNet, truly feeling the affection people had for her.

It was safe to say that after this incident, Sophie Wexler had become a complete sensation on Karath. Her fame was no longer confined to a single stream or platform but had spread throughout the entire populace.

Overnight, everyone knew of a streamer named "Sue Shiver"—they knew her, her songs, and her story.

Even the food she had shared on her streams had become popular!

Tammy, in particular, had started a full-blown craze.

Sophie was engrossed in reading when a voice suddenly sounded from beside her. "Did you really find that song in an ancient text?"

The man’s voice was casual, as if it were just an offhand question, but Sophie’s hand, which had been tapping the screen, froze.

For a second, she felt her heart skip a beat. She forced her expression to look natural. "Of course. How else would I know it? Besides, didn’t I just tell Benjamin all about it? You heard me."

’So don’t ask me about the book. If you ask, the answer is no, it doesn’t exist!’

Cillian Forrest watched her earnest expression, and his scrutinizing gaze gradually softened. He leaned back in his chair and chuckled softly. "If you say so."

’Little liar.’