Chapter 545

"You... how could you think that?"

After hearing Leon's words, Anna felt the world spinning and almost fell over directly, but she still held onto her last hope and struggled to say:

"Brother, haven't you seen the photos? You look so much like Mom, and your hair and eye color are exactly the same as Dad's..."

"Hmm, indeed very similar."

Leon nodded upon hearing this and said very frankly:

"It's precisely because they are so similar that I never doubted it in the past, but when I was on field duty last week, I went to the Bobby Laien family's genealogy room and saw many things inside.

Anna, unlike me who has no memory, you should know that Grandfather came from the Bobby Laien family, and the origin of our surname isn't some Bobby Laien County, but that Duke family on Redwood Avenue, right?"

"Right..."

Seeing that Leon had even investigated such things, the sickly girl's face turned pale, and she bit her lip and nodded:

"I... I didn't mean to hide it from you, it's just that Grandfather said that because of competing for the title or something, he had deadly feuds with many people and only managed to escape from the capital with great difficulty, telling us never to contact that side..."

"Hmm, I believe you."

After putting on his shoes and standing up, Leon looked at his pale-faced sister, stepped forward silently, gave her another deep hug, and said in a calm voice:

"But I also hope you can believe me."

"I..."

"It's okay, people always have some secrets they don't want others to know, and I have such secrets hidden from you, but that doesn't stop me from thinking that you are my family."

After gently stroking Anna's hair, Leon stopped the hug, turned to gently hold her cheeks, looked into Anna's eyes, and said with utmost seriousness:

"I don't know what kind of people you consider family, but to me, blood closeness isn't the only condition for family, and it's not even a necessary condition.

From a selfish point of view, whoever I want to share with when I'm happy, and whoever I want to confide in when I'm in pain, that person is my family, and the person I think of first will always be you."

"Brother..."

"I'm here, but I'm leaving soon."

Looking at his sister, whose eyes were not only red but even her nose tip was red, Leon smiled, pinched her red nose tip affectionately, stepped back, picked up his things, opened the door, and walked out.

"Ah! Wait for me!"

Just as Anna, who was still at a loss, wiped away her tears and took a step to see him off, she saw Leon suddenly turn back and ask:

"By the way, what did you say to me before I came in?"

"Ah?"

"Ah what? You told me that no matter when, if I feel tired, I should come home, and you'll always be waiting for me..."

After repeating Anna's words, Leon frowned and said with displeasure:

"You have to keep your word. No matter if I have a blood relationship with you or not, or if I'm your biological brother, you can't drive me away when I come back!"

"Brother... you really are..."

Reaching out to wipe the corners of her eyes, the sickly girl, who had turned her tears into laughter, shook her head and said with a hint of reproach:

"What strange things are you saying? How could I drive you away?"

"It's best if you don't, but even if you did, I definitely wouldn't leave."

Kicking Anna's shoes inside and stopping her from seeing him off, Leon waved at her, who seemed to have resolved her inner knot, and went downstairs carrying the blankets and shopping bag.

After Leon went downstairs, Anna gently closed the door and walked quickly to the window, watching that back view without blinking, until Leon boarded a carriage and disappeared around the corner with the sound of a whistle, only then did she reluctantly withdraw her gaze.

Perhaps... the situation she feared most wouldn't happen at all? Even if he knew what she had done, Brother wouldn't necessarily...

"Knock, knock-knock." Just then, a slightly heavy knock sounded, giving Anna a big fright. After steadying herself, she got up, walked over, and asked through the door:

"Who is outside?"

"As for me... I suppose I'm your friend."

Tapping lightly on the door lock, amidst the crisp sound of the lock cylinder turning automatically, a man wearing a black robe and a wide-brimmed hat, whose face was not very clear, walked into the room, nodded at Anna, who was full of terror, and greeted her with a cold and hard voice:

"It's been almost six years, Miss Anna, how have you been lately?"

Six years?

After hearing this keyword, looking at this man with long, narrow eyes who still had a "crying face" even when he tried hard to smile by pulling the corners of his mouth, Anna suddenly reacted.

"You... you're that person from the photo studio!"

"Hmm, it's me."

Taking off his hat and placing it on his chest, bowing slightly to perform a gentleman's salute, the man with the natural crying face apologized politely and coldly:

"Sorry to disturb you. I have no other meaning in visiting this time, I just wanted to see how you are doing... May I ask if the person who just left is the family member you chose for yourself?"

After hearing the man's words, Anna's face turned pale suddenly, and she bit her lip hard, nodding very stiffly.

"Yes..."

"Husband?"

"He's my brother..."

"Sorry."

After watching him apologize without any sincerity, the man with a very stiff expression continued to ask:

"Sorry for eavesdropping on some of your conversations. It seems you have been getting along very happily these years, so you should be quite satisfied with the thing I gave you, right?"

"……"

"Miss Anna, please don't be so nervous..."

Looking at Anna, whose face was getting paler, a hint of helplessness appeared in the man's icy voice.

"I have no malice in visiting you this time, I just wanted to see how that thing is doing. The reason I opened the door lock so offensively was just because I was afraid you wouldn't be willing to open the door."

After explaining his intention, as if to make her feel more at ease, the man took a few steps back, retreated to the door, reached out his palm toward Anna, and asked for her opinion politely:

"If possible, could you take out the thing I gave you and let me check it slightly?"

Seeing that he really seemed to have no malice, Anna couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, then shook her head vigorously, her expression showing a hint of apology:

"It would have been possible, but I just discovered that photo seems to have been lost by me..."

？？？

Lost? How could this be lost?

For such a high-numbered test subject with the potential to achieve its goal, I added more than one type of follow-up order. Even if it were torn to pieces, crumpled, or even burned to ashes, it should have reappeared by your side!

……

After getting an answer beyond his expectations, the man in the black robe was slightly stunned.

Staring at Anna's eyes, seemingly using some method to confirm she wasn't lying, the man in the black robe narrowed his eyes, and then said in a helpless voice:

"Then there's no help for it... How about this, since the thing is already lost, could you trouble yourself to tell me about the situation over these past few years?"

(End of chapter)