After coming out with a clean little cloth bag, Anna found that the doll-faced girl was gone, leaving only Leon standing by the door. She couldn't help but curiously ask,
"I don't have much time to stay at home, and there are still some things I need to ask you, so I asked her to head home first."
Leon glanced out the window and saw that the sturdy old man was almost climbing in, so he decided to keep it short and grabbed his sister's shoulders with a serious expression, saying,
"Anna, you need to tell me..."
"When did things start between you and Sister Veronica?"
Seeing Leon's somewhat bewildered expression, Anna, who had prematurely asked the question, lightly bit her lip and then softly complained,
"Just...how did you meet her? And how did you decide to get married? Why didn't you tell me anything?"
"Can I say that I'm still confused about it myself?"
After hesitating for a moment, Leon explained,
"Anna, you should know that in this world, there are many things that don't belong to the 'normal range,' like your photograph, with all sorts of incredible abilities.
And Miss Veronica was influenced by something similar, causing everyone in the Kingdom to lose their memory of her, you and me included."
What? Everyone forgot about her?!
Upon hearing about the photograph, Anna couldn't help but feel a tightness in her chest, instinctively clutching the hem of her dress. But after hearing about the Princess's ordeal, she exclaimed in shock and sympathy,
"Then...hasn't she lost everything? Not only her identity but even her friends, family...lover...all gone?"
Receiving the affirmative answer from Leon, Anna immediately fell into silence.
In such a situation of suddenly losing everything, if it were her, she would probably break down completely. Yet Sister Veronica hadn't shown any signs of *pain,* and even yesterday, she could still chat and laugh with her.
Except for the slightly heavy circles under her eyes, indicating she hadn't slept well at night, on the surface, there wasn't any *abnormality,* it was truly...
"Yes, she really was a very 'strong' person."
Understanding what his sister was marveling at, Leon, who had seen the Princess's soul, nodded in agreement.
In the soul vision of the Black Goat, everyone's soul had its own 'base color.' This didn't refer to actual colors like red, orange, yellow, or green but more of an essence.
Anna's base color was longing and warmth, the policewoman Yisha's base color was compassion and responsibility, while Princess Veronica's base color was an unparalleled extreme resilience, with a belief so firm it was almost terrifying, as if she was born not knowing what despair was.
Moreover, this belief wasn't the type that held confidence in certain success, but rather that even if knowing the odds were slim, she would still continue forward without hesitation, walking until her legs were worn down, with no end except death.
Well...in a way, her brother's soul felt like that too. The two royal family members he had interacted with had souls with remarkable 'hardness.'
However, if Princess Veronica's base color was belief, then her brother's could only be described as pride. Even after being beaten by both him and Senior Emma, losing several teeth, that guy still looked down on him from the heart.
Maybe it was just a royal family trait!
Shaking his head slightly, Leon stopped thinking about the odd soul of Prince Freckles. He glanced at the sturdy old man's progress climbing the window, then turned to his sister, who had an expression of admiration and a hint of envy, and asked seriously,
"Anna, can you tell me what you thought when you met Miss Veronica yesterday?"
Huh? What was I thinking?
Momentarily stunned by Leon's question, Anna hesitated for a bit before answering,
"Just...very envious of her?"
"And a little...wanting to be like her..."
Glancing subconsciously at the papaya placed in the kitchen, Anna spoke softly with a touch of admiration,
"My health isn't good, but Sister Veronica is very healthy, very energetic; I am somewhat too skinny, while her... physique is particularly good; and her character too.
In stark contrast to my not-so-talkative nature, she was very talkative, cheerful, with a charm that makes people subconsciously trust her...much like the personality of the mother in my memory."
After reminiscing about past events, Anna's eyes filled with warmth as she said,
"Actually, since childhood, I've wanted to be like her and mother, but I just couldn't,"
So...Princess Veronica was Anna's 'ideal type,' and the envy and desire to be like her that Anna developed after interacting with her led [Warm Home] to be repaired, transforming into a [What If] that could replace someone else?
It seemed reasonable enough, but the extent seemed somewhat off.
To allow the ability of an anomalous object to change, this "I'd be better off if I were her" notion must have been quite strong. Would Anna have had such a strong thought if it were just pure envy?
Frowning and pondering for a moment, and worried that returning the photograph to Anna might really cause her to replace the Princess, Leon didn't take out the photograph. Instead, he grabbed Anna's shoulders, his expression serious, and said,