Chapter 578

The handwriting offered no clues. As Lily read the letter, she felt the organizer was inviting her to play detective. "Is this a test?" she mused, smiling. She set the letter aside and picked up the small vials. They were ordinary perfume bottles. Although the letter mentioned creating at least two different scents, the necessary bottles had been prepared.

Their confidence in Lily's acceptance of the challenge was evident. However, she wondered if those admitted to the Perfumers' Society had undergone a similar process. Regardless, Lily decided to spend the week thoroughly exploring the yard and familiarizing herself with her surroundings.

The yard contained a variety of plants, exactly as the letter described, though all appeared quite common. A shed in the backyard housed a supposed laboratory. While it contained several pieces of equipment, the set was incomplete.

Initially, the place seemed strange, but after careful examination, nothing appeared unusual—even the plants and equipment were unremarkable. Creating new fragrances using only the available resources would prove challenging.

As fellow perfumers, they should have known how difficult this test would be. Was this ambiguity itself part of the test? Lily decided to examine her surroundings more closely.

She was about to leave when she realized the person who had handled her luggage had locked the main door. Lily was trapped. She attempted to call for help, only to discover she had no signal. She hadn't recalled this location being remote during her journey. City-wide signal loss was impossible. The only logical explanation was the presence of signal jammers. "Did they really have to go this far for a test?" she wondered, her curiosity about the letter's author piqued.

"Mr. Russell," Edward began hesitantly, glancing at his boss's face.

"Is there still no news?" Alexander's voice was icy, chilling those within earshot.

Edward shook his head. "I can't trace the sender. However, the lady has arrived in Kingsland; that much is certain. It's just…"

"Tell me!" Alexander's voice was sharp and impatient.

"Yes, sir!" Edward hung his head. Despite his surprise, he truthfully reported everything to Alexander. "The Perfumers' Society denies sending any such invitation, or even having invited the lady. So…"

"It's a fake. I have no idea who sent the letter."

If this were true, the consequences were unpredictable. Edward dared not even consider who would be audacious enough to forge an invitation on behalf of the Perfumers' Society, especially since they'd managed to conceal their deception so effectively.

"I've been under the radar for too long, haven't I?" Alexander murmured, slowly looking up at Edward. The sharpness in his eyes was menacing; Edward had seen this look before, and it terrified him.