Chapter 170

You're still thinking about candy? I'm about to fly away from my own husband!

After affectionately pinching the little girl's cheek, the Princess was about to call out to Li Ang and ask why he had suddenly abandoned her, when a frail, hoarse voice suddenly came from the window beside her.

"Hello."

Startled by the voice—like a sharp object scraping glass—the Princess turned to look and saw an old woman with wrinkled skin and white hair, stretching both arms toward her.

"Can you return Phoebe to me?"

"Oh, yes!"

Noticing the woman's wary gaze, the Princess thought she might have misunderstood something; to avoid being mistaken for a child trafficker, she quickly set the girl down from her arms.

But earlier, when she'd been given two silver coins, she'd paused for a moment—and now, with this sudden old woman delaying her, Li Ang on his broom had already flown far away.

Whatever, I know where he is anyway.

After watching Li Ang's retreating figure, the Princess couldn't help but sigh.

Today has truly been… not only did I survive an assassination attempt by rebels, but I was also married off on the spot with no preparation, and the Prince chosen seems strangely odd.

Especially just now—he was telling me to watch the child one second, then the next, he acted like he didn't even know who I was: his demeanor turned polite and distant, and he even handed me two silver coins for no reason…

What a strange man. But since Li Ang works for the Cleanup Bureau, maybe being odd is normal?

Shaking her head in confusion, the Princess smoothed her dress, knelt down, took the little girl's grimy black hand, placed a shiny silver coin inside it, then patted the child's bottom with a smile.

"Here's your money—go to your real grandmother and let her buy you some candy~"

"Grandmother?"

Looking at the silver coin in her hand, the little girl tilted her head in surprise.

"Phoebe's grandmother is already dead. Died years ago."

The child's grandmother is dead? Then who was speaking to me?

Hearing the girl's words, the Princess frowned slightly, then looked up at the old woman in the distant window, asking politely but warily:

"Excuse me, who are you to this child?"

Raising her deeply wrinkled brows, the white-haired old woman gave the Princess a long, meaningful look, then smiled calmly and replied:

"I'm Lucy. I'm Phoebe's sister."????

You're Phoebe's sister?

The Princess froze for a moment, then her frown deepened instead of easing.

Impossible! You look over sixty, and Phoebe is barely five or six—how could she possibly be your older sister?

"Lucy!"

As the Princess narrowed her eyes, beginning to suspect the old woman might be mentally unwell, the little girl suddenly took off running toward the old woman with joy.

"Lucy, be good~"

Standing on tiptoe, she stroked the old woman's silver hair, then held the coin up to her face with her grimy hand, mimicking the Princess's earlier words with sweet familiarity:

"Say 'sister' to me, and I'll buy you candy~"

"…"

Looking at the innocent child before her, the old woman's eyes flickered with quiet sorrow, then she bowed her head obediently, letting Phoebe reach her crown without stretching, and answered in her hoarse, eerie voice, softly:

"Sister, no matter what I become, you'll always be my sister."

"…"

So… it's not the grandmother who's mentally unwell—it's the child who has some intellectual impairment?

Seeing the sorrow in the old woman's eyes, watching her let little Phoebe touch her head, Princess Veronica fell silent, choosing not to disturb this strange pair of "sisters," and instead

turned and walked back toward the main hall.

Some things are nearly impossible to change—whether it's this child's innate foolishness, or the deep-rooted greed in human hearts.

The only thing I can do is use the power granted by my title as Princess to try to chain those excesses of greed, so these innate sufferings might become a little happier.

And my marriage to Li Ang will undoubtedly accelerate this progress—so everything is worth it!

…

"What happened?"

"Did I pass out?"

"Just now… Lord Count? Wake up!"

When Princess Veronica re-entered the hall where the title succession ceremony was held, some of those who had fainted during the 【Heartbeat Moment】 had already awakened.

But those who had woken were mostly young people or servants and bodyguards with better health; higher-ranking individuals were generally older and weaker, so most remained unconscious, and no one had stepped forward to take charge—the hall was in utter chaos.

"Everyone, listen to me!"

Seeing the hall's leaderless state, Princess Veronica shook her head, adjusted her shawl to cover the dark handprint on her chest, then clapped sharply to draw everyone's attention, instructing those who had woken:

"The priority now is to revive the unconscious. Vinsmoke family, send for doctors. Other families, carry your own unconscious relatives upstairs."

"For households where everyone remains unconscious, the Lyon family will handle them—also check their conditions, so when the Vinsmoke doctors arrive, we can prioritize treatment for the most critical cases."

Hmm… maybe that really is what should be done?

After hearing Princess Veronica's orders, the chaotic hall fell still for a moment, then someone began instinctively obeying—and their actions prompted others to follow, gradually restoring order.

Yet even as they obeyed on instinct, most hearts carried a strange question:

Who is this woman giving orders?

…

"What? You ran into rebels who control anomalies again? And nearly got ambushed?"

After hearing Li Ang's account of today's ordeal, the red-haired Director blinked her fox-like eyes in surprise:

"Strange. Though the likelihood of encountering anomalies generally increases with exposure after joining the Cleanup Bureau, aren't you having too many incidents?"

"I think something's off too—I suspect I might be cursed…"

Li Ang nodded, sounding weary:

"But the Black Goat swore—on his status as a Great Demon—that there's absolutely nothing abnormal on me. At least, he couldn't detect anything wrong. He advised me to come straight to you and find out what's really going on."