"You were still thinking about the candy, while I almost lost my husband!"
*After affectionately pinching the cheek of the little girl, as Princess Veronica was about to call out to Leon to ask why he suddenly left her behind, an old and hoarse voice suddenly came from the nearby window.*
*Startled by the sound that resembled a sharp object scraping against glass, Princess Veronica turned towards it and saw an old lady with sagging skin and white hair reaching out her arms in her direction.*
"Can I have Phoebe back?"
*Noticing the wary look in the other person's eyes, Princess Veronica thought she might have misunderstood something. To avoid being mistaken for a child kidnapper, she quickly set the little girl in her arms down.*
However, Princess Veronica had already hesitated slightly when she was handed two Silver Wheels earlier, and now, with the sudden appearance of the old lady, Leon, who was riding on a broomstick, had already flown far away.
Forget it, I know his address, I can ask him later.
Looking at Leon's retreating figure, Princess Veronica couldn't help but sigh.
Today was just... not only was there an assassination attempt by the Rebels, but she also ended up getting married without any preparation, and the Prince she chose seemed like an odd person.
Especially just now, he had asked her to help look after a child one moment, and the next moment acted as if he forgot who she was, not only becoming polite and distant but even inexplicably giving her two Silver Wheels...
*What a peculiar person; but since Leon worked for the Purification Bureau, it's probably normal for him to be a bit weird?*
Shaking her head full of confusion, Princess Veronica smoothed out her skirt, squatted down, and opened the little girl's dirty, small black hand, placing a shiny Silver Wheel inside. She then smiled and patted the little girl's bottom.
"Here's the money, go to your real grandma and let her buy you some candy~"
Looking at the silver-white coin in her hand, the little girl tilted her head in surprise.
"Phoebe's grandma is already dead, dead for many years."
This child's grandma is dead? Then who was talking to me?
*Hearing the little girl's words, Princess Veronica's eyebrows furrowed slightly, then she looked up at the old lady in the distant window and asked politely but cautiously,*
"May I ask, who are you to this child?"
*The old lady lifted her finely wrinkled brows, gave Princess Veronica a meaningful look, then smiled calmly, and answered,*
"My name is Lucy, I'm Phoebe's sister."
*You're Phoebe's sister?*
Upon hearing this, Princess Veronica was momentarily taken aback, and her tightly furrowed brows did not relax, but instead tightened further.
Impossible! You look over sixty, while little Phoebe seems to be only five or six years old, how could she be your sister?
*As Princess Veronica furrowed her brow, starting to suspect the old lady might have some mental issues, the little girl suddenly ran happily towards the old lady.*
Standing on tiptoes to pat the old lady's silver hair, the little girl lifted the coin to the old lady's eyes with her dirty little hand and affectionately imitated Princess Veronica's earlier words, saying:
"If you call me sister, I'll buy you candy~"
*Looking at the little girl full of innocence before her, a hint of sadness flashed in the old lady's eyes, then she compliantly lowered her head so Phoebe wouldn't have to stand on tiptoes to touch the top of her head. Then, with a hoarse and eerie voice, she softly agreed,*
"Sister, no matter what you become, you will always be my sister."
*So... it turns out it's not the grandma who has mental issues, but the child who might be intellectually challenged?*
Noticing the sadness in the old lady's eyes, as well as her allowing little Phoebe to touch her head, Princess Veronica fell silent and chose not to further disturb this peculiar "sisterhood," instead turning back towards the main hall.
*Some things are almost impossible to change, whether it's this little girl's innate foolishness or the deep-rooted greed in people's hearts.*
*The only thing she could do was use the power that came with her title of Princess to try to put shackles on those excessive greeds, so these inherently unfortunate could be slightly happier.*
*And her marriage to Leon undoubtedly accelerated this progress, making everything worthwhile!*
"What just happened... Earl? Wake up, my lord!"
*When Princess Veronica re-entered the hall where the ceremony of peerage was held, some of those who had fainted due to the "Heartbeat Moment" had already begun to regain consciousness.*
However, those waking up were mostly the younger or stronger attendees or the guards; people with higher status were usually older and physically weaker, so most remained unconscious, leaving no one to take charge of the situation, and the hall was in chaos.
"Everyone, please listen to me!"
*Observing the chaotic scene in the hall, Princess Veronica shook her head, then adjusted her shawl to cover the black handprint on her chest, and clapped her hands forcefully to attract everyone's attention, then instructed the awakened people:*
"The current priority is to wake people up. VinceSmoke family's members should go fetch a doctor, while other families should move their unconscious members upstairs.
As for families where no one has awakened, the Ryan Family should take responsibility. Also, check the condition of the unconscious people so that once the VinceSmoke family brings a doctor, priority can be given to those in more serious conditions."
That seems... like the right thing to do now?
*After hearing Princess Veronica's instructions, the chaotic hall quieted down for a moment, then people began to subconsciously follow suit. Their actions led more people to begin assisting, and the chaotic hall gradually became more orderly.*
*However, even as they followed her instructions, most people couldn't help but have a peculiar question arise in their hearts.*
*Who is this woman issuing orders... exactly?*
"What? You encountered the Rebels with control over an Anomalous Object again and nearly fell into their trap?"
*After Leon finished recounting today's events, the Red-haired Director blinked her fox-like eyes in surprise, saying,*
"That's strange. Although the likelihood of encountering abnormalities typically increases with higher levels of Corrosion once someone joins the Purification Bureau, haven't you been getting into accidents a bit too often?"
"I do think it's odd too and suspect I might be under some Curse..."
*Leon nodded somewhat helplessly and said,*
"But the Black Goat said, assured as a Great Demon, that there's absolutely nothing abnormal about me; at least it couldn't detect any issues, so it suggested I come straight to you to find out what's really going on."