Noticing Anna’s suspicious gaze, Princess Veronica didn’t panic at being caught off guard but instead blushed slightly and confessed, “Today has been full of unplanned events—your brother suddenly proposed to me, then we were attacked by rebels. I haven’t eaten anything since morning, so I couldn’t help myself just now. My apologies.”
Ah, I see…
Looking at the princess who admitted without reservation to “tricking her way into a meal,” and recalling her composed yet hurried demeanor, Anna’s suspicion lessened somewhat. She was then drawn into a new topic with concern:
“So… how’s Leon? Were you together today? Since you two were attacked by rebels, did he get hurt?”
“Don’t worry. He had a minor issue—his shoulder got grazed by… a small pebble, but by now the wound must have healed already.”
After answering about Leon’s condition, seeing the clearly relieved frail girl before her, Princess Veronica couldn’t help but smile. Then she took Anna’s hand in hers, showing genuine affection as she said, “To be honest, when I saw you earlier, I was genuinely startled.”
“Huh?”
Upon hearing her future sister-in-law’s words, the frail girl involuntarily trembled slightly, like some hidden thought had been exposed, forcing a laugh, “Wh… why?”
“Because of you, obviously.”
Having no food or place to stay and urgently needing somewhere to rest, the princess skillfully employed her political networking abilities, smiling brightly while praising,
“Leon told me he has a sister around his age, but he never mentioned how beautiful you are.”
As the frail girl beside her lowered her head shyly in response to the compliments, even in her plain white dress, her beauty was undeniable. Princess Veronica couldn’t resist trying to wrap her arms around her slender waist and sighed sincerely, “Truly… you’re so beautiful it makes me envious, especially your waist… Oh my… On the day of my wedding with Leon, you must be my bridesmaid! But you have to promise me not to dress too beautifully, otherwise all the guests will only look at you, ignoring me entirely. That would be embarrassing for me!”
“Wh… what an exaggeration…”
Made slightly self-conscious by Princess Veronica’s words, Anna’s pale cheeks turned red, waving her hands to indicate she wasn’t nearly as good as described.
Suppressing a hint of jealousy, looking at this beautiful, poised woman standing before her—graceful, articulate, and seemingly flawless—Anna sighed inwardly, then clasped the princess’s hand and said, “Sis… you’re really beautiful, and so… well-figured. Even if I dressed nicely, everyone’s attention would definitely be on you… By the way, sis, how old are you?”
How old am I…
Hearing Anna’s question, the princess’s expression momentarily stiffened, then she forced a vague smile and replied, “I’m just a little older than your brother…”
Older by a little? Leon is sixteen; older by a little means… seventeen or eighteen? Eighteen or nineteen?
After pondering this, Anna glanced at the mature and voluptuous figure before her, ultimately guessing higher, tentatively asking,
“Sis… are you twenty years old yet?”
Meaning… do I look younger than twenty?
Upon hearing Anna’s question, the twenty-eight-year-old princess couldn’t help but feel delighted, her smile becoming over a hundred times more sincere.
Leon’s sister is not only beautiful and gentle but also speaks so sweetly and cooks well. Wow, I came at the right time today! “Yeah, pretty much!”
Blushing slightly after accepting Anna’s guess, the smiling princess continued chatting with her. With both parties eager to become closer, their conversation seemed endless, lasting until late into the night.
…
“Oh no, I lost track of time talking too much!”
Glancing out the window, noticing most streetlights had gone out, estimating the last public carriage had already left, the princess immediately stood up with a regretful face, “I just wanted to visit you guys, but ended up disturbing you for so long. Sorry, I should go!”
Is it already this late? Seeing the pitch-black streets due to most lights being off, Anna quickly stood up to stop her:
“No no, it’s already this late. Sis, you should just stay here tonight!”
“How could I impose like that?”
“It’s nothing! You’ll marry into the family eventually anyway. It’s just like staying over early.”
“But Leon and I aren’t officially married yet. Isn’t it inappropriate for me to stay overnight?”
