The committee didn't set any rules for the contestants' progress throughout the four hours. It was up to them to control their time. If they'd yet to complete the last step and produce a perfume at the end of the four hours, they would have failed.Four hours was long, but time flew when one was engrossed. Lucille watched the competition from her seat on the judge's panel, feeling a burning gaze on her the whole time. She knew who it belonged to.It was just that there were too many eyes and cameras around. So, she felt it was better to maintain a low profile. She forced herself not to turn around.…Meanwhile, the people at Windmere Manor were watching the livestream of the competition."Ms. Lucille is brilliant and talented above all else. To think she's already achieved so much in the perfumery industry at her age," Andrew said with gratification. "Your mother wanted you to learn perfumery back in the day, but you just weren't interested in it."She could only give up on the i
Still, there was no underestimating the power of the Internet. Some people had soon managed to dig up information on Samantha, but they'd been stopped before spreading the information. And so, only few people knew the truth about her.Samantha, who was contestant no. 9, was the first to finish writing her perfume formula. Lucille surreptitiously checked the time and saw that she'd taken 20 minutes. It wasn't considered too fast or too slow—it was a logical amount of time.Just because one wrote quickly didn't mean they would definitely win. The final product was still what would determine who came out on top.Zoe, who was contestant no. 3, was the second to finish her formula. Sabrina and the five other contestants followed. Most of them had finished their formulas within 30 minutes.Lucille kept glancing at Sabrina, so she saw every minute expression that appeared on the latter's face. It looked like she was confident she would win.Lucille smirked underneath the veil again. It
Matilda's mind exploded with expletives upon hearing the news. If not for her remembering that they were in the middle of a competition with a livestream, she would've shot up from her seat in astonishment.She calmed herself before asking in a lowered voice, "When did you get a husband? Why have I never heard about this? Why didn't you tell me?"She was so agitated that she forgot how to form the words in Summerian. Instead, she used Faelisian.Lucille reminded, "This isn't the time and place for gossip, Ms. Dunn. Watch where you are."Matilda looked around. She felt awful now that the flames of gossip had been ignited in her. "You have to tell me everything after the competition, then. Don't try to run away.""Okay, okay."To the audience, Matilda and Lucille's short exchange seemed like a discussion about the competition.The Johnson family only arrived halfway through the competition; it was too late for them to enter. However, due to their identities, the staff stationed at
Horace looked in the direction Ivy had pointed to see the side profile of a woman wearing a veil. He didn't say anything, but his satisfied smile proved that he believed Ivy to be right.Soon, William noticed Spencer among the audience. "Look, Dad. Isn't that JM Corporation's Mr. Layton? What's he doing here?"Horace looked in the direction William had indicated. He hadn't expected to see someone as powerful as Spencer there. Losing the chance to latch onto the Layton family was always one of his regrets. Even one of the Layton family's branch families was better than the Keller family.If he'd known things would've turned out like this, he wouldn't have helped Sabrina steal Harold from Lucille. Then, perhaps Sabrina would've ended up with Spencer instead."Does that mean Lucille is here, too?" Ivy immediately thought of Lucille when she saw Spencer. She looked around but didn't see Lucille.Spencer wore a dapper navy blue suit and was seated alone, looking elegant and regal. His
Two hours later, it was break time.Michael reminded, "Everyone, it's our break time. We've got a 15-minute break. Apart from the audience and judges who can move around, contestants aren't allowed to leave the stage but can sit and have a rest."You can either take a break or keep going—it's your call. There are no special rules. The only rule is that you mustn't leave the stage."As soon as Michael said that, only Zoe and Samantha paused what they were doing and sat still to rest. The others continued with their tasks. Two minutes later, Sabrina also stopped.Ivy waved at Sabrina from below the stage, looking proud.However, Sabrina pretended not to see her. Instead, she smiled at the camera. From Ivy's point of view, it looked as if Sabrina had responded to her. Actually, Sabrina wanted to ignore Ivy. Ever since she'd seen Jane, she'd realized that if Ivy had had capabilities or a powerful background, she wouldn't have had to rely on herself for everything.In her eyes, Ivy
"Spencer, are you flying off the handle? I can't believe you actually hit me."Spencer was at a loss for words.He grimaced and threatened Lucille. "If you continue to talk nonsense, I don't mind making love to you right here."She knew he always meant what he said, so she stopped joking."I was just testing you," she said with a cheeky grin. "So, what did you want to tell me? Don't leave me hanging."Unfortunately, she'd covered her face with a veil, so he could only see the mischief glinting in her eyes. It wasn't easy to pique her interest, but Spencer was an exception.He didn't answer her. Instead, he responded with a subtle approach. He kissed her while she was wearing the veil. The feeling was strange. It wasn't their first kiss, but…She wasn't the only one who felt it. He felt it too."Do you know how deadly your veiled beauty is right now?" He pressed his forehead against hers and whispered, "You little vixen, you're seducing me without even knowing it."With a playf
Michael said, "Currently, contestant no. 3, Zoe, has the highest score. She got an average score of 9.4 from the judges, which is really high. Now, the pressure is on our final two contestants, no. 9 and no. 5."Lucille hadn't participated in giving feedback for the previous six contestants. So, she was in charge of the evaluation for the final two contestants.She glanced at Samantha and Sabrina.Sabrina looked at Lucille with confidence and arrogance, so the latter ignored her and chose to comment on Samantha first.Lucille rasped, "Contestant no. 9, you're the only one among the eight contestants present who used the distillation and concentration method to extract the essential oil, removing impurities from the raw ingredients completely. So, the fragrance and ingredients of your product are much purer."You managed to show great attention to detail in a situation where it's not easy to concentrate on perfumery. It's impressive." Everyone knew Deer rarely praised anyone. Whe
After Lucille listened to Sabrina's explanation, she pondered for a while before she leisurely said, "Okay. What you said makes sense."With that, the crowd was confused once again.Lucille's feedback wasn't genuine, and it seemed like there was a hidden meaning in her words.There was something odd about the tone she used when she gave feedback to Sabrina. The atmosphere at the venue became strange and awkward.Michael attempted to interfere, but he shut up when he saw Matilda glance at him. He worked for Matilda, so he naturally understood what she meant. She was telling him not to interrupt.Sabrina clasped her hands behind her back, waiting for Lucille to continue.Lucille narrowed her eyes and said softly, "However, it lacks a key element. There is no problem with the formula, but it isn't complete."Sabrina frowned at her words and immediately became alert. The Johnson family below the stage was dumbfounded.Lucille said, "I admit that you have talent, but you didn't use