“Asterys and Delucia, those two…”
Dolosa took a deep breath and spoke at lightning speed: “I saw them steal your Saint Crystal with my own eyes! Just this afternoon, they hid your Saint Crystal in their shadows and took it away! And, and last night, they snuck out—I followed them and saw them meeting with the Pseudo-Pope’s People!”
These words burst from Dolosa’s mouth like rapid-fire, her fingers clutching tightly to Liang Lai’s sleeve, knuckles turning white.
This was the first time she had ever fabricated such blatant lies, her heart pounding wildly in her chest, almost ready to break through her ribs.
Liang Lai’s expression shifted from surprise to confusion.
She gently set down the Holy Robe in her hands and cupped Dolosa’s burning cheeks with both hands.
“Xiao Duo, calm down…”
Just then, Delucia’s figure appeared at the top of the stairs.
Her white hair shimmered silver in the moonlight, and her Six-Pointed Star Pupils brimmed with tears.
“Mother, why is Sister Dolosa saying these things about us?” Her voice trembled, like a wounded little animal.
“We really, really spent the whole day helping Mother tidy up the room…”
Dolosa whipped her head around, staring incredulously at this masterful little actress.
Delucia’s shadow twisted and writhed behind her, cleverly avoiding Liang Lai’s gaze.
Asterys quietly appeared behind Delucia, her own white hair glowing faintly in the moonlight.
Her pale green eyes were full of tears, but she bit her lip stubbornly, saying nothing.
Only now did Dolosa realize that this seemingly quiet, reticent sister was just as cunning as Delucia—she simply knew better how to use silence to win sympathy.
Dolosa’s fingers trembled slightly, and suddenly she felt like a foolish clown, putting on a crude farce before Liang Lai.
Her lies were too easy to expose.
Liang Lai’s Saint Crystal was clearly sitting on her own bedside table, and last night, the Twin Sisters hadn’t left their room at all.
She was just… too anxious, too afraid.
Liang Lai’s gaze moved between the three sisters, finally settling on Dolosa.
In her violet eyes, there was no anger—only a hint of confusion and concern.
“Xiao Duo, have you been too tired lately?”
Liang Lai gently stroked Dolosa’s cheek, her fingertips warm and soft.
“The Saint Crystal has always been with me, and… Asterys and Delucia were with me all last night, there’s no way they could have gone out.”
Dolosa’s throat tightened.
She opened her mouth, but not a single word came out.
How was she supposed to explain?
Should she tell Liang Lai that she’d simply gone mad with jealousy, and that’s why she’d made up all those lies?
Delucia’s Six-Pointed Star Pupils flickered faintly.
She gently tugged Liang Lai’s sleeve, her voice quivering with grievance: “Mother, does Sister Dolosa… hate us?”
That sentence was like a knife, stabbing straight into Dolosa’s heart.
She jerked her head up, blue eyes blazing with anger, but before she could speak, Asterys was already shaking her head gently and murmuring, “It’s all right, Sister… We’re… used to it.”
Used to it?
Used to what?
Used to being hated?
Or used to playing the pitiful victim?
Dolosa’s fingertips nearly dug into her own palm.
She wished she could rip apart their false masks right then and there, but Liang Lai’s gaze left her unable to move.
“Enough, all of you. No more.”
Liang Lai sighed, reaching out to ruffle Delucia’s hair and softly patting Asterys’s cheek.
“You are all my children. Don’t fight, all right?”
Her tone was gentle, but carried an unquestionable firmness.
Dolosa knew—she had lost.
In the end, Liang Lai soothed everyone.
She sent the Twin Sisters back to their room to rest, then gently took Dolosa’s hand and led her back to the bedroom.
“Xiao Duo, is something troubling you?”
Liang Lai sat at the edge of the bed, her violet eyes full of concern.
Dolosa kept her head down, hugging the Little Bear Plush tightly to her chest.
It was a Birthday Gift from Liang Lai.
She couldn’t fall asleep at night without holding it.
“…No,” she replied sullenly.
Liang Lai watched her quietly, finally letting out a gentle sigh and leaning in to press a soft kiss on her forehead.
Dolosa froze for a second, but inside, a strange joy bubbled up…
This was the first time Liang Lai had kissed her, and it made her feel a… barely controllable urge to kiss those lips in return.
“Rest well. Everything will be better tomorrow.”
As the door closed, Dolosa’s tears finally fell.
She had lost.
Even though she received a kiss, she still couldn’t feel happy.
Liang Lai hadn’t blamed her, hadn’t even doubted her.
But it was precisely this kind of unconditional trust that made her feel even more miserable.
If only Liang Lai had scolded her—maybe she would have felt a little better.
But now… it just felt like an invisible hand was squeezing her heart so tightly she couldn’t breathe.
She curled up on the bed, clutching the Little Bear Plush, her mind replaying Delucia’s victorious expression over and over.
“You think you can win just like that?” Dolosa muttered, a cold glint flashing in her blue eyes.
She wouldn’t give up.
Liang Lai was hers.
Only hers.
Meanwhile.
Inside Asterys and Delucia’s room.
Liang Lai’s footsteps faded into the distance, and the corridor returned to silence.
Delucia stood by the door, her Six-Pointed Star Pupils flickering in the darkness.
She listened intently, waiting until she was sure Dolosa’s door had closed completely before slowly turning around.
Her shadow stretched out silently, like a winding snake slithering along the wall, finally merging with the darkness beneath Asterys’s feet.
“Sister.” Delucia called softly, all traces of her earlier grievance gone, leaving only icy calm.
Asterys sat at the bedside, pale green eyes glimmering in the moonlight.
She looked down at her fingertips, where a thin thread of shadow coiled, writhing like a living thing.
“She lied.” Asterys finally spoke, her voice light but extraordinarily clear.
Delucia tilted her head, the corners of her mouth curling into the faintest of smiles.
“Of course. Did she really think we’d steal Mother’s Saint Crystal?”
She let out a cold laugh, the shadow at her feet rippling faintly.
“How… foolish.”
Asterys gave no reply, only gazing silently out the window.
Moonlight filtered through the stained glass, casting mottled shadows across her pale face.
“Sister, what are you thinking?”
Delucia leaned closer, her Six-Pointed Star Pupils narrowing slightly.
Asterys finally lifted her eyes to look at her sister.
“She’s afraid,” she said softly. “She’s afraid we’ll take Mother away from her.”
Delucia’s smile grew deeper.
“Then she guessed right, didn’t she?”
She tilted her head, white hair falling to cover half her face.