Chapter 477: Shadows of Lineage and a Promise

"Mm."

Although having only three people in a family photo seemed odd, Leon, having seen other photos of himself with his parents, didn't dwell on it—only asked casually:

"When was this photo taken? Why are only you in it, not the three of us?"

"Just a mistake by the studio."

Seeing Leon didn't suspect anything, Anna quietly exhaled in relief, then answered in as steady a voice as she could:

"When we took the photo, the previous family had just left, and the staff had left the 'Family Photo' sign up by accident, so we ended up with this one.

Mother wasn't happy and wanted them to remove the sign and retake it, but Father loved the smile on Mother's face in the photo, and the studio offered to charge us only half the price, so we kept it as is."

"So that's how it happened…"

After nodding in understanding, Leon lay on the bed, hissing softly as he winced, then said dismissively:

"Then what about the three of us? Why were you the only one there?"

"Because Melanie and the others weren't born until next year, and this photo was taken for me specifically."

Anna flipped through the album, pulled out another photo with the same background, and handed it over with a smile:

"It was for the community school exam. Your score was the lowest in the whole school, but I got first place. Mom asked what I wanted as a reward, so I said I wanted a photo to commemorate it.

Here—this badge on my chest—was given to the top student back then. I wanted to drag you into the photo too, but you were sulking, said your grades were too bad, and refused outright. So in the end, only we were photographed."

"Ah… I was this stubborn as a kid?"

Hearing about his childhood embarrassment, Leon—who had no memory of it—scratched his head, looked up at Anna's expression, and said sheepishly:

"Didn't you feel disappointed back then?"

"Not at all. Actually, I did it on purpose."

With a mischievous grin toward Leon, the frail girl smiled sweetly:

"You always liked to steal my things—even my dolls. But you ran faster, jumped higher, were stronger, and ate more than me. I hated you so much.

Luckily, you were always a troublemaker and did terribly in school, so I finally had one thing I was better at. I seized that chance and deliberately rubbed it in your face, which is why you sulked and refused to pose with me."

"You've always been this vengeful since childhood."

Shaking his head in disbelief, Leon, still lying on the bed, waved his hand to shoo her away:

"Alright, since the ointment's applied, go back to bed. We've got to rise early tomorrow!"

"I'm going then. Be careful when you sleep—don't bump into it again."

If you knew it hurt, why did you press so hard!

"Alright, alright!"

Mimicking his sister's expression, Leon rolled his eyes at her, then turned toward the small window of the adjacent room, his back to the door, and asked casually:

"By the way, is my birthday definitely correct?"

?!!!

Hearing Leon's question, Anna froze mid-step, then whispered without turning around:

"How could it be wrong? Why are you asking this now?"

"It's nothing much. I met a fortune-teller who's supposedly very accurate."

Leon squinted, lying on the bed, then yawned: "She asked my birthday, did some wild calculations, and everything she came up with was wrong. Probably embarrassed, she insisted I gave her the wrong date… Heh. It's like a three-legged dog can't walk straight and blames the road for being uneven. Isn't that funny?"

"That depends on whether you paid her."

Hearing Leon was just asking casually, Anna relaxed and smiled: "If you didn't pay, she's the funny one. If you did, you're the funny one~"

"Go, go, go—I think you're the funny one! It's so late, go back to sleep!"

After using his "older brother's authority" to shoo away his teasing sister, Leon watched Anna's reflection in the small window—her sigh of relief, her hurried, flustered exit—and his brow tightened sharply.

Though Anna hid it well, there were still subtle inconsistencies.

To others, they might be unnoticeable. But to Leon, who had lived side by side with her for months and endured two years in hell together, these signs were glaring.

She's hiding something from me…

Knowing Anna's nature, upon seeing the sign fall, she'd have simply said, "Oh, it fell," not launched into such a long story. Then she paused to pack her bags and sat on the bed—as if deliberately giving me a chance to ask.

Also, the photo's style suggests it was taken at least seven or eight years ago, maybe longer. Yet when I asked, she gave her answer instantly—no hesitation, no recollection.

Just a few sentences, and she recounted the entire past event flawlessly, every detail seamless, as if she'd rehearsed it countless times.

Then, when I asked about my birthday, her startled reaction in the window reflection confirmed my suspicion.

As the Black Goat said, the Lord of the Stars almost never errs—so the day I visited the Waterworks was truly my birthday.

Anna's strange behavior proves she knows something. But for some reason, she doesn't want to tell me the truth—she's already prepared a lie…

Faced with these nearly undeniable clues, Leon—who had endured countless soap-opera twists in his past life—immediately formed the obvious assumption.

So… am I adopted?

With this absurd thought surfacing, Leon's emotions churned. He immediately rolled off the bed, tiptoed to the packed luggage, and pulled out the old photo album.

But after studying the old photos, Leon turned back to the small window, staring at the reflection: his black hair, identical to his father's; his sharp, dignified brows, nearly identical to his mother's. He hesitated.

Even if he'd been adopted by a relative, how could he possibly resemble both sides so perfectly? Or was I just overthinking?

…

With a mind full of unresolved doubts, Leon tossed and turned until the small hours before finally dozing off.

At first light, though still exhausted, Leon was woken by Anna, told the carriage had arrived, and stumbled out, dragging his luggage to the mouth of Veteran's Alley.

After forcing himself to stuff the luggage into the cargo box and telling the hired driver the destination, Leon—having slept barely an hour—climbed into the four-seater carriage, clutching his equally drowsy younger siblings.

Anna, climbing in behind him, watched him so sleepy he could barely keep his eyes open, and scolded him, half-annoyed, half-amused:

"Brother! You went to bed early last night. Why are you so exhausted now?"

"Last night… ah… my mind was racing… I barely slept the first half… hmm… let me lean a bit…"

As the carriage rocked, Leon leaned sideways, resting his head on Anna's shoulder, which twitched slightly in alarm. Exhausted, he half-closed his eyes and whispered softly into her ear—with three parts testing, twelve thousand parts sincerity:

"Don't worry… if you don't want to tell me something, I won't ask.

And you can lean on me, just like I'm leaning on you… I promise you, no matter what happens in the future, you'll always be my sister."

(End of Chapter)