Chapter 653: Don

Amid Leon's bewildered expression, the puppet protagonist on stage, suspended by threads, had already finished reciting his opening monologue with full emotion.

Next, he moved with graceful stage steps, his form 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 illuminated 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 single actor currently on stage are clothed, talking puppets. 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 lately?"

Noteworthy news?

Understanding 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."

After that, several performances suffered from poor chemistry with new actors, earning low ratings from theater enthusiasts; Master Wilde seemed furious and voluntarily reduced the troupe's appearances, beginning closed-door training."

But a reporter discovered that the food delivered to Central Cross Theater during training was never touched—it was simply thrown into surrounding trash bins—leading to suspicion that the closed-door training was a facade, causing quite a stir…"

No one ate the food delivered to the theater?

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

After recovering from the Lyon Blood Night, I had run from the hospital back to the Clearance Bureau, before being imprisoned in the Police Department's dungeon—my Director had given me several investigation tasks.

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

At the time, after reviewing them all, I thought none of these tasks seemed anomalous, so I ultimately chose to accept the mission to rescue Amy at Rose Manor.

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

If I count the Scales of Gold Sect's priest I met at Rose Manor, three out of the four tasks I received back then have now been confirmed as anomaly-related. My Director's task assignment skills are clearly exceptional.

…

"Leon?"

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

"How's it going? Any discoveries? Are these theatergoers in danger?"

"I have a discovery—and it's a good one, actually."

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 no longer need to eat."

"And since then, a long time has passed, yet no large-scale 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 to help? Should I secretly organize an evacuation? Or…"

"No. Don't do anything."

Rejecting her suggestion, Leon tilted his head and whispered:

"Since so many previous performances allowed audiences to leave safely without triggering any major incidents worthy of our branch's attention, simply watching the play should be safe."

"According to the experience of a senior… taught to me, when you're uncertain 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, we should wait in the box seat for six hours—until the performance ends and the vast majority of spectators, including you, have safely evacuated—then I'll return with senior agents from the Bureau to handle the clearance as safely as possible."

"Alright, I'll follow your lead!"

Princess Veronica nodded, her cold little hand gripping Leon's palm; she pressed her lips to his earlobe and softly warned:

"Remember to stay safe. 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 information, 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 leaned close to whisper soothingly:

"Don't worry. This anomaly isn't dangerous, and with me here, you won't be harmed."

…

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

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

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

He knows how to comfort my emotions—good, good. All my kindness to you hasn't been wasted~

(End of Chapter)