<h4>Chapter 264: Half Part Only</h4>


    A few minutes before the time ran out, Natalie finished making her perfume. Finally, everyone in the audience let out a sigh of relief.


    Natalie carried her creation to the judges and ced the tray in front of them. All five judges tested it one by one, their expressions shifting noticeably. They looked at each other in disbelief, then turned their gazes to Natalie.


    They examined the form Natalie had written, and their expressions changed once more.


    Briena, standing to the side, smirked smugly. <i>Now it’s time for your downfall, Natalie.</i>


    "Ms. Natalie, you and Ms. Briena have created exactly the same perfume. How can that be?" one of the judges asked.


    Whispers rippled through the hall, the audience stunned.


    "Has she giarized Briena again?"


    "Seems like it. Briena finished first, clearly knowing what she was creating, while Natalie looked lost and confused."


    Despite the murmurs, Natalie remained calm andposed, her expression serious and unwavering.


    The judges turned to Briena. "Ms. Briena, what do you have to say about this?"


    Briena walked confidently toward the judges and stood beside Natalie, adopting a sorrowful expression. "I have no idea why her perfume is simr to mine. I worked hard to create it, and the form is imprinted in my memory, which is why I could make it faster and perfectly."


    Her words, spoken with a tone of feigned innocence, clearly implied her usation.


    Someone from the audience shouted loudly, "Natalie Ford, have you stolen your sister’s work again, just like in the past? I’m sure you did. You don’t deserve to be here."


    The hall buzzed with usations.


    Mia, who had been quiet until now, clenched her fists, her anger evident. She was ready to confront the man, but Cathy ced a calming hand on hers. "Calm down and keep quiet."


    Mia swallowed her anger and remained seated, though her frustration was palpable.


    Briena turned to Natalie with a sorrowful expression. "In the past, you did the same. Don’t tell me you’ve stolen my form this time as well. How could you, Natalie? I thought you’d been working hard, and I was rooting for you."


    ra, seated in the audience, marched toward them, her face filled with indignation. She red at Natalie. "You stole Briena’s work again?"


    "Calm down," one of the judges interjected. "It could be a coincidence—"


    "Coincidence?" ra snapped. "There is no coincidence here. I’m certain she stole it. She’s done it before," she said, turning toward one of the judges. "Mr. Ker, you were one of the judgesst time. You know what Natalie did back then."


    Mr. Ker, visibly ufortable, simply hummed and stayed silent.


    ra turned back to Natalie, her voice filled with fury. "You’ve always been like this. Last time, I let it go, thinking we’re family, but this time you’ve crossed the line. I’ll make sure you go to prison for this. I am calling police."


    Natalie met ra’s and Briena’s usations with a calm, almost dismissive expression, as though she regarded them both as fools.


    "Ms. Natalie," one of the judges said sternly. "What is going on here? Did you really..."


    "I didn’t," Natalie finally replied, her voice steady and unwavering.


    Briena seized the opportunity. "Natalie, I know you’ve always envied me, but you’re talented too. I’m sure you could have created a great perfume on your own. What was the need to steal my work? How could you do this?"


    With that Briena started crying and ra started tofort her.


    Natalie, still calm, finally turned to look at Briena, her gaze icy. "What if I say <i>you’re</i> the one who stole <i>my</i> form and you failed to steal properly?"


    "I didn’t steal anything." Briena, slightly shaken under Natalie’s cold stare, tried to maintain herposure. "I prepared the perfume before you and everyone here saw it. If it was yours, then why did it take you so long to prepare it? Unless, of course, it’s not your form, and you were making mistakes while trying to replicate it."


    "Who creates it first doesn’t matter," Natalie replied, a faint smirk forming on her lips. "What matters is who creates it <i>perfectly</i>."


    "Of course I did it perfectly," Briena countered.


    Natalie smirked, "When you tested that perfume, didn’t you feel like something was missing?"


    The judges exchanged nces, remembering their own feelings of unease when they tested Briena’s creation earlier.


    "No! There is nothing missing!" Briena snapped. "I worked hard to create it, and I know my own form!"


    "Really?" Natalie challenged. "Then why don’t you go and test your creation once more?"


    Natalie gestured toward the table where Briena’s perfume was still ced in front of the judges. She then addressed the panel. "Why don’t you all test her perfume again?"


    Though puzzled, the judges picked up the perfume and tested it once more. Their expressions changed instantly.


    "Howe its scent has changed?" one of the judges eximed in shock.


    Briena, visibly rmed, rushed to the table and smelled her own perfume. Her face went pale—it was entirely different from what she had created.


    In disbelief, she turned to Natalie. "You... What did you do to my perfume?"


    Natalie raised an eyebrow, her calm demeanor unshaken. "I’m standing on the other side of this table, and your perfume has been out of my reach the entire time. What could I possibly have done from here?"


    Briena was left speechless, her mind scrambling for answers, but all she found was utter disbelief.


    Ms. Taylor looked at Natalie, her instincts confirmed—something had indeed been missing in Briena’s perfume.


    "Ms. Natalie," Ms. Taylor said, "If both of you have the same form, then your perfume should also change its scent. In that case, neither of you would be qualified."


    Natalie met her gaze calmly. "As expert perfumers, I’m sure you all felt that something was missing in what you tested. Didn’t you?"


    The judges exchanged nces and nodded in agreement.


    "That’s because what you tested is just one part of the entire perfume," Natalie exined. She picked up the sheet where she had written her form, unfolding it fully.


    The judges leaned closer, noticing another form written below the one both Natalie and Briena had prepared before.


    Natalie picked up a separate ss container from her tray, and said, "This is the second part of the form, which needs to be prepared separately and then added to the first," and poured its contents into the main container from which the judges had previously tested the perfume. "This is why I needed more time toplete my creation."


    She ced the final product in front of the judges. "The perfume is nowplete."


    The hall fell into a stunned silence as the judges tested the perfume once more. Their reactions were immediate and unanimous.


    This time, the perfume was entirely different and far superior to what they had smelled before. It was a unique creation—bnced, rich, and fulfilling, with no element missing. There was nothing they could critique.


    Briena, standing off to the side, was frozen in shock. She had no idea what to say or do. Could she im it was a coincidence they had created the same initial form? But even that would not exin Natalie’s second part of the perfume.


    Most importantly, why did she receive only one part of form?