Chapter 364

The murmurs of doubt filled the room, but Evelyn Carter remained unshaken. Her expression stayed cool and detached, as if the heated discussions around her had nothing to do with her.

The head judge glanced at Mr. Whitaker before raising a hand for silence. "You all wanted to know why Ms. Carter secured first place, didn’t you? The answer lies in the final question itself. Regarding the last challenge—do you truly believe your responses were correct?"

A sudden realization dawned on one of the contestants. "Wait… does that mean both bottles were Mr. Whitaker’s creations?"

If Mr. Whitaker hadn’t contradicted the earlier assumption, then the initial conclusion was flawed.

Since it was never explicitly stated that neither bottle belonged to him, the implication was clear—they did.

The judge smiled faintly, lifting a stack of completed answer sheets. "Here are your responses. Most of you meticulously analyzed the raw materials and composition, then concluded with your own judgments."

He paused. "Many of you claimed the two bottles weren’t Mr. Whitaker’s work, while others insisted they were. However, Ms. Carter’s answer didn’t include any such assertion."

Confused glances were exchanged.

"So analyzing it was wrong? Just because we added our own interpretation, whether right or wrong, we lost points?"

The judge stepped aside, gesturing for Evelyn to take the podium. "Perhaps Ms. Carter should explain herself. By the way, her positional analysis was the most precise."

Evelyn suppressed a sigh. She had assumed the competition would end after the results were announced, allowing her to leave. Instead, she was being dragged into this unnecessary spectacle.

Reluctantly, she approached the microphone.

Instead of immediately addressing the crowd, she turned to Mr. Whitaker, who sat observing quietly. "Before I answer, I’d like to ask Mr. Whitaker a question."

The room fell silent.

Mr. Whitaker arched a brow but nodded for her to proceed.

"What was the purpose behind the final question in this competition?"

Gasps rippled through the audience. How bold of her to question the legendary perfumer so directly!

Mr. Whitaker studied her for a long moment before replying, "What do you think?"

Evelyn didn’t hesitate. "I believe you were testing whether external influences would cloud our judgment." She folded her arms. "The last question didn’t need labels at all. We were simply meant to analyze and evaluate. Whose work it was shouldn’t have mattered. But by deliberately labeling those bottles, you introduced bias—forcing us to second-guess, to overanalyze, to attach meaning where there was none."

One of the contestants scoffed. "That’s exactly why we questioned it! We refused to take the labels at face value and judged for ourselves!"

Evelyn shook her head. "No, you didn’t."

Her blunt rebuttal made the man stiffen.

She swept her gaze across the room. "You claimed to doubt the labels, but in reality, you became obsessed with them. You wasted time debating their authenticity, letting them distort your perception. Instead of focusing on the scents themselves, you got lost in speculation. That’s why your answers were flawed."

Silence settled over the room.

Despite their initial resistance, her words resonated.

Finally, someone spoke up. "Ms. Carter, then how did you answer? Didn’t you wonder about the creator at all?"