“It’s fine. He’s not home anyway. Besides, it’s already so late. What if there’s no more public transport? And what if something dangerous happens to you on the way?”
“Well… alright…”
Unable to resist the earnest invitation from her future sister-in-law, the very “reserved” princess reluctantly agreed to stay over and was led into Leon’s room.
Comparing her own dress and realizing it wouldn’t fit the princess, Anna thoughtfully brought out a few of Leon’s old clothes and placed them on the bedside.
The princess picked them up and found they fit perfectly, then thanked with a smile:
“Thank you, I’ve truly disturbed you today.”
“You’re welcome. After all, you are… um… it seems quite late.”
Seeing the princess quietly yawn and start to nod off, Anna smiled and advised, “You’ve been tired all day, sis. I won’t disturb your rest anymore. My room is next door. If you need anything, you can call me.”
“Alright, thank you for everything.”
After escorting Anna out of the room, changing out of the ill-fitting dress into Leon’s old clothes, the princess’ drowsiness vanished completely.
Silently pulling back the covers and slipping in, the previously exhausted-looking woman let out a soft sigh, lying on Leon’s small bed and gazing steadily at the slightly worn-out ceiling above her head.
There was no way she could fall asleep. The original princess had gathered all the conditions needed to achieve her dream, only one step away from success.
But in the blink of an eye, she inexplicably disappeared from everyone’s memories, unable even to return home. Relying solely on the intelligence she possessed about Leon to avoid homelessness, deceiving meals and lodging.
Now, she needed sufficient time to think and plan her future, finding ways to recover everything she had lost. For Princess Veronica, tonight was bound to be a sleepless night.
However, the person destined to be sleepless tonight wasn’t just her; Anna next door was the same.
…
My brother is really getting married…
Lying awake in bed, staring at the ceiling for a while, the frail girl couldn’t help but turn her head toward Leon’s room.
The sudden appearance of this beautiful “sister-in-law” shattered the reality Anna least wanted to face: Leon would eventually settle down.
Once Leon had his own family, his own wife and children, even if he still recognized her as his non-blood-related sister, their relationship would inevitably change, no longer as close as it is now.
At that point, Leon would probably move out. The person waiting for him every night, preparing dinner under the lamplight, would be someone else, not her…
And besides, there was that strange man with a crying-like expression! Recalling the mysterious man who visited a few days ago, Anna felt a chill run down her spine, instinctively curling deeper into her blanket before glancing at the neighboring room with a complex expression.
But now, Leon has a fiancée. Can I… still stay by his side? Will my home… continue to exist?
With melancholy and worry filling her heart, Anna stared at Leon’s room for a while. Thinking about that perfect woman she couldn’t find fault with, someone she couldn’t even dislike, her tangled thoughts began to form a strange, intense notion.
If… if I were her… wouldn’t that be great?…
“Zz…”
A peculiar sound emanated from the small mirror where Leon kept his things, startling the young puppy who was secretly gnawing on a sniper rifle barrel.
“Woof?!”
(What’s that?!) After letting go of the rifle barrel, the puppy shook its golden fur on its head, turned around, and cautiously pawed through the pile of junk Leon tossed aside, finally finding the source of the strange noise.
“Woof woof?”
(This picture… something’s off?)
Noticing the slight trembling of the photo on the ground, whose figures alternated between three people and one, the puppy tilted its head curiously, deciding this matter should be reported to Leon.
“Woof woof woof! Woof woof woof! Woof woof woof!”
(Leon! Something’s wrong, Leon! Take the mirror out of your pocket!)
However, for some unknown reason, despite calling out through the small mirror for a long time and even nudging him with its nose, the puppy received no response from Leon.
Anxious, the puppy sniffed around, following Leon’s scent along the ever-changing edges of the Mirror World until it found an exit relatively close to him.
“Woof woof… woof woof…”
(Turns out he’s drunk… humans are so unreliable…) Peering out from the whiskey bottle, the puppy looked at the blurry Leon slumped on the table, then helplessly twitched its lips before deciding to try waking him up and informing him that the photo he put in the Mirror World was behaving strangely. However…
“Do you want a sip too?”
Grasping the puppy by the scruff with painted nails, the drunken Red-haired Bureau Director chuckled and, ignoring the puppy’s terrified expression, poured it a drink.
“No need to be shy, it’s on me today! Guaranteed to get everyone, human or dog, properly drunk!”
“Woof! Woof woof woof!”
(I! I don’t @#￥%!)”Zz…”
Just as the unfortunate puppy was forced to replace Leon as the drinking buddy by the red-haired director, the continuously buzzing photo in the Mirror World finally quieted down.
When the final odd wriggling stopped, the family portrait on the photo completely disappeared, transforming into a plump and charming young woman who looked exactly like Princess Veronica.
…
“Drip!”
As the family portrait on the photo transformed into the smiling Princess Veronica, a sharp noise abruptly woke the dozing elder nearby.
What?! Following the piercing noise, looking down at the watch on his wrist, and noticing all six needles moving, the kindly elder with bent eyebrows and a natural smile widened his eyes in surprise.
It’s complete! The last condition is fulfilled!
Lifting his wrist to check the last needle that just started moving, finding the number 0006 displayed, the naturally smiling elder—or Director Aquarius—couldn’t help but pause momentarily.
0006? Wasn’t this a failure? Looking skeptical, he stood up from the recliner, walked to the desk, sat down, opened a thick book labeled “Full Record of Test Subject Numbers,” and quickly flipped through it.
“0006… 0006… Found it!”
Skimming the record, confirming it was the item he knew, Director Aquarius frowned in thought, jotting down a few lines before tearing out the page related to Test Subject No. 6 and flipping the book to the back cover, inserting this record alongside the other five.
…
Number: 0006 Name: Anna Lane
Form: Photo Seed Level: Highest
Target Ability: Identity Replacement, Past Modification
Test Details: Using the test subject’s desire for a happy family, induce thoughts of replacing others, selecting photographs representing past, memories, experiences as carriers, to cultivate functional anomalous items with “identity replacement” and “past modification” capabilities.
Record 1: Failure.
After learning about her parents’ death, although the test subject developed an intense longing for a family, after showing her numerous happy families, she did not show any impulse to replace their children but instead yearned more to bring her parents back.
Note: Judged that due to a generally happy family environment, the test subject envied not others’ lives but their having real family members. Suggest abandoning cultivation of “replacement” ability and instead inducing resistance to reality, generating thoughts of modifying the past.
Record 2: Failure.
Even after witnessing the embezzlement of her parents’ compensation and being evicted from her childhood home, the test subject did not develop any resistance to reality, nor did she seem to hope for her parents’ resurrection.
Note: Judged that though young, the test subject has a strong will and understands the concept of death, does not believe her parents can come back, and has a naturally kind character, not completely disillusioned with humanity, hence the induction failed.
Record 3: Failure.
The test subject activated the anomalous item, but the effect was completely inconsistent with the target ability, changing from identity replacement and past modification to reacquiring family.
Note: Experiment temporarily sealed, awaiting the test subject’s adulthood, mental stability without change, attempting to retrieve it and find similar subjects for testing.
Record 4: Complete Failure! Upon revisiting, discovered that the test subject, though mentally unstable, had destroyed the created anomalous item herself and denied its significance from the heart. Despite repeated deliberate stimulation, no new changes occurred, making success almost impossible.
Note: Due to the “family” of the test subject unexpectedly joining the Virgo Branch of the Clearing Bureau, the photo anomalous item created by the test subject is controlled by Bloodhair Knight, making retrieval extremely difficult.
Record 5: Success? While preparing to sleep in the evening, the [Dream-seeking Wristwatch] was suddenly activated, suspected due to a significant impact on the test subject’s spirit, causing a shift in desire and corresponding changes in the anomalous item, with new abilities matching the “replacement” and “modification” standards.
Note: Requires verification.
(The chapter ends here.)
