“Hmm~ Let me end your lives!”
The girl with no pupils landed steadily on the ground, striking an extremely dramatic pose.
Dolosa and Dexilensi exchanged a look: “?”
“Who is this person?”
“No idea.”
The two eyed each other warily, each suspecting the other had brought an ally.
As a result, both saw caution and confusion reflected in the other’s face.
“You didn’t bring her?” they asked in unison.
Damn it.
So who exactly was this suddenly appearing blonde girl with no eyeballs and no shoes?
Dolosa and Dexilensi both stood up at the same time, their gazes turning toward Motifiel.
Motifiel was stunned as well.
“Huh?!”
Her mouth dropped open in surprise.
“Weren’t you two already badly injured and lying on the ground, unable to get up? What’s with you standing up again now?”
Motifiel: 🤡
“Huh? Who are you?” Dolosa was the first to ask.
Motifiel’s expression immediately shifted from confident to sneaky, giving off the vibe that she wanted to make a quick escape.
“I-I’m just passing by…”
Dolosa and Dexilensi’s distrustful gazes fixed on Motifiel, following her every move as she tried to slip away stealthily.
Motifiel: “.”
Covered her face.
Damn it, these two sly humans! They actually lured her out this way! Seems like even naive Darkspawn can’t outwit crafty humans after all!
In her hurry to escape, Motifiel didn’t notice the crystal shard beneath her feet and slipped exactly like Dolosa had earlier.
“Thud!”
“Ow!”
Dust instantly kicked up around them. Unfortunately, Motifiel landed face-first into the dirt, her small hands, face, and clothes all filthy.
Dolosa and Dexilensi, ready to continue their scolding, looked at Motifiel again, mumbling,
“Is there something wrong with this one?” Dexilensi tapped her temple.
“Probably,” Dolosa frowned in response.
Motifiel trembled with shame.
Damn it, damn it, damn it!
Better to die than be humiliated!!
Seeing Dolosa and Dexilensi prepare for battle again, Motifiel gave up pretending and laid her cards on the table.
“No! I couldn’t possibly be just passing by!”
She spun around with a sly smile, but it froze on her face the moment she saw that Dolosa and Dexilensi’s energy was still only half depleted.
Maybe it’s better not to fight… Just now they were pretty fierce.
If these two teamed up to fight her… Damn it, Villeres isn’t here! If she were, she’d solve these two brats in no time! Alone, she had to go big—but her big move was way too flashy. No way!
As their scattered gazes refocused on her, Motifiel immediately put on an innocent smile, took two steps sideways, rubbed the back of her head, and forced a dry laugh.
“Of course I’m not just passing by! Haha! I saw you two fighting here pretty fiercely, and I was worried you might accidentally hurt each other, so I came to break it up~ Really! Though I look small, I’m actually older than both of you! Just worried about you! So stop fighting, okay~!”
Motifiel puffed out her cheeks and put her hands on her hips.
Her lame explanation was met with nothing but confusion and suspicion from Dolosa and Dexilensi. Both froze, staring straight at Motifiel.
The three stood in the alley, glaring at each other until—
“Oy! Little Dolosa! Little Dex! What are you two doing here?! We’ve been looking for you everywhere!”
Liang Lai’s surprised shout came from afar, making the three tense up.
Dolosa and Dexilensi immediately lowered their fists and stood obediently to the side like well-behaved children.
“Oh, what are you two playing at? Why do you look so dirty?”
Liang Lai soon reached them. Seeing Dolosa covered in dust and Dexilensi’s messy hair, her head suddenly seemed twice as large.
She realized the seriousness of the situation.
“Did you two get into a fight?”
Both had small scratches—nothing severe but visible upon close inspection.
“Mom, I told you before, she’s always scheming against me! This time she dragged me into the alley and hit me! I was forced to fight back!” Dolosa spoke first.
But this time she was smarter; without solid proof, she didn’t accuse Dexilensi of trying to kill her.
After all, murder sounded too extreme.
Saying it was deliberate provocation—dragging her into an alley to fight—was more believable.
Liang Lai would trust her more that way, and Dexilensi would still get some trouble.
Sure enough, Liang Lai furrowed her brows and turned to look at Dexilensi.
“Mom, it’s not me, I didn’t!” Dexilensi looked pitifully at Liang Lai, running over to grab Liang Lai’s clothes and swayed back and forth. “I don’t even know what happened, I…I don’t want to fight Dolosa at all… It’s Dolosa…”
She secretly glanced at Dolosa, then silently lowered her head, looking deeply wronged and hesitant, leaving endless room for imagination.
Liang Lai silently watched the two.
She believed Dolosa wasn’t the type to drag others into fights.
After all, since Asterys, Delucia, and Illucy had been adopted, none had ever fought with Dolosa.
Dolosa at most liked to complain, get jealous, and use her sharp tongue, but never resorted to violence. So…
Liang Lai suddenly remembered Dexilensi had shown violent tendencies before and seemed not to fully understand the value of life…
So maybe this kid did pick a fight with Dolosa. But out here, the children also cared about face.
Everything would have to wait until they got home.
So Liang Lai gently took Dolosa’s hand.
“All right, Little Dolosa, Mom understands, but we’ll talk about this more when we get home. Now isn’t the time or place. Your sisters and younger siblings aren’t done playing yet; we can’t let them get upset. So we’ll handle this once we’re back, okay?”
Dolosa didn’t pay attention to what Liang Lai said—she only noticed Liang Lai holding her hand and not Dexilensi’s.
That proved the Saintess trusted her more! Dolosa smiled instantly and leaned against Liang Lai.
Nearby, Motifiel had been left standing for a full minute, watching everything unfold, her mouth agape in shock.
Wait, those two were fighting so fiercely just moments ago? With a look like they wouldn’t stop until one was dead? How did they suddenly turn into two docile kittens? What kind of magic did the woman wearing the Saintess Attire have… Wait, is she really wearing the Saintess Attire?!
Motifiel snapped back to reality.
“Damn! Isn’t that the kind-hearted Saintess we saw last time?”
Her body stiffened.
This was the first time she had encountered such a high-ranking Church member, and the urge to flee grew even stronger.
“Not a good outcome!”
“Damn it! I have to run before she notices me! If she catches me…”
Out of fear for the high-ranking Church member, Motifiel tried to sneak away.
But in the next moment, a hand landed on her shoulder.
“Little one, where are you from?”
A soft, magnetic voice sounded behind Motifiel.
Goosebumps rose all over her body. She slowly turned her head, revealing a smile more awkward than crying.
“I-I… I’m just passing by, big sister…”
“Just passing by?” Liang Lai pondered her words but frowned. “You look dirty, and you don’t have shoes on. Did something happen?”
No way.
Was this person really that kind-hearted?
Motifiel glanced down at her dirty white socks, the dust on her torn clothes, and her messy hair. Well, yes, she did look like a poor little beggar.
“I-I didn’t have any trouble,” she meekly stood there like a scolded schoolgirl.
She was genuinely scared! If the Saintess focused on her, could she even keep this small life? After all, this was the Saintess! Although she was one of those hard-to-identify Darkspawn, her heart still quivered.
At the same time, she regretted coming to this lousy place today.
Why did she have to be greedy over Dolosa and Dexilensi’s bodies? If she hadn’t, or had waited for one of them to die completely before jumping in, this wouldn’t have happened.
But Liang Lai’s hand reached out and gently stroked Motifiel’s cheek. Frightened, Motifiel followed the movement and lifted her head.
Suddenly, a gasp rang out beside them.
“Little girl, your… your eyes…”
The voice grew softer and softer until it disappeared into silence.
This dirty, shoeless, barefoot “blind” girl—Liang Lai’s saintly heart reached its peak at that moment.
“Poor child.”
She revealed a look of pity, staring at Motifiel dumbfounded.
At the same time, Dolosa, Asterys, and Delucia behind Liang Lai immediately sounded the alarm, each stepping forward almost simultaneously to stand protectively in front of Motifiel.
Yet none of them knew what to say, only looking helplessly at Liang Lai.
Liang Lai was somewhat bewildered herself.
Why did her daughters suddenly leap forward like that? And why did they seem so protective of this “blind” little girl?
At that moment, Motifiel also came to realize.
Could it be that this kind-hearted Saintess mistook her for a blind girl? That would be interesting—she pitied her? Showed that look of compassion? Seemed to want to help her?
As soon as this thought crossed her mind, Motifiel recalled what Villeres whispered to her the first time they met Liang Lai:
“Maybe we can disguise ourselves as normal humans, dress pitifully, and seek help from that kind-hearted Saintess… I heard a Saintess has been taking in little girls lately, probably her. We might not have to kill those priests, just pretend to need help and get taken in by her.”
Thinking of this, Motifiel’s pupil-less eyes lit up instantly.
Yes! This kind-hearted Saintess was right in front of her, showing pity and a desire to help.
Why not play along and pretend to be a helpless little girl to be saved by the Saintess?
Her smooth brain immediately creased with the idea.
“Thud!”
To the baffled looks of those around, Motifiel suddenly knelt on the ground, hands clasped tightly together, looking up at Liang Lai as if praying to a deity, tears streaming down her face.
“Yes! I, I… need help! Oh God!!”
Sorry, our leader, this is all insincere. I just need to deceive the enemy in front of me, so I must say these words and kneel!
Motifiel shed tears of humiliation.