“Ha?”
The three slackers before Illucy instantly sat upright, their faces serious as they stared at the trembling little girl.
“How did you find out? Did you sneak a look, or overhear something?” Asterys asked.
Illucy immediately recounted everything she had just seen and heard.
“Sh-she’s become more powerful now. She’ll definitely try to come after us to kill us… I’m so scared, I can’t even sleep!”
Illucy covered her face, looking heartbroken.
Dolosa couldn’t stand seeing her like this—so timid. She stood up immediately and gave Illucy’s shoulder a hard pat.
“What are you afraid of? You know your own talent is excellent, right? If I could evade her, then you definitely can too. Besides, if she wants to kill someone, I’m the first target. She tried to kill me before but failed, and I’ve offended her. So you don’t have to worry about her coming for you first.”
That reassurance felt more like a warning, as if Illucy’s death was inevitable sooner or later. She remained sullen, sitting down on the sofa, anxiety gnawing at her about the future.
“This person really is something. She’s scared even before anyone’s attacked her,” Dolosa muttered.
In truth, Dolosa wasn’t scared at all. She even hoped Dexilensi would come sooner to kill her, so she’d have another chance to complain to Liang Lai.
Yet Dexilensi seemed genuinely obedient; for the next month, she didn’t harm anyone.
“Ha? What exactly is she plotting?” Dolosa and the others were completely baffled.
“Has she really changed? Or is she just afraid that another failed assassination will arouse Liang Lai’s suspicion?” Their guesses turned out to be correct.
Dexilensi had her own plans.
She thought: If I fail to kill her next time, I’ll definitely be caught red-handed. Liang Lai will suspect me. I have to avoid raising any alarms…
And absolutely cannot kill anyone at home! That would be too risky and won’t clear my name.
So if I want to kill, it has to be… outside.
With that in mind, Dexilensi decided to lie low for a while, waiting for everyone else to completely drop their guard—waiting for a chance to go out.
As for that opportunity, she’d have to create it herself.
Like, after her Second Assessment is successfully completed, she could make a small request to Liang Lai—to go out and play.
Outside, there are plenty of people and chaos; even if she killed someone, Liang Lai wouldn’t know who it was.
Maybe she’d think it was the Darkspawn’s doing.
After all, things aren’t safe lately, both inside the Church and outside.
Claudious had started up his old tricks again—sowing discord and stirring up chaos, causing people to kill each other.
Honestly, Claudious was kind of strange.
Such a huge False Pope, but he personally used a mirror to mesmerize people.
If the Darkspawn killed many people, fine, but actually not many were killed.
More were just bewitched, but when it came to killing each other, many were too scared and ended up trembling and wetting themselves… Claudious was really failing at being a False Pope.
No matter what, Dexilensi’s current goal was to wait for her Second Assessment results, then ask Liang Lai to go out and play—taking everyone along, of course.
“I’m so thoughtful~”
Thoughtful? That’s definitely thoughtful, the kind that cuts people’s skin open until they bleed.
Time flew by, and a month later, Dexilensi completed her Second Assessment flawlessly.
This time, she obediently followed all the Examiner’s strange requests and didn’t show her brutal side at all. As a result, she earned first place.
“Mom, Mom, am I awesome or what?!” Dexilensi flung herself into Liang Lai’s arms, pouting and begging for praise.
Liang Lai didn’t hesitate to shower her with compliments. “Dexilensi, you’re the smartest, most talented, most sensible, and most capable child in the world!”
Dolosa, Asterys, Delucia, and Illucy: Dexilensi was so proud but hadn’t forgotten her plan.
“Mom,” she gently tugged on Liang Lai’s skirt, her big eyes full of longing, “Can you take us out to play? We haven’t been out in a long time. The last time was two months ago.”
Hearing this small request, Liang Lai nodded without hesitation.
“Of course~ Even if you hadn’t said anything, I was going to take you all out anyway. You’ve finished your assessment, and you did so well, of course we have to celebrate! Your sisters also need to relax. Staying home training all the time will fry their brains.”
“Mm-hmm!”
Seeing that her plan was already a third successful, Dexilensi’s smile stretched wide.
Back at home, Liang Lai immediately announced the good news about going out.
Dolosa, who was eating fruit, shuddered, dropping it on the floor.
Now, whenever Liang Lai said the word “go out,” she’d get conditioned.
She felt like Liang Lai would come home carrying another child to share love and care with them.
“This Liang Lai… I think we’re already pretty happy staying at home, aren’t we?”
Dolosa jabbed Delucia’s shoulder a little too hard.
Delucia gasped, but still smiled and agreed, “Mm-hmm, Mom, I think so too. I’m happy playing at home. Right, sister?”
Then she threw the question to Asterys.
Asterys nodded in agreement. “Mm-hmm! That’s right. Mom, we like staying at home too. We can still play games at home, and we have the Back Garden. The Back Garden is big—that counts as going out.”
True enough, now that they’d all witnessed Liang Lai’s magical ability to bring kids home, Asterys and Delucia’s jealousy wasn’t quite as intense, but they didn’t want too many kids around…
Because if another sickly, possessive child like Dexilensi showed up, it would be a nightmare, always worrying about their own safety.
Hearing the four in unison, Illucy was dumbfounded.
She hadn’t yet realized Liang Lai’s knack for abducting children.
But when the group’s eyes turned to her, she felt an invisible pressure and trembled.
Her mouth moved faster than her brain, supporting the others, “I-I think the sisters are right! It’s fun playing at home. The sisters playing with me is fun. I-I don’t want to go out either…”
Seeing the four all in agreement, Liang Lai was puzzled at how close these kids were but worried about hurting Dexilensi’s feelings.
Looking down, she noticed Dexilensi’s expression was dark, as if she’d suffered a serious blow.
Liang Lai thought Dexilensi felt excluded and was upset, so she quickly tried to smooth things over. “Hey, isn’t this your Dexilensi sister? She just got first place in the assessment today! It’s our family tradition to go out and play after the assessment… it’s a way to relax, right? And the food outside is way better than at home!”
She even tempted them with the promise of delicious food.
Still, Dolosa, Asterys, and Delucia remained unmoved.
Illucy cast a sidelong glance at Dexilensi, then lowered her head deeply in guilt, thinking silently to Liang Lai, “Sorry, Saintess, but when the sisters say that, there must be a reason. It must be for our own good.”
Seeing that the four remained unyielding, Dexilensi’s face darkened further.
Of course, it wasn’t because she felt isolated, but because if the others refused to come out, she’d have zero chances to stab anyone.
Seriously, these people seemed to be in cahoots, refusing to interact with her.
This time, Dexilensi was wrong—the worried looks from the four had nothing to do with her.
They were simply afraid Liang Lai would bring home yet another child when she went out.
Liang Lai sighed helplessly and tried persuading them a few more times.
When they still didn’t budge, she finally let out a soft sigh and ruffled Dexilensi’s hair.
“Little Dex, your sisters aren’t very active, so I’ll take you out to play. Can I be the only one, just the two of us?”
With Liang Lai’s words, Dexilensi couldn’t refuse.
“Alright then, just the two of us out sounds nice—it’ll be like a sweet little date.”
Just as Dexilensi was about to nod, Dolosa interrupted.
“Well then, let’s all go. If it’s just the two of you, it’ll be pretty boring. We’ll come along too.”
Dolosa said this, and the others quickly agreed.
Liang Lai blinked twice, slightly confused.
These kids are in puberty—why do they change so fast? They just said they didn’t want to go out, and now suddenly they do… But that’s good. She better agree before they change their minds again.
“Of course~ It’s more fun with more people~”
Dexilensi’s eyes lit up at those words, her usual fake smile returning. “That’s great! I can go out with my sisters and Mom. I’m really happy~”
The atmosphere immediately chilled.
Dolosa shot Dexilensi a cold glare and sneered.
If Liang Lai hadn’t insisted on going out, there was no way they would have gone.
Seeing the tension, Liang Lai felt exasperated again.
She glanced at the four and then at Dexilensi, pondering how to foster more warmth or friendship among them.
She couldn’t let these five sisters always be at each other’s throats.
Though she had tried before, it had been useless.
The next day.
Dexilensi was so excited she didn’t sleep all night. Bright and energetic, she woke Liang Lai early, bouncing around to wake the other four.
For the other four, it was a nightmare—getting up so early was bad enough, but opening the door to see the face they hated and feared most ruined their whole day.
Dolosa hadn’t slept well either, already thinking of how to guard against that pitiful girl.
The previous attempts had gone well; as long as they helped that girl before Liang Lai noticed, it was fine.
But it relied heavily on speed and concealment, so every outing with Liang Lai left Dolosa mentally and physically exhausted.
Luckily, with Asterys and Delucia joining in, Dolosa felt much lighter.
Why not include Illucy? She was too timid and clumsy.
Aside from her exceptional crystallization talent, she had no other strengths. Asking her for help would only be a hindrance.
With a scowl, Dolosa set off with Liang Lai and the others.
Along the way, Dolosa nervously turned her head this way and that.
Dexilensi hummed happily, walking ahead in good spirits.
Illucy timidly hid behind Liang Lai, and Delucia shadowed Asterys, preferring to stay in the shade on this sunny day that made her uncomfortable.
Before long, they arrived again at the familiar marketplace.
Dolosa’s spirit instantly surged upon arrival. She eyed every young child around with a predatory glare, as if she wanted to burn holes in their faces.
“Strange, why are these kids avoiding us?” Liang Lai muttered, completely oblivious to the murderous look on Dolosa’s face as she walked ahead.
Since there were now more children around, Liang Lai’s attention couldn’t focus on anyone in particular.
Dexilensi planned to take advantage of Liang Lai’s distraction and take down Dolosa!
“Heh heh heh~”
“Heh heh heh heh heh~”
She let out a villainous laugh.
Why? Because the novel said villains do that. Dexilensi fully accepted her role as a villain. She was going to kill someone, so how could she not be one?
Just as Liang Lai turned her head to answer Illucy’s question, Dexilensi grabbed Dolosa’s clothes and yanked her into a narrow alley.
To her surprise, Dolosa didn’t resist at all. She let Dexilensi drag her by the arm into the alley.
“You’re finally making your move,” Dolosa’s voice came softly.
“Are you impatient?” Dexilensi smiled, though the smile didn’t reach her eyes.
The atmosphere immediately grew tense, like swords drawn on the battlefield.