Chapter 250

Next, there he was, stepping with aesthetically pleasing stage movements, his figure seemingly slow yet fast as he headed towards the next “plot point.” Meanwhile, Leon took advantage of the transition period while the tavern set was being built on stage to lean close to the princess’s ear and ask suspiciously, “Veronica, does that male protagonist up there look like a human or a puppet to you?”

Hmm? What kind of question is this? Princess Veronica slightly froze upon hearing this, not understanding why Leon would ask such a thing. But after recalling Leon’s “job,” her expression immediately turned serious as she leaned in close and whispered back, “Human! He looks human to me! Could Elijah possibly be a puppet in your eyes?”

“Hmm…”

As Leon watched the tavern lit up under the stage lights, and the female lead dancing gracefully with her skirt fluttering while holding a prop tray inside, he frowned deeply and said, “It’s not just the male protagonist; in my view, all the actors currently on stage are nothing more than clothed puppets that can talk. We must have encountered an abnormal event.”

Since you’re a loyal fan of Master Wilde, you should have been keeping tabs on the Morning Star Theater Company’s activities, right? Has there been any noteworthy news about them recently?”

Noteworthy news, huh?

Realizing Leon was gathering intelligence to prepare for dealing with the anomaly, Princess Veronica, after giving the stage one last regretful glance, didn’t rush to bombard him with questions but instead diligently recalled everything.

“Come to think of it, there are indeed some strange points.”

After searching through her memory for a moment, the princess furrowed her delicate eyebrows and recounted, “The chief actor of the Morning Star Theater Company, Andre, who has worked with Master Wilde for the longest time, was boycotted due to a scandal, and they haven’t found a suitable replacement yet.

Afterwards, because of the issues with integrating new actors, their performances received poor reviews among theater enthusiasts. Master Wilde seemed extremely upset about this and voluntarily reduced the number of performances, starting closed training sessions.

But journalists discovered that the food sent into the Central Cross Theater during these training sessions hadn’t been touched at all and was directly thrown into nearby trash bins. They suspected that the closed training was just a front, causing quite a commotion…”

No one touched the food sent into the theater? Leon’s brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this, feeling that this piece of information seemed somewhat familiar. After carefully flipping through his notebook, he finally remembered.

After recovering from the Blood Night incident and running back to the Clearing Bureau from the hospital, before getting trapped in the Public Security Bureau’s dungeon, the Bureau Director had given him some investigation tasks.

These included the lost herdsman looking for goats in Barfu County, the arsonist roaming around in the Lause Arcade, and the issue with the food for the Morning Star Theater Company, among others.

At the time, after reviewing them, he felt these tasks didn’t seem related to anomalies, so he eventually chose to take on the mission to rescue Amy from Rose Manor.

However, when infiltrating the rebels later, he discovered that the arsonist was actually an anomaly item holder for the rebels — the burn-loving man named Tiger who liked sniffing people. Now, it seemed the Morning Star Theater Company really had an issue.

If we count the Scale Gold Religion bishop met at Rose Manor, three out of the four missions he originally received had now been confirmed to involve anomalies. It seems his Bureau Director’s “mission distribution” skills were exceptionally high.

…

“Leon?”

After waiting for a while without hearing a response from Leon, the princess couldn’t help but softly asked, “What do you think? Did you find anything? Are these people watching the play in danger?”

“I did find something, and it’s actually good news.”

Leon nodded after regaining his focus:

“From then until now, a considerable amount of time has passed, yet none of the audience members who came to watch the plays have disappeared or suffered large-scale casualties. This indicates that this anomalous event is relatively stable and most likely won’t affect the audience.”

“That’s good…”

Upon hearing Leon’s words, Princess Veronica couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief. She then leaned over and softly asked,

“What can I do to help? Should I secretly organize an evacuation? Or…”

“Nope, don’t do anything!”

Leon rejected the princess’s suggestion, leaning his head close and whispering softly,

“Since the audiences in all those previous performances managed to leave safely without triggering any incidents big enough to alarm our branch, it means that simply watching the play should be safe.

According to Emma… well, according to a senior’s advice I once received, when the specific abilities of an anomalous item aren’t clear and it’s unlikely to cause massive harm, we absolutely shouldn’t rush to disrupt the current balance.

So what we should do now is wait quietly in the box seat for six hours until the performance ends, ensuring the majority of the audience, including you, evacuates safely. Then I’ll come back with some seniors from the Bureau to handle the cleanup operation as safely as possible.”

“Alright, I’ll follow your lead!”

Princess Veronica nodded, her cool little hand gripping Leon’s palm tightly, her lips brushing against his earlobe as she gently urged with some concern,

“Remember to stay safe. If there’s anything I can do, just let me know, and I’ll definitely help out with all my might.”

“Um…”

Leon’s neck tickled slightly by the princess’s warm breath. After collecting the information, he shifted uncomfortably, trying to regain his composed posture.

But at that moment, he noticed that the princess’s soft palm was slightly damp, her upper body pressed against him, trembling uncontrollably, and her legs under the long dress were slightly clenched, appearing rather nervous.

After hesitating for a moment, Leon freed his right hand from her grasp, wrapped his arm around her back, and leaned close to her ear, softly comforting her, “Don’t worry. The danger level of this anomaly isn’t high, and I’m here. You’ll definitely be fine.”

“…”

The princess was slightly surprised when suddenly embraced. In the dim light of the private box, she looked up at Leon, and after noticing his concerned expression, she lowered her head and softly hummed in agreement before obediently leaning into his embrace.

Actually, I’m not scared. I just drank too much hot water on the carriage ride and need to go to the bathroom a bit… but this feels nice~ As she adjusted herself closer to Leon’s embrace, feeling the firm and warm young body beneath her touch, the princess couldn’t help but bite her lower lip slightly and smiled faintly in satisfaction, unseen by Leon.

He still knows how to care for my feelings, acceptable, very acceptable. All my kindness hasn’t gone to waste~ (End of Chapter)