Chapter 251

Amid Leon's bewildered expression, the wooden puppet portraying the male lead on stage had already finished reciting his opening monologue with full emotion.

Next, he moved with graceful stage steps, his figure appearing swift yet actually slow, heading toward the next "plot point," while Leon, taking advantage of the "scene change" as the tavern set was being built, leaned close to the princess's ear and asked with deep suspicion:

"Veronica, is the male lead on stage a person or a puppet?"

Huh? What kind of question is that?

Princess Veronica paused slightly, puzzled by Leon's question, but remembering his "job," her expression instantly turned serious; she tilted her head and whispered back:

"A person! To me, he's a person! Do you think Elijah is a puppet?"

Hmm…

Watching the tavern gradually light up under the stage lights, and the female lead dancing gracefully with flowing skirts, carrying a prop tray, Leon frowned deeply:

"It's not just the male lead—in my eyes, every actor currently on stage is a clothed, talking puppet. We've encountered an anomaly."

"Veronica, you're a devoted fan of Master Wilde, so you've been following the Morning Star Troupe's movements, right? Have there been any noteworthy news about them recently?"

Noteworthy news?

Understanding that Leon was gathering intelligence for anomaly clearance, Princess Veronica cast one last wistful glance at the stage, then refrained from asking further questions and instead focused intently on recalling:

"Come to think of it, there are indeed some odd things."

After rummaging through her memories, the princess frowned slightly and said:

"André, the Morning Star Troupe's lead actor and Master Wilde's longest collaborator, was boycotted due to scandal—and no suitable replacement has been found since."

"Since then, several performances suffered from poor chemistry with new actors, earning low praise from theater enthusiasts. Master Wilde seemed furious and voluntarily reduced the troupe's performances, beginning closed training."

"But reporters noticed that the food delivered to Central Cross Theater during training was never touched—it was simply thrown into nearby trash bins. This led to suspicion that the 'closed training' was just a cover, causing quite a stir…"

No one ate the food delivered to the theater?

Leon frowned slightly, feeling the information was oddly familiar; after carefully flipping through his notebook, he suddenly remembered.

After the Lyon Blood Night, once he'd mostly recovered, he'd rushed back from the hospital to the Clearance Bureau—before being imprisoned in the Police Department's dungeon, the Director had assigned him several investigation tasks.

Among them: a herder who went missing while searching for goats in Bafu County, an arsonist roaming the Lawther Arcade, and the Morning Star Troupe's food issue, among others.

Back then, after reviewing them all, he'd judged none of these tasks seemed anomalous, and ultimately chose to accept the mission to rescue Amy at the Rose Estate.

Later, while infiltrating the rebels, he discovered the arsonist was indeed a rebel anomaly holder—the man named Teg, who liked to sniff burn wounds. Now, the Morning Star Troupe had truly encountered trouble.

Including the Scale Gold Sect's priest he met at the Rose Estate, three out of the four tasks he'd received had now been confirmed as anomaly-related. Clearly, his Director's task-assignment skills were extraordinary.

…

"Leon?"

After waiting a moment without a reply, the princess softly asked:

"What do you think? Any findings? Are the theatergoers in danger?"

"I have findings—and it's good news."

Leon snapped back to attention and nodded:

"If what I'm seeing is real, then the reason the theater sent food that went untouched is because every single actor in the troupe has already turned into puppets who don't need to eat."

"And since then, a long time has passed—yet no mass disappearances or casualties have occurred among theatergoers, proving this anomaly is relatively stable and unlikely to affect the audience."

"That's good…"

Hearing Leon's words, Princess Veronica exhaled in relief, then leaned closer and whispered:

"What can I do for you? Should I secretly organize an evacuation? Or…"

"No. Do nothing."

Rejecting her suggestion, Leon tilted his head and whispered:

"Since so many past performances ended without incident—no large-scale events serious enough to alert our branch—simply watching the play should be safe."

"According to Emma's last… according to a senior's advice, when you're unsure of an anomaly's exact ability and it's unlikely to cause large-scale harm, never rush to disrupt the current balance."

"So right now, our job is to wait here in the box for six hours—until the performance ends and the vast majority of the audience, including you, has safely left—then I'll bring back seniors from the Bureau to handle the clearance as safely as possible."

"Alright, I'll follow your lead!"

Princess Veronica nodded, her cold small hand gripping Leon's palm, her lips brushing his earlobe as she softly warned:

"Be careful. If there's anything I can do, tell me—I'll help you fully."

Hmm…

The princess's breath tickled his neck; having gathered the intelligence, Leon shifted slightly, uncomfortable, trying to resume his upright posture.

But then he noticed her soft palm was slightly damp, her upper body trembling faintly against him, her legs subtly pressed together beneath her long skirt—she was clearly tense.

After a brief hesitation, Leon freed his right hand from her grip, wrapped his arm around her back, and whispered softly into her ear:

"Don't worry. This anomaly isn't dangerous, and with me here, you'll be perfectly safe."

…

Startled by the sudden embrace, Princess Veronica looked up at Leon in the dim box; noticing his concerned expression, she lowered her head and softly murmured "Mm," then obediently leaned into his arms.

I'm not afraid—I just drank too much hot water on the carriage and need to go… but this isn't bad at all~

Snuggling closer to him in response, feeling the warmth and solidity of his young body, she bit her lower lip slightly, revealing a satisfied little smile where Leon couldn't see.

He knows how to care for my feelings. Good. Finally, all my kindness wasn't wasted.