Chapter 677: The Lady's Request [677-1

"Teachers, students, and parents of Bridge Public School, as the fifty-third Prime Minister of the Kingdom, I am very honored to be invited by my alma mater to stand here and share some thoughts on education with everyone."

A middle-aged man with a build similar to the homeroom teacher of Class 1, looking somewhat pot-bellied, stood on the podium in the center of the auditorium and greeted the teachers and parents in the audience:

"As a Bridge person who spent my entire youth at Bridge Public School and completed my studies at Bridge University, although it may be somewhat offensive to my former teachers, I must admit that Bridge Public School is not the top school in the capital.

But the meaning of education for a person is not just about acquiring knowledge in school. What can truly accompany everyone throughout their lives is often things beyond knowledge, such as..."

When he said this, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom looked at the audience with a smile, just about to mention his wife whom he met at Bridge and show off his wit and humor, but saw his wife sitting next to their daughter Charlotte, chatting enthusiastically with the handsome young man with black hair beside her. His face darkened instantly, and he skipped this atmosphere-adjusting segment and continued to speak:

"Such as the understanding and knowledge of our society.

The teaching quality of the Royal Internal School and the Central Public School might be slightly better than Bridge, but education is not just for personal success, but also for social progress and the common well-being of the people. When it comes to cultivating students' qualities in this regard, Bridge Public School, rooted in the old city, is undoubtedly the most outstanding one..."

"What a wonderful speech."

Feeling the gaze with a hint of malice, Leon subconsciously glanced at the middle-aged man talking eloquently on the stage, then turned back and complimented the Prime Minister's wife beside him:

"Despite being busy with government affairs, you actually have such unique insights into education. You are truly worthy of being the Prime Minister."

"Your Grace, you are too kind."

The Prime Minister's wife, who looked to be thirty-six or thirty-seven, smiled, though there were a few crow's feet at the corners of her eyes, she was still full of charm:

"Stephen's ability in government affairs is naturally excellent, but he has also had too much energy taken away and doesn't interfere much with the children's affairs, so he talks about things in a general direction, because he is not good at the details."

"That is already enough."

Leon, holding Melanie, shook his head upon hearing this:

"As the saying goes, 'The Prime Minister is the rudder, the King is the anchor.' As long as the Prime Minister controls the general direction and determines where the ship of the Kingdom is heading, the rest of the work, like hoisting sails, looking out, and measuring the ballast water, will naturally be done by people who are better at it. The Prime Minister just needs to hold the rudder steady... By the way."

After completing the polite commercial mutual flattery, Leon reached out to hold his gleaming cufflinks, pressed his fingertips against the sheep horns reflected in the cufflinks, and asked as if unintentionally:

"Mrs. Martha, you mentioned earlier that there are some things about my 'work' that you wanted to consult me about?"

"Yes."

The Prime Minister's wife hesitated for a moment, then looked at Melanie in Leon's arms.

Noticing the Prime Minister's wife's gaze, Leon smiled, then, to Melanie's terrified expression, handed her to Anna beside him.

"Wait! Wait a minute! Big Brother! I haven't..."

"Melanie!"

Anna, who had been enduring for a long time, twisted Melanie's ear with lightning speed, then grabbed Melanie by the collar with one hand and lifted her up as she kicked her short legs in vain, gritting her teeth:

"Big Brother has work to do, you are not allowed to disturb him!"

"I... Ugh!"

Sorry, Big Brother wants you to be punished less, but things related to "anomalies" are too dangerous and really not suitable for you to hear.

After giving Melanie a helpless look, Leon leaned slightly toward the Prime Minister's wife and whispered:

"Mrs. Martha, you can say whatever it is now."

"Okay, I mainly have two things I want to ask. The first thing is... I want to ask about the situation of someone in your bureau..."

After biting her lower lip in embarrassment, the Prime Minister's wife leaned into Leon's ear and said with a blushing face:

"Your Grace, may I ask if you know someone named Peony?"

Peony?

Upon hearing this name, Leon pondered slightly, then remembered that he seemed to have seen this name on the office doorplate diagonally opposite to Senior Jie Rui. It's just that this Senior Peony seems to be executing some very troublesome long-term mission. Until now, he hasn't seen him show his face in the bureau, and the office has always been empty, with dust on the door handle.

"I suppose I know him. Senior Peony is a Level 2 Crisis Handler in the bureau, and his office is not far from mine..."

After giving a somewhat vague answer, Leon blinked and asked in surprise, looking at the Prime Minister's wife who seemed a bit embarrassed:

"Mrs. Martha, may I ask what your relationship with Senior Peony is..."

"We... are friends, I suppose..."

The Prime Minister's wife's face turned even redder, and she said stammeringly:

"Just that kind of... um... very, very good friend, much closer than an average friend, the kind who talks about everything."

"..."

Understood, the kind of good friend that the Prime Minister can't know about, right?

Seeing a hint of realization in Leon's eyes, the Prime Minister's wife really couldn't handle this topic. She lowered her head and rummaged through her handbag, then handed over a letter that looked like it had been written a long time ago.

"Your Grace, if possible, could you please trouble yourself to give this letter to Peony? And then... then help me pass on a message."

In Leon's somewhat speechless expression, the dignified and generous Prime Minister's wife turned her head away and whispered embarrassedly:

"Just say... just say that I will wait for him at the usual place every Monday at noon..."

"Okay..."

After speechlessly taking the letter and putting it away, Leon, who did not want to be a pimp, said with a slightly stiff expression:

"And the second thing?"

"The second thing..."

The Prime Minister's wife hesitated slightly, then whispered:

"May I ask, is there anything in this world that can make someone impersonate another person's relative, but the person involved doesn't notice it at all, that kind of very special thing?"

?!

Upon hearing the Prime Minister's wife's words, Leon's pupils couldn't help but shrink sharply, and he immediately thought of the photo placed in the Mirror World.

Such an anomalous object naturally exists, and the highest-level anomalous object of this kind currently known is the anomalous object 【If】 created by the Bottle Director using the flesh and blood of the God of Enlightenment as a seed and Anna's longing for family as a trigger, and this thing happens to be in his hands now!

"Mrs. Martha, why do you ask?"

Summoning all his spirit, Leon rubbed his metal cufflinks, which he had specially polished to look like mirrors, signaling the young one inside to be ready, and asked with an unchanging expression:

"Could it be... that you feel one of your relatives has been 'replaced'?"

"Compared to 'replaced,' it's more like an extra relative appeared for no reason..."

The Prime Minister's wife reached into her bosom, took out a silver kite-bird pendant, and explained softly:

"This is something Peony gave me, saying it could help me lift the effect of those 'things' once when I am affected by your 'work content.' And when my niece came to visit some time ago, it was suddenly activated once."

Leon narrowed his eyes upon hearing this.

"So, you suspect that your niece is not your real niece, but used some special 'things' to affect your memory, or even your family's memory?"

"Yes."

The Prime Minister's wife nodded, then said with some worry:

"I have tried to probe with words, but whether it's my husband Stephen or the children's memories, this person named Nicole exists, and there are even memories of her visiting every year. Only in my memory is there nothing..."

"Wait!"

Upon hearing this, Leon's eyebrows couldn't help but twitch slightly.

"You just said... what is your niece's name?"

"Nicole, she said her name is Nicole."

(End of chapter